US pledges to return Philippine Church Bells ...

...but unsure when

 (Associated Press) | Updated September 5, 2017 - 10:00pm

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President Duterte holds a a photograph of the First Battle of Bud Dajo massacre showing American soldiers with the bodies of Filipino Muslims killed in Bud Dajo, a volcanic crater on the island of Jolo in 1906. KRIZJOHN ROSALES, File

MANILA, Philippines — The United States is committed to returning three church bells seized by American forces as war spoils from the Philippines more than a century ago, the U.S. ambassador said Tuesday, raising the prospects of a resolution of a thorny issue between the allies.

Ambassador Sung Kim said the two governments have discussed the return of the Balangiga bells, named for the Philippine village from which they were taken in the early 1900s. He said in response to questions from reporters that the U.S. is "deeply committed that the bells are returned to the Filipino people," but that he could not specify when that would happen.

Filipinos revere the Balangiga bells as symbols of their long struggle for independence. The bells gave the signal for insurgents to attack American soldiers who were occupying Balangiga after the U.S. took possession of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.

Talks about returning the bells have been a perennial issue in U.S.-Philippine relations.

Kim said there was "an ongoing discussion within the U.S. government and the Philippine government to try and facilitate the return of these bells as quickly as possible," but added there were some issues that needed to be solved in the U.S.

"We want to return them," he said. "I believe it's the right thing to do."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked the U.S. to return the bells in his state of the nation address in July, saying "they are part of our national heritage ...  return it to us, this is painful for us."

Duterte has had an antagonistic attitude toward U.S. security policies while building closer ties with China and Russia.

Two of the three bells are displayed at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They are part of a memorial to 46 U.S. troops killed by Filipino insurgents in 1901. A third bell is with a U.S. Army regiment in South Korea.

Marcos camp: We have evidence of 2016 polls anomaly

By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com) | Updated September 6, 2017 - 12:05pm

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In his poll protest, former Sen. Bongbong Marcos questioned the integrity of the 2016 elections. The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, has dispensed Marcos' first cause of action in his election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo. AP/Bullit Marquez, file

MANILA, Philippines — The camp of defeated vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos remains confident that they will secure victory in an election protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.

The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), earlier upheld the integrity of the 2016 elections.

The tribunal dispensed the Marcos camp's first cause of action calling to nullify the results of the vice presidential race due to a "flawed" automated election system.

Lawyer George Garcia, head of Marcos' legal team, admitted that the first cause of action will not result to the proclamation of the former senator as vice president.

The protest of Marcos against Robredo, however, is still not over, according to Garcia.

READ: SC upholds integrity of 2016 polls, orders ballot boxes retrieved

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"That may not be true at all when we say that the Supreme Court dismissed, that Supreme Court merely dismissed the first cause of action. We have three causes of action and it is also wrong to say that the Presidential Electoral Tribunal practically set aside the so-called nullification of the 2016 election," Garcia said in ANC's Headstart.

The second cause of action is for the revision and recount of all voters' receipts, elections returns and other documents in 27 provinces and highly urbanized cities used in the May 2016 elections.

Meanwhile, the third cause of action seeks to annul the election results in Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao on the grounds of cheating like vote buying, pre-shading, intimidation, among others.

Garcia claimed that more than 51 percent of the voters in the three provinces were not the ones who actually voted on election day.

"If we are able to prove that based on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Abayon vs HRET, that may result in the nullification of the results of the election at least for the position of vice president," Garcia said.

The Marcos counsel said that their camp has evidence to prove the anomalies in the three provinces during the 2016 polls, justifying their request to retrieve election materials.

The PET also ordered the "retrieval of ballot boxes and other election documents, revision of ballots and reception of evidence can already begin with, but shall first be confined to, only the provinces that have been designated by protestant, namely Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental.”

The nullification of election results from the three provinces may result in the victory of Marcos in the vice presidential race. Robredo won by more than 265,000 votes against Marcos.

