Philippines to implement family planning law ...

... in blow to church

The announcement marked a victory over the influential Catholic church

Published: 15:59 November 16, 2017

AFP

 

MANILA A long-awaited Philippine family planning law to provide free hormonal contraceptives is finally going ahead, health officials said Thursday, ending a two-year impasse in which the Supreme Court demanded proof that they did not cause abortions.

The announcement marked a victory over the influential Catholic church which counts most of the Philippine population as followers and opposes all forms of artificial contraception.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said 51 types of contraceptive pills, coils and injectables could now be distributed to the public after the Food and Drug Administration certified they did not cause abortions, defeating a petition filed by a Catholic group.

“It is now all systems go for us in the Department of Health to implement the (Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health) law,” Duque told reporters.

For years, the Church has waged a bruising battle against government efforts to promote birth control despite the country’s widespread poverty and ballooning population.

The reproductive health law granting access to contraceptives was passed in 2012 despite strong Church opposition. However abortion remains illegal.

A religious group filed a case with the Supreme Court charging that many of the government-issued contraceptives were abortifacients and therefore banned.

This prompted the court to issue in 2015 a restraining order on the 51 contraceptives pending a finding by the FDA.

Government stocks of the contraceptives, acquired before this court order, are now being delivered to health offices and development groups to ensure they can be distributed before they expire, Duque said.

President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the Catholic church who was elected last year, has promised to deliver the free contraceptives to women as part of his reproductive health push.

Despite Church lobbying to cut funding for contraceptives, Duque said the government had budgeted 4.2 billion pesos ($82 million) for implementation of the law this year.

The head of the government’s Population Commission, Juan Antonio Perez, said the two years that the court order was in place had likely resulted in 500,000 unplanned pregnancies.

Perez said that the Philippines had 20 million women of reproductive age, six million of whom were already using contraceptives.

Perez added a million more were expected to start using contraceptives each year now that the ban had been lifted.

Manila Subway Project Moves Forward

... as Japan, Philippines exchange notes

Dharel Placido, ABS-CBN News

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte look at each other before the 20th ASEAN-Japan Summit in Manila, November 13 2017. Ezra Acayan, Reuters, Pool

MANILA – (UPDATE) The Philippines and Japan on Monday exchanged notes on Japanese assistance for infrastructure, including Metro Manila's first subway.

President Rodrigo Duterte and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe witnessed the signing of the diplomatic notes on the sidelines of their bilateral meeting in Manila late Monday. 

A loan agreement is expected to be signed in January after the exchange of notes, according to a timeline of of the subway from the Department of Transportation.

The Japanese government will provide 104.53 billion yen (P46 billion) for the first phase of the project, which is expected to transport approximately 500,000 passengers per day by 2027.

The subway will run from Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City to Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City and may be extended to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The exchange of notes also covered a 9.4-billion yen (P4 billion) loan for the "Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway" from Plaridel, Bulacan to Manila and a 2.5-billion (P1 billion) yen grant to rebuild war-tor Marawi City.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said these 3 projects were part of Tokyo’s financial support to the Philippines worth 1 trillion yen over the next 5 years.

In response to the Alessandra de Rossi - starrer '12'

By: Giselle Sanchez, Manila Bulletin

Last Wednesday, the movie “12” starring Alessandra de Rossi and Ivan Padilla came out in cinemas. It was written by the de Rossi herself with movie trailer gone viral. In the movie, the award-winning actress stated 12 reasons couples separate.

Alessandra de Rossi

Today I will focus on the opposite of that because not all couples are doomed for breakup. Since I recently celebrated my 17th wedding anniversary with my husband Emil Buencamino, let me give you 12 pieces of advice for couples to stay in love.

1. May forever kung masipag ka. The saying “walang forever” only applies to couples who are not willing to work on their marriage. When there is a problem, do not allow it to simmer. Talk about it before you go to bed. If the problem cannot be resolved overnight, work on it. Do not sweep it under the carpet.

2. Make time for each other. The word busy only happens when you allow it. Setting time for each other is still a choice.

