Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Malaya lauded the new service, saying it was another milestone in the Malaysian-Philippine
business partnership.
Sep.26-Most Americans over 50 are pleased with the Pope, says survey
WASHINGTON, D.C. A huge majority of Americans over 50 years old are pleased with Pope
Francis, according to a survey by AARP. A majority also said he should let women become priests.
AARP released online survey results of people 50-plus and their opinions on some of the most
topical issues of the day.
With Pope Francis on a six-day visit to the U.S. with stops in Washington, New York and
Philadelphia, AARP asked Americans 50-plus about the head of the Roman Catholic Churchs
leadership.
AARP asked in the poll, do you think Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church in the right
direction?
Of those surveyed:
76 percent of people 50-plus said yes. *
Of those who answered the question, 35 percent of respondents indicated they were Catholic or
had at one point considered themselves Catholic.
Additionally, AARP asked do you think the Pope should consider letting women become priests.
Of those surveyed:
66 percent of people 50-plus said yes. ^
For this poll question, 37 percent indicated they were Catholic or had at one point considered
themselves Catholic. And, they were open to women priests at an even higher rate.
Of those surveyed who identified with being Catholic now or at one point in time, 70 percent said
the Pope should consider women priests.
Is heaven for real?
AARP also asked those 50 and older whether they believe in heaven and hell.
Of those surveyed:
72 percent of people 50-plus said yes, they do believe in heaven and hell. *
The survey is part of an ongoing new polling series to disrupt aging and highlight how Americans
50 and older feel about issues that affect their health, finances, and everyday lives.
* Survey date September 14-18, 2015; Margin of error is +/- 4 percent
AARP will continue to share the opinions of Americans 50 and older on the issues of the day
through the end of the year. Follow @AARPMedia on Twitter.
is an exercise in sovereignty, as, he said, each home, each citizen, each birth or marriage on
Pag-Asa helps my country stake its claim on the land.
CBS News reported that Pag-Asa is just 13 miles from one of the islands the Chinese have been
expanding. A third Chinese man-made airstrip was recently spotted near Pag-Asa.
Before, tension was not so heightened, Bito-Onon told the CBS reporter, but just lately in the
past three years it has become more heightened.
He said the Chinese have escalated their bullying and harassment of the islanders,
describing the constant appearance of Chinese warships passing not far from their shores.
In his talk at the forum at the Philippine Consulate, Mayor Bito-onon will describe Chinas
destruction of the coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea.
All Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention winners can print their certificate online. All
winners will have a chance to be selected by a curator to be part of the Best of Show exhibition
later this year.
This is the biggest surprise of my life. I am in shock! Never I dreamed to represent the
Philippines in New York to vie for the biggest international photography awards in the world,
said Paul Resurreccion, grand winner of IPA-Philippines. Resurreccion is a lawyer by profession
and a member of the Camera Club of the Philippines.
The International Photography Awards conducts an annual competition for professional, nonprofessional and student photographers on a global scale, creating one of the most ambitious
and comprehensive competitions in the photography world today. The mission is to salute the
achievements of the worlds finest photographers, to discover new and emerging talent and to
promote the appreciation of photography.
Thats too costly! Isnt Manilas traffic jam costing P2.4 billion or $57 million daily now?
Construction will make commuting a hassle. More road construction now is already
compounding the traffic problem, with Manila residents losing 100 hours of their lives to traffic
every year. Imagine what else you could do with those extra hours?
But sea levels are rising. If theres anything that could put a damper on a subway plan in
Manila, its the number one global risk in the world as reported by the World Economic Forum:
water.
The Netherlands has been working with water for thousands of years and it knows nature is
flexible, no matter what humans do. Amsterdam, its capital, has a subway.
Coping with storms demands a resilient approach. Moving from response to preparedness is
what is needed. It takes hard work and demands a real cultural change. Weve constantly had to
reinvent, said Henk Ovink, the Dutch climate-change expert and special envoy for international
water affairs.
Ovink and the Netherlands have assisted the Philippines since typhoon Haiyan. We have a good
relationship with the Philippine government. New York is also consulting with the Dutch expert
after superstorm Sandy, which should give the Philippines something to work on with the
Dutchman.
Another Dutchman Gert-Jan Ransijn, a systems engineering specialist in complex infrastructure,
agrees that the key is to work with water, not against it.
