Us asian post may 7, 2014

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Vol. 3. No. 34

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US-PHL launch war games after Obama pledge

BY JASON GUTIERREZ

MANILA, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – Thousands of American and Philippine troops launched large annual exercises on Monday after US President Barack Obama vowed “ironclad” backing for its Asian ally, locked in a tense maritime row with China.

Filipino Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the 10-day drills were necessary to deal with the challenge of “aggressive” neighbors intent on “changing the status quo”.

He did not mention China directly, but Beijing has been robust in its efforts to assert territorial claims over most of the South China Sea, putting a strain on its relationships with neighboring countries.

“In recent years tensions in the AsiaPacific region have increased due to extensive and expansive maritime and territorial claims undermining the rule of law,” del Rosario said at the opening ceremony.

“Aggressive patterns of behavior aimed at changing the status quo threaten peace and stability in the region.”

He added that the military exercise, known as Balikatan (Shoulder to Shoulder), with its focus on “maritime capability”, boosted the Philippines’ ability to “address these challenges”.

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said her government hoped that efforts of “all parties in this region... (were) conducive to regional peace and stability”.

State-run China Daily newspaper last week said that US has presented itself as a “security threat” to China by joining its “trouble-making allies” in ganging up against Beijing.

The Philippines on March 30 filed a formal plea asking a United Nations arbitration tribunal to declare what Manila said was Beijing’s claim to 70 percent of the South China Sea as illegal and a threat to freedom of navigation.

The seabed is believed to contain huge deposits of oil and gas and the waters straddle vital sea lanes.

Beijing has rejected UN arbitration and urged Manila to settle the dispute through bilateral talks instead.

About 2,500 US soldiers are joining 3,000 Filipino troops in the maneuvers, which began a week after President Obama assured Manila his government was committed to a 1951 mutual defense treaty.

Dozens of Australian troops, including Special Forces, are also taking part this year as the Philippines seeks to include other key allies in the region.

Looking to raise its regional defense See WAR GAMES, page 3

U.S. and Filipino military officers salute during the opening ceremony of the Balikatan 2014 Joint Exercise inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon city, metro Manila May 5, 2014. According to an AFP news release, around 3,000 Filipino soldiers and 2,500 U.S. soldiers will participate in the Philippines-U.S. Balikatan 2014 military exercises which will focus on maritime security and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. (MNS photo)

Whistleblower claims Drilon wants to silence her

CAPITOL HILL MEETING. Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, accompanied by Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and Rep. Abigail Binay-Campos, discuss bilateral issues with Rep. Ed Royce, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States House of Representatives, during a meeting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. (Philippine Embassy Photo by Ariel Penaranda)

Binay: EDCA will help improve lives MANILA, May 5 (Mabuhay) – Vice President Jejomar Binay gave his full support to the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), saying it will also help the country achieve its goal of improving the lives of Filipino people.

“Through the EDCA, we have effectively upgraded our own security platform, without shifting a significant portion of our limited resources to support an arms race and procure weapons systems that exceed our normal defense requirements,” he said before the delegates of the Banyan Tree Leadership Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C.

He said the stronger US military presence in the Philippines will soothe and calm the investment climate.

Thus, “it enables us to focus better on developing a solid economic base to combat poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and disease,” he said.

EDCA, signed last week ahead of the state visit of US President Barack Obama, allows American soldiers to greater access military bases.

It is seen as an important pillar of the country’s regional security policy as well as an effective response mechanism to humanitarian and natural disasters.

“A stronger American military See EDCA, page 3

MANILA, May 5 (Mabuhay) – Whistleblower Sandra Cam suspects Senate President Franklin Drilon is out to silence her over her copy of a list of people supposedly involved in the pork barrel scam.

Cam said a certain Alex Almario, whom she described as an agrarian reform assistant secretary with close ties to Drilon, has been trying to set up a meeting with her.

“Ang palagi niyang rason eh bilang kababayan, mangungumus-

See DRILON, page 3

MANILA, May 3 (Mabuhay) – Following a congressman’s proposal to create a truth commission composed of retired Supreme Court (SC) justices to help facilitate the probe into the P10-billion pork barrel scam, Malacanang on Saturday said it has first to undergo review.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. in an interview on dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, said the proposal has to undergo a review, reacting to the proposal made by Buhay Partylist Rep. Joselito Atienza Jr. See PORK SCAM, page 3

Baldoz says numbers used are incomparable

See UNEMPLOYMENT, page 3

crats.

She said she received the list from an unimpeachable source, who had told her that Justice Secretary Leila de Lima would meet with Napoles to facilitate the latter’s tell-all testimony.

A complete list of the people involved in the racket was supposedly included in Napoles’ sworn statement submitted to the Department of Justice.

Cam, however, said she does not know whether the list given to

Pork scam truth commission mulled

PHL unemployment rate highest in ASEAN? MANILA, May 5 (Mabuhay) – Following media reports saying that the Philippines has the highest unemployment rate in ASEAN, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz on Monday said the numbers used were incomparable.

“Practices in the measurement of unemployment using these criteria through the Labor Force Survey vary from country to country, such as periodicity of data collection, relaxation of a criteria, and reference period, thus, resulting in non-comparability of unemployment rates,” she said in a statement e-mailed to media outfits.

At the same time, Baldoz admitted that the Philippines is

ta. Pero hindi ko po iyon binuy.

Ang nasa isip ko, two things iyan, either sumisipsip siya o may utos sa kanya na pakiusapan ako, kasi alam niyo naman na walang pwedeng puimigil ng salita ko,” Cam said.

Cam earlier said she got hold of a copy of a supposed list of people involved in the pork barrel scam, which saw billions in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allegedly plundered by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, lawmakers and bureau-

A total of 6,105 visitors, mostly Americans and other nationalities, were able to experience Filipino culture, many for the first time, in what Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. considers the most successful cultural diplomacy event undertaken by the Philippines here in the United States. (Philippine Embassy in D.C. Facebook Page)

Hundreds show up at PHL embassy open house Now many Americans know why ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’

President Benigno S. Aquino III inspects the Fabrication Laboratory equipment during the launching of the Bohol Fabrication Laboratory (FABLAB) Shared Service Facility Project and the 1st FABLAB Asian Network Boot Camp and Conference at the Bohol Island State University in Tagbilaran City, Bohol on Friday (May 02). FABLAB is a technical prototyping platform for innovation and invention. (MNS photo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 6,000 people, most of them Americans, got to know why it’s more fun in the Philippines after the Philippine Embassy opened its doors to the public for the first time and regaled them with dances, music and, of course, Filipino food!

A total of 6,105 visitors, mostly Americans and other nationalities, were able to experience Filipino culture, many for the first time, in what Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia Jr. considers the most successful cultural diplomacy event

undertaken by the Philippines here in the United States.

“It simply was overwhelming,” Ambassador Cuisia said of the open house event that was undertaken as part of the annual Passport DC Around the World Embassy Tour organized by the District of Columbia Cultural Tourism Office.

More than 50 embassies participated in this year’s Passport DC, one of the much-awaited cultural events in the US capital that the Philippines participated in for the See EMBASSY, page 3

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PHL ready for El Niño, says Coloma MANILA, May 3 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang said the government has contingency measures to address El Nino phenomenon that may hit the country this year, a Palace official said on Saturday.

In an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the national government has a contingency plan in place to address the changing climate which is the current reality.

For instance, he said that one of the pillars of the Philippine Development Plan is climate change adaptation and mitigation and this includes government’s response on El Nino and La Nina, he said.

The Aquino government acknowledges that climate change is now a global reality and nations must prepare for it, the Palace official said.

“Kaya po noon pang Enero, noong nagmeeting ang Gabinete, nagpahayag ang Pangulo na kinakailangang paghandaan ang ano mang senaryo na dadating sa atin kung ito man ay El Niño o La Niña,” he said.

“Pansinin natin na galing tayo sa pa-

nahon ng kalamidad, na karamihan ay mga malalakas na bagyo at malawakang pagbaha, at maging storm surge ang ating naranasan.” Now that the weather bureau sees the possibility of El Nino hitting the country, Coloma said the government is doing everything to mitigate its effect especially in the agriculture sector.

Such mitigation measure is incorporated in different programs of concerned agencies and the national budget as well has an allocation for addressing the impacts of climate change, which is in line with priorities of the Philippine Development Plan, he said.

“Mayroon pong bahagi doon, ‘yung part three, na patungkol lang mismo sa climate change mitigation and adaptation, at nakalatag po diyan lahat ng mga programa ng lahat ng kagawaran at national government agencies na patungkol sa bagay na ‘yan,” Coloma said.

