June 2014 – Page 2 – ellen tordesillas

Justice Carpio debunks China’s historical claim of South China Sea

Published by Ellen on June 7, 2014

Justice Antonio T. Carpio demolished China’s historical claims on almost the whole of South China Sea by using China’s ancient maps.

In a lecture at De La Salle University “Historical Facts, Historical Lies and Historical Rights in the West Philippine Sea”, Carpio took up China’s invitation to look at the “historical facts” by examining not only Chinese ancient maps but also maps of Philippine authorities and other nationalities.

Carpio said “All these ancient maps show that since the first Chinese maps appeared,the southern most territory of China has always been Hainan Island, with its ancient names being Zhuya, then Qiongya, and thereafter Qiongzhou. ““Hainan Island was for centuries a part of Guangdong Province until 1988 when it became a separate province,” he added.

The latest from Aquino on China

Published by Ellen on June 5, 2014

President Aquino flanked by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

For reporters, President Aquino is always worth the time and effort to interview because he always says something newsworthy. Either a controversial remark (when he compared China’s aggressive activities in the South China Sea as similar to Hitler’s 1939 invasion of Czechoslovakia after they were handed Sudetenland by Great Britain) or a new information.

Reporters usually do not get that kind of candidness from more mature and prudent statesmen especially in foreign relations issues.

In other countries, they have department or ministry spokesmen, who do the talking on running issues. But President Aquino is, well, PNoy.

Making sure calamity-resilient classrooms will be built as designed

Published by Ellen on June 3, 2014

Every time there’s a place in the country hit by a typhoon, a landslide, or an earthquake, a common post-calamity sight is school children having classes under a tree exposed to elements.

That situation would be minimized, if not completely eliminated, if the Department of Education’s new school building design would be built according to specifications.

VERA Files trustee and writer Yvonne Chua reported that DepEd will be building this year 30,000 calamity-resilient classrooms costing 60 per cent more than the ordinary classroom. Example: a complete one-story one-classroom building with basic features that is not calamity-resilient would cost P685, 000. The new, stronger design costs P1.1 million.

Chua said “To make each building more resilient to earthquakes, the DepEd is banking on a bigger footing or base and thicker beams and columns. It now requires a tie beam even for a single-story school. The horizontal beam connects several columns to make the structure stable.”

What PH should take note of in Obama’s foreign policy speech

Published by Ellen on June 1, 2014

“Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.”

“And I would betray my duty to you and to the country we love if I ever sent you into harm’s way simply because I saw a problem somewhere in the world that needed to be fixed, or because I was worried about critics who think military intervention is the only way for America to avoid looking weak. “

Those statements in President Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy speech at the commencement ceremony of the United States Military Academy last week should tell current Philippine leaders to rethink of their U.S-dependent foreign policy because America will not risk the lives of their soldiers to fight for a war that will put their national interest in jeopardy.

Month: June 2014

Justice Carpio debunks China’s historical claim of South China Sea

The latest from Aquino on China

Making sure calamity-resilient classrooms will be built as designed

What PH should take note of in Obama’s foreign policy speech