The Philippines and The Netherlands are both low-lying countries. However, the Netherlands has
been using a more preventive approach to living with water around them for decades.
The Dutch are regarded as the experts in water management, having also built dikes, drainage
facilities and storm surge barriers, but Ransijn said The Netherlands philosophy has shifted.
From building barriers, it now creates room for excess water. Its officially called Room for River.
New technologies (are in place) for modeling the behavior of water streams, and help make
investments more effective, Ransijn said.
Manila may also want to look at neighboring city, Bangkok. Its also a low-lying plain prone to
flooding. But it found a solution: the Metro strain entrances are about one meter above ground
level and are equipped with built-in floodgates in order to avoid water inundating the system.
Also, Thailand has about 20 kilometers of underground rail system in place and plans to have
37.5 km-long stations, mostly underground, soon.
Acosta explained at length the work of his cluster in the cabinet. The environmental protection
cluster, he said, is in its infancy. The other cabinet clusters are on defense and security, law
and justice, poverty reduction and social welfare, human development and education, economy
and finance.
Acosta is expected to navigate various agencies of government to conduct a policy review for the
president, especially on the laws that he had a hand in authoring like clean water, clean air, solid
waste management, biodiversity, protected areas, well aware that the Philippines is a debtor
country that takes far more natural resources than it can replenish for the ecosystem
Directed by Roderick Cabrido, the film is in contention for the Yilmaz Guney Award for Best
International Feature-Length Film and for the New Talent Award for the Best First or Second
International Feature Length Film.
The film previously won the Special Jury Prize, Grand Jury Award for Best Screenplay and
Fantastic Cinema Emerging Filmmaker Award for Cabrido at the Fantastic Cinema Festival of the
Film Society of Little Rock in Arkansas and the Special Jury Prize in the Orient Express Section at
the 35th Oporto International Film Festival in Portugal.
We hope that Childrens Show would open the door for the participation of more Filipino films
in Duhok and in the other film festivals in Iraq in the future, said Embassy Charg dAffaires
Elmer G. Cato.
Cato joined producer Joseph Israel Laban during the opening ceremonies attended by Kurdistan
Autonomous Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and other officials on September 9. He also
attended the first screening with members of the Filipino Community in Duhok at the Mazi Mall
Plus on 10 September
Sep.16-Is the Philippines really the most corrupt nation in Asia?
One of the most shared articles on Facebook, passed on to me by dozens of FB friends, was a
news item that first appeared on PhilippinesLifestyle.com on August 15, 2015 entitled New
York Times Says Philippines Most Corrupt Out of Any Asian Nation, Survey Says as
authored by Timothy Walker, the websites owner.
When I checked out the website, I noted that its masthead beckons tourists to visit the county
because Its more fun in the Philippines.
Only in the Philippines can the promise of corruption be considered a tourist attraction.
According to Walkers article, Under the shadow of a new survey, the New York Times considers
the Philippines as the most corrupt country in the Asian region. The survey released on Tuesday
said that Singapore ranked as one of the least corrupt of the 13 Asian economies surveyed the
second least corrupt was Hong Kong and the third was Japan.
The survey said The Philippines has the distinction of being perceived in the worst light this
year. People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity of leading officials when they
promise to fight corruption.
The website article featured two comments. One reader (Jun) asked why this was news. If the
survey had shown that the Philippines ranked first in transparency or least corrupt Asian
nation, he wrote, then that would have been a big deal. Timothy Walker responded to
Jun: LOL. I dont make the news, buddy, your country seems to produce enough of that for the
world to see.
But, despite his disclaimer, the problem is that the author did literally make the news. Walker
plagiarized an article which originally appeared in the New York Times on March 13, 2007 by
Carlos Conde entitled Philippines most corrupt, survey says and simply refurbished it.