“Kaya makatitiyak po tayo na mayroon na pong mga nakalatag na programa na ang iba doon ay naumpisahan nang ipatupad sapagkat bahagi ito ng programa de gobyerno ng Aquino administration.” (MNS)

Farmers may be first to feel Angat Dam water supply ‘cut’ MANILA, May 5 (Mabuhay) – Farmers in parts of Luzon may be the first to feel a cut in water supply from Angat Dam in Bulacan, the dam’s plant manager said Monday.

Angat Dam plant manager Rodolfo German said they may have to cut the water supply to farmers once the dam’s water level reaches 180 meters.

German also said the critical level for the dam as far as drinking water is concerned is 160 meters.

The water level of the dam, which supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s water needs, stood at 182.2 meters as of 6 a.m. Monday.

“Medyo meron pa namang kaunti pwedeg ibigay sa magsasaka, 2.2 meters pa para sa palayan,” German said.

But German said that while the initial

cutoff date for irrigation is May 15, Angat’s water supply could reach the critical level for irrigation of 180 meters much earlier.

“Sa trend ngayon medyo kukulang (at) 0.5 meter per day, kung 0.2 (meters per day ang pagbaba), mga five days na lang yan,” he said when asked if the water level would go below the 180-meter level by May 15.

On the other hand, German said the 160-meter level for drinking water can still be sustained until the rainy season comes.

“Sa tubig inumin, kasya pa naman yan hanggang sa tagulan,” he said, but added his office may recommend conservation measures once the 160-meter critical level is reached.

“Kailangan pa rin magtipid,” he added.

German said arrangements are being made with contractors for cloud seeding to generate rain over Angat Dam.

Health dep’t, DA team up for zero rabies by 2020 MANILA, May 5 (Mabuhay) – Health and agriculture officials are teaming up to eliminate rabies by 2020 by acquiring some P69.545 million worth of vaccines to fight the disease.

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday signed a memorandum of agreement where the DA allocated P40 million to boost the joint rabies program’s funds to P109.5 million.

“It is sad to note that we continue to record fatalities on a disease that is 100 percent preventable,” noted DOH Secretary Enrique Ona.

“Rabies can be prevented. However, let me underscore that vaccination coupled with responsible pet ownership can help us achieve our goal of a rabies-free Philippines by 2020. And so, therefore, I enjoin everyone in this endeavor,” he added.

Under the agreement, the two agencies will work to eliminate human rabies cases by 2016, and a rabies-free Philippines by 2020.

The health department said there are presently 15 provinces and towns all over the nation that have been declared rabiesfree, but the disease remains a serious public health problem.

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WAR GAMES From page 1

platform, Australia will be bringing P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft to the drills to help boost Manila’s “maritime domain awareness,” said Wing Commander Nicholas Pratt of the Royal Australian Air Force.

He said the aircraft would be operating out of the western Philippine island of Palawan, fronting the disputed waters.

Meet 21st century challenges Also last week, the US and the Philippines bolstered their security alliance with a new agreement giving American forces greater access to Philippine bases – part of a US rebalancing towards rising Asia.

The deal allows US forces, vessels and equipment into up to five Filipino bases over the next 10 years, the hosts said.

“The (new agreement) updates and strengthens US-Philippine defense cooperation to meet 21st century challenges,” US ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg said Monday.

Obama’s four-nation Asian tour was

EMBASSY From page 1

first time this year.

“For six hours on Saturday, we were able to let other people know why it’s more fun in the Philippines,” Ambassador Cuisia said, adding that the event was a tremendous success since the Embassy was only expecting a maximum of 3,000 visitors.

People started streaming into the Embassy grounds along Massachusetts Avenue even before the gates opened at 10 a.m. Many said the Philippines was their first destination for the day because the Washington Post listed it as among the embassies to visit for this year’s event.

The number of visitors entering the Embassy gates averaged 1,000 per hour with the 3,000 target being reached by noontime.

There were still some people who wanted to get in after the gates closed at 4 p.m.

Minister and Consul for Cultural Affairs Emil Fernandez said the ube, buco and mango popsicles from Magnolia; calamansi juice; the Ati-Atihan costumes; and the Tinikling lessons were instant hits among those who trooped to the Embassy.

Aside from Filipino dance, music and martial arts, the Embassy also gave visitors

dominated by worsening maritime tensions between Beijing and Washington’s allies in the region, which have triggered fears of military conflict.

The Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in the region, has repeatedly called on the United States for help as China has increased military and diplomatic pressure to take control of the contested areas.

While Obama sought to reassure the Philippines that the United States would support its ally in the event of an attack, he did not specifically mention coming to the aid of Manila if there were a conflict over the contested South China Sea areas, as his hosts had hoped. But he ended his trip with a warning to China against using force in territorial disputes.

The war games will feature live-fire drills, search-and-rescue operations and humanitarian response scenarios in several locations.

There will also be demonstrations of maritime surveillance systems and ship-to-shore landing exercises on the hosts’ west coast, facing the disputed waters. a taste of Filipino cuisine by serving them lechon, pancit, lumpia and turon that were provided by Filipino restaurant Bistro 7107 and caterers like Filipino Global; Northstar; Lumpia, Pancit Atbp; and Luming’s.

Even Philippine fastfood chain Jollibee supported the event by providing its popular Chickenjoy and Peach Mango Pie while its sister company Red Ribbon provided mamon. Tito Al’s served its signature chicharon as well as lumpia, Magnolia popsicles and Skyflakes while the Filipino Community provided four suckling pigs for the occasion.

The fiesta-like atmosphere at the Embassy was highlighted

by Filipino dances like the Sakuting, Aray, Pagapir, Pansak Pindulas, Tinikling, Salip-Banga, Pangalay and Asik performed by Mabuhay Incorporated, Club Filipino of Georgetown University the Philippine Culture Society of George Washington University and the Migrant Heritage Commission.

Visitors were also treated to an exhibition of Filipino martial arts such as arnis and escrima courtesy of DC Lightning Scientific Arnis of Virginia and Pinakatay Arnis Sigidas of Maryland. The open house was capped by classical Filipino music performed by the Northern Virginia Rondalla.

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EDCA From page 1

presence in the Philippines and greater interoperability between our respective armed forces dramatically increases our individual and collective defense capabilities, providing a dramatic deterrent against external aggression,” Binay said. EDCA also comes at a time when the Philippines needs stronger alliances amid stronger moves from China in disputed areas. Binay believes, however, that the EDCA does not pave the way

for a shift in Manila’s core strategy for regional security.

“We have always believed and will continue to hold ourselves to the principle that the future of mankind lies not in conflict nor war, but in dialogue, cooperation, development and peace,” he stressed.

He said he will always be for a peaceful solution to the disputes in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

“Let me stress, nonetheless, that our support for EDCA does not reflect a freezing of ties with China. Nor do we view the disputes in the South China Sea as the totality of our bilateral relations with China,” he said.

“In the end, trade, as well as the deep filial ties that bind our peoples will prevail over the issues of territory and boundaries that are currently threatening our relationship,” he added.(MNS)

DRILON

UNEMPLOYMENT

her came from Napoles.

“Itong listahan na ibinigay sa akin, wala itong dokumento, but this is handwritten na ibinigay sa akin Saturday before Holy Week ng isang tao na hindi namin pwedeng kwestyunin ang kredibilidad,” she said.

“It doesn’t follow na ito ay galing kay Napoles. I don’t know her.

I don’t know her penmanship. Inaantay namin na maglutang si de Lima, na magsabi siya sa presscon niya, para matignan namin baka tama ang listahan na inilabas o baka may tinanggal siya.”

A Daily Tribune newspaper report earlier quoted a source as saying that Drilon was among the lawmakers who benefited from the PDAF scam. Drilon denied the allegations, saying he had coursed his pork barrel funds only to the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Other administration allies were also included in the alleged list.

Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery Panfilo Lacson also revealed that he received Napoles’ unsigned and incomplete affidavit, which also includes a list. The list, however, was not complete, Lacson admitted. The Napoles camp confirmed giving the draft affidavit to Lacson, who had refused to accept his pork barrel allocations as a senator.

Cam’s group, the Whistleblowers Association of the Philippines, is eyeing the help of the Supreme Court in order to have de Lima release the copy of Napoles’ list.

Cam said her group is preparing to file a petition for mandamus before the SC to order de Lima to make the list public.

De Lima has belittled Cam’s claim, saying the latter had no authority and standing on the issue.

facing “the challenge of ‘jobless growth’ squarely and with more vigorous efforts.”

