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Comelec: 3 million overseas voters eyed in 2025 polls
With internet voting, the Commission on Elections is looking to have up to three million Filipinos abroad participate in the May 2025 midterm elections......»»
2 dead, 34 injured in road crashes in Philippines over weekend
MANILA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Two people died and 34 others were hurt in two separate road crashes in the Philippines over the weekend, local authorities said Sunday. A municipal disaster prevention official said a female bus collector was killed after a passenger bus rammed into a trailer truck parked on the roadside in a town in Davao de Oro province in the southern Philippines around 4 a.m. local time on Sunda.....»»
'PHVote Guides: How to register as an overseas voter in the 2025 elections
For the first time, overseas voters may experience online voting, on top of the usual personal and postal modes.....»»
2 dead, 34 injured in road crashes in Philippines over weekend
MANILA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Two people died and 34 others were hurt in two separate road crashes in the Philippines over the weekend, local authorities said Sunday. A municipal disaster prevention official said a female bus collector was killed after a passenger bus rammed into a trailer truck parked on the roadside in a town in Davao de Oro province in the southern Philippines around 4 a.m. local time on Sunda.....»»
The dangers of voting by non-citizens
Only US citizens may vote in federal elections......»»
SPD nabs 6 fugitives
The Southern Police District arrested six fugitives in separate operations on Friday......»»
Cha-cha plebiscite and midterm polls in one event: A test of Comelec s independence
BOTH LEGISLATIVE chambers are now leading charter change discussions. Legislators have repeatedly said that amendments will be limited to economic measures in the 1987 Constitution.Meanwhile, the conduct of the plebiscite had Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia describe the logistical preparations required for it. He argued that it should be held as a separate event from the 2025 midterm electi.....»»
Pia, Saab, Maxene sama-sama sa 15th death anniversary ni Francis Magalona
BILANG pagpupugay sa ika-15th death anniversary ni Francis Magalona, nagsama-sama ang mga mahal niya sa buhay – ang kanyang misis na si Pia Arroyo-Magalona, pati na rin ang dalawang anak niyang babae na sina Maxene at Saab. Sa pamamagitan ng Instagram Stories, ibinandera ni Maxene ang ilang moments ng naging intimate gathering sa Loyola Memorial.....»»
Dindo Arroyo tsinugi na sa Batang Quiapo; McCoy ‘pinapapatay’ na rin
KAYA pala nag-viral ang pakiusap ng netizens na “Save Severino” ay dahil tsinugi na ang naturang karakter sa seryeng “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” nitong Lunes. Si Severino ay ginagampanan ni Dindo Arroyo bilang trusted staff at kanang kamay ni Christopher de Leon as Ramon Montenego/Alberto Frias. Umabot din ng isang taon si Dindo sa programa at.....»»
SC upholds Philippines-Japan economic pact
The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, a bilateral trade and investment deal entered into by the two countries during the Arroyo administration and ratified by the Senate in 2008......»»
Chinese presence at NGCP
The Chinese presence at NGCP can be blamed on former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who allowed it to happen. She was very close to China, trying a pivot to China away from the United States through Chinese supported infrastructure projects......»»
Who’s destabilizing who?
Allies of Speaker Martin Romualdez have been busy explaining why Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Davao Congressman Isidro Ungab were stripped of their deputy speaker positions......»»
House ousts Arroyo, Ungab as deputy speakers
House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe says Pampanga Representative Gloria Arroyo and Davao City 3rd District Representative Isidro Ungab 'chose not to sign a pivotal House resolution sponsored by the entire leadership'.....»»
