In response to Amando Doronila’s May 31 column (“Taiwan should compensate PH for its incursions”), I would like to again take exception to his misleading and erroneous statements. Though I have been reluctant to point out his fallacies, I, as a follower of journalistic ethics, feel the need to clarify the details of the shooting incident for the benefit of Inquirer readers.
Prior to the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman whose vessel was intercepted poaching in Philippine waters off the Batanes islands on May 9, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) recorded at least 19 incursions into this area since 2006. The incursions of Taiwanese vessels suspected of illegal poaching have made the northern waters a virtual [...]
The imperious President Charles de Gaulle of France is reported to have said, “How can anyone govern a nation that has 46 different kinds of cheeses?” Of the result of Monday’s senatorial elections, it may appropriately be asked, “How can anyone rule a nation that has a Senate composed of members of 24 different parties?”
President Aquino unceremoniously jettisoned Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan from his 51-member delegation to the Association of Southeast Nations summit in Brunei on April 24 shortly before the entourage flew out, and not because it was top-heavy.
In Greek mythology, the hero Hercules, in a fit of madness, slew his own six sons. So he could atone for his actions, the Oracle of Delphi advised him to serve King Eurystheus for 12 years, performing whatever work the king commanded him to do. Eurystheus ordered Hercules to perform 10 labors, the fifth of which was to clean the stables of King Augeas, who owned more cattle than anyone else in Greece.
Britain held on Wednesday a funeral full of military honors for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher comparable to the pomp and pageantry accorded in 1965 to Winston Churchill, its World War II prime minister. Thatcher’s funeral fell short of a state funeral, which she declined when she was alive, but the Cabinet decided it would [...]
The Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) announced on March 21 “stopgap” measures intended to put an immediate stop to the power outages of up to nine hours that have gripped parts of the island for the past three months. But the “immediate solution” comes at a heavy cost to the people of Mindanao. They will be paying higher electricity rates. The government is passing on to them the costs of a bigger supply of electricity.
The latest Pulse Asia Survey, conducted on March 16-20, showed the political-dynasty issue taking a toll on senatorial candidates closely identified with politically influential families. Overall, the survey found that from a total of 33 candidates for the Senate, at least 15—nine from the administration’s Team PNoy and six from the opposition United Nationalist Alliance [...]
(Concluded from Monday) In his speech last March 18 at the 45th anniversary of the so-called “Jabidah Massacre,” President Aquino stood at loggerheads with his father, the late former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., in their presentations of the event that triggered the Moro secessionist wars in the Philippines. “It has been four and [...]
The Pulse Asia survey results suggest that President Aquino continues to enjoy high approval ratings (68 percent )and trust ratings (70 percent) despite a storm of criticism for his handling of the conflict between the Philippines and Malaysia over the landing of the Sultan of Sulu’s armed followers in Sabah on Feb. 9. It must [...]
A week after the start of the election campaign on Feb. 12 and barely eight weeks before the balloting, the Social Weather Stations survey showed that nine senatorial candidates of the administration-backed Team PNoy have taken nine of the 12 seats up for grabs. Only three candidates of the opposition United Nationalist Alliance made it to the top dozen—Nancy Binay (seventh place), San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito (ninth to 10th place) and Miguel Zubiri (11th to 12th place).
President Aquino’s appeal to the Sultan of Sulu to order his followers who had crossed over to Sabah to press the sultanate’s ancestral claim to the Malaysian state to return home was an ultimatum to end the standoff with Malaysia.
