Ellen – Page 303 – ellen tordesillas

Mas buwaya

Published by Ellen on July 15, 2008

Habang tumatagal ang imbestigasyon ng paglubog ng MV Princess of Stars na hanggang ngayon ay nakataob pa malapit sa Sibuyan Island Romblon kasama ang mga 700 na bangkay, lumalabas na marami na palang palpak itong Sulpicio Lines ngunit palagi lang nakakalusot.

Sa report ng Inquirer noong Linggo, nalaman sa website ng maritime insurance na Lloyds na mula noong 1980, may 45 na aksidente ang nangyari sa mga barko ng Sulpicio Lines na ikinamatay ng sobra 4,500 na tao. Ang pinaka-malagim ay ang bungguan ng Doña Paz sa isang oil tanker na ikinamatay ng sobra 4,000 na tao.

Las Piñas Boys Choir wins gold medal in World Choir Games

Published by Ellen on July 14, 2008

The Las Piñas Boys Choir won the gold medal in the 5th World Choir Games, children’s category, held in Graz, Austria last week.

It also won the silver medal in the Musica Sacra Category.

Illusion of U.S support

Published by Ellen on July 13, 2008

Gloria Arroyo’s issuance of Executive Order 731 two weeks before her trip to the United States last month gives credence to talks that she was anticipating trouble that would be caused by soaring gas prices and she sought the support of U.S. President Bush in case she would have to resort to measures akin to martial law..

E.O. 731, issued June 7, 2008 but made public only last week is titled “Activating and Reorganizing the Energy Operations Board into the Energy Contingency Task Force Under the National Food and Energy Council”. It is based on the premise that “global clouds on the horizon are driving the cost of oil and food.”

Bistadong lokohan

Published by Ellen on July 12, 2008

Palibhasa’y madali naloko nila ni Gloria ang taumbayan noong Enero 2001 sa kanilang “People Power 2” kuno kaya nahirapan si Angelo Reyes, energy secretary ngayon, intindihin kung bakit hindi bilib ang mga tao sa kanilang moro-moro na rollback sa presyo ng gasolina noong isang linggo.

Pagkatapos na linggo-linggong pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina na talaga naman ikina-ngitngit na ng mga tao, biglang nag anunsyo ng rollback na piso sa bawat litro ang mga gasoline companies. Nakapagtataka dahil hindi naman bumaba ang presyo sa world market na siyang ginagamit palaging rason kung bakit hindi nila mapigilan ang pagtaas linggo-linggo ng presyo.

Salivating over SSS P234 billion funds

Published by Ellen on July 11, 2008

To ensure the silence of Romy Neri on her role on the NBN-ZTE deal, Gloria Arroyo had to give him a cabinet rank so he would be covered by executive privilege. Since being SSS chair is not a cabinet rank, she formed a National Welfare Council headed by an SSS administrator to be vested with cabinet rank. Randy David said Arroyo is able to get away with it “Because we allow it”. Click on the highlighted title to read his column.

Malaya editorial:

Romulo Neri was quick to bristle at accusations that his appointment as
president/administrator of the Social Security System was a “gift” from Gloria Arroyo. Indeed it was not gift, defined as something voluntarily given without compensation. His appointment is payment for keeping his mouth shut on the role of Arroyo in the aborted $329 million raid on the treasury via the national broadband deal.

It’s strictly an exchange of things of value between the two. Neri gets a sinecure; Gloria gets to sleep soundly at night, free from fears she would be fingered as the real mastermind of the NBN deal with Chinas ZTE corporation.

The Air Force’s maddening silence

Published by Ellen on July 10, 2008

Losing a member of the family is hard enough to bear. But for a loved one to disappear in your life without you knowing where he is or if he is really dead, that’s unbearable.

Maria Fe Gerlie Mercado, wife of Capt. Gavino B. Mercado PMA Class ’99), one of the two Philippine Air Force pilots whose plane disappeared November 26 last year, has written Brig. Gen.Eduardo Oban Jr., wing commander of Basa Air Base, pouring out her grief over being kept in the dark of the fate of her husband and her co-pilot, Capt.Bonifacio Soriano III (PMA Class 2000)

Mrs. Mercado said Oban is the immediate superior of her husband.

AFP court discharges 11 Magdalos from service

Published by Ellen on July 10, 2008

From GMA News:

The general court martial on Thursday ordered 11 Magdalo soldiers discharged from the military service, more than a month after the accused military officers changed their not guilty plea in connection with the failed July 27, 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

The sentence was promulgated against 11 junior military officers who faced charges for violating Articles of War 96 or conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

Nurse na supermaid

Published by Ellen on July 9, 2008

Umalma ang Philippine Nursing Association sa “practical nursing” , ang shortcut na kurso ng nursing na pinapa-iral ng Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

Ito kasing CHED ay nag-introduce ng practical nursing program na matatapos sa loob ng 12 hanggang 18 buwan. Ang regular na kurso ng nursing na nakasaad sa Philippine Nursing Act ay apat na taon.

Ang “practical nursing” ay iligal, sabi ng PNA.

Underwhelming credentials

Published by Ellen on July 9, 2008

Former Rep. Zenaida Ducut, from Lubao, Pampanga to be named chair of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Malaya editorial:

A month back, we wrote: “When the replacement of (Energy Regulatory chair) Rodolfo Albano is named next month, we have one question to ask. How is the WACC calculated? If he could not provide an answer, thats it. Its bayad utang time, and to hell with power users.”

The background for that piece is the need for people at the ERC who must have an understanding of the complicated business of determining power rates based on cost of power generation, transmission and distribution plus some reasonable profit.

Scrap VAT

Published by Ellen on July 8, 2008

As the price of oil products continues to escalate, the proposal of Senator Mar Roxas not only makes sense; it’s imperative.

Gloria Arroyo wallowing in billions of pesos in “Katas ng Vat” while the rest of the Filipinos reel from spiraling prices is criminal. Balancing the budget should be done through more efficient revenue collection and not through this unjust value added tax that drives almost everybody into poverty.

Roxas is correct in debunking the argument of the administration that only the higher-middle class income groups and big business are affected by VAT. He said the fisherman buys gasoline for his motorized boat, the tricycle driver buys gasoline for his tricycle, the taxi driver buys gasoline to ply his route. These are poor people.

Author: Ellen