Programs to boost employment include: intensified job-skill matching and employment facilitation; enhancement of the productivity of micro, small, and medium enterprises; and facilitating the mobility of professionals.

Baldoz said the Philippines’ job placement mechanisms have been cited by the ILO Global Employment Trends 2014 Report saying they will benefit both economies and workers in the ASEAN. All these government efforts, she said, seek to enhance the employability of workers and the competitiveness of enterprises.

Why ‘non-comparable’?

Baldoz cited three differences that resulted in the “non-comparable” comparisons: 1.

Frequency of data collection “Malaysia and Thailand collect unemployment data every month, while Cambodia collects data only once a year. On the other hand, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia conduct their LFS every quarter, like the Philippines,” she said.

2.

Definition of criteria for terms in calculating the unemployment rate “Indonesia, Malaysia, and Cambodia have relaxed their application of the criteria ‘seeking work,’ while Thailand, Singapore, and Vietnam have not. Specifically, the Philippines has relaxed the criterion ‘seeking work’ in its unemployment measurement to include those who did not actively looked for work on account that no work is available, temporary illness/disability, bad weather, awaiting result of previous job application, and awaiting for re-

hire/job recall,” she explained.

3.

Use of “reference period” “The Philippines follows the ILO standard ‘available for work during the reference period’ with an added two weeks following interview date. Singapore and Cambodia use the reference period ‘two weeks following interview date.’ Thailand uses the reference period ‘past week’ while Indonesia and Malaysia use ‘not specified,’” Baldoz said.

The media reports on the comparative unemployment rates in the region quoted the International Labor Organization’s Global Employment Trends 2014.

Baldoz said the Philippines adheres by the ILO standards of measurement of unemployment.

“Without belaboring the ILO Report further, I state that the Philippines adheres to the 1982 ILO Standard on the measurement of unemployment which considers an individual unemployed using the following three criteria: without job, looking for work, and available for work,” she said.

From page 1

From page 1

PORK SCAM From page 1

Atienza reportedly said that by creating the so-called truth commission, the slow pace of investigation could be hastened.

“We respect the opinions of our lawmakers,” Coloma said. “However, this idea must be reviewed.”

The PCOO chief assured citizens that the Aquino administration is doing everything it could to speed up the process of investigation on the pork barrel scam.

He further said that the Department of Justice, Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman have enough mechanisms to facilitate the case on its own.

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Aquino remains determined in solving media killings, says Coloma MANILA, May 3 (Mabuhay) – The Aquino government has not wavered in going after those behind media killings to give justice to the victims and their families, a Malacanang official said.

It was reported that in the latest Global Impunity Index released last month by the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Philippines belongs to three nations with a continuing culture of impunity with regards to attacks on media personalities.

But in a radio interview on Saturday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma J.r said that one reason for the high number of unsolved media killings is the big number of journalists killed in the Maguindanao massacre in 2009.

Coloma told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that the Global Impunity Index based its ranking from cases on media killings that remain unsolved.

“At madali naman pong matuntun kung bakit po mataas ‘yung bilang ng hindi pa naso-solve na krimen na kinasangkutan ng mga mamahayag sa ating bansa dahil doon lamang po sa iisang kaso ng Maguindanao massacre na naganap noong November 2009, ay mahigit limampu na kaagad pong katao ‘yung pinag-uusapan na nagbuwis po ng buhay dahil sa tinatawag na impunity laban sa mga mamamahayag,” Coloma explained.

While the cases against the perpetrators of the Maguindanao massacre is ongoing, Coloma acknowledged the big challenge that lies ahead. But he said the good thing is that the government remains determined to serve justice to the victims and their families.

More than 100 people have so far been implicated in the case, which has been ongoing for around three years and there is still no resolution, according to Coloma.

“Ganoon pa man, determinado naman po ang ating pamahalaan na tukuyin ang mga kasong ito at patuloy pa ring hinahanapan ng solusyon at ng katarungan,” he said assuring the public about the government’s continuing efforts.

In the last Labor Day dialogue with the labor sector of President Aquino, extra judicial killings was tackled, and Coloma said that aside from going after the perpetrators, the administration is also pushing for reforms in the country’s justice system to speed up litigation of cases.

Aside from the cases in connection to killing of journalists, the government is also paying extra attention to solve the murders of labor leaders in the country.

(MNS)

US juggling ‘too many’ humanitarian crises worldwide WASHINGTON, May 1, 2014 (AFP) – The United States is contending with too many global humanitarian crises at once to comprehensively fund relief efforts, the State Department told Congress Thursday, urging other nations to step up.

The aid landscape this year looked particularly challenging given the emergencies in South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), where brutal rebellions and ethno-religious violence have left thousands of people dead, displaced millions and pushed countless more to the brink of famine.

“Thanks to Congress, we have appropriations to do more this year, but as you know we are contending with too many humanitarian emergencies,” Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard, who oversees population, refugees and migration issues, told a House hearing on the CAR. Some 2,000 people have been killed and nearly a million displaced since ethnic and religious strife swept the Central African Republic in late 2013, according to the State Department.

It is coordinating some $67 million in humanitarian aid for CAR this year, and in mid-April the United Nations called for $274 million to address humanitarian needs in the region related to the crisis there.

But the donor community risks its aid being spread too thin on the ground.

“Unrest in CAR is happening at the same time as upheaval and violence in South Sudan and widespread conflict in Syria,” Richards told a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Africa and global health.

Other major crises demanding world attention: continuing unrest in Ukraine, Mali’s refugees, the aftermath of the Philippines’ devastating typhoon, renewed violence in Darfur, and war-weary Afghanistan.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” with key aid groups like World Food Program stretched thin, said Richard, who travelled to CAR in April and heard testimonies from victims of brutal, spiraling violence.

Congressman Christopher Smith, who chairs the subcommittee, complained that some aid groups operating in CAR were doing so on an “absolute shoestring,” and that it was imperative to boost funding to such groups.

Richard said expanding the donor pool – such as in the Syria conflict, when Gulf states engaged on the humanitarian front – was a priority.

“We would like to see more countries who haven’t been traditional donors join us,” she said.

Congress appropriated $1.3 billion for total US Agency for International Development operations for 2014, about $215 million less than the 2013 level.

THE US ASIAN POST

OPINION

Birth control law heralds liberal change in PHL

BY JASON GUTIERREZ

MANILA, May 2, 2014 (AFP) – The Philippines has long been known as the Catholic Church’s Asian stronghold, but a new birth control law highlights an increasingly liberal shift that could next see divorce legalised, activists and religious leaders say.

A 15-year battle by the Church to thwart state-sanctioned family planning ended last month when the Supreme Court approved the law, allowing the government to begin distributing free contraceptives to millions of poor Filipinos.

It was a rare loss for the Church, which has for centuries been one of the nation’s most powerful institutions and continues to count more than 80 percent of the nation’s 100 million people as Catholics.

The Church helped lead revolutions that toppled two presidents in recent decades and has been a constant voice in the nation’s modern political discourse, placing pressure on legislators to adopt conservative social policies.

The Philippines is the only country where divorce remains illegal, while abortion is also outlawed and marriage is strictly defined as a union between a man and a woman.

But advocates say the introduction of the birth control law, accompanied by widespread community support, shows that Filipinos are increasingly ignoring the conservative teachings of the Church while maintaining their faith.

“The Filipino Catholic mindset is evolving,” Elizabeth Angsioco, a leading feminist who helped galvanize support for the birth control law, told AFP. “The Catholic hierarchy is trying its best to keep their claim that the Philippines is the bastion of the faith in Asia.

However, I feel that such a position is no longer as popular or widely accepted as it used to be.”

Catholics ignore Church teachings Indeed many modern Filipino Catholics have already embraced customs that were once considered taboo and are still illegal or frowned upon by the Church.

There are 500,000 abortions each year in clandestine clinics, according to the government, many of them by poor women or teenage girls who cannot afford to bring up another child.

Contraceptives have also for many years been in high demand in poor communities.

In slums across Manila, reproductive health centers run by charity groups have long struggled to meet the demand for contraceptives and family planning lessons.

Filipino Catholics have also shown they do not want to accept the Church’s insistence that the “sanctity of family life” must be preserved or, in other words, to remain in an unhappy marriage.

Legal separations, which settle property and assets issues

without legally dissolving a union, are common.

Estranged partners can also have their marriages annulled, although this requires a lengthy and expensive court process that is not always successful, so typically only the rich decide to try that option.

Momentum building for divorce Following the birth control victory, a broad coalition of women’s groups are now looking to build momentum for a law that would legalize divorce.