PCG’s problematic dualism
There is a world of difference between the roles of a civilian agency and those of a military command. No civilian agency or military command should be doing the role of the other, lest they overlap, conflict, or render redundant their authority. The role of the Philippine Coast Guard is a good subject for legislative review — whether it fulfills a purely civilian function or a purely military one. The fact that it’s an attached agency of the Department of Transportation as much as an attached service of the Department of National Defense “confers” upon it a dualism that may be at cross purposes. While the PCG can fit either role, it shouldn’t. For in so doing, the line between maritime law enforcement and national defense is blurred. One may be led to think that, perforce, the PCG is unadulteratedly a military organization as it used to be part of the Philippine Navy, a major branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Something explains this duality, but it may require assessment as to whether it must continue to have this dual character. In principle, any individual or unit that performs a task or mandate that essentially belongs solely to the military must forthwith be under a military commander or military organization. Who can even begin to fathom what it means when the Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard reports directly to the Transportation Secretary in the enforcement of maritime law, but also reports to the Defense Secretary if not the President in wartime? If one should take a cursory look at those who served as commandants of the PCG since its founding in 1967 under different presidents, one would find, viz.: 1) During Rodrigo Duterte’s term, only three served for over a year, while four served for less than a year, and one for only 18 days; 2) Under Benigno Aquino, four barely completed a year, one just a year, and one more than two years; 3) Under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, three served for barely a year, two served over two years or so; 4) Under Joseph Estrada, one served for two years; 5) In Fidel Ramos’ time, five served for less than a year, one for 32 days, and one for almost three years; 6) Under Corazon Aquino, two served for two years, one for three years, and two for a week or so; 7) Under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., four served for over a year, three served for 3, 4, 5 years, respectively. This tells us that commandants, as presidential appointees, must be the personal choices of the presidents they serve. With a change of the occupant in Malacañang, a change in the leadership of the PCG also takes place, good or bad. It’s said that the PCG’s “transformation into a non-military organization” and its “civilian character” allowed it “to receive offers of vessels, equipment, technology, services, cooperation and other needed assistance from other countries,” that otherwise would not have been feasible were it a military agency. President Fidel Ramos signed Executive Order 475 on 30 March 1998 to separate the PCG from the Philippine Navy, and Executive Order 477 to transfer it from the DND to the DoTC, a month thereafter. Thus, even FM Jr. has been heard saying, “Our friends from other countries will help strengthen the PCG’s capabilities.” Today, the President envisions the PCG as a “central actor” insofar as West Philippine Sea matters are concerned; thus, he ordered several 40-foot long patrol vessels to be built in Cebu to improve the PCG’s capabilities in maritime territorial disputes. In the face of China’s unprecedented coast guard expansion — the largest in the world — “civilianizing” the PCG makes little sense. It’s a Catch-22 on how to “reinvent” the PCG. Military strategists had miserably failed. The post PCG’s problematic dualism appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PCO corrects blunder
The Presidential Communications Office, or PCO, on Saturday, retracted a false claim that it had been four decades “since the last time a sitting President of the Philippines” visited Saudi Arabia. “Forty years since former President Ferdinand E. Marcos (Sr.) visited Saudi Arabia, the last time a sitting President of the Philippines traveled to the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited the Filipino community in Riyadh to personally express his gratitude for their significant contributions,” part of the PCO’s deleted Facebook claimed. A few hours later, Malacañang issued an erratum in a new Facebook post. “In a previous version of this caption, we erroneously stated that President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.’s visit to Saudi Arabia in 1982 was the last visit by a sitting Philippine president,” PCO said in another post. “We wish to clarify that both President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and President Rodrigo Duterte in [sic] also visited Saudi Arabia in 2009 and 2017 respectively.” Noticeable was the misplaced “in” in the erratum of the PCO, an office tasked with combating fake news on matters about the government, particularly the Office of the President. The post PCO corrects blunder appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Ang aga? Sara Duterte, Arroyo visit Iglesia ni Cristo leader Manalo
The courtesy calls come at a time when cracks are beginning to show in the Uniteam of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.....»»
Topacio: ‘President Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term’
The camp of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo deemed "baseless" the graft and malversation raps filed against the former president before the Ombudsman last week, accusing her of abuse of discretion over the disbursement of P38.807 billion in Malamapya funds during her presidency. Arroyo's legal counsel, Ferdinand Topacio, said that while they have yet to receive the copy of the complaint-- and learned about it through the news-- they have no doubt that the accusations will be disproven. "Suffice it to state that based on newspaper reports, the complainant admits that the funds concerned were used for public purposes," the lawyer said. "In accordance with settled legal principles, Pres. Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term, and we are confident that these charges will be proven false, in the same manner, that other accusations made before them have been shown to be baseless," he said. Topacio was referring to a 34-page complaint filed by National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms or NASECORE president Petronilo "Pete" Ilagan and Boses ng Konsyumer Alliance Inc. president Rogelio Reyes, suing Arroyo of 96 counts each of graft and malversation. The complainants cited irregularities in the utilization of Malampaya funds during Arroyo's incumbency, specifically the realigning of the revenues to finance government projects for which the funds were not intended. Arroyo was the Philippine president from 2001 to 2010. Ilagan and Reyes accused Arroyo of taking advantage of her post in allowing the use of P38.807 billion of Malampaya funds for purposes other than the avowed intention of Presidential Decree 910 and as highlighted by a 2017 special audit on the fund by the Commission on Audit. PD 910, signed in 1976, mandates that the profits from Malampaya remitted to the government should be used to finance energy resource development and exploration activities. However, it also stipulates that Malampaya earnings can also be used for "other purposes as directed by the President," which the complainants argued was abused by Arroyo. "Respondent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whimsically took the opportunity of the said law's inadequacy and deliberately twisted the interpretation of the said provision to mean that she, as President, had the discretion to use the Malampaya Fund for whatever purpose she deemed fit," the complainants said. Ilagan and Reyes heavily emphasized Arroyo's command to direct the Malampaya funds to agricultural and irrigation programs, disaster rehabilitation, transport projects, national security activities, and cash assistance to the transport sector under the Pantawid Pasada Program, which they claimed was entirely unrelated to energy development. "In short, the Malampaya fund became a discretionary fund of the Office of the President, and disbursements therefrom became subject of whims and caprice of the respondent without regard to the purpose and policy of Presidential Decree No. 910," the complainants said of Arroyo. In the meantime, Topacio expressed their intention to defer it to the justice system and thereafter present a counterargument against the charges in due time. Arroyo and three of her Cabinet secretaries were previously sued for plunder by the National Bureau of Investigation before the Ombudsman for purportedly stealing a P900-million Malampaya fund intended for the impoverished back-to-back typhoon victims in 2009. She was cleared of the charges in 2016 following then-Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales' verdict that the NBI "failed to prove" that they colluded in the illegal diversion of Malampaya fund. The post Topacio: ‘President Arroyo has done no wrongdoing during her term’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Graft, malversation raps filed vs GMA over Malampaya Fund
Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is facing graft and malversation charges before the Office of the Ombudsman, for allegedly abusing her discretion by realigning the Malampaya Fund to bankroll government projects outside the funds’ intended use......»»
