The Court of Tax Appeals has ordered the arrest of former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot, a retired general, and wife Erlinda in connection with the tax evasion case filed against them by the Department of Justice.

Most designers would jump at the chance to gift celebrities with their creations.

But Lara Bohinc, who counts Samantha Cameron and Michelle Obama as fans, believes stars should pay for the goods they receive – and even almost refused to give Kate Moss one of her belts.

The Slovenian-born Royal College of Art graduate revealed that when asked for the piece for Kate, she had to ensure she would actually wear it.

‘I think celebrities should buy their own jewellery’: Lara Bohinc doesn’t think Kate Moss deserved one of her belts..

Bohinc, who has a store on Sloane Street in London, told The Telegraph: ‘Kate Moss asked for a belt once, so I gave it to her, but I had to say, “Are you sure she’ll be wearing it?” I didn’t want to see it on her Filipina maid.

‘I think celebrities should buy their own jewellery.

‘I don’t send stuff to anyone.’

Lara Bohinc makes chunky, gold art-deco inspired pieces..

The designer has made a name for herself selling chuncky, art-deco inspired pieces that have celebrities flocking to her store.

Her popularity rose after Samantha Cameron gave Michelle Obama one of her cuffs as a present at the G20 Summit in 2009.

Samantha Cameron, pictured in February, wearing a Lara Bohinc necklace..

But Bohinc claims she had no idea the Prime Minister’s wife had made the purchase.

Lara said: ‘It was an amazing surprise.

‘Samantha Cameron’s people came into the shop to buy it, but they didn’t say who they were, so I had no idea.’

President Aquino has thanked Allan Pineda Lindo Jr., also known as apl.de.ap of the award-winning group Black Eyed Peas, for his noble efforts to build classrooms and empower the Filipino youth.

The President met apl.de.ap at the residence of Rafael Lopa, president of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation (NCAF), last Monday night to express his gratitude.

Apl.de.ap, the Filipino-American rapper currently visiting Manila, has launched the “We Can Be Anything” education campaign together with NCAF and Ayala Foundation. The advocacy seeks to build 10,000 classrooms in the country in a bid to reduce the shortage of schools in the country.

“The President dropped by yesterday to personally extend his gratitude to Allan Pineda, Apl.de.ap for his APL Foundation which is in partnership with the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation for the construction of classrooms in the country,” Presidential Spokesman Edwin

“It was held in the residence of Rapa Lopa, the president of the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation. He hosted dinner for Allan Pineda. The President just dropped by to extend his gratitude,” Lacierda said.

“The Guide to Sleeping in Airports website named Singapore’s Changi Airport, Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport and South Korea’s Incheon as the world’s top airports…
Naia earns P8.5 billion in cash from terminal fees every year, not including the revenues from concessionaires, the airlines and parking fees. The big question, he said, is where does all this money go, and why isn’t it being used for the betterment of the airport.”

By: Ernesto Herrera

As aviation reviews go, I am more concerned about the International Civil Aviation Organization’s negative assessment of the Philippine aviation industry, which had led to our downgrading by the United States Federal Aviation Administration in 2008 and blacklisting by the European Aviation Safety Agency in 2010, than I am about the Ninoy Aquino International Airport being tagged as the worst in the world by the website The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, which also ranked Naia 5th worst in the world last year.

Not that the website review does not matter. The consistent ranking of Naia among the world’s worst, and this year’s topnotcher, was based on reviews of travelers who complained, among other things, of “safety concerns, lack of comfortable seating, rude staff, hostile security, poor facilities, no (or few) services to pass the time, bribery, being kicked out and general hassles of being in the airport.”

These problems need to be addressed for sure, number one among them, the extortion which has plagued Naia for the longest time, and which can be found in many forms, from the luggage trolleys that passengers have to pay for even if they are supposedly free, to the policemen and other personnel who solicit money from passengers.

But these are managerial and operational problems that can be solved with available resources, efficient management and political will.

Robert Lim Joseph, chairman of the Tourism Educators and Movers of the Philippines, told Karen Davila on ANC’s Headstart on Thursday that there is enough revenue to improve Naia’s facilities.