A women’s rights party had already introduced a bill into Congress in 2010 seeking to lift the ban on divorce.

The bill has not progressed beyond committee hearings.

But its proponents say they will now seek to revive debates in Congress, and at least one female senator has said she will work to craft a counterpart bill in the upper chamber.

“The public conversation on divorce must now begin,” said Risa Hontiveros, a former legislator who is part of the pro-divorce lobbying network.

“The Philippines, being the last country in the world where divorce is illegal is a sign of immaturity.”

Proponents of divorce are aware it will still likely take years to have their legislation passed.

One important reason for the success of the birth control law was that it had the full support of President Benigno Aquino, who comes from a family of devout Catholics but is a bachelor with a reformist agenda.

However he has been far cooler on the divorce legislation, meaning it will be harder to win support from members of his ruling coalition in Congress.

Nevertheless, even senior Church figures acknowledge large chunks of Catholic Filipino society are adopting more liberal social philosophies, and the nation’s laws will inevitably reflect that.

Bishop Oscar Cruz, a former president of the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said he expected divorce, abortion and even same-sex marriage could eventually be legalized in the Philippines.

“Because the world is becoming more one... to play blind to these factors is like a bird hiding under the sand. The thing is to be open about it, to be frank about it, so that we will know what to do,” Cruz said.

But Cruz also signalled that the Philippine Church was less likely to focus so much energy on slowing the liberal tide, taking their queue from Pope Francis.

Cruz said local Church leaders had followed closely Francis’s comments calling for the Church to end its “obsession” with divorce, gays, contraception and abortion.

“The hierarchy is more conciliatory, especially now with Pope Francis,” Cruz said.

China poised to overtake US economy: World Bank ranking

BY FABIEN ZAMORA

PARIS, April 30, 2014 (AFP) – China is advancing rapidly to overtake the United States as the biggest economy in the world, new data shows, with the leader of the world economy since the 19th century possibly losing its top spot to the Asian giant from this year.

“The United States remained the world’s largest economy (in 2011), but it was closely followed by China” once data was adjusted for comparison on a standard basis, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

“India was now the world’s third largest economy, moving ahead of Japan.”

In parallel, the OECD grouping 34 advanced economies and analysing the same data, said that “the three largest economies in the world were the United States with 17.1 percent (of global output), China 14.9 percent and India 6.4 percent.”

In 2011 “OECD countries accounted for 50.0 percent of the world’s gross domestic product” on a comparable basis, down from about 60 percent in 2005.

“Large emerging economies, China, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation and South Africa, accounted for about 30 percent of global GDP in 2011, up from about 20 percent in 2005,” the OECD said.

The World Bank published a vast study on the rankings of national wealth creation on the basis of 2011 figures.

The study was carried out with several international organisations to compare national production figures in nominal terms, and also after adjustment to reflect varying buying power, a method knows as purchasing power parities (PPP).

Comparisons of the size of various national economies can be skewed heavily by the exchange rates used and how these change. They can also be affected by the reliability of input data.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a policy centre for 34 advanced democracies, said that PPPs were “the relevant currency conversion rates to make international comparisons of economic activity” since they compensated for differences in price levels across countries.

Gross domestic product by the United States in 2011 amounted to $15.533 trillion, over twice of China’s $7.321 trillion.

But after a PPP-method adjustment, the figure for China rose to $13.495 trillion, breathing down the neck of the United States which has dominated the world economy for over a century.

The World Bank said that its PPP calculations for 2011 could not be compared directly with calculations made in 2005, but the figures nevertheless showed the speed with which China was closing the gap.

In 2005, on a PPP basis, Chinese output amounted to about 43.0 percent of US GDP, but in 2011 this had risen to nearly 87.0 percent, doubling its relative performance.

2014 could mark overtaking point China has been catching up for several years, since it became a player across the global economy.

It now looks possible that in the course of this year, the Asian behemoth will overtake the United States in terms of output on a purchasing-power basis.

The director of French research and forecasting body Cepii, Sebastien Jean, said: “The latest data lead to the conclusion that this will probably happen from 2014, because Chinese GDP on a purchasing parity basis has been sharply revised upwards.

“The previous data had suggested that it was 28.0 percent lower than the US figure in 2011. The new estimates for 2011 show a gap of only 13.0 percent.”

The latest PPP calculation also puts Mexico ahead of Canada in terms of share of global output, with 2.1 percent compared with 1.6 percent for Canada.

However, when these figures are presented on a per capita basis, the outcome is very different.

The United States emerges in 12th position and China comes in 99th place. The list is headed by Qatar, Macao, Luxembourg, Kuwait and Brunei, the World Bank figures show.

At the World Economic Forum in Geneva, economist Thierry Geiger said that the shift of production power towards emerging economies had geopolitical implications in terms of negotiation, moral responsibility and leadership on such issues as the climate or global finance.

He commented that the Chinese statistics institute had not given its approval for the figures which, he said, suggested that China “does not want the responsibilities which would come with the status of being number one.”

US Supreme Court allows prayer at government meetings

BY CHANTAL VALERY

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Vice President for Operations

Executive Editor

Liza Rafallo

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WASHINGTON, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – The US Supreme Court on Monday upheld citizens’ right to pray at government meetings, in a divided decision which said the practice did not violate religious freedoms. The court’s five conservative justices said “the nation’s history and tradition have shown that prayer in this limited context could coexist with the principles of disestablishment and religious freedom.”

At issue were town meetings in Greece, New York, where clergy had been invited to offer a prayer, which in the last eight years had been exclusively Christian. Two atheists and a Jewish resident brought the case before the Supreme Court arguing that the practice was unconstitutional, particularly because it was solely Christian.

The high court’s five conservative justices, all Roman Catholics, found their arguments “unpersuasive,” while its four progressives – three Jews and a Catholic – voted to end the prayers.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the practice was one “accepted by the framers” of the Constitution.

“There is no indication that the prayer opportu-

nity has been exploited to proselytize or advance any one, or to disparage any other, faith or belief,” the decision said.

The prayers may have invoked “the name of Jesus, but they also invoked universal themes, e.g. by calling for a spirit of cooperation.”

The prayers neither “denigrate, proselytize or betray an impermissible government purpose,” it added. The basis for religious freedom in the United States is found in the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

Conservative and faith-based groups were jubilant over the decision. “Speech honoring God and invoking His blessing on our land should be welcomed, not treated with hostility,” said Ralph Reed, leader of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.

“With today’s decision, the government officials that faith-based voters help to elect can provide a forum for such expressions without fear of being reversed by future courts,” Reed said, adding that prayer at public events “is a long and cherished tradition in our country and is woven into the fabric of American society.”

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UTREACH

LA County to host used oil recycling event in La Puente

The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Works will host a free used motor oil and used oil filter recycling event at San Angelo Park, 245 San Angelo Avenue, on Saturday, May 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In exchange for turning in their used oil, participants will be rewarded with free oil containers, oil filter containers, shop towels, and funnels while supplies last.

In addition, residents can dropoff used motor oil and used oil filters for free at weekend Countysponsored Household Hazardous Waste/Electronic Waste Collec-

Consulate welcomes US-trained PHL cops Los Angeles, 02 May 2014 – The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles hosted a dinner reception on 30 April 2014 in honor of the Philippine National Police participants of the Public Safety Officers Senior Executive Course (PSOSEC) Class 2014-87 and 88.

The PNP-PSOSEC Class is headed by Police Chief Superintendent Nicolas Salvador. Their counter-

parts from the Los Angeles Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also attended the reception. US Embassy Legal Attaché Gibson Wilson accompanied the 36-member PNP delegation from the Philippines. The PSOSEC participants are in Los Angeles for a training program to enhance the participants’ competence level and in preparation for their assump-

tion to higher command positions in provincial, regional and national levels in the Philippine National Police.

This partnership between the PNP and the FBI is on its 9th year.

It has deepened the law-enforcement cooperation between the Philippines and the U.S. This is the 1st 2014 received by the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles.

Get free remittance fees plus a $10 Walmart gift card via PNB Web Remit The Philippine National Bank (PNB) is giving away to new customers a FREE $10 Walmart Gift Card on their first successful remittance through PNB Web Remit.

From April 14 to June 30, 2014, aside from FREE $10 Walmart Gift Card, new customers will also enjoy FREE remittance fees when sending money to the Philippines via PNB Web Remit!

PNB Web Remit is the Bank’s newest remittance platform where customers can quickly and safely

remit money to their loved ones using the internet. Not to mention that this facility offers one of the highest exchange rates allowing a beneficiary to get more value from the hard-earned money sent.