3.  Laugh with each other, even if it is the corniest joke, laugh. The effort your partner makes to make you happy is enough.

4. Cry with each other. Make your partner your best friend, a shoulder to cry on. Someone you can open up to. Do not choose another person of the opposite sex to be your best friend. Choose your partner.

THE AUTHOR with husband Emil Buencamino

5. Dream with each other. It helps when your partner knows the desires of your heart and the status of where you are right now in your ambitions and goals. If the dream is far from being reached, your partner can give encouragement.

6. Always set a sexy time at least once a week. Ladies do not be embarrassed to plan your sexy time with your husbands. Do this before someone else plans a sexy time with your husband.

7. Love yourself. You cannot love others if you cannot love yourself. Take care of yourself. Exercise. Have a haircut. Dress up. Take a bath.

8. Physical contact is very important. Without physical contact, you will just end up as best friends and not lovers anymore.

9. Pride is the root of all evil. The reason you cannot forgive is because you love yourself too much. If you really love your partner and are willing to work on your marriage, you will have to learn to let go, let God, move forward.

10. Talk to each other. Communication is very important. Tell stories, books you’ve read, people you met. Without communication, you might as well just be strangers. And do it personally. Texts and e-mails are okay but a face to face conversation beats all bonding moments.

11.  Go on vacation with each other. Date each other to different places. Another place, another atmosphere helps build love and memories.

12. Pray with each other. God should be your third party. God can help unlock the healing of a hurting heart, a hard habit to break, an annoying attitude, a dying relationship. The only key is faith.

90 percent of vehicles tested in Davao City ...

... fail emission tests

By Yas D. Ocampo, Manila Bulletin

DISMAL RESULTS – Personnel from the Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office conduct an emission test on a government vehicle in Davao City. About 90 percent of those tested failed the tests. (Keith Bacongco)

Davao City – About 90 percent of vehicles tested for emission by the Environmental Management Bureau ((EMB) did not pass standards in this city, as set by the Clean Air Act, according to officials.

Speaking at the bimonthly Connect Health and Wellness Forum at SM Lanang Premier, EMB engineer Melvin Dapitanon said that the results of their November 7 joint roadside emission assessment showed that most of the vehicles tested did not pass the emission tests.

These included around 30 government vehicles.

“Sa roadside inspection of the PUJs, most of the diesel engine failed with the emission standard of the Clean Air Act,” Dapitanon said.

The joint emission testing activity tested around 80 vehicles from PUJs, government vehicles, and passenger buses.

Only one of the 20 buses from the Bachelor Express did not pass the test, as most of their fleet were already Euro 4 compliant, he noted.

The bus tests were conducted last November 9 at the Bachelor motorpool in Ma-a.

Only 10 percent of the tested vehicles were PUJs, with the rest being private and government vehicles.

During the testing, the vehicles were merely tagged and required to come back for testing the following week.

Penalties for failing to mee emission standards begin at P1,000 for violators, according to Dapitanon.

The local ordinance, meanwhile, requires vehicles that do not pass emission standards to be brought to the motorpool of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) within 72 hours.

As early as 2015, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had already released standards that regulated the emission of mobile sources of air pollution.

The guidelines were made available via DENR administrative order 2015-04.

By 2018, new vehicles will be required to be subjected to Euro 4 standards, which mean lower emissions, less aromatics, and better combustion performance for vehicles.

Roller coaster life

SAT, NOVEMBER 11, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Yes, nowadays, for many of us life is indeed an emotional roller coaster. All over the world. Political instability, wars, terror attacks, climate change with extreme natural disasters, questionable global economical situations, illnesses or diseases.

A day starts with traffic jam and continues with terrible conditions at the workplace. The crab mentality seems to become nothing unusual now. In any case: everyone for himself. Each one by himself/herself/itself alone is quite nice, but together we have a problem. So what! It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

Well, sweet words might be easy to say; nice things are easy to buy; but good people are different to find. Life ends, when you stop dreaming; hope ends, when you stop believing; friendship stops, when you stop sharing. A good friend of mine sent me this quotation. I commented back: So very true and very well said!