In his March 2007 article, Conde wrote: The survey, conducted in January and February, queried
1,476 expatriate executives in 13 countries and territories in Asia. The Philippines scored 9.40
where a score of zero is the least corrupt and 10 is the most corrupt. In the 2006 survey, in
which Indonesia was regarded as the most corrupt, the Philippines scored 7.80. Indonesia
improved its score to 8.03 this year, a development that the report credits to a government anticorruption campaign. The report noted, however, that for the Philippines, Indonesia and
Thailand, where corruption is systemic, it is really splitting hairs to say which one has a worse
problem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/13/business/worldbusiness/13iht-peso.4891792.html?_r=0
In Walkers 2015 article, he wrote: In all, the survey was conducted in over a two month
period at the beginning of 2015 and questioned 1,476 expat executives in the 13 countries
and territories throughout Asia. The Philippines scored 9.40 out of 10 on corruption, giving it the
number one spot. In 2006, the same survey gave the most corrupt nation to Indonesia in that
same year, the Philippines scored a 7.80 Indonesia was still high in corruption in 2015 with an
overall score of 8.03. The survey however said that the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia were
systematic in corruption saying in fact they were all just about as bad as one another.
http://philippineslifestyle.com/blog/2015/08/15/new-york-times-says-philippines-most-corruptout-of-any-asian-nation-survey-says/http://philippineslifestyle.com/blog/2015/08/15/new-yorktimes-says-philippines-most-corrupt-out-of-any-asian-nation-survey-says/
What Walker did was to slightly tweak Condes article and make it appear that the corruption
survey was only conducted this year and that the New York Times article about the survey was
only published in August of 2015 and not in 2007. Apparently, no one called out Walker or his
publication for his plagiarism and false claims.
So Walkers lie spread like a virus not only in the Internet but also in the print media.
A Philippine Star columnist, Bobit Avila, used Walkers false news article, ironically without
attributing it to him, and reported in his Shooting Straight column on August 20, 2015 (Under
Noy, Philippines most corrupt in Asia):last Aug. 11th, the New York Times featured a highly
embarrassing article that put the Philippines on top of Asias most corrupt economies. This is a
testimony of the total failure of Pres. Benigno Aquino IIIs so-called Daang Matuwid. Since the
New York Times is not part and parcel of the Yellow propaganda machinery of the Aquinos, the
whole world now knows how corrupt we Filipinos have become under the Aquino Regime.
Avila went on to write: While we submit that corruption was already endemic during the past
administrations, however the Philippines was not on top of this embarrassing list. It was
Indonesia that was numero uno. But now under the leadership of PNoy, were numero uno as the
most corrupt economy in Asia. Shame on us!
Avila added: Allow me to get an excerpt from that New York Times article which said, The
survey said The Philippines has the distinction of being perceived in the worst light this year.
People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity of leading officials when they
promise to fight corruption. In all, the survey was conducted in over a two-month period at the
beginning of 2015 and questioned 1,476 expat executives in the 13 countries and territories
throughout Asia. The Philippines scored 9.40 out of 10 on corruption, giving it the number one
spot.
No one seems to have bothered to inform Mr. Avila of his error. Not that it would have mattered
but he should have checked the New York Times to determine if there was such an article that
appeared in its August 11, 2015 issue about its corruption survey.
Apparently, Mr. Avila just deduced the date from the fact that Mr. Walkers piece came out on
August 15 and in it, he referred to the New York Times article as having just appeared on the
most recent Tuesday so he subtracted the days and came out with August 11. Presto. Why
bother checking the facts?
I checked out Bobit Avilas Philippine Star column of September 15 th and it ironically starts with
this line: Nazi chief propagandist Josef Goebbels once quipped, A lie told a thousand times
assumes the substance of truth.
Mr. Goebbels, meet your disciples, Mr. Walker and Mr. Avila.
Now, has there been a change in the level of corruption in the Philippines since the New York
Times survey appeared in March of 2007?
According to Ralph Jennings of Forbes.com in his March 2, 2015 article Why Graft is Declining in
the Notoriously Corrupt Philippines, the answer is yes, quoting Rahul Bajoria, a regional
economist with Barclays in Singapore, who reports that systems and processes have become
more transparent, and its largely reflected in government projects.
Its tempting to elevate President Benigno Aquino III, since he took office in 2010 on a platform
to cut corruption in a country fatigued by it. Corruption has decreased dramatically because of
Aquinos tighter rules on transparency and government transactions, says Benedict Uy, a
Philippine trade representative based now in Taipei. The decline in dirty deals began after he took
office, analysts in Manila say, Jennings wrote.
But Jennings does not attribute this decline to Pres. Aquino. Not to discredit Aquino, but more
credit goes to social media, Jennings asserts, the democratic country is rich in competing
interests and free speech. Now with the surge in smartphone cameras and mobile devices, an
opponent who sees someone in office take money or drive a bling-y new car can send a tweet or
post the dirt to Facebook.