Customers can simply open their laptops, use their phones or tablets, log on to www.pnbwebremit.com and enroll in the service. After enrollment, customers can immediately make a remittance transaction and have their beneficiaries receive the cash by crediting it to

any bank in the Philippines or picking it up at any PNB branch.

The service also features the PNB Remittance Tracker where clients can conveniently check the status of their remittance by just clicking the track remittance button and encoding the reference number.

So start sending your hard-earned money to your loved ones through PNB Web Remit! For more information about the features and benefits, just log on to www.pnbwebremit.com.

tion Events or at local Certified Collection Centers. A full calendar of collection events and center locations can be found at www.

CleanLA.com.

Residents are asked to prepare items for drop-off by placing used oil filters in sealed plastic bags and storing used motor oil in leakproof containers without mixing the oil with other liquids, including water.

For additional information on the County’s oil and oil filter recycling program, call Edna Gandarilla, Program Manager, at (626) 458-6536.

Notice of registration to Filipino citizens

Notice is hereby given that under Republic Act No. 9189, otherwise known as “The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003”, all qualified citizens of the Philippines abroad, at least 18 years oold on the day of the elections, , may vote for President, Vice-President, Senators and Party-List Representatives.

All qualified Filipino citizens not registered as voters shall file an application while those who are already registered shall file an application for certification.

For purposes of the May 9, 2016 elections, registration/certi-

fication shall be from May 6, 2014 (Philippine time) to October 31, 2015 (Philippine time). for transfer of registration records may be filed at the Posts or before the Office for Overseas Voting (OFOV) of the COMELEC during the registration period.

The 30-day voting period will commence on April 9, 2016 (Philippine time) until 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon of May 9, 2016 (Philippine time) at the Philippine embassy or consulate having jurisdiction over the place where the overseas voter is registered as such.

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Asians outperform white students because they try harder: study WASHINGTON, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – Asian-American schoolchildren tend to outperform their white counterparts in school because they try harder, according to a US study out Monday.

The findings were based on an analysis of records from two separate surveys tracking several thousand whites and Asians in the United States from kindergarten through high school.

Scientists at Queens College of New York, the University of Michigan and Peking University in Beijing looked at grades, test scores, teacher ratings, family income and education level, immigration status and other factors.

“Asian-Americans enter school with no discernible academic advantage over whites,” said the study, noting that “advantage grows over time.”

By fifth grade, or age 10-11, Asian-Americans “significantly outperform whites,” and the peak difference is reached by grade 10, or age 15-16.

“Overall, these results suggest that the growing achievement gap can be attributed to a widening gap in academic effort rather than to differences in cognitive ability.”

Asian-Americans tend to be motivated by cultural teachings that instill the notion that effort is more important than inborn ability, researchers said.

Aside from Filipino dance, music and martial arts, the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC open house gave visitors a taste of Filipino cuisine by serving them lechon, pancit, lumpia and turon capped by classical Filipino music performed by the Northern Virginia Rondalla.

They also endure “greater parental pressures to succeed than in the case of comparable white peers.”

The notion of a hard-working Asian student who is destined to succeed may be a stereotype, but it may actually work to the benefit of Asian-American youths, the researchers said.

“These positive stereotypes may help bolster Asian-American achievement just as negative stereotypes have been shown to hinder the achievement of African-American youth,” said the article.

Asian-Americans’ higher de-

gree of success comes at a price, however.

Whether their family lineage traces back to the Philippines, South Asia, Southeast Asia or East Asia, these children report fewer positive feelings about themselves and say they spend less time with friends than whites, the study found.

“They also have more conflict with both parents than comparable white peers,” it said.

The research was published in the May 5 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal.

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Show moms, grads your love but tie down those metallic balloons ROSEMEAD, Calif., May 2, 2014 – Sixty-six percent. It would be a great number in an election.

Unfortunately, it reflects a onemonth spike in power outages caused by metallic balloons. Since the month of May and its celebrations of Mother’s Day, graduations and proms has arrived again, Southern California Edison (SCE) urges its customers duringNational Electrical Safety Month to keep the balloons secured to a weight as required by law and to never release them outdoors.

Last year, SCE’s balloon-related outages increased from 70 in April to 116 in May and eventually caused 2,454 hours of interruptions for homes and businesses over the 12 months.

“Customers should keep the balloons indoors, if possible, but they should always keep them tied to a weight that prevents them from floating away,” said Don Neal, SCE director of Corporate Environmental, Health and Safety. “Never removing this weight is the best way to prevent outages and mishaps caused by balloons.”

Those mishaps include fires and injuries that can occur when balloon contact leads to downed power lines.

May and June are traditionally the worst months for balloon-related outages, with nearly 33 percent of SCE’s 689 such outages last year occurring in those months. In the past five years, only the 126 balloon outages in June 2012 exceeded last May’s 116. There were 110 outages last June. By comparison, February and March – also high months because of Valentine’s Day – produced 19.4 percent of last

year’s balloon outages.

With this increase in mind, SCE recommends some other safety tips for handling metallic balloons: Do not attempt to retrieve a balloon – or any foreign object – tangled in power lines. Instead, call SCE at 800611-1911 and report the problem.

Never tie a metallic balloon to a child’s wrist. If the balloon comes into contact with electricity, it will travel through the balloon and into the child, possibly causing serious injury or even death.

Never attach streamers to any balloon – latex or metallic.

When done with them, puncture the balloons or cut the knot to keep them from floating away.

If you see a downed line or dangling wire – even if it appears not to be live – don’t touch or approach it and call 911 immediately.

More on metallic balloon safety can be found at on.sce.com/staysafe.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Southern California Edison An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.

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ConGen Herrera-Lim meets Fil-Am Cerritos Mayor Mark Pulido: Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim paid a courtesy call on Mayor Mark Pulido at Cerritos City Hall on 30 April 2014. The two officials discussed political dynamic mix in Cerritos City and how to develop Filipino-American entrepreneurship. They further discussed the prospect of identifying a City in the Philippines that can forge a sister-city relationship with the City of Cerritos.

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directed the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to comment on the petition filed by four losing senatoriables who questioned the proclamation of winning senators in the May 13, 2013 elections.

The four losing senatoriables have cited errors in the canvassing of the results.

In a resolution of the SC en banc dated April 22, 2014 and was released on Monday, it ordered the Comelec to submit its comment within a period of 10 days from notice.

“The Court resolved, without giving due course to the petition, to require the respondent to Comment thereon within 10 days from notice hereof,” the resolution said.

It was signed and promulgated by Clerk of Court of the SC en banc Atty. Enriqueta E. Vidal.

The petition for certiorari was filed before the SC by Rizalito David, Baldomero Falcone, Ricardo Penson and Hans Christian Señeres.

They accused the Comelec of abusing its authority after it proclaimed the winning senators despite failure to comply with the Authentication of Electronically Transmitted Election Results as mandated by law.

The petitioners argued that the Comelec has set aside the findings and recommendations of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) which observed vote padding and shaving in a number of precincts.

“It appears from the findings of the TEC that there was automated ‘dagdag-bawas’, resulting in the proclamation of ‘accidental’ senators, when it concluded that lines caused ‘additional votes for candidates even if there were no votes for the candidate’ and ‘loss of votes for candidates who received votes which were not counted because the line caused an overvote’,” the petition said.

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Senate Republicans shoot down minimum wage hike

Protesters shout anti-U.S. slogans during a protest rally at the gates of Camp Aguinaldo, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters, where the opening ceremony of the Balikatan 2014 U.S-Philippine military joint exercise is being held in Quezon city, metro Manila May 5, 2014. According to an AFP news release, around 3,000 Filipino soldiers and 2,500 U.S. soldiers will participate in the Philippines-U.S. Balikatan 2014 military exercises which will focus on maritime security and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. (MNS photo)

Solon slams Aquino for blaming Mindanao power crisis on cooperatives MANILA, May 5 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III’s statement last week blaming cooperatives for the worsening power crisis in Mindanao did not sit well with a party-list lawmaker. “[Aquino] once again pass[ed] the blame to others the dismal failure of his administration to effectively respond to the perennial power woes of the people in Mindanao,” Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said in a statement Monday.

Zarate said the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 is the real culprit behind the hours-long rotational brownouts being experienced by residents in Mindanao. “He got the power crisis upside down,” Zarate said of Aquino. “His prescriptions of mere changes in the EPIRA to supposedly facilitate more competition and increase the number of generating plants are all cosmetic.”