Joseph said Naia earns P8.5 billion in cash from terminal fees every year, not including the revenues from concessionaires, the airlines and parking fees. The big question, he said, is where does all this money go, and why isn’t it being used for the betterment of the airport.

There is certainly more than enough revenue to make Naia’s facilities world-class. As suggested by Joseph, the government should conduct a thorough audit of the terminal fees and other Naia earnings to make sure the money is going where it should and not to line the pockets of corrupt officials.

This should be done before considering privatizing the airport altogether. Adding comfortable seats, putting up service kiosks and help desks, refurbishing comfort rooms, and stamping out corruption—in other words addressing the complaints posted in The Guide to Sleeping in Airports website—does not need privatization, just common sense, good management and good people.

The bigger problem is that Naia has already reached its saturation point and there is not much room for expansion. According to a study by the Department of Transportation and Communication, the rated capacity of all four Naia terminals is about 32 million passengers a year. This year, the airport is expected to service 30 million passengers. It is not only reaching the limit runway-wise, but terminal-wise as well. This could not be dealt with regardless of how much money you spend improving Naia. This requires another airport altogether.

But isn’t this what Naia 3 was supposed to be for when it was built, to solve the overcrowding at the older Naia terminals? Beset by unresolved legal and technical issues with the Philippine International Airport Terminal Co. and German shareholder Fraport AG, Naia 3 is operating at a third less than its intended capacity of 13 million passengers a year. Would we still need to develop the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport if Naia 3 could be made fully operational?
This is one of the things the DOTC needs to study before selling Naia and before making the Clark airport the country’s premiere gateway, which would entail among other considerable costs a high-speed train from Mabalacat, Pampanga to Metro Manila, preferably in the central business district of Makati.

There are several conglomerates who are more than willing to buy and operate Naia, Naia 3 and DMIA, among them San Miguel Corporation and Metro Pacific Corporation, but privatization needs to be studied carefully.

The Guide to Sleeping in Airports website named Singapore’s Changi Airport, Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport and South Korea’s Incheon as the world’s top airports. Changi and Incheon are operated by private companies while Chek Lap Kok is operated by the Airport Authority Hong Kong, which receives no government money and will soon be publicly listed.

The argument could be made that an airport could operate more efficiently when privately run, as it is driven by the bottom line of profitability. Unfortunately we have had sad experiences wherein privatization only led to exploitation and overcharging the public.

There are many ways to involve the private sector in airports, whether through capital investment in new infrastructure or by turning over to them operation and management of airport facilities. However, we have to make sure that these measures would lead to greater efficiency and accountability to the public and travelers.

Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson has admitted that P52.56 billion worth of construction projects this year have been delayed for six months, prompting House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to urge him to give priority to flood-control projects slated for 2012.

Belmonte issued the statement Friday following Singson’s admission that P24.16 billion or 45.9 percent of all his department’s projects for this year started only in July, and mainly as a result of “longer preparation of program works.”

Singson had told Congress that the rest of the public works projects were still to be bid out, and that of the three pubic-private partnership programs that his department was pursuing only one —the Daang Hari-South Luzon Expressway connection—would be bid out, and only in December. The two other flagship projects had yet to reach the bidding stage.

“As of July 2011, out of the total 2,124 projects being implemented with a total cost of P52.566 billion, 1,631 projects were advertised with a total cost of P36.472 billion,” Singson had said in his report to Congress.

“Of the projects advertised, 1,516 costing P31.120 billion were bid out, of which 1,255 with a total cost P24.16 billion were awarded or already started.”

The House on third reading approved Public Works’ P109.63-billion for 2012.

In defending his budget, Singson said his department had listed seven priorities, and among those were the flood-control projects of “highest impact and economic returns.” The public-private partnership projects were priority number 3.

Singson said that of the 15,872 kilometers of national arterial roads, 91 percent were paved, but 18 percent of the paved sections needed to be rehabilitated.

He said a bridge program to support agriculture was delayed by the Agrarian Reform Department’s slow identification of sites, adding that of the 418 bridges planned, only 26 sites were identified.

