ellen tordesillas – Page 94 – Making life worth living.

Justice Carpio: appeal to world opinion vs Chinese defiance of the rule of law

Published by Ellen on May 26, 2013

BRP Sierra Madre stuck in Ayungin Shoal, 25 miles from Mischief Reef occupied by the Chinese.

Here we go again. This time it’s over Ayungin Reef (Ren’ai Reef to the Chinese.)

The Philippine Navy reported sightings of Chinese ships in the vicinity of Ayungin shoal as early as first week of May, the last stretch of the May 13 elections, and before the May 9 incident in Balintang Channel where the Philippine Coast Guard fired upon a Taiwanese fishing vessel and killed one of the fishermen.

The Department of Foreign Affairs filed a diplomatic protest on Chinese presence near Ayungin shoal May 10.

DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez said in their protest, they cited “the provocative and illegal presence of the Chinese government ships around Ayungin Shoal.”

Mother Lily, Trillanes at Magdalo

Published by Ellen on May 26, 2013

Sen. Sonny Trillanes and wife, Arlene with Mother Lily.

Nakakatuwa si Mother Lily Monteverde sa kanyang “thank you lunch” noong Biyernes para kay Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV at sa Magdalo partylist at ang kanilang dalawang nominees na magiging miyembro na ng Kongreso: dating Marine Capt. Gary Alejano at Air Force Lieutenant Francisco Ashley Acedillo.

Si Trillanes kasi ang isa sa ilang kandidato para senador na inindorso ni Mother Lily. Kasama sa kanyang inindorso ang tatlong topnotchers na si Grace Poe, Loren Legarda, Alan Cayetano at Chiz Escudero.

Sabi ni Mother Lily, “Alam nyo ba kung bakit naka-mini skirt ako?” At talaga naman blooming si Mother na kamakalian lang ay napabalitang lumalaban sa lung cancer.

JDV’s global rainbow coalition

Published by Ellen on May 25, 2013

Just because he no longer bangs the gavel in the House of Representatives, it doesn’t mean that former House Speaker Jose de Venecia has stopped doing what he does best: gathering people of different political colors and persuasions for a common cause.

He is still into forming rainbow coalitions. This time, on the global stage.

JDV and a group of statesmen from Asia, Latin America and South Africa formed the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI) which is designed, in his own words, “to primarily bridge the classical gap between orthodox political parties and civil society groups working for peace, reform and development in Asia’s emerging democracies.”

CAPDI, he said in a speech during the 2nd General Assembly in the port city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, “is perhaps the only organization in the Asia Pacific which brings together political parties and civil society under one roof in a common house.”

Ramos urges neutral probe of Taiwan incident, reminds Pinoys of Contemplacion case

Published by Ellen on May 22, 2013

By Ellen Tordesillas,VERA Files

FVR, giving advice as his patriotic duty

MAKASSAR, Indonesia—Former President Fidel V. Ramos has recommended the creation of a neutral investigation on the May 9 encounter between a Philippine patrol ship and Taiwanese fishing vessel in the disputed maritime boundary that resulted in the death of a Taiwanese fisherman and sparked violent protests in Taiwan against the Philippines.

Ramos also stressed that almost two weeks after the incident, the results of the Philippine investigation “should already have come out by this time.”

Speaking to Filipino journalists on the sidelines of the Second General Assembly of the Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI), Ramos drew from lessons in the 1995 Flor Contemplacion crisis and recommended that a “neutral country or group do a second investigation” in case Taiwan rejects the results of an investigation by the Philippine authorities even if he said it’s “a very valid honest, according to law, upright, and credible investigation.”

FVR leads call for reduction of budget for lethal weapons

Published by Ellen on May 22, 2013

By Ellen Tordesillas,VERA Files

MAKASSAR, Indonesia—Former President Fidel V. Ramos Monday called on rich countries to reduce their budget for deadly weapons and realign resources for public safety, including navigation in the disputed waters in the South China Sea.

“Clearly, an Asia-Pacific peace must also be built on an understanding among the most affluent, and the most powerful countries in our part of the world—notably the United States, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Australia-New Zealand, and the ASEAN 10 Bloc—to moderate the procurement of lethal weapons in favor of public safety, South China Sea/West Philippine Sea/East Asia, early warning systems, and search-rescue capabilities,” Ramos told the 2nd General Assembly of the Centrist Asia-Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI) at this port city of South Sulawesi.