Aquino criticized power cooperatives in Mindanao last week for allegedly failing to address the power shortage there, saying they only decided to invest in generators this year despite being advised as early as 2013 to purchase them in preparation for a possible tightening of power supply.

But Zarate said contrary to Aquino’s statement, the power crisis in the region has been “induced” by the privatization of major government power assets under the EPIRA, which was passed more than a decade ago to bring power rates down by promoting competition in the energy sector.

He said among the power assets sold to private companies were the 100-MW capacity Power Barge No. 117 situated in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, and

a similar 100-MW capacity Power Barge No. 118 situated in Maco, Compostela Valley. The two power barges were bought by the Aboitiz family in 2009 for $30 Million.

In addition to this, the government also sold the 96-MW capacity Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant to the Lopez-controlled Energy Development Corp.

Zarate said the privatization “effectively made Mindanaoans virtual hostages of the power cartel.”

“The situation is only made worse by the President’s indifferent declaration two years ago, [when he offered] Mindanaoans with only two options: pay even more higher [for] electricity or suffer more rotating brownouts,” he added.

The legislator warned that the government might use the worsening power situation in Mindanao to justify the privatization of its remaining major power asset, the Agus-Pulangi Hydropower Plant Complex (APHC), which has an effective capacity of 700 MW. “Instead of prioritizing the development of renewable energy, this situation will also be used to justify the entry of more dirty energy sources like coal-fired power plants, which ironically are also heavily water-dependent technology,” he said.

The lawmaker urged Congress to act now to scrap the law and craft an alternative measure that will lower electricity prices for all consumers.

“It is high time now to put an end to this failed experiment and we return the power sector, this very basic public service, back to the effective control of the state,” Zarate said. (MNS)

Senate Republicans shoot down minimum wage hike WASHINGTON, April 30, 2014 (AFP) – US Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a hotlycontested measure to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, smothering President Barack Obama’s priority effort to improve pay for working-class Americans.

A united Democratic front convinced just one Republican, Bob Corker, to back the measure, and with a vote count of 54-42, it failed to earn the 60 votes necessary to overcome blocking tactics and begin debate on the bill.

Democrats hope the emotional issue will propel supporters to the polls in November’s mid-term elections, when Obama’s party will find itself in a tough battle to hold on to the Senate.

Even though the bill had little chance of passing a divided Congress, Democrats seek to capitalize on the effort, painting Republicans as out-of-touch elites unperturbed that those who work 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $7.25 still live in poverty.

“They’re back in the 19th century saying we shouldn’t do this,” Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.

“We will bring this bill to the floor again and again and again... and sooner or later we will get it done.”

Democrats say hiking the wage would benefit 28 million Americans, bring millions out of poverty,

Pope condemns Catholic Church ‘profiteers’ VATICAN CITY, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – Pope Francis on Monday condemned “profiteers” and “climbers” who used the Catholic Church to make money as he embarks on Vatican reforms aimed at promoting greater transparency and doing more to help the needy.

“There are climbers in the Church. There are a lot of them!” the pope said in a homily during one of the morning masses he holds in the Vatican residence where he has stayed ever since being elected last year.

ease reliance on federal aid programs, and pump billions of dollars into the economy.

Republicans, citing the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, argue the move would slash between 500,000 and one million jobs. Some have said hiking the wage to $10.10 was too hefty an increase. “We all want to see hardworking American families work their way toward the American dream. But we’re not going to be able to do that with the federal government setting wages,” said Senate Republican John Cornyn.

The vote came on the same day the Republicancontrolled House of Representatives held a Budget Committee hearing on progress in the war on poverty, prompting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to blast the “Republicans’ theater of the absurd.”

“Republicans have fashioned themselves for years as the defenders of the economy,” Reid said before the vote.

“How shocking then that Senate Republicans are not supportive of legislation to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. What is preventing my Republican colleagues from giving working Americans a fair shot?”

Democrat Edward Markey noted on the Senate floor that the minimum wage has been raised 10 times since the 1930s, most recently during the presidency of Republican George W. Bush.

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2014 (AFP) – US Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a hotly-contested measure to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, smothering President Barack Obama’s priority effort to improve pay for working-class Americans.

A united Democratic front convinced just one Republican, Bob Corker, to back the measure, and with a vote count of 54-42, it failed to earn the 60 votes necessary to overcome blocking tactics and begin debate on the bill. Democrats hope the emotional issue will propel supporters to the polls in November’s mid-term elections, when Obama’s party will find itself in a tough battle to hold on to the Senate.

Even though the bill had little chance of passing a divided Congress, Democrats seek to capitalize on the effort, painting Republicans as outof-touch elites unperturbed that those who work 40 hours per week at the current minimum wage of $7.25 still live in poverty.

“They’re back in the 19th century saying we shouldn’t do this,” Demo-

cratic Senator Chuck Schumer said.

“We will bring this bill to the floor again and again and again... and sooner or later we will get it done.”

Democrats say hiking the wage would benefit 28 million Americans, bring millions out of poverty, ease reliance on federal aid programs, and pump billions of dollars into the economy.

Republicans, citing the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, argue the move would slash between 500,000 and one million jobs. Some have said hiking the wage to $10.10 was too hefty an increase.

“We all want to see hardworking American families work their way toward the American dream. But we’re not going to be able to do that with the federal government setting wages,” said Senate Republican John Cornyn.

The vote came on the same day the Republican-controlled House of Representatives held a Budget Committee hearing on progress in the war on poverty, prompting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to blast the “Republicans’ theater of the absurd.”

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Celebrities boycott Brunei-owned hotels over harsh sharia law KUALA LUMPUR, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – Celebrities including Virgin group founder Richard Branson have vowed to boycott a hotel chain linked to Brunei’s sultan after he introduced a controversial Islamic penal code in his country. Brunei’s all-powerful Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced last Wednesday that he would push ahead with the sharia law that will eventually include tough penalties such as death by stoning.

Branson said on the weekend that Virgin employees would not stay at the Dorchester Collection luxury hotel chain, which includes The Dorchester in London and the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles.

“No @Virgin employee, nor our family, will stay at Dorchester Hotels until the Sultan abides by basic human rights,” the British billionaire posted on Twitter.

Others who have called for a boycott

include comedian Stephen Fry, TV host Sharon Osbourne and comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

The US group Feminist Majority Foundation said it had also pulled its annual Global Women’s Rights Awards, cochaired by Jay and Mavis Leno, from the Beverly Hills Hotel in protest.

The Dorchester Collection is reportedly owned by the Brunei Investment Agency, a sovereign wealth fund under the oilrich sultanate’s Ministry of Finance.

Brunei government officials could not immediately be reached for comment on Monday. The Dorchester Collection also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The sultan’s move has sparked rare domestic criticism of the fabulously wealthy ruler on the Muslim-majority country’s active social media, and international condemnation including from the UN’s

human rights office.

But the sultan has defended the implementation of the law, meant to shore up Islam and guard the Southeast Asian country against outside influences.

“We have never thought ill of others.

We have never relied on them to accept us or agree with is but it is enough if they respect us the way we respect them,” he said last week when announcing the law’s implementation.

The initial phase introduces fines or jail terms for offences including indecent behavior, failure to attend Friday prayers and out-of-wedlock pregnancies.

A second phase covering crimes such as theft and robbery is to start later this year, involving more stringent penalties such as severing of limbs and flogging.

Late next year, punishments such as death by stoning for offences including sodomy and adultery will be introduced.

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World renowned violinist, Joshua Bell And Glee Star, Darren Criss added to the all-star line-up typhoon Haiyan tribute concert WASHINGTON, D.C. – Grammy Award-winning violinist, Joshua Bell and Glee and Broadway star sensation, Darren Criss join multi-award-winning Broadway artist Lea Salonga, Hollywood actor Lou Diamond Phillips, tenor Rodell Rosel, Christine Rocas of Joffrey Ballet, singer Apl.de.ap of Black Eyed Peas and a host of other celebrities will come together in the nation’s capital for a benefit concert for victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. The Philippine Embassy said the concert, dubbed “After the Storm,” will be staged at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, 15 June 2014.

The concert is being held in cooperation with the US-Philippines Society and the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition, directed by Broadway’s Baayork Lee and produced by Emmy-nominated producer, Robert Pullen.

“This benefit concert intends to bring attention to the invaluable and necessary efforts of recovery for the people of the Philippines who were affected by Haiyan,” said Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., who conceived the project with his wife, Mrs. Maria Victoria Cuisia.

The concert, which will take place in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, will benefit storm victims through partner organizations committed to the rebuilding of the devastation that has occurred in the Philippines.