“Also likely to incite this eruption of violence was PNoy’s reversal of Arroyo’s other policy of demanding ceasefire before talking peace. Plainly, when negotiations are conducted amid fighting, insurgents have a huge incentive to mount assaults with the triple objectives of expanding control, amassing weapons and ‘revolutionary taxes’, and degrading state forces—thus, boosting the insurgents’ position on the battlefield as well as the negotiating table...This month alone, NPA firefights were reported in Compostela Valley, Agusan, Surigao, North Cota-bato, Negros, and Mindoro.”

Facebook is becoming an increasingly popular place to book prostitutes online. "Malaysia No 1 Call Girl Service. 3C Agent: 012959****" is one of the pages set up to enable clients to hire girls from China, Thailand and Indonesia.

As of 7pm on Thursday, it had 2,080 "likes", reported Sinar Harian.

"Service will be provided only around Klang Valley. Please don't call us to confirm, we don't provide service in other countries, please cooperate,'' said a post on Thursday.

The website asked customers to check into a hotel, call the 3C Agent to request the type of girl wanted and make payment before the service is provided.

A reporter from the daily tried calling the number but it went unanswered.

Later that day the page owner wrote another post stating "We are full this month and too busy to entertain customers, we only take SMS."

The cost ranges from 180 ringgit (US$57) to 700 ringgit ($223) and clients can view the pictures of the women before purchasing.

Federal Criminal Investigation Department principal assistant director of anti-vice, gaming and secret society deputy director SAC Abdul Jalil Hassan said: "We are aware of the existence of the Facebook page. So far no one has been arrested for offering sex through the Internet," he added.

From Asia News Network

If a genie asked what Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago’s wish would be, she said it would be to stop the senators from conducting legislative investigations.

According to the rules of the Senate, its committees may conduct formal inquiries or investigations in aid of legislation or when they refer to the implementation, reexamination or formulation of any law.

However, senators should stop conducting these investigations because they actually do not result in any substantial legislation so they do not serve its constitutional purpose, Santiago said in a forum Friday at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

“When these senators conduct these so-called public hearings on television, they display ignorance of the rules of court. That should be a crime in itself,” the feisty Senator said.

Santiago lamented her colleagues are merely serving as “subordinates of fiscal,” during legislative inquiries.

The veteran senator pointed out that even at the end of the investigation, all they can possibly do is make a recommendation to the Office of the Ombudsman which she said is merely doing a preliminary work for a preliminary investigation of an ordinary fiscal.

“It has no weight in our judicial system. It has zero capability in judging what justice should be administered. We are acting, in effect, when we conduct these scandalous hearings, a fiesta of legal ignorance,” Santiago stressed.

The senator was particularly urged to end legislative investigations when she delivered a sponsorship speech before the Senate on the International Criminal Court (ICC) particularly the Rome Statute.

She recalled having to engage in debate and interpellation with senators whom she said are ignorant of the court rules.


Santiago is a judicial candidate to the ICC for the term 2012-2021. The ICC is a permanent and independent court with jurisdiction over crimes of international concern such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

She earlier announced that if she wins the position in the ICC, she will resign as senator of the republic.

In August, the Philippines recently became the 117th of the 119 State Parties of the ICC from all the regions of the world. The treaty will come into force in November.

“Our membership in the ICC is nothing less than a signal contribution to the globalization of international justice because the Court is arguably the most important institutional innovation since the founding of the United Nations,” Santiago said in the forum sponsored by the UP Institute of International Legal Studies and the Philippine Coalition for the ICC.

The senator will leave next week to campaign her candidacy as judicial candidate for the elections in December in New York.

“We are opening a window into the future and the future suggests that after accession to the Rome Statute, the Philippines still needs to undertake wide-ranging tasks,” Santiago said.

She further recommended establishing a commission for experts to engage in a thorough professional study of emergent problems and approaches under Philippine law in relation to the Rome Statute.