BARGE RAMOS: Exponent of modern Barong Tagalog
Barge Ramos was an Atenean who wanted to pursue a career in mass communication, for which he had ample academic preparation. An initial foray into media was an engagement at ABS-CBN with its studio located on Roxas Boulevard, a few strides away from the Ramos home in the old, genteel part of Pasay. Fate, however, took him to a different path. As a college student, he encouraged his female gangmates to have their dresses made in the shop of the then young and mod designer Christian Espiritu. “We would patronize him because we admired his approach to fashion. We would save our allowance to be able to go to him and order our outfits.” From patron-client relationship, Christian and Barge would become friends, and the designer who was very busy designing the ternos and gowns of then First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, asked Barge if he was interested in joining his atelier as an apprentice. Barge accepted the offer and never looked back. A few weeks ago, Barge and I had dinner at Malate’s famed original Spanish restaurant, Casa Armas, where he gamely acquiesced to my unscheduled “interview” as I had realized that the Linggo ng Kasuotang Pilipino was forthcoming. This week then, as we celebrate Philippine costume, I am sharing with you my conversation with the gentleman couturier who dedicated his professional designing life to the preservation and continuous elevation of the Barong Tagalog as our national gentleman’s attire. Our conversation follows: DAILY TRIBUNE (DT): Coming from your apprenticeship with Christian Espiritu, tell me about how you got started on your own. BARGE RAMOS (BR): It was actually my friends who prodded me to open my first shop on Leon Guinto St. in Malate, several blocks away from Christian Espiritu’s atelier. Friends supported me as they were my first clients, plus a wedding job all at once. Being young and hopeful, I tried doing a few ready-to-wear lines for SM Makati and Cinderella, while maintaining a made-to-order client base. [caption id="attachment_190034" align="aligncenter" width="719"] BARGE Ramos[/caption] DT: What were your early projects involving indigenous Filipino costume? BR: In 1981, my fellow designers and I formed the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines (FDAP), and for the two gala shows that year, we focused on Philippine-inspired fashion. I designed Barong-inspired tunics for women, photo silkscreened with t’nalak patterns and real t’nalak hip belts tied with gold like obi belts. Our honorary chairperson Imee Marcos bought a few of my pieces. Chairman of the board Ernest Santiago called me the next day, saying, “Barge, you’ve arrived.” DT: It’s interesting that you forged a creative path different from the other young designers. BR: That’s how I chose the path in my career, by finding new and newer ways of re-inventing the Barong Tagalog. As Joey Espino would tell in later years, “That’s your DNA.” I even did some cotton Barong Tunics for women, with matching loose cotton pants, an all-white collection, followed by a pastel-colored collection for SM Makati. DT: But you did not only focus on your designing. You also led some industry projects. You have done many things that other designers have not tried or even attempted to try. BR: The ‘80s and the ‘90s were my very active years in fashion. I became the third president of the FDAP and created “Bodyshots Modeling Competition,” originally an all-male competition in two levels, amateur and professional divisions. It was a big hit and it continued for several years with the FDAP at the helm. In 2008 I wrote a coffee table book, Pinoy Dressing Weaving Culture into Fashion, which was a condensed version of the fashion column I wrote for a Malaya newspaper, Pinoy Dressing, which ran for about three to four years. Anvil, the sister company of National Bookstore, published the book, which won a “Gintong Aklat” Award for the publisher. DT: How does one recognize a barong Tagalog by Barge Ramos? BR: I don’t have a signature Barge Ramos barong design, as my aesthetics have evolved through the years. A few years ago, Christian Espiritu told me, “You’re a good designer but you’re a late bloomer.” I really didn’t understand what he meant since Christian was always opinionated on everything. Perhaps he liked my later designs, comparing me to this and that designer. DT: Does designing run in your family? BR: There were two other designers among the Ramoses. One was Danilo Franco, whose father was a first cousin of my Dad. The second one was the late Boying Eustaquio, whose mother was my father’s sibling. DT: What has been your forte? What do you love creating? BR: We’ve made ternos and Barong tunics for women. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I did a line of ready-to-wear cotton Barong tunics and pants for SM Boutique Square in the ‘80s. DT: Any celebrity and VIP clients you are proud of? BR: We did several shirt jacks for the late President Ferdinand Marcos during the ‘80s. Imee Marcos, then an assemblywoman, bought a few of our barong tunics and skirts. We’ve done several barongs for Manny Pangilinan and former President Joseph Estrada, and then, when she was vice president, Gloria Arroyo. But most of our clients are very private persons, many of them businessmen, balikbayans and doctors. DT: How would you describe the evolution of the Filipiniana attire? BR: Filipiniana has always been there, but people mostly associated it with the rich and powerful in society. Nowadays, Filipiniana has seeped down to all levels of society and younger people are getting the hang of it and have interpreted it to fit their sub-culture. I’ve also observed that Filipinos living abroad appreciate it more, probably to assert their identity more in the face of other nationalities. DT: Finally, what can you say about the bolder, more imaginative interpretations of Filipiniana? BR: Fashion always has its quirks and oddities. Designers tend to push the limits and boundaries of Filipiniana in the attempt of creating contemporary looks and trends. One doesn’t have to “like” them but simply look at them and appreciate the designer’s creativity that went into them. Style is a matter of taste. But good taste can sometimes be difficult to ingrain in young minds. The post BARGE RAMOS: Exponent of modern Barong Tagalog appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Maritime zones long defined under law — JPE
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce said the Senate should not bother enacting the maritime zones measure since the country’s territory has long been defined under the Baselines Law. Enrile was reacting to reports that the Senate is consolidating eight proposed measures seeking to define the maritime zones of the Philippines that the legislators said should strengthen the country’s claim in the West Philippine Sea, but which would merely duplicate a 2009 law. Senator Francis Tolentino, the Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones chairperson, had said that a new Philippine map, with its specified maritime zones, would be included in the proposed mandate. “We will be sending a copy of the measure to the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) Secretariat (and) the United Nations for their recognition as well. But again, the other countries supporting us would also support our claim based on our new Maritime Zone Law,” he said. The Baselines Law is already in the hands of international bodies. The proposed measure, Tolentino said, would also specify the sea lanes, air routes, and natural resources within the country’s exclusive economic zone. “Once crafted into law, this will be part of our argument that China should abide by UNCLOS because the progeny of UNCLOS is the Maritime Zone Law. So this will fortify our claim,” he said. The process, however, is redundant since “we already have the Baselines Law,” Enrile indicated on his weekly program Bayan ni Juan. “We applied the principle of archipelagic waters consisting of Amianan island in the north and Sibutu in the east, and you have a 12-mile limit from the baseline that is considered part of Philippine waters where Filipinos can fish,” he explained. So they don’t have to craft another law since the law already exists; it was enacted during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, according to Enrile. He added that the nine-dash line of China did not cover those areas under the law since China respected it. Among the islands in the Baselines Law within the country’s territory are the Kalayaaan group of islands and Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal. The Baselines Law, or Republic Act 9522, enacted in 2009, was cited as the basis for seeking the intervention of the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague, which subsequently issued the ruling in July 2016 that favored the Philippines. Enrile, one of the law’s authors, said it intended to encourage further dialogue with China while asserting the country’s stake. A peaceful negotiation would be the only way for the Philippines to settle the West Philippine Sea issue with China under the landmark measure, particularly its claims over the Kalayaan island group and Scarborough Shoal. Enrile said the regime of islands the Baselines Law sought to protect was demarcated based on the provisions of UNCLOS. China protested the law’s enactment, but Enrile said a dialogue might iron out the kinks between both nations. “The only capability we have is through negotiations; we must use patience in negotiating with China,” he said. Status quo once existed The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China, in a white paper it issued shortly after the arbitral ruling titled “China Adheres to the Position of Settling Through Negotiation the Relevant Disputes Between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea,” stated that a near stable situation existed in the disputed territory. The post Maritime zones long defined under law — JPE appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»