“As the world’s attention is gradually drawn away from the devastation in the central Philippines, we are reminded that formidable challenges remain for millions of families displaced by the most powerful tropical storm ever to make landfall,” said Ambassador John F. Maisto, President of the US-Philippines Society. “The Kennedy Center benefit evening will help those people reconstruct homes and schools, restart businesses, restore livelihoods, and regain access to health facilities,” Ambassador Maisto added.

The evening will feature celebrity appearances and performances together with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra conducted by Luke Frazier and the Broadway Community Chorus founded by Broadway legend Baayork Lee. It will also include a series of video messages of hope from celebrities and other personalities from around the world.

Among the first to confirm their participation in the concert was the Manila-based Lea Salonga, who won the Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Theatre World awards for her appearance in Miss Saigon.

Salonga is the first Asian actress to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in Les Miserables on Broadway. She portrayed both roles on the musical’s 10th and 25th anniversary shows in London respectively. She also provided the singing voice of two official Disney princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin (1992) and Fa Mulan in Mulan (1998) and Mulan II (2004).

Also participating in the concert is Filipino-American actor Lou Diamond Phillips who is best known for his breakout starring role in the movie La Bamba as Ritchie Valens.

He earned a supporting actor Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Stand and Deliver and a Tony Award nomination for his role in The King and I. Other notable films in which Phillips has starred include Courage Under Fire, Che, and Love Takes Wing.

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MOTORING Consumers want connected cars (Relaxnews) – In-cabin smartphone, infotainment and apps access are top of drivers’ wish lists when it comes to the features they want in their next car.

That is according to the 15,171 vehicle owners who took part in the J.D. Power 2014 U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study.

Published this week, the survey sets out to find the existing and upcoming technologies that most excite the nation’s drivers and which ones they’d be most willing to pay extra to have.

Before cost enters the equation, the most popular features are all about smartphone connectivity -- 83 percent want wireless connectivity systems for pairing phones and tablets with the car, while 78 percent are most excited and interested in a device/application link, a feature that allows drivers to control a handset and access its apps via a vehicle’s standard equipment, such as a dashboard-mount-

(Relaxnews) – The number of connected cars on the world’s roadways will increase at a 57 percent compound annual growth rate to total 420 million by 2018, according to a new report from the think tank IDATE. In 2013, the number of connected vehicles produced totaled just 45 million.

Currently, there are three main technical solutions for producing connected vehicles, which are defined simply as vehicles equipped with internet access.

The most obvious solution – and the most advantageous from a technical standpoint, according to IDATE – entails integrating a connection module directly into the vehicle.

Another option relies on smartphone tethering for internet access. Finally, a third method combines the first two, enabling the use of an embedded module for certain practical applications (GPS, traffic alerts, etc.) and smartphone tethering for infotainment features.

IDATE predicts that the embedded module solution will become the most common one by 2018, accounting for 222 million of the connected cars in circulation by then.

The study echoes earlier predictions that cars will soon join PCs, smartphones and tablets to become connected terminals in their own right.

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US auto sales extend rebound from winter slump WASHINGTON, May 1, 2014 (AFP) – Automakers on Thursday reported generally higher US sales in April from a year ago, extending the spring thaw from the deep freeze in January and February amid brutal winter weather.

A total of 1.39 million cars and trucks were sold in the United States in April, a gain of 8.1 percent from a year ago and accelerating from March’s 5.7 percent annual pace, industry specialist AutoData said.

But sales slowed slightly month-over-month. The April annual sales rate was 16.0 million vehicles, down from 16.4 million in March, according to AutoData.

Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, a car-shopping website, said that despite a trend toward fuel-efficient vehicles in recent years, car shoppers still showed keen interest in trucks and sport utility vehicles.

“SUVs, in particular, are not only selling well, but they are selling at a quicker pace than cars, pickups, or vans.

SUVs are selling, on average, 20 days faster than other cars and trucks,” the analyst said.

device owners but is yet to offer a real-life demo or consumer release date. But it had better get into high gear quickly as the excitement around Apple’s system, already available on the latest Mercedes, Ferraris and Volvos, has made a huge splash.

So much so that ABI Research forecasts that by 2018 Apple’s CarPlay will be featured in 50 percent of all new cars, either as standard or offered as an option.

“Smartphone ownership has increased to 70 percent in 2014, and consumers want the same connectivity in their vehicle as they are used to getting from their smartphone, computer or tablet,” said Mike VanNieuwkuyk, executive director of global automotive at J.D. Power. “Device/Application link enables the vehicle to replicate the display of a device on the vehicle’s screen while managing the device through the vehicle’s controls, which is why consumers want-and are willing to pay-to have that technology.”

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ed touchscreen display.

Yet, when it comes to cost, 60 percent of respondents feel being able to wirelessly connect a phone to a car should be a standard feature. But when it comes to app integration, buyers are prepared to go the extra mile -- 79 percent said they’d be willing to pay a $250 premium for the feature, dropping to 55 percent if the price were $300 or more.

A number of car companies, most notably Ford, have developed their own systems for offering this functionality, but in recent months the two big smartphone operating systems, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, have also been getting in on the act. Apple recently unveiled CarPlay, a system that mirrors an iPhone’s screen and a number of its core apps to the dashboard screen in a way that can be safely accessed by touch or via voice command.

Android has announced a partnership with Volkswagen Group among others to offer a similar system for Android

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Porsche to give Cayenne a chop (Relaxnews) – The company is in the process of cutting down the roofline of its flagship SUV in order to create a faster coupé version.

The reasoning behind the decision is to offer a more sporty alternative to the already rather sporty standard Cayenne. According to Autocar, the new car is in the advanced stages of development and could make an appearance in 2018.

The original Cayenne was heavily influenced in terms of design by the Porsche 911 and word is that this time around, inspiration will be drawn instead from the 918 Spyder, the company’s incredibly green yet incredibly fast hypercar.

It is also expected to feature some of the same powertrain technology as it will be offered with hybrid engines as well as petrol and diesel powerplants.

Then there’s performance: the company is using the Nürburgring rather than rolling hills as the car’s test ground. So expect something fast and something that will come with a premium over the full-size Cayenne.

All of which makes the SUV coupé sound like a direct competitor to Lamborghini’s upcoming ‘Urus’ off-roader. Scheduled for a 2017 launch, the company promises that when it hits the street, the Lamborghini will be the fastest car of its

GM, Chrysler, Toyota boost US sales in April, Ford falls WASHINGTON, May 1, 2014 (AFP) – Automakers General Motors, Chrysler and Toyota on Thursday scored US sales gains in April, extending the rebound from bad winter weather, while Ford sales unexpectedly slipped.

GM, the largest US automaker, said total sales rose 7.0 percent in April from a year ago, to 254,076 vehicles.

Chrysler Group, the US unit of Italy’s Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, clocked in a 14 percent jump year-over-year with 178,652 vehicles sold, its best April performance since 2007.

For General Motor Company and Chrysler, sales gains were higher than estimates of 4.7 percent and 12.30 percent, respectively, from analysts at Edmunds. com, a car-shopping website.

Ford Motor Company, the number-two US automaker, reported sales fell 1.0 percent from a year ago, to 141,950 vehicles. Edmunds.com analysts had forecast a 4.6 percent increase.

Ford’s disappointing sales numbers came the same day the company announced its chief executive Alan Mulally will step down on July 1 and

named chief operating officer Mark Fields to replace him.

Japanese rival Toyota, the world’s top automaker, said US sales increased 9.0 percent to 199,660 vehicles.

“Sales momentum from March rolled into April pushing the industry to its best back-to-back monthly sales pace since fall of 2007,” said Bill Fay, Toyota division group vice president and general manager.

Fellow Japanese automaker Nissan said US sales shot up 18.5 percent to an April record of 94,764 vehicles.

Overall, US auto sales in April are expected to have extended their spring rebound after unusually harsh winter weather in January and February hammered sales.

Edmunds.com predicted a 9.1 percent rise in US auto sales in April following the 5.7 percent gain in March.

Kurt McNeil, GM’s US vice president of sales operations, was upbeat about demand.

“The economy continues to strengthen,” he said in a statement. “Retail demand was steady in April, and truck sales and transaction prices were especially strong.”

A Porsche Cayenne S Diesel: The standard SUV is set to be joined by a more aggressively styled coupé version. ©Porsche

German car sales down in April FRANKFURT, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – New car registrations in Germany, a key measure of demand in one of the most crucial sectors of Europe’s top economy, fell in April, data showed on Monday.

A total 274,097 new cars were registered last month, a drop of

3.6 percent compared with the same month in 2013, according to data compiled by the federal automobile agency, KBA. In March, new registrations had risen by 5.4 percent.