By Shielo Mendoza

PRC Chair Richard J. Gordon, and officers of the PRC QC Chapter—including Dr. Edna Azurin, president; Hermogenes Jarin, vice chairman; Maria Paz Ugalde, secretary; Ma. Elisa Allado, assistant secretary; Rosalind Wee, treasurer; Alberto Galarpe, assistant treasurer; Teofista Pajara, auditor; Alfredo Alex Cruz III, counselor; and Ernesto Isla, business manager and Lily Monteverde —were all present at the launch of Red Cross Million Volunteer Run on Thursday.

The campaign is in line with the United Nations’ declaration of 2011 as the International Year of Volunteers.

It seeks to boost the 143 Red Cross, a flagship volunteer program wherein Red Cross trains 44 people in every barangay – one leader and 43 members – as disaster responders and providers of humanitarian assistance that includes first aid, basic health care, among others.

“We are hoping to enliven the culture of volunteerism in the country,” Gordon said.

Joining them is actress Marian Rivera, who expressed elation to be part of what she described as an “honor.”

“Matagal ko na hong gusto mag-volunteer talaga and I’m thankful na nabigyan katuparan ito,” Rivera stressed. “Nakakataba ng puso kasi sa dinami-dami ng artista, isa ako sa pinili nilang maging celebrity endorser nila.”

She vowed to involve herself in the advocacy a “hundred percent.”

“Lifetime commitment ito," she said. "Pipilitin ko sa abot ng aking makakaya na tumulong sa Red Cross sa kahit anong paraan, simula sa fun run na ito.”


Other celebrities who have pledged their participation in the event, which will be held on Dec. 4, are Mikael Daez, Isabelle Daza, German Moreno, Ronnie Ricketts, Pia Guanio and Paolo Bediones.

The Philippine military has no plans of attacking Moro rebels in Basilan where 19 soldiers were killed, saying peace talks between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remains important.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) deputy chief of staff for operations Brigadier General Jose Mabanta said Friday that President Benigno Aquino III gave them explicit instructions to forego pursuit of Moro rebels responsible for the clash that killed 25 people in Al-Barka town, Basilan, Tuesday.

The President, said Mabanta, stressed that "the conduct of the operation at this point against the MILF should not be pursued because of the existing ceasefire."

He stressed, however, that the other lawless elements and the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao are “entirely a different ball game."

"First and foremost is [peace talks]. Eventually, we want to attain peace and we have to wait. We can't take actions. We have to assess really the situation,” he said.

Mabanta also downplayed fears that the President's instructions will lead lower morale of the military.

Although he expressed sorrow over the clash and the attacks, Mabanta said the military has "to move on."

"We have to continue to perform our mission… All of us soldiers, (when) we took our oath, we pledged to act and become soldiers. This is already part and partial of our job and if we are fallen, as some of our comrades happened to be, then let it be, it’s part of our job," he said.

Mabanta also said that President Aquino, during a command conference with top military officials Friday, expressed dissatisfaction with the military after mounting losses this month against communist rebels, secessionist groups, and terrorists.

The Basilan encounter, which also injured 14 soldiers, was followed by a series of attacks by MILF in Zamboanga Sibugay that killed seven soldiers and policemen and wounded eight others.

"He expressed dissatisfaction [over] the series of events that has happened, starting with the Taganito activity or incident...He was dissatisfied with the performance of the Armed Forces,” Mabanta said, referring to the attacks on the Taganito Mining Corp. last October 3.

The President, he added, instructed the military to step up and improve its operations.


Several lawmakers agreed with the President, with senators from Mindanao calling for the resumption of peace talks between the government and MILF.

Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate committee on peace and reconciliation, said the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (Ajag) should act quickly to defuse tension.

Lawyer Marvic Leonen, chairman of the government panel dealing with the MILF, said he already directed the CCCH to look into the clash in Basilan that left 19 soldiers dead.

"Despite several major conflicts, the mechanism allowed the peace talks to continue and move forward for 14 years. I appeal to all sectors in our society, to allow the ceasefire mechanisms to work," Guingona said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, for his part, called on the MILF to heed Mindanao's desire for peace and lay down their arms.

The senator, who is from Cagayan de Oro, said in a press statement that “senseless violence and killings must stop. That is the wish of our Muslim brothers and sisters and everyone in Mindanao.”

