Help restore people’s faith in justice system, aspiring lawyers told
Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III challenged the new batch of aspiring lawyers to help restore the public’s trust in the country’s justice system and rule of law. This as Pimentel, a former bar topnotcher, received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of the Philippines. In 2012, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) also conferred honoris causa on the senator. “Together, we must restore the faith of our people in our justice system and the rule of law,” Pimentel said during the commencement exercises of his alma mater on Monday. Because of this, the law is no longer seen as a majestic tool for justice, but as a deplorable tool for the powerful to abuse the powerless,” he said.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 27, 2017 01:41 UTC
Brazil prosecutor charges president with corruption
BRASÍLIA: Brazil’s top prosecutor charged President Michel Temer with bribery on Monday, but the embattled conservative leader vowed to fight on. The bribery charge filed by Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot swept Temer into the forefront of a giant graft scandal that has engulfed Latin America’s biggest country over the last three years. Although several past Brazilian presidents and scores of other politicians are currently being probed for corruption, Temer is the first leader in the country’s history to face criminal charges while still in office. For Temer to go on trial, the lower house of Congress must first approve Janot’s charge by a two-thirds majority. However, Temer’s aides say they are confident he has sufficient support in Congress to get the charges thrown out.
Source:Manila Times
June 27, 2017 01:07 UTC
European stocks rebound on Italian banking rescue deal
NEW YORK: European stock markets fizzed higher Monday as investors toasted news of a 17-billion-euro ($19 billion) rescue deal in Italy’s long-troubled bank sector. Equity markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all rose, while US stocks were mixed, with investors shifting funds from highly valued technology shares to disfavored sectors, including retailers. That significantly reduces the risk of an investment in a bank going sour,” said Jasper Lawler, Senior Market Analyst at LCG. “Let’s hope the Italian government has deep pockets given that this particular bailout is a fraction of the non-performing loans in the Italian banking system, of which it is estimated there are about EUR300 billion,” said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets. Media and banking shares also were strong, while high-flying technology shares were pressured.
Source:Manila Times
June 27, 2017 00:22 UTC
US Navy to hold Japan service for sailors killed in crash
TOKYO: The US Navy will hold a memorial service Tuesday for seven sailors killed in a collision with a cargo ship off the coast of Japan this month. Japanese investigators have interviewed the Filipino crew of the 222-metre (730-foot) cargo ship, while the US authorities are also probing the crash. There have been around 30 ship collisions over the past decade in the area, including a 2013 incident in which six Japanese crew died, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The Japan Coast Guard initially said the crash happened at 2:20 am Saturday (1720 GMT Friday) based on when it was reported by the Crystal’s crew. Authorities are also investigating why the cargo ship made a sudden turn at about 1:30 am, and a sharp turn after it reported the accident around 2:20 am.
Source:Manila Times
June 27, 2017 00:22 UTC
Trump slams Obama, demands ‘apology’ over Russia probe
“The real story is that President Obama did NOTHING after being informed in August about Russian meddling,” Trump fumed, accusing Obama of holding back because “he expected Clinton would win, and did not want to ‘rock the boat. “With 4 months looking at Russia under a magnifying glass, they have zero ‘tapes’ of T [Trump] people colluding. After Trump’s shock victory in November, some Obama administration officials expressed regret at the lack of tougher action. “Wow, did we mishandle this,” a former administration official told the newspaper. “This situation was taken extremely seriously, as is evident by president Obama raising this issue directly with president Putin,” the official said.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 27, 2017 00:00 UTC
Colombia FARC rebels complete disarmament
BOGOTA: Colombia’s leftist FARC rebel force formally completed its disarmament process on Monday to end half a century of war against the state, the United Nations said. The disarmament by the roughly 7,000 members of Colombia’s biggest rebel group under a 2016 peace accord brings Latin America’s oldest civil conflict close to a complete end. FARC leader Rodrigo Londono is scheduled to formally conclude the disarmament process at a ceremony with President Juan Manuel Santos in the central town of Mesetas at 1500 GMT on Tuesday. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will transform into a political party. Critics said it was too lenient on FARC members, some of whom will get amnesties or reduced sentences for crimes in the conflict.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 22:30 UTC
Merkel softens her opposition to gay marriage
BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday softened for the first time her opposition to gay marriage, as her conservative party comes under growing pressure on the issue ahead of elections in September. Merkel, who had repeatedly voiced her opposition to gay marriage, said that lawmakers could vote according to their conscience, and not toe the party line. Germany introduced civil unions for gay and lesbian couples in 2001, but they do not have the right to marry. “I would like to orient the discussion in a direction which raises the question of a decision according to conscience rather than imposing anything,” she told Brigitte, a women’s magazine. The CDU and the CSU are due on Monday to present their common program ahead of the September 24 legislative election.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 22:07 UTC
Trump claims victory as court partially reinstates travel ban
WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Monday partially reinstated Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban targeting citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries, prompting the president to claim a victory for national security. Trump had suffered a series of judicial defeats over the ban, with two federal appeals courts maintaining injunctions on it by arguing that his executive order discriminated against travelers based on their nationality. The judges “essentially adopted a middle course” between the government’s request to uphold Trump’s order and the ACLU’s appeals to stay the ban, he told AFP. The original measure, issued by executive order in January and almost immediately blocked by the courts, also included Iraq and an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Earlier this month, Trump said in a presidential memorandum that the travel ban could be expected to go into effect within 72 hours of relevant court rulings.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 21:22 UTC
Greenland now a major driver of rising seas — study
That estimate, he added, assumes that the rate at which ocean levels rise will remain constant. The new study, published in Nature Climate Change, reconciles for the first time two distinct measurements of sea level rise. Overall, the pace of global average sea level rise went up from about 2.2 millimeters a year in 1993, to 3.3 millimeters a year two decades later. Disentangling single sources — such as the massive chunk of ice atop Greenland — is even harder. “This is a major warning about the dangers of a sea level rise that will continue for many centuries, even after global warming is stopped,” said Brian Hoskins, chair of the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 26, 2017 18:33 UTC
Arrest of Quezon farmers suspended
LUCENA CITY — The enforcement of the warrants of arrest for 37 land reform beneficiaries in Quezon province had been suspended starting on Thursday. Maribel Luzara, head of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bondoc Peninsula (KMBP), personally received a copy of the court order after it was signed by Baddiri. She sent a scanned copy of the court order to the Inquirer. ADVERTISEMENT“The court order is the answer to our prayers,” she told the Inquirer in a phone interview after receiving the copy. Rhoderick Armamento, Quezon police provincial director, said he had ordered Buenaventura to forego the serving of the warrants of arrest against the farmers.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
June 26, 2017 18:11 UTC
BSP set to tighten bank reporting rules, sanctions
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it will soon release a circular intended to enhance banks’ reporting governance framework, which will impose stiffer sanctions on lenders who fail to submit timely and complete banking data necessary for policy making. Incoming central bank Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. cited the importance of banking industry data as the foundation of policy making by monetary authorities. To address this, Espenilla said the new circular on reporting governance will lay down the framework for improved preparation and submission of supervision reports to the Bangko Sentral. The circular will make it very clear who is responsible for data reporting, to make sure that the data submitted to the central bank is accurate and in accordance with the requirements of the BSP, he explained. [for instance]If you continuously fail to meet the reporting timelines… that creates more sanctions,” he said.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 16:52 UTC
Bank of Commerce eyes unibank status this yr
THE Bank of Commerce is looking at obtaining a universal bank license as part of a strategy to expand services and fortify its presence in the domestic market. “It is imperative that we get bigger, stronger and better in the face of Asean integration and the rigid competition that we expect from it. A unibank status will afford us the flexibility we need to expand our services and grow our presence here to achieve scale,” he said. Bank of Commerce is the 17th largest lender in the Philippines in terms of assets, which stood at P136.84 billion as of end-2016. In terms of capital, the bank ranks 15th with P15.36 billion.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 16:41 UTC
Ayala Land ramps up Vertis North development
CONGLOMERATE Ayala Corp.’s property unit Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) is accelerating the development of Ayala Vertis North in Quezon City amid robust demand for its residential offerings. We received a great response from Quezon City” buyers, Vertis North head Jay Teodoro told reporters recently. “We had to accelerate the development because of the brisk sales of our residential developments,” he added. Ayala Vertis North is a P65-billion project of the Ayala group in partnership with the National Housing Authority (NHA) and is envisioned to be a central business district in QC. Currently, the towers operated by Vita at Vertis North are already 97 percent sold.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 16:30 UTC
Gordon to UPLB grads: Aim for the skies
The purchase was realized with funding from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the British, German and Japanese Red Cross. The ship, with a 35-ton overall freight capacity, can carry seven crew members, 127 passengers or victims, relief goods and 20 vehicles. If you aim for the skies, you will at least hit the treetop. Think of the word ‘impossible’ as ‘I’m possible.’”Dick, a UP Law 1975 graduate, urged the UPLB graduates “to make a difference. This year, the initiative is notches higher, ie., inviting college students enrolled in any public or private university or college to join a Corrupt-Free Philippines Video contest.
Source:Philippine Star
June 26, 2017 16:30 UTC
The necessity of a villain
It is the pleasure one experiences in knowing about the misfortune of others. Rather, it stems from the assumption that the other person deserves his misfortune, that justice is being served. By the time of his arrest in 2008, Madoff reportedly had run his Ponzi scheme for decades. According to him, Madoff “profited from the way financial systems work, which is a point most people don’t really grasp. Hundreds and thousands of investors were not even aware that their money had been invested by these firms with Madoff.
Source:Manila Times
June 26, 2017 16:30 UTC