Reuters’ quote of Aquino was “We might be requesting overflights on that.”
The report said Aquino was referring to U.S. P3C Orion spy planes. “We don’t have aircraft with those capabilities,” Reuters further quoted Aquino.
The blunder was shocking enough. Imagine the chief executive of the land announcing a major national security plan that would cede Philippine sovereignty to the United States!
But the tragedy is that Aquino does not even know that he committed a blunder.
Based on Justice Secretary Leila de Lima’s account of how she transitioned from being a “reluctant” nominee for Supreme Court chief justice to one who will be a “unifying force” in the judiciary, it happened after her meeting with President Aquino.
It is presumed that unlike Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares who decided to stay put at the Bureau of Internal Revenue after she was told that it is important that the reforms she has introduced in the agency have to sustained, De Lima was encouraged by the President.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said De Lima told him that the President’s encouragement consisted of “It’s up to you, you make your decision.”
Lacierda also said whatever decision De Lima makes, the President will respect it.
Amidst stories of Filipinos being lured by syndicates to a life of misery and degradation, here’s a silver lining:
Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad has granted the request of the Department of Justice for P100 million for the 2013 operations of the Inter-Agency Council against Trafficking.
There were fears earlier that the DBM would only give IACAT P40 million which is even P10 million less.
Justice Undersecretary Jovy Salazar, who is in-charge of IACAT, said “The IACAT 2013 budget approval is a recognition and acknowledgment of the importance of what we do for the most vulnerable members of our society. We are truly grateful and up to the challenge.”
Hindi bale ako dahil tatlo at kalahati oras lang ang biyahe mula Seoul. Ang marami sa mga nakapila ay galing pa ng Amerika at ang iba ay galing Middle East at Europe na humigit-kumulang 14 oras ang biyahe. Siyempre pagod na sila. May mga bata na umiiyak.
It’s not fun arriving in the Philippines via NAIA1.
Siyempre kuwentuhan ng kalagayan ng mga Pilipino dito sa Korea na karamihan ay nagtatrabaho sa mga factories. Ngunit ang marami din ay ang mga Pilipino na dito na talaga naninirahan. Umaabot sila ng 6,000 at marami sa kanila ay asawa ng mga Koreano.
Maraming success stories ng mga Pilipino dito sa Korea. Dalawa sa mga kuwento na yun ay sina Jessica Torralba Kang at Jasmine Lee. Parehong “J”.
Nakita ko sa Facebook ang litrato ni Jessica na pinapakita kay Ambassador Cruz ang kanyang lisensya bilang pinakaunang immigrant na nakakuha ng Insurance Agent Certification in South Korea. Nagtatrabaho si Jessica sa Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd.
Considering that the government has intensified export of Filipino workers overseas because it cannot provide jobs for them, continuing to avoid going back in the Watch List is a consolation, however small because the ideal situation is that there should be jobs available for Filipinos in the country so that the father or mother, son or daughter does not need to be far away from his or her family in a strange environment just to earn a living.
Spreading false information is not funny at all. Worse, it is coming from official sources.
Last Sunday, Benito Ramos, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, released to media the information that a Chinese vessel rammed a Philippine fishing boat, Axl John, last June 20 on the waters near Bolinao, Pangasinan.
Four of the eight fishermen aboard Axl John were rescued but one later died. Four are still missing.
How sure was Ramos that it was a Chinese vessel? He said that was according to the fishermen who saw the markings on the ship. Apparently the name was not written in Roman alphabet which Filipinos are familiar with.
Adverse weather situation provided a face-saving exit for both the Philippines and China in the more than two-month standoff over Scarborough shoal, also referred to as Panatag shoal or Bajo de Masinloc by Filipinos and Huangyan island by the Chinese.
President Aquino said there would be no need to send back Philippine ships to Scarborough shoal if no vessel from other countries would be seen during aerial reconnaissance that the Philippine Air Force would be regularly doing.
But before that, careful not to be seen as the one who blinked first, Filipino and Chinese officials issued statements that were both conciliatory and contradictory.
Pang 32-40 ang kanyang ranking. Sa mga 1,200 na tinanong, 56 percent ay kilala si Lozada. At 5.8 per cent sa mga tinanong ay boboto sa kanya.
Medyo malayo sa Magic 12 na kinabibilangan halos ng mga re-electionist o pangalan ng mga kilalang pulitiko. Ngunit pwede pa naman trabahuhin dahil may 11 na buwan pa bago eleksyun.
Kahit na isinama ang kanyang pangalan sa pagpipilian, hindi naman talaga kasi sa isip ng mga tao na tatakbo siya para Senado dahil wala naman siyang sinabing interesado siya.
Dati kasi, noong 2010, inisip niya noon tumakbo. Gusto niya noon independent kasama ang ilang kandidato na ayaw sumali sa tradisyunal na partido katulad ng Liberal Party at Nacionalista Party.
Kasama sa pagdasal para kay Dolphy ay ang panawagan ng marami niyang kaibigan at tagahanga na ibigay sa kanya ang National Artist Award o Orden ng Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, ang pinakamataas na pagkilala ng kontribusyon ng isang Pilipino sa larangan ng Sining na binibigay ng pamahalaan.
Wala namang tutol diyan dahil sang-ayon naman ang lahat sa kontribusyon ni Dolphy sa pagpasaya ng sambayanang Pilipino. Kaya lang may proseso ang National Artist award at hindi naman tama na i-short cut dahil lang sa delikado ngayon ang lagay ni Dolphy.
Sa tamang panahon, maaring ibigay yan ay Dolphy na walang bahid ng paboritismo at anomalya katulad ng nangyari noong panahon ni Gloria Arroyo para kay Carlos Caparas at kay Cecille Alvarez.