Our life is borrowed – from God. No rental charges are collected from us. Many of us have forgotten this and live life at his fullest. Our life is equal to a book from a library that lends one. But how insatiable and unbearable are we in disdainful acting towards life and therefore to ourselves?

Life seems to be nothing, just being ready to riddle one with bullets. Life seems to be nothing, just being broken through the indifference and unreliable and immoral behavior. Life seems to be nothing for those people who don’t understand cries from the heart of other people around them – cries for their hearts and families, for justice and for many other things.

Life with all its ups and downs, is just a loan, but for many of our fellow creatures it just seems to be nonsense to be littered like dump. And, if people try to survive, especially during these days, and if they just experienced (once more!) indifference, arrogance, ignorance or cheating by whomever – they will give up!

I can assure you that every one of us can at first help in prayers and, in reading the bible. “Proverbs” is the probably most down-to-earth book in the bible. Its teachings prepare you for the daily life, the street and the market place, but not for the schoolroom. The book offers warm pieces of advice you get; practical guidance for making your way on earth. Proverbs covers any kinds of questions you might have right now. Anybody can relate to the generalities of Proverbs, because this book simply tells how life works most of the time.

While writing this piece, I observed that more and more people struggle through life: tired, hopeless, experiencing their rock-bottoms, believing in fallacious “people” around them. I also observed a lot of people living a thief life, as if it has been giving them without limitation.

Is our world order in danger?

Peace and Order

Comval Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy together with the members of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) Compostela Valley Province conducts A Study and learning mission in the establishment and operation of the Halfway House of Davao Oriental, a novel project which served as a temporary shelter for rebel returnees  on November 9, 2017 at Lanes Kitaanan, Mati City, Davao Oriental. (Photo by: M. Lasaca, PS Comval)

Bring home a friend

By Juliana Palermo

Do you wanna win a...

1. Condominium Unit

Or

2. Brand New Car

Or

3. 200,000.00php Duty Free gift certificates?

Department Of Tourism's BRING HOME A FRIEND Project is your lead!

Wanna find out more? Come and hang out with me on November 13 3-6pm at our Davao Region Launch! 😎

Comment below if you wanna come hang out and... if you have friends/relatives from overseas coming home for the holidays.

ComVal celebrates 25th Children's Month

Compostela Valley Province- The Provincial Local Government Unit of ComVal through  the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) leads the celebration of the 25^th National Children’s Month (NCM) with the theme “Bata: Iligtas sa Droga!” on November 6, 2017 at the provincial capitol.

This theme was approved by the Council for the Welfare of Children Board in support to the administration’s fight against illegal drugs.

The opening was led by Gov. Tyron Uy, SP Members and department heads and assistants as they released balloons in celebration.

   

The children's month is observed every November by virtue of Republic Act No 10661. This declaration commemorates the adoption of the convention on the Rights of the Child and seeks to instill its significances in the Filipino consciousness.

Highlighting the celebration are the following activities: the holding of the Provincial Children’s Congress, Provincial Bulletin Festival for the Day Care children and a Regional Consultative Forum.

There will also be activities to be conducted by the partner agencies like kids singing idol, poster making contest, medical and, feeding program and the "search for gulayan for day care center."  (Jazel N. Sarte//ids comval)

PROVINCIAL MEET

Comval Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy together with Department of Education-Comval Chapter School Division Superintendent Dr. Reynante Solitario and Pantukan Mayor Roberto Yugo visited the “Provincial Meet 2017” at the Municipal Eco-Tourism Park, Kingking, Pantukan Compostela Valley Province on November 7, 2017. (Photo by: M. Lasaca, PS Comval)

END HUNGER

Comval Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy attended the conduct of “1^st End Hunger Summit” one of the program of the Provincial Government for the “Bayanihan Para Sa Kalusugan-Kusina ng Kalinga (BPSK-KNK)” on November 7, 2017 at the Social Hall, Capitol Building, Cabidianan, Nabunturan, Comval.(Photo by: M. Lasaca, PS Comval)

Hackers target Philippine Military and Presidential Websites

Hackers target Philippine military, Presidential websites

Reuters

Posted at Nov 08 2017 

SINGAPORE - A hacking group previously linked to the Vietnamese government or working on its behalf has broken into the computers of neighboring countries as well as a grouping of Southeast Asian nations, according to cybersecurity company Volexity.