"And in case the tribunal will annul the election in these three provinces, it may result to Bongbong Marcos winning by a 45,000-vote margin," Garcia said.

Impeach Raps move forward

Sereno, Bautista impeach raps move forward

By Gaea Katreena Cabico (philstar.com) | Updated September 6, 2017 - 12:41pm

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The impeachment complaints against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista are transferred to the Committee on Rules. Philstar.com/Efigenio Toledo IV, File/EDD Gumban

MANILA, Philippines — The impeachment complaints against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Commission on Elections Chair Andres Bautista advances as House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez referred the cases to the Committee on Rules.

Majority Floor Leader Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas heads the committee.

The Speaker has 10 days to send an impeachment complaint to the rules committee, according to House rules, for it to be included in the order of business and get referred to the Committee on Justice. The justice committee, which handles impeachment complaints, has 60 days to conduct hearings and submit a report.

On August 30, 25 congressmen endorsed an impeachment complaint against Sereno filed by lawyer Lorenzo Gadon.

A second impeachment complaint with endorsements from 16 solons was filed on Monday by Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and Eligio Mallari of the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution.

Jimenez and Mallari submitted an impeachment complaint earlier in August. However, the complaint did not gain any endorsement at the time.

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The grounds for the impeachment cases against the chief justice include culpable violation of the Constitution, corruption, other high crimes and betrayal of public trust.

The cases alleged that Sereno, among other things, used public funds to finance her supposed lavish lifestyle, misdeclared in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth declaration and falsified of court documents.

Meanwhile, former Negros Oriental congressman Jacinto Paras and lawyer Ferdinand Topacio filed the impeachment complaint against Bautista for his alleged P1-billion ill-gotten wealth.

It gained endorsements from three members of the Lower House.

READ: Impeach rap vs Bautista filed, endorsed

Sereno and Bautista are not the only government officials in President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration facing threats of removal from office. Impeachment complaints were also filed against Vice President Leni Robredo and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio.

The president himself was likewise threatened with impeachment bid, which was dismissed by the Congress.

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Premier Volleyball League of the Philippines

PVL: San Beda, Arellano contest Group B lead

ABS-CBN News

Posted at Sep 06 2017 06:49 AM

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Arellano University is trying to get its second win in the PVL Collegiate Conference. Arvin Lim,ABS-CBN Sports

MANILA, Philippines – Arellano University and San Beda College contest the lead in Group B of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Collegiate Conference, while Jose Rizal University (JRU) and San Sebastian College try to get back on track in Group A on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Lady Chiefs and the Lady Red Spikers kicked off their PVL campaigns with emphatic victories.

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Arellano trounced De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, 25-20-, 25-22, 25-17, while San Beda College blasted Technological Institute of the Philippines, 25-13, 25-18, 25-27, 25-13, during the opening weekend.

The two NCAA squads meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, seeking another win that will give them the momentum in the single round-robin eliminations of the PVL Collegiate Conference.

Meanwhile, the 6:30 p.m. duel between JRU and San Sebastian is also crucial, as both squads dropped their opening game assignments and are in dire need of a win in order to stay in the hunt for a semis spot.

• READ: Lady Falcons outlast Lady Maroons

Only the top two teams in the two groups will advance to the crossover semifinals.

JRU and San Sebastian bowed to the fancied Ateneo de Manila University and Far Eastern University (FEU), respectively, with both squads getting swept in straight sets.

Ateneo and National University, on the other hand, gun for their second straight wins in Group B of men’s play with the Eagles facing the San Beda side at 8 a.m. and the Bulldogs colliding with the FEU Tamaraws at 10 a.m.

But San Beda and FEU are going all out in a bid to foil their respective fancied rivals as they try to wheel back into contention in the event serving as part of the participating teams’ buildup for their respective leagues.

University of Santo Tomas paces Group A, which includes University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and CSB, with a 2-0 card.

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.

Spending money like water?

MON, SEPTEMBER 4, 2017 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINIONKlaus Doring

Some people have money to burn! Oh yes, just the opposite: they are spending it like water. Every time I observe them, I feel that their money is going down their drain. Yes, “money talks.”