CAPDI, an organization of political parties, people’s organizations, think tanks, interfaith organizations, business leaders, academe, eminent persons and media, tackled during the two-day meeting the promotion of peace and reconciliation and climate change in Asia.

Aquino’s LP increases hold on House of Representatives

Published by Ellen on May 17, 2013

By YvonneT.Chua,VERA Files President Benigno Aquino III has further strengthened his lock on the House of Representatives with 108 members of the Liberal Party likely…

Filipino workers paying the price for Malacanang’s bungling

Published by Ellen on May 16, 2013

Filipino workers in Taipei. Photo from Want China Times.

It took a week for President Aquino to realize that the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by a member of the Philippine Coast Guard team in the disputed waters of South China Sea could lead to serious repercussions for the country

Last Wednesday, President Aquino sent as his personal representative Amadeo R. Perez, chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office “to convey his and the Filipino people’s deep regret and apology to the family of Mr. Hung Shi-chen as well as to the people of Taiwan over the unfortunate and unintended loss of life.”

Taiwan Foreign Minister David Lin refused to meet Perez, who was just received by Foreign Affairs Director-General Benjamin Ho.

Lessons Learned from the Taiwan Shooting Incident

Published by Ellen on May 16, 2013

By Harry L. Roque, Jr.

Chair, Center for International Law

The recent shooting by the Philippine Coast guard of a lone Taiwanese fisherman illustrates the kind of governmental response that we Filipinos deserve when we ourselves fall victims to an internationally wrongful act. Under international law, there is state responsibility for an internationally wrongful act where there is a breach of international law and when the breach is attributable to the state. Here, it appears that because the killing was because of a shot fired by a state organ, a member of the Philippine Coast Guard, that the killing may be attributed to the Philippines government. Acts of state organs, no matter how lowly their ranks, and even if they are ultra vires, are always attributed to a state.

Furthermore, there too appears to be a breach of international law since the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea prohibits the use of unnecessary use of force in dealing with illegal fishermen. In fact, the UNCLOS provides that fishermen caught illegally fishing in a states exclusive economic zone should not even be detained or charged criminally The only leeway granted to a party state is to apprehend the vessel which, in turn, must be immediately release upon posting of bond.

The lesson learned is how our own government should espouse the claim of its national, even if there is only one solitary victim. Not only did the highest echelon of the Taiwanese government demand for an apology, it also demanded compensation and even threatened the Philippines with both military and economic reprisals, even if both are prohibited by international law. This is in stark contrast with the current practice of the Philippine government. Only recently, 200 of our nationals became sitting ducks to Malaysia’s illegal resort to excessive force. Our response was to threaten our nationals with domestic prosecution.

Amazing Grace

Published by Ellen on May 14, 2013

The great thing about last Monday’s election is that, Grace Poe topped the senatorial elections.

It must be ego-shattering for the three re-electionists – Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, and Alan Cayetano –whose desire for the number one slot is not a secret to the public.

Other pluses about Monday’s polls are the re-election of Antonio Trillanes IV and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.
Trillanes because despite limited TV ads due to limited resources, he was able to make it to number nine, an improvement over his number 11 ranking in the 2007 elections.

His victory in this election proved that his 2007 win, when he was under detention, was no fluke. If the 2007 votes for him were “acts of protest” against Arroyo, last Monday’s votes were for his willingness to take on even the powerful and his strong stand on issues that he thinks work against the interest of the Filipino people.

The re-election of Pimentel is made more meaningful by the non-inclusion of Juan Miguel Zubiri, who stole from him five years of his first term.

PH envoy says apology is to family of fisherman,not to Taiwan government

Published by Ellen on May 12, 2013

By Ellen Tordesillas. VERA Files

By Ellen Tordesillas,VERA Files

Philippine Representative in Taiwan Antonio Basilio said Sunday his apology to the family of the fisherman who was killed Thursday by a member of the Philippine Coast Guard in an incident in the disputed waters off Northern Philippines is not the government’s formal apology being demanded by Taiwan.

In an interview, Basilio, resident Representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, said together with Taiwan’s Foreign Minister David Lin, he visited Saturday the family of Hung Shih-cheng, the 65-year-old Taiwanese fisherman who was killed after a Coast Guard personnel fired upon the fishing boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 in waters both claimed by the Philippines and Taiwan as part of their 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones.

Asked if his apology can be considered the Aquino government’s apology to Taiwan, Basilio replied, “The apology was to the family. It’s different from the Philippine government apology to the Taiwan government. “

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