A temporary ceasefire is in place and the government peace panel has been meeting with the MILF in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in recent months.

"Political negotiations should continue, but perhaps with ironclad guarantees that both sides should refrain from violence under any circumstances, to prevent a repetition of armed clashes that undermine the peace process,” he said.

Senator Gregorio Honasan, a former military officer, also pushed for the peace talks despite hostilities.

"We shouldn’t give up on the peace process but more importantly, there should be a long-term comprehensive peace policy in place. Every time we go into peace talks, it just becomes a vicious cycle of: peace talks, then violation of the peace talks, then encounters, then peace talks again," he said.


At the House of Representatives, however, former AFP chief of staff and now Muntinlupa City Representative Rodolfo Biazon called for the suspension of the government’s ceasefire agreement with the MILF.

“Suspend the peace talks immediately...Kailangang papanagutin muna ang mga nasa likod ng pagkamatay ng mga sundalo natin bago ang peace talks (The perpetrators should first pay before the peace talks will be resumed),” he said.

Davao del Sur Representative Marc Douglas Cagas IV said the Moro rebels “cannot go to the negotiating table with dirty hands.”

San Juan City Representative Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, for his part, said that since it is the MILF who violated the ceasefire, the government should order an “all-out assault” on the rebel group.

Deputy Speaker and Zamboanga City Representative Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar urged the government to apprehend the perpetrators of the ambush with dispatch to give justice to the slain soldiers.

“The military and PNP (Philippine National Police) should continue with law enforcement mission. Heinous crime is not justifiable under rebellion. Cases should be filed in court,” she said. "Our sympathy to martyr soldiers who gallantly died in the fields of battle. Let us not make their deaths go in vain."

Salazar mobilized her staff Friday to render assistance to the families of the fallen soldiers, as well as those who were injured in the firefight.

Close to one hundred fresh troops also arrived Friday morning in Zamboanga City for deployment to Basilan. The troops are composed of Special Forces who belong to the Philippine Army's Special Operations Command.

They arrived aboard the military C-130 transport plane that transported the 19 soldiers killed last Tuesday in Sitio Bakisung, Cambug village in Al-Barka, Basilan.


Three of the slain soldiers were flown Friday to Davao City, while one was transported to Cagayan de Oro City and the rest to Manila.

The fallen soldiers were given full military honors by their comrades upon arrival at the airports in Davao City and Cagayan de Oro, while the remains of 15 soldiers killed in Tuesday’s clash were given full military honors at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City.

The bodies of the 15 soldiers were flown to Manila Friday afternoon on board an Air Force C-130, which arrived at the Villamor Airbase around 6:30 p.m.

In Davao City, the AFP gave the families of each victim P250,000 from the Financial Social Fund. A full scholarship will also be provided for the children or siblings of the slain soldiers.

The Philippine Army is also giving at least P100,000 to each of the dead soldiers, along with the six-month basic pay, another P10,000 from the Special Forces Regiment, P50,000 from the MBAI, monthly pension for AFPSLAI members, and a house and lot. This is aside from the P50,000 burial assistance.

To those displaced in the clash, the government said it is still trying to find new homes for them.

Residents of North Cotabato, meanwhile, said they will arm themselves against the MILF. The rebels overran several towns in the province when hostilities commenced.

Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier Friday told reporters that President Aquino should "do an Erap," referring to former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada's "all-out" war against the MILF in 2000.

Aquino said, however, that he would not resort to ordering an Army offensive against the MILF rebels who killed the 19 soldiers despite a clamor for his administration to take tougher action.

He said breaking a truce with the rebels and resuming outright war would not benefit anyone.

For some the Llamas’ aides joyride with arms they had no permit to carry is a tempest in a teapot. For most, it is a symbol of execrable public behavior by what are in effect public servants via their public official employers and a bad mark on the administration they serve. In truth, there is much of ordinary Filipino cultural behavior involved.

It happens time and again that bodyguards, errand people, aides and such of public officials assume superior airs, act with impunity and have no inhibitions about breaking the law or assuming advantages beyond those of ordinary citizens. In time and more often than not, their actions are soon so repellent that they bring on to their bosses condemnation and odium.