The more money you have, the more you might become avaricious. Every time, we have to dig deeper into our pockets, we might longing to be like those people, who don’t see the difference between a 500 or 1,000 bill.

Oh yes, money matters! I am really not rich! I also wouldn’t hesitate to say, that I would like to be so! Being rich means having wealth! Wealth is abundance, opulence and affluence. Affluences become quickly influence. Dyed-in-the-wool millionaires or even multi-millionaires over lose their view of reality many times. They can’t even see the horizon, which could be the demarcation of their real estate. They even don’t recognize the wonderful flowers growing and blooming in their gardens.

Money calms down! Sure. No doubts at all! We all need an income to survive for our daily needs – and, maybe, a little bit more. Many of us struggle through life and work like slaves for a pitiful daily minimum wage. If you’re rich, you might be on the top. But believe me, once you are on top, you will have some unwelcome, mostly acceptable companions such as loneliness, so-called friends (!), parasites and freeloaders.

These companions will let you scream in pain, because you will start missing things, you have expected from them: real friendship, love, care, comprehension, understanding, sympathy, appreciation…. remember such things? Miss such things?

Yes, money can give you a wonderful sleep, and you might stay in one of the most luxurious beds – but being awake, while your poorest neighbor sleeps better and more peaceful on the floor. There are many sayings about money. I like this one: Money can buy books but not brains. You might study a lot and get a lot of experiences; it’s just a pity, if you don’t use them at the right time for the right people in your surroundings.

Money can buy food but no appe-tite. Who reaps the benefits of it? A full to overflowing store room will never be satisfying, if sour free-loaders join your table and push away your real friends.

Our last earthly dress has no more pockets. The remembrance on how we acted and lived together with our fellow creatures will remain forever. With money, we might be able to let the devil dance. But, money alone doesn’t make us happy. Money kills more people and friend-ships than a cudgel.

The more money, the more problems. And, how many times happened this: that’s throwing good money after bad. Do we really need all these things we bought without thinking about?

The more money, the more we have to pay and the higher our bills become….

Careful rumor mongers

Reprint from Mindanao Daily Mirror, published September 2-3, 2017 with friendly permission from the publisher.

EDITORIAL

Beware rumors mongers, you could now land in jail. This after President Duterte signed into law Republic Act 10951 which constitutes the amendments of the Revised  Penal Code. The law carries harsher penalties of crimes among others, treason which is now punishable by reclusion perpetua to death and a fine of at most 4 million Pesos, and spreading of false news found to endanger public order or cause damage to the interest of the State either thru publication  or utterances. The spread of fake news or unlawful utterances entails the penalty of arresto mayor (imprisonment of one month and a day to six months) and a fine of ranging from 40,000 to 200,000 Pesos. The prevalence of fake news recently in this country pushed lawmakers to declare it as criminal act.

Making fake news crime is a welcome development provided it would not be abused merely as a means for the fulfillment of certain political interests. This law also faces the danger of being abused as means to harass people out of personal grudge. Worse comes to worse, it could be used as a means to pin down political  detractors or enemies of state who are out to divulge irregularities of certain government officials or personnel. Thus, implementation of this law should be handled with extra caution to avoid thumping onto one's rights. There is a big tendency the spread of vital information against crooks in government could be easily charge to fake news, thereby curtailing one's right to freedom of speech. This is not cynicism since the above negative circumstances are big possibilities.

For all intensive purposes, fake news as a crime provides a tough lesson to rumor mongers who intend to color other people black. These people should be dealt with accordingly and be given a dose of their own medicine to let them realize how hurting it would be to be maligned in public. Meanwhile R.A. 10951 also penalizes a public officer who is guilty of revealing secrets of a private individual by arresto mayor and fine not exceeding 200,000 Pesos. This specifically pertains to a quidnunc who has the obsession of meddling into one's personal life for an ulterior motive only known to him. This law with any luck would stamp quidnuncs out.