Steven Adair, founder and CEO, said the hacking group was still active, and had compromised the website of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) over several high-profile summit meetings. ASEAN is holding another summit of regional leaders in the Philippines capital Manila this week.

In May, cybersecurity company FireEye reported that the group, which it calls APT32 and is also known as OceanLotus, was actively targeting foreign multinationals and dissidents in Vietnam. FireEye said at the time the group's activity was "of interest to the nation of Vietnam."

Adair told Reuters he had no basis to definitely say who was behind the group but said its capabilities rivaled those of most other advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, a term often used to refer to hacker groups that are believed to have state support.

"What we can say is that this is a very well resourced attacker that is able to conduct several simultaneous attack campaigns."

Vietnamese officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. But Hanoi has in the past denied accusations of cyber-attacks against organizations or individuals, and said it would prosecute any cases.

Adair said it was not clear how much information the group had stolen. "We do not really have anything on the scale of data theft, but we can tell you the scale and reach of the sites they have compromised is very far reaching," he said.

Malicious code

Volexity said in a report that the group had compromised websites of ministries or government agencies in Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines so they would load malicious code onto the computers of targeted victims.

This code would then direct them to a Google page which asked for their permission to access their Google account. If the user agrees, the hackers then have access to their contacts and emails.

The ministries included Cambodia's ministries of foreign affairs, the environment, the civil service and social affairs, as well as its national police. In the Philippines it had compromised the websites of the armed forces and the office of the president.

Three ASEAN websites, and the websites of dozens of Vietnamese non-government groups, individuals and media, were similarly targeted. The group also infected websites belonging to several Chinese oil companies.

Officials at ASEAN's headquarters in Jakarta were not immediately available for comment.

Kirt Chanthearith, a spokesman for the Cambodian national police, said the police website was hacked about six months ago but he did not know who was responsible. "It was hacked and we lost some data", he said, without giving further details.

Officials in Thailand said they were not aware of any hacking of government or police websites.

In Manila, Allan Cabanlong, executive director of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Centre, said there was no damage to government web sites in the Philippines but authorities were taking preventive measures.

"We've taken measures like cyber hygiene programs," he told Reuters. "We are conducting due diligence in the Philippines and we are clearing our network." 

Trump to extend stay in Philippines ...

... for East Asia meet

By Janvic Mateo and Christina Mendez (The Philippine Star) |

 5  17 googleplus0  1 

“The White House confirmed that President Trump will be attending the East Asia Summit on Nov. 14,” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar told The STAR in a text message. AP, File

MANILA, Philippines — He’s not skipping the East Asia Summit (EAS) after all. United States President Donald Trump will extend his stay in Manila next week – contrary to an earlier announcement by the White House – to attend the EAS and other meetings on Nov. 14.

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“The White House confirmed that President Trump will be attending the East Asia Summit on Nov. 14,” Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Robespierre Bolivar told The STAR in a text message.

President Duterte felt “overwhelmed” by Trump’s decision, said Philippine ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez.

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Trump, who left the US on Friday for a trip to various Asian nations, confirmed that his delegation would be “staying an extra day in the Philippines.”

The White House earlier said Trump will be in Manila to attend the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Nov. 12 and the ASEAN-US summit the following day. He was originally scheduled to skip the EAS summit and leave on Nov. 14. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was supposed to represent Trump at the EAS.

Before flying to Manila, Trump will visit Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam.

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His first official visit to Asia would be the longest made by a sitting American president in over two decades, according to reports.