It is actually common behavior. They feel they have become privileged and superior because they work for someone they think has elevated them to that level by his government position. Being connected with him, no matter in what menial or inconsequential way, they too feel are elevated and therefore superior enough to break rules. Thus, these who are effectively underlings, strut about taking on the airs of a special class of people who do not have to follow the rules of ordinary citizens. And in an ironic twist, some of them actually impose the same behavior on their unthinking and insensitive bosses by treating them as gods, parting the rules, the people, the furniture, etc. from their path.

The public servants involved take it as a matter of course, probably because bearing the burden of office, they think they deserve it. Or, in the same mode of being burdened, are distracted enough to be out of focus or unaware that their subalterns are causing them to break rules of good or dignified and democratic behavior.

Here are some examples: At the airport a newly-elected senator was due to arrive. Meanwhile an earlier flight’s passengers were exiting the airport terminal waiting for their cars or taxis, but found the whole curb from beginning to end barred from access to their cars or taxis by the seven vehicles of the senator ranging from luxury cars to trucks and vans.

The senator was nowhere near the exit, his plane had probably not even landed but his whole retinue of cars and aides had taken over public space causing disorder and discomfort to the rest. It seemed to them it was their right to be there took precedence over everyone else’s rights.

The ensuing mayhem meant passengers had to haul their luggage beyond the curb, between the vehicles parked, and into the other half of the street. Meanwhile, the drivers, aides, go-fers were out of their vehicles idling, smoking and shooting the breeze, ignoring the security guard’s attempts to make them move on. So much so that he just gave up and resorted to carrying suitcases to help women who could not manage moving their bags beyond the curb, between the vehicles and across half of the street.

At an electoral exercise day at a crowded barangay polling place, a cabinet secretary arrived while there was a line of citizens waiting their turn. His aides quickly parted a way for him to reach the end, fill in his ballot and leave for his office. Next day there was a Letter to the Editor excoriating the undue advantage, reviling the cabinet secretary. I read it and went into shock, it was my own husband during his two-minute government service who was named. I went into a rage and expressed my complete support for the aggrieved party and read him the riot act about public behavior as a public official. Of course, he had an appointment, was in a hurry and hardly noticed what exactly his aides had done. He had other matters on his mind. Not an excuse, I said. As for the aides, I called them together and told them off in no uncertain terms about what not to do next time. They had come down from the previous authoritarian regime and had taken in its bad habits. Next scene they were in a huddle to ponder and figure out what made me so angry and how to do better next time according to what they thought were my rules. They were just the right rules.

What are the lessons to be learned here by public officials in cases like the above which will rightly get them the blame and the administrations they serve unnecessarily compromised? Choose the right people to hire as a public official. Give them a seminar on the behavior of the servant official rather than the superior official vis-à-vis the general public. It should be made very clear to them what they should do and what they cannot do. Certainly using the low-numbered car when the boss is away is an obvious no-no to most of us, but it has to be spelled out anyway before it happens. Throwing one’s weight around to circumvent rules is not excusable no matter how pressed for time one is. Perhaps a proper and humble by-your-leave to the people affected should be the norm in cases like this. If they deny the permission, then one has to abide by their refusal.

The given is that a public official and his or her retinue think they have carte blanche about how to behave in public. This is usually taken to mean acting like rulers of old or celebrities of the present. Maybe some do not quite think that way, but they let their minions behave that way using their position as an excuse. Aides and other employees have to be carefully selected for discretion democratic behavior and humility. There is no other way. Just as taking advantage of public office to enrich oneself or gain unwarranted privileges, using the office an excuse to act superior or privileged is not allowed. Breaking rules of polite and courteous behavior should never be tolerated.

And the burden is on the public officials who are the superiors of these employees. When bad behavior happens, throw the book at these abusers in some form or another. That and his own good behavior is every public official’s responsibility.

Taken from Jojo Robles

Speaking of bad governance, it must be noted that this is never a monopoly of politicians on the national level. The allegations of plunder against Camarines Sur Governor Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte Jr., if true, are good examples of this.

