Copyright 2012 Philippine NewsLink http://www.philnews.com/ Uniting the global Filipino since 1996 Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:10 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/07a.htm Supreme Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez may have made a fatal career mistake when he threw all his eggs into the Corona basket. Blind loyalty to one’s superior in certain instances can be admirable, but unfortunately in most cases, it is unprofessional and counterproductive ... Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/06a.htm The Filipino people have just about had enough of Miriam Defensor-Santiago. She is loud, arrogant, and intolerant of everyone but herself. In her Ilongo-accented diatribes Santiago bullies anyone and everyone she dislikes or who happens not to share her views. It is somewhat disheartening because Santiago is reasonably smart and adequately educated—but the minute she opens her mouth, those pluses just fly out the window ... Sun, 29 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/05a.htm The ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona has brought to light what appears to be a faulty, if not patently unconstitutional 1992 En Banc resolution of the Philippine Supreme Court that effectively ended any public disclosure of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) of any Justice or Judge. Chief Justice Andres Narvasa’s court in their ruling—A.M. No. 92-9-851-RTC, dated September 22, 1992 ... Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/04a.htm The Corona impeachment trial now three days old is turning out to be somewhat of a disappointment. The month-long period form December 14, 2011 when the Senators first took their oaths as Senator-Judges  to the January 16 start, only served to heighten the public’s anticipation for a blockbuster court drama that would play out live in their livingrooms ... Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/03a.htm On Monday, January 16, the first ever trial to oust a Chief Justice begins. All 24 Senators, clad in newly tailored red robes will sit as judges to determine corona’s guilt or innocence on each one of the eight impeachment complaints that encompass a betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution and graft and corruption, and his overt partiality towards Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ... Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/02a.htm The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) just launched its new promotional campaign for 2012 It's more fun in the Philippines. amid much fanfare and hype. But glitzy ad campaigns and slogans aside, now might not be the right time to promote tourism in the country. The Philippines is broken and we need to first fix it before we invite foreign tourists over ... Sun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2012/01a.htm It is time to end this madness. Each year hundreds are injured, limbs are blown off, eyesight lost. The vast majority of these injuries happen to the youth. It truly makes no sense, and is too high a price to pay just to greet the new year with a lot of noise. Sure it is a tradition, but we say so what! Traditions change and this is one change that is long overdue ... Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/35a.htm As of this writing we have an almost statistical dead heat with OFWs edging out PNoy by just a few votes. So we’ve decided to feature both as persons of the year ... Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/34a.htm We’re bringing back the Philnews Person of the Year for 2012. You our readers have six choices to select from this year. We admit it is not a comprehensive list of choices but bear with us anyway. Not all of them are actual persons—two of them aren’t. And just like we did in the past, the choice is not honorific—in other words select your person of the year based on who you think had the most impact on the country (good or bad) during the year 2011 ... Tue, 27 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/33a.htm Happy Holidays to all our readers! We’d like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ for your patronage over these past 15 years of our online existence. Although a majority of our readers hail from North America, Filipinos all over the world visit us regularly and provide us that all-important ‘global perspective’ that we believe will help us Filipinos change for the better ... Sat, 24 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/32a.htm The horrible outcome in lives lost and property destroyed is totally unacceptable to this struggling nation of close to a hundred million people. The Aquino government must to get to the bottom of this. Already, the finger-pointing has begun. PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) claims their storm-warning bulletins were disregarded by local officials ... Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/31a.htm In an interview he gave on December 6, 2011 Fr. Joaquin Bernas likened President Benigno Aquino III to Fidel Castro, Cuba’s former dictator. Although he did not elaborate further on the comparison, it was in reaction to Aquino’s speech during the First National Criminal Justice Summit the day before where the president questioned the legitimacy as well as the impartiality of Chief Justice Renato Corona who was seated just a few feet away from the president’s podium ... Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/30a.htm All they needed were 95 "yes" votes but the congressmen who pushed the impeachment complaint against Chief Justice Renato Corona so far have 170 votes and counting. Liberal Party congressmen who were said to be behind the impeachment complaint were confident that they would have over 200 votes from across party lines when the tally is finalized ... Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/29a.htm Who might have hatched this alleged plot? For starters the operation’s name though clever, is a bit too wordy and thus violates the normal naming convention used by the Armed Forces of the Philippines. So if such an operation does indeed exist, it is most likely spearheaded by civilians ... Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/28a.htm If you are poor or indigent and happen to run afoul of the law in the Philippines there is a strong chance that you will be manhandled during your arrest, shaken down for what little money your family has and then thrown in a dirty, overcrowded, roach-infested jail ... Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/27a.htm It took ten years at the helm to do what former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did, and no successor will likely be able to equal her feat. In her nine-plus years as president, Arroyo managed to stack the Supreme Court with twelve of its fifteen sitting justices—with the crowning glory being the appointment Chief Justice Renato Corona just before she stepped down ... Thu, 24 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/26a.htm Less than six hours after the Philippine Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that effectively lifted the travel restrictions placed on the former first couple by the Department of Justice (DOJ), former President and current Pampanga Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, and their son Mikey Arroyo had their bags packed and must have been looking forward to strutting down that jetway ... Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/25a.htm In a country where on most days all one has to do is step outside the house to find all sorts of violations being committed, the Philippines suddenly becomes a stickler for correctness when the rich and powerful are apprehended. At that point every pundit and his cousin weighs in to forces the government to bend over backward and jump thru hoops for the sake of justice and fairness ... Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/24a.htm For Filipinos living in North America, Western Europe, or other developed countries around the world, it is difficult to understand how the Philippine government can tolerate and—even worse—give funds to an organization like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). On the 18th of October, the MILF killed 19 soldiers and wounded 14 more during a firefight in Al-Barka, Basilan ... Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/23a.htm In a press interview on October 26, 2011, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda noted that former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who is currently on a Department of Justice travel watch list has requested permission to travel abroad for medical reasons. Among the countries Arroyo indicated she intended to visit include: Singapore, Germany, and Austria—countries that Lacierda noted have no extradition treaty with the Philippines ... Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/22a.htm The horrific images of the Libyan dictator dead or dying in the streets of Sirte brings a degree of closure to the Libyan uprising that the EDSA People Power Revolution never had. Thanks to Uncle Sam's well-intentioned meddling, the Filipinos only got as far as ransacking Malacañang, stomping on portraits of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda, and feasting on left-over caviar found on the palace dining room table ... Fri, 21 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/21a.htm While delivering a speech in late September at a judicial conference on human trafficking, the United States Ambassador to Manila Harry Thomas Jr. noted that 40 percent of male tourists to the Philippines “come here for sexual tourism and that is unacceptable.” Little did Thomas realize that his seemingly innocuous remark would create a firestorm of controversy ... Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:01 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2011/20a.htm It’s back to the dark ages for the hysterical tabloid press in Metro Manila where the bellowing newscasters and commentators are condemning street children and children in conflict with the law as criminals. The most strident commentators call for the children to be charged and jailed and reduce the age of criminal liability to 12 years old or younger. They demand that the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act be changed ... Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:00:01 GMT