German carmakers had the biggest share of overall sales, led

by Volkswagen which accounted

for 22.1 percent of new registrations, KBA calculated.

Daimler’s Mercedes and VW’s Audi brands came next, accounting for 9.4 percent of overall sales.

Taking the first four months as a whole, new registrations rose by 2.9 percent to 985,850 units, KBA calculated.

French car sales pursue slow climb from slump: trade data PARIS, May 2, 2014 (AFP) –, Sales of new French cars rose in April, trade data showed on Friday in a further sign that the French market is pulling away from a slump which helped throw Peugeot Citroen into crisis.

Sales rose by 5.8 percent from the level 12 months earlier, both after adjustment for the number of working days and on the basis of raw data, the committee of French carmakers CCFA said.

In March, sales had risen by 8.9 percent.

In April, the French market absorbed 166,968 new cars.

A spokesman for the manufacturers said that the CCFA was holding to its forecast that sales for the whole of this year would rise by 1.0 percent, after adjustment for the number of working days.

But the trade grouping said it was advancing a cautious figure because the volume of sales remained low even though it had risen, and because sales to individual private buyers were slowing down.

The increase in overall sales reflected mainly sales to companies, he said.

The figures of slowing sales to personal buyers come against a background of public concern about record high unemployment and new measures by the government to contain public spending.

Peugeot Citroen has just opened up to new shareholders in the form of Chinese state-owned group Dongfeng and the French state as part of a strategy to recover from severe financial crisis which a government report blamed largely on undue dependence on the French and European market, and in-

sufficient use of the opportunities of globalisation.

The latest figures show that the increased sales in April benefited French manufacturers.

Sales by PSA Peugeot Citroen rose by 5.1 percent despite a poor performance by Citroen.

Sales by Renault jumped by 18.4 percent, with an 11.0 percent rise by the Renault brand and a 45.6-percent leap by the low-cost subsidiary based in Romania, Dacia.

Among foreign manufacturers, US groups Ford and General Motors, and Japanese group Nissan which is controlled by Renault, led the pack.

For the first four months of the year, sales of new cars in France showed an increase of 3.7 percent before adjustment for the number of working days in the period.

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INMENT

Toni denies ‘PBB’ is scripted Television host Toni Gonzaga finally broke her silence amid online speculations that the latest season of “Pinoy Big Brother” is all scripted.

Gonzaga said there is no truth to such rumors because the housemates definitely went through the audition process.

“Definitely nag-audition. Sa Araneta may nakuha silang tatlo, sabi ni Direk Lauren (Dyogi). Tapos sa ibang bahagi ng Pilipinas, may nakuha din sila,” she said.

Gonzaga said this rumor is not new to them because they have been plagued with this kind of

Toni hopes Alex will learn from ‘PBB’ experience “Pinoy Big Brother” host Toni Gonzaga hopes her sister Alex will learn important lessons during her stay inside the famous yellow house.

Alex, who was initially presented to the media as one of the hosts for “Pinoy Big Brother All In,” turned out to be the surprise housemate during the pilot episode of the reality show’s latest season last Sunday.

Toni said she will terribly miss her sister.

“Parang mami-miss ko siya sa bahay kasi wala na akong makakausap sa gabi. Kasi ang room namin connected so pagkauwian derecho siya sa room ko tapos kinukwento niya ‘yung nangyari the whole day. So ‘yun wala na akong kausap,” she relayed.

As soon as Alex entered the “PBB” house, Kuya immediately called Alex to the confession room to have a word with her. ‘Kuya’ explained that Alex needs to experience being a housemate to be an effective host.

Agreeing with Kuya, Toni said, “Kasi kaming lahat naging housemates (Bianca Gonzalez, John Prats, Robi Domingo).

Ang dami naming na-discover sa sarili namin that helped us a lot, not just as hosts of the program, ‘yung ano mas naging mabuting tao.”

Asked if there is something she would like to tell Alex, Toni said, “Kasi si Alex, lahat sa kanya biro. ‘Yung mga teacher niya, binibiro niya.

‘Pag pinapagalitan siya ni mommy and daddy, binibiro niya. Kanina pinapagalitan ko siya puro biro. She doesn’t take things seriously in life so I think dito kahit papano sumeryoso siya sa ilang bahagi ng buhay niya.”

Aside from Alex, the other housemates of “PBB” are Axel Torres, Jane Oineza, Cess Visitacion, Kevin Cecilio, Nichole Baranda, Aina Solano, Joshua Garcia, Jayme Jalandoni, Manolo Pedrosa, Maris Racal, Ranty Fortento, Michelle Gumabao, Jacob Benedicto, Loisa Andalio, Fourth and Fifth Solomon and Vickie Rushton. (MNS)

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criticism since the reality show’s very first season.

“Sanay na kami sa ‘PBB.’ Season 1 pa lang, wala pang social media noon, sangkaterbang email na ang nakuha namin noon na scripted, haters, bashers. Pero I love the environment here sa ‘PBB’ because we welcome all of it. We welcome all of them. Lalo na ngayon, ‘All In.’ Okay lang sa amin lahat dito ‘yun,” she said.

Gonzaga said what’s important is that Kapamilya viewers still continue to watch “PBB.” “Kasi even if they bash the show, even if they say a lot of

things about the show, interested pa rin naman sila manood kahit paano,” she said.

Asked if she has any message to loyal viewers of PBB, Gonzaga said, “Nagpapasalamat tayo sa ating mga Kapamilya na tumutok, nag-abang at na-miss ang ‘PBB.’ Maraming salamat po sa mainit na pagtanggap at sa ratings po na nakukuha namin every night.”

Meanwhile, Gonzaga shared that she and her parents miss her younger sister, Alex, every day.

Alex, who was originally a co-host of “PBB,” is the reality show’s ce-

lebrity house guest this season.

“Parang ‘yung TV namin hindi na pinapatay, sa 24/7 live stream, binabantayan siya. Kaya lang kahit anong bantay, wala naman silang magawa. Pero so far ganun naman si Catherine (Alex’s real name), kung ano ang ginagawa niya sa loob, ganun talaga siya,” she said.

According to Gonzaga, she cannot wait for Alex to get out of the PBB house so they could spend time together again.

“Parang naninibago ako na walang kumakanta sa kabilang kwarto. Walang maingay, walang

Toni and Alex Gonzaga

kakatok sa kwarto ko. Kapag natutulog ako, walang gigising sa akin. Walang magku-kwento sa nangyari buong day. Kung ako lang talaga, gusto ko na siya lumabas kasi nahihirapan na ako sa bahay,” she said.

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ATHLETICS

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada receives a token as guest speaker at the opening of the Palarong Pambansa 2014 at Laguna Sports Complex, Barangay Bubukal, Sta. Cruz, Laguna, from Education Secretary Armin Luistro (2nd right), and Laguna Governor Jeorge E.R. Ejercito Estrada. Also in photo was Chairman Richie Garcia (2nd left) of the Philippine Sport Commission (PSC). (MNS photo)

Add Ali to those who wants Mayweather-Pacquiao LAS VEGAS, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – Boxing legend Muhammad Ali is happy that Floyd Mayweather remains unbeaten, but the sporting icon wants to see him face Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.

The former world heavyweight champion posted a message on Twitter hailing Mayweather’s majority-decision triumph Saturday over Argentina’s Marcos Maidana but slipped in a jab of his own about Mayweather having yet to face Pacquiao.

“Congratulations FloydMayweather. Maybe after you rest up we can see you rumble with MannyPacquiao!” Ali tweeted.

Mayweather, 37, and Pacquiao, 35, talked about a showdown years ago as fans pushed for the superstars to meet in the ring but money and blood testing issues scuttled the talks.

Since then, Mayweather (46-0 with 26 knock-

outs) has said he will never work with Pacquiao’s long-time promoter, Bob Arum, and Pacquiao (565 with two drawn and 38 knockouts) is reportedly in talks for a new deal with Arum that would likely take him to the end of his career.

Pacquiao beat Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision last month, avenging a controversial 2012 defeat, and could face Juan Manuel Marquez for the fifth time if the Mexican wins a fight later this month to become his mandatory next title challenger. Marquez stopped Pacquaio in 2012.

Mayweather did not address Ali’s Twitter remark but did return to tweeting Monday after his tweets were named on Time magazine’s list of the 140 best Twitter feeds of this year.

“It’s an honor to be on Time’s list of best Twitter feeds of 2014. Go grab Time Magazine from the store,” Mayweather tweeted.

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