The crime was originally defined as the accumulation or acquisition by any public officer of ill-gotten wealth of at least P75 million. An amendment brought this down to P50 million and made it punishable by life imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office.

The plunder charges against Villafuerte were filed by former Vice Governor Mariano Trinidad in his capacity as a registered voter and taxpayer and includes Villafuerte’s wife and two sons as respondents. Also charged with plunder and dishonesty, grave misconduct and conduct grossly prejudicial to the best interest of the service are six other provincial government officials.

Trinidad’s complaint alleges that Villafuerte and his co-accused, over a period of six years, repeatedly violated the Local Government Code, the Government Procurement Act and Commission on Audit rules. Trinidad said the respondents entered into “anomalous, irregular and highly disadvantageous contracts, extended undue and unwarranted advantage to third parties in exchange for pecuniary benefit, and fraudulently conveyed government funds in a number of tourism-related activities.”

Among these were the unlawful disbursement of public funds amounting to P28 million for the 2006 Kaogma Festival; the 2008 World Wakepark Championship where the respondents; and the 2010 CamSur Marathon where the accused allowed a private corporation to perform the duties of Provincial Treasurer and failed to account for P5.5 million in revenues. In seven transactions identified in the complaint, Trinidad said the provincial government lost a total of P104.5 million.

The complaint also alleged that Villafuerte, in connivance with his wife and two sons, funneled to a company called Republic Wake Parks Inc. public funds which were used to build the multi-million-peso Republic Nuvali Wakepark in Sta. Rosa, Laguna which now directly competes with the CamSur Watersports Complex run by the provincial government. The ex-vice governor said Villafuerte’s acts, “all done in the name of tourism, will establish a pattern of how he, his family and his cohorts siphoned government funds and funneled the same to their pockets.”

In 2008, the National Statistical Coordination Board named CamSur and Maguindanao as the worst-governed provinces for their failure to deliver social services to the people. Villafuerte will have to explain how, if what he says is true that CamSur has surpassed Boracay and Cebu as the premier tourist destination, the revenues from the purported 2.3 million tourist arrivals in the province were spent.

We’ve heard that Villafuerte, whose third and last term as governor ends in 2013, wants to run for senator. But what the governor should really be doing is explaining to his constituents if the charges Trinidad filed last Monday before the Office of the Ombudsman are true.

In Maguindanao, few people expect any progress, given the poverty of that province and the thievery of its officials. But Villafuerte keeps saying that CamSur is rich and progressive, even if objective agencies say otherwise.

Taken from: Jojo Robles

A 15-year-old Scout councilor filed a resolution requesting Baguio City Government to ban the selling, availing and possessing of sex toys.

University of Baguio Science High School student Jayvin So said the increasing number of sex toys in the market, especially in adult shops in the city, pollutes the minds of the youth.

So takes over Councilor Philian Weygan-Allan as chair of the Ethics, Governmental Affairs and Personnel committee for a day.

“[Sex toys] do not contribute [any good] to the welfare of our community, especially to the welfare of our youth,” So said.

Other scout councilors agreed that sex toys should be inaccessible to minors.

Majority of the scout councilors for a day voted to pass the resolution.

Copies of the resolution will be submitted to the Baguio City Police Office, Department of Trade and Industry, City Treasurer’s Office, Department of Interior and Local Government, Association of Barangay Councils and City Social Welfare and Development Office.

So and the rest of the scout councilors took over the City Hall for a day as part of the Scout Officials for a Day program of the Boys and Girls Scouts of the Philippines.

“The QC government is championing the lawbreakers who have taken over other people’s land, thanks to the stupid pro-squatter “Lina law” authored by a DEMENTED cabinet-member of Cory Aquino who became a Senator.”

By: Dan Mariano

From: www.lusakatimes.com

"The President had said that Llamas, then-president of a leftist organization, will serve as a bridge between political parties and various sectors of society. “He belongs to Akbayan, which is a major coalition partner,” Mr. Aquino reportedly said in a text message to ABS-CBN News."

By: Dan Mariano