Right now everyone in government and outside government is monitoring each other, Manilabased Banco de Oro UniBank chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas says. Social media are
there to ring the bells, so people try to be very careful in how they do things. Graft remains, he
says, but it has gone down significantly.
I dont know. In the last month, I have been ringing the bell, reporting about the corruption I
uncovered in the rental of an overpriced $1.8 million evacuation ship from Libya to Malta last
year but there has still been no action by the Department of Foreign Affairs on this matter other
than to write a feeble response.
Leading the group is Philippine Navy Captain Roy Vincent Trinidad, recipient of the 2015 Aquino
Fellowship Award for Public Service. Currently serving as Chief of Staff of Naval Forces Western
Mindanao in Zamboanga City, Capt.Trinidad is widely recognized for his effective leadership as
commander in charge of coordinating the civil-military relief operations in Tacloban Airport
following the November 2013 onslaught of Typhoon Haiyan.
Also part of the group is Pasay City Administrator Dennis Bernard Acorda. Atty. Acorda earned
praises for the timely establishment of a Tent City in Manila for refugees from Samar and Leyte
displaced by Typhoon Haiyan. The operation involved the effective mobilization of both public
and private resources to meet the needs of more than 500 displaced persons.
The other IVLP participants are Pasig City DRM Officer Ritche Van Angeles, Atty. Lila Czarina
Aquitania of the Office of the Congressional Representative of the First District of Leyte,
Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Hernandez of the Philippine Marines, Major Teresita Gangan of the
Philippine Army, Chief of Police Jhoanna Rosales of the Philippine National Police, Civil Defense
Officer Lenie Alegre of the Office of Civil Defense and Val Roque of the Department of Foreign
Affairs.
The officials are attending the inaugural IVLP disaster risk management program, which is
framed by the challenges of climate change. I am confident that our two countries have much
to share with each other, with the end view towards safeguarding lives in the event of natural
calamities, Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said in a meeting with the group on September 3.
Now on its 75th year, the IVLP is a U.S. State Department program launched in 1940 to promote
mutual understanding between the United States and other countries. Filipino participants to the
IVLP are selected by the United States Embassy officials in Manila and can come from
government and non-government sectors. IVLP alumni include many senior leaders who have
served or are serving the Philippines in various capacities.
Sep.8-PH Red Cross to buy Alaska boroughs idled ferry for $1.75M
ANCHORAGE, Alaska There may finally be a buyer for a multimillion dollar ferry thats never
seen service.
The Alaska Journal of Commerce reports Matanuska-Susitna borough officials approved the $1.75
million sale of the ferry Susitna to the Philippine Red Cross.
The $78 million ferry was a prototype catamaran-style landing craft built for the U.S. Navy, and it
was donated to the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
But it has sat docked hundreds of miles away in Ketchikan for years because it has no place to
dock in Anchorage. The 195-foot ferry was intended to make roundtrip jaunts across Knik Arm.
Borough Manager John Moosey says they are paying about $30,000 per month in maintenance,
moorage and insurance.
Federal authorities will have to approve the sale because the buyer is foreign entity.
Sep.4-New USAID mission chief vows to keep development thrust in PH
WASHINGTON, DC The new mission director of the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) for the Philippines, Pacific Islands and Mongolia will maintain the strong
development partnership between the Philippine government and USAID.
In a meeting at the Philippine Embassy September 1, and Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. thanked
Dr. Susan K. Brems for the technical and financial support that the United States provides to the
Philippines through USAID.
He also briefed Brems on the recent economic developments, including the good governance
efforts under the Aquino administration, particularly with respect to transparency and public
accountability.
Brems, a career member of the Senior U.S. Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor,
brings to Manila 23 years of experience as a development diplomat for USAID.
She previously served as Mission Director in Zambia (2011-2015), Deputy Assistant Administrator
in the Bureau for Global Health (2009-2011), and Mission Director for Angola (2007-2009).
It was a great opportunity to discuss with Dr. Brems our governments commitment to
improving the lives of average Filipinos, as well as the social development objectives under the
Presidents leadership. We also exchanged views on the conditional cash transfer program of the
government, Cuisia said.
He also encouraged USAIDs continued support in the following areas: judicial reforms, rule of
law, innovation and technology, economic development, educational cooperation and public
health.
Brems pledged to continue the strong program and cooperation activities of USAID in the
Philippines.