The US President is also expected to have a bilateral meeting with President Duterte on Nov. 13.

Meanwhile, Romualdez said Trump’s decision to attend the gathering of world leaders in Manila “is a good development for our relations with the United States.” 

Trump’s decision will also improve further not just the Philippine-US relations, but also US relations with the other ASEAN and East Asian countries.

Singapore and Japan are also eagerly looking forward to Trump’s attendance at the EAS, Romualdez added.

The EAS is a forum held annually by leaders initially of 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian regions. Membership expanded to 18 when the US and Russia joined the group in 2011. EAS meetings are held after ASEAN leaders’ meetings. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Dec. 14, 2005.

Duterte, who had announced his “separation” from the US and pivot to China, was very happy upon receiving news on Friday evening that Trump would extend his stay in Manila, Romualdez said.

Duterte, he added, was looking forward to his bilateral meeting with Trump.

Narco-terrorism

One of the major issues the President hopes to discuss with Trump is narco-terrorism, Romualdez said.

Duterte had earlier lauded Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency over opioid abuse in the US, which the US leader called a “national shame.”

The Chief Executive has been vocal about eliminating the drug menace which, he said, has fueled terrorism in the country, especially in Mindanao as highlighted by the siege of Marawi City.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, for his part, said the ASEAN and EAS summits would provide a perfect time for ASEAN and partner countries to tackle unresolved issues.

He also hailed Trump’s decision to attend the EAS.

“The Palace welcomes the announcement of the White House that President Donald Trump would extend his stay in the Philippines to attend the East Asia Summit,” Andanar said.

He said Duterte “looks forward to engaging President Trump in the productive dialogue at the ASEAN-US Commemorative Summit and the EAS.”

“The Philippines, as host, chairman of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings, is set to welcome all foreign leaders and delegates and to ensure that they would experience their Filipino hospitality at its finest,” he added.

Andanar also appealed to the public to cooperate with authorities and follow stricter security and traffic rules during the ASEAN summit.

“Of course, during that day or those days na meron tayo sa ASEAN, we also expect the cooperation of the public,” he said.

“We should show our best foot forward (because) this is the time that we can show the whole world that we are a very good country, a very nice country, disciplined people and we are very warm, alam na naman ng lahat ‘yan (everyone knows that). And we are very orderly,” Andanar added. Trump began his five-country Asian trip on Friday.

Trump left Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington, for Hawaii. His next stop is Japan, followed by South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

In his departure speech, Trump announced that he decided at the last minute to extend his stay in Asia, in the wake of criticism that he was not very serious about strengthening ties with Asian allies.

Prior to the ASEAN summit in Manila, Duterte and Trump are also expected to meet in Danang, Vietnam on Nov. 10 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings.

APEC is the premier leaders-level forum for promoting cooperation in efforts to reduce barriers to trade and investment throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

With stricter security measures being readied for the ASEAN and EAS summits, thousands of workers are preparing nonetheless to welcome Trump with mass protests, especially in Metro Manila.

Elmer Labog, chairman of the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS), said yesterday they are expecting around 10,000 protesters to meet Trump on Nov. 12.

“After threatening to unleash ‘fire and fury’ and ‘calm before the storm,’ Trump would be in for a surprise,” Labog said at a news forum in Quezon City, referring to Trump’s statements against North Korea.

Labog said they are set to hold a rally outside the US embassy in Manila on Nov. 10 as an initial salvo against Trump.

The ILPS will also hold a press briefing on the same day at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, expected to be attended by anti-war activists from South Korea, Japan, China, Australia and other countries.

Among the delegates to the conference is Erdelan Baran, a member of the Kurdistan National Congress who led campaigns against terrorism in Syria and Iraq.

Another participant is Toshide Fujiwara of the Asia-Wide Campaign who  is slated to share his insights regarding the presence of US military bases in Japan.

Labog said rallies will also be held on Nov. 13 in the vicinity of the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City and in Clark Field, Pampanga on Nov. 14.  –  With Rhodina Villanueva