The conference to be held on July 5 and 6 at the Dusit Hotel in Makati will have as its theme, “The South China Sea: Toward a Region of Peace, Cooperation, and Progress.”
The FSI is partnering with the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the National Defense College of the Philippines in this conference that will bring in experts on the South China Sea.
Sinabi ni Aquino na nang ininterbyu siya ng media noong 2001, sinabi niya na wala siyang kinalaman sa pagkamatay ng dalawa at hanggang ngayon, ganun din ang sasabihin niya. “ That’s the truth and nothing has changed since then. Then and now, I still maintain my innocence.”
Dagdag pa ni Aquino,”Gusto ko pong malaman ng sambayanang Pilipino na wala pong utos sa akin si President Joseph Ejercito Estrada o si Senator Panfilo M. Lacson to kidnap, harm and/or murder anyone specifically Mr. Salvador Dacer and Mr. Emmanuel Corbito. Wala na po akong maidaragdag, dahil wala po akong karagdagang kaalaman.”
At tama nga. Lumabas lang ang survey na bumababa ang satisfaction, approval at trust ratings ni Pnoy, bumalandra na si Arroyo.
Noong Huwebes, nagpa-press conference si Arroyo. Yan ang unang-una niyang press conference mula nang bumaba siya sa Malacañang, mag-isang taon na ang nakalipas. Sa Kongreso kung saan kinatawan siya ng pangalawang distrito ng Pampanga, mailap siya sa media. Makikita mo sa TV, Taas noo na parang emperatris yan kapag pumasok sa session hall.
Ayun sa mga report, nagbabala daw si Arroyo sa mga panganib sa ekonomiya dahil sa palpak na pamamahala ni Aquino ng bayan. Ginamit niya ang sinabi ng isang columnist tungkol kay Aquino: “nobody’s home.”
Alam naman natin na ang “nobody’s home” ay sinasabi sa isang taong bobo.
There’s a lot I have to learn writing about survey results.
By Mahar Mangahas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The June 3-6, 2011 Social Weather Survey, reported through (but not commissioned by) BusinessWorld last Tuesday, has 64 percent satisfied and 18 percent dissatisfied with President Aquino, implying a 64 – 18 = +46 net satisfaction rating. SWS classifies net ratings in the range of +30 to +49 as Good.
The previous SWS survey of March 4-7, 2011 had found 69 percent satisfied and 18 percent dissatisfied, for a 69 – 18 = +51 net satisfaction rating, which SWS calls Very Good (from +50 to +69).
Between March and June, therefore, gross satisfaction fell by 5 points. Since dissatisfaction was unchanged, net satisfaction fell by 5 points also, by simple arithmetic.
The Philippine Star
President Aquino dreads seeing two or three members of his Cabinet he considers harbingers of bad news.
Aquino’s candid admission was made before dozens of officials and employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways gathered for the department’s 113th anniversary celebrations yesterday. He made it clear Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson was not among the three.
“Sa totoo lang, meron akong na-obserbahan na mga miyembro ng gabinete, mga dalawa o tatlo – kada makita ko agad iniisip ko, ano kayang bad news ang dala-dala nito (In truth, I have observed Cabinet members, about two or three – each time I see them I wonder what bad news they bring),” he said.
Last Tuesday, June 21, on the 40th day of the death Chit Estella-Simbulan, journalist and teacher, her family and friends brought her ashes to her earthly resting place at the San Agustin church columbarium in Intramuros after a mass officiated by Fr. Joe Dizon and Fr. Robert Reyes.
At the dinner that followed the interment, we launched “The Chit Estella Awards for Journalism.”
The idea of the awards came about in a brainstorming session with Chit’s husband, Roland, and her father in-law, Dante, about two weeks after she passed away.
Chit died early evening of May 13 when the taxi she was riding in was rammed by a Universal Guiding Star bus she was in near on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, near the Ayala Technohub where she was supposed to have dinner with some of her high school (St. Joseph College) classmates.
Chit, aside from fighting for genuine democracy for the Filipino people which includes freedom of the press, has always stood for good journalism. And that means excellent writing.
Former Secretary of Foreign Affairs
It seems that the situation in the South China Sea is taking a turn for the worse. The increasingly harsh rhetoric is now being backed by a display of muscle. China sent one of its most modern surveillance vessels on a run through the South China Sea from Guangzhou to Singapore. The Philippines sent its largest – and apparently only – warship, a WWII vintage destroyer, on patrol through waters it now calls the West Philippine Sea. Vietnam and China have each conducted live-fire exercises while the U.S. and ASEAN navies have just completed their annual joint naval exercise. This war of words and saber-rattling, if not handled properly, can lead to a situation that would complicate and even make it impossible for a diplomatic solution to be reached.
(With these developments, now I am terrified at the prospect at having him (Domingo Lee) represent our interest during these crucial times. I do not mean to denigrate the nominee’s intellect or age. I just think his abilities and past experience are not suited for this particular post)
From the Washington Post Ombudsman on why they didn’t use Vargas’ confession story:http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-did-the-post-deport-jose-antonio-vargass-story/2011/06/24/AGdXKdjH_story.html (Jose Antonio Vargas is a former reporter for The Washington Post and…
About seven in ten Filipinos (71%) express appreciation for and trust in President
Aquino. On the other hand, less than one in ten is critical of presidential performance
(8%) and distrusts the President (7%). Essentially the same percentages of Filipinos are
unable to say if they approve or disapprove of the President’s work in the past three
months (21%) and are ambivalent as regards his trustworthiness (22%).
Ano pa nga ba ang sasabihin ng Malacañang sa pinakahuling survey ng Social Weather Station kung saan lalong bumaba pa ang satisfaction rating ni Pangulong Aquino? Natural lang yun na depensahan nila ang kanilang ginagawa at hindi nga lang daw masyadong alam ng nakakarami.
Ngunit sa kanilang pagdepensa, sa halip na maghanap ng palusot, dapat aksyunan ang mga bagay na nagdulot ng dismaya kay PNoy ng taumbayan.