Philex rep denies Trillanes claim that Del Rosario favored MVP in West PHL Sea issue

MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB, GMA NEWS September 20, 2012 6:56pm


The spokesperson of Manny Pangilinan’s mining company rejected Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s accusations that Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario favored Pangilinan's businesses.

“Hindi totoo ‘yung sinasabi ni Trillanes na pinapaboran ni Del Rosario ang mga negosyo ni MVP,” Mike Toledo of the Philex Mining Corp. told GMA News Online Thursday.

Philex Mining Corp. is the parent firm of Philex Petroleum Corp., which was awarded a contract to explore oil deposits in Recto Bank (Reed Bank), another disputed area in the West Philippine Sea.

Del Rosario used to work for Pangilinan in several of the businessman's companies, including a stint at Philex as director.

Senate saw a heated exchange between Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Trillanes on Wednesday. Enrile accused Trillanes of siding with China on the dispute for Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, while Trillanes defended himself, saying that he was assigned as a “backdoor negotiator” by President Aquino.

Reading the notes given to him by ambassador to China Sonia Brady, Enrile said Trillanes accused Pangilinan of asking favors from Del Rosario — for one, that Pangilinan with the help of Del Rosario allegedly “asked the Chinese group not to release the findings” that the oil deposits in Recto bank “were not substantial.”

According to Brady’s notes, "[Trillanes] was accusing these two [Pangilinan and Del Rosario] of manipulating a war condition to divert attention from the Reed Bank."

This would effectively give “time [for Pangilinan]” to “sell [its rights in Recto Bank] to another buyer… to ensure that they can recover their investment,” Brady’s notes continued.

For his part, Toledo said the findings Trillanes was referring regarding the quantity of deposits in Recto Bank “is still an on-going study.”

“The [claim that the Recto bank is bigger than Malampaya] is only an estimate,” the spokesperson said.

As for Trillanes’ claims that the Pangilinan group is eyeing to sell its rights in Recto Bank, Toledo said he has not heard of such plans.

“As of now wala kaming alam na plano,” Toledo said, but he refused to further comment on the matter.

However, Toledo has confirmed one claim by Trillanes: that the senator asked Pangilinan to advise Del Rosario to “to quiet down” about China.

The spokesperson noted, though, that Pangilinan did not “dictate” to Del Rosario about foreign affairs.

“We can approach [Del Rosario]. But we cannot dictate [to] him,” Toledo said. — BM, GMA News

Cambodian PM targets 7 million tourists by 2020

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Prime Minister Hun Sen says Cambodia can earn $5 billion a year from tourists by more than doubling foreign visitors to 7 million by 2020.

Hun Sen told a tourism seminar Thursday that Cambodia would need to improve the quality of services and infrastructure for tourists and strengthen laws safeguarding them to achieve the goal.

He also said police must crack down on the use of guns in public places, especially those frequented by foreigners.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said Cambodia earned nearly $2 billion from 2.88 million foreign tourists last year, and expects 3.2 million foreign visitors this year.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Function 8, one of the organisers of the rally against the Internal Security Act

Function 8 calls on Archbishop to publish letters

Updated 07:23 PM Sep 20, 2012

Function 8, one of the organisers of the rally against the Internal Security Act, has issued a press statement in response to Archbishop Nicholas Chia's comments on a blog post written by Mr Alex Au. Mr Au, in his post published on Tuesday, had suggested that the Archbishop was pressured by the Government into retracting a letter he had sent to the rally organisers expressing his support.



Here is Function 8's press statement in full:

"We are deeply saddened by the comments of Archbishop Nicholas Chia reported in The Straits Times of 20th September 2012. He made three unsubstantiated remarks:

1. That Mr Au's account (in Yawningbread) could only have come from Function 8, with whom he had communicated in private.

2. That he decided to withdraw his letter of support "because if the letter were to be used in a manner that I (Archbishop) did not intend, it may inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore."

3. That Mr Au's article appearing now, months later, "confirms the correctness of my (Archbishop's) earlier decision to withdraw the letter so as not to inadvertently embroil the Catholic Church and the office of the Archbishop in a political event which was being staged by the group."

Our response is as follows:

1. Archbishop Nicholas Chia's initial letter to us, and the subsequent one withdrawing the first letter, were not marked "private and/or confidential". Indeed, in discussing his first letter, members of Function 8 concluded that it was intended to be made public on 2 June 2012, the 25th anniversary of Operation Spectrum. The retraction of the first letter made us cancel the plan. The organisers of the 2 June event subsequently decided that we would try to have a private dialogue with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

2. Archbishop Nicholas Chia assumed that Mr Au could only have obtained an account of what he wrote in his article from Function 8. Has His Grace forgotten that his second letter was cc to a third party and that his staff and others within the Church may also have sight of the letters?

3. What was his initial letter intended for and what are the unintended manners in which it could possibly be used to 'harm the social harmony in Singapore'?

4. Finally, we do not understand how His Grace can draw the conclusion that the disclosure of his own letter can "inadvertently harm the social harmony in Singapore" and that the fact that Mr Au has now written an article confirms the correctness of his earlier decision to withdraw the letter.

In the midst of a national conversation called by the prime minister, we believe there is no room for whispered meetings on the issues above. We request Archbishop Nicholas Chia to publish his first and second letters and advise on what transpired between the time his first letter was written and his second letter so that the public can judge for themselves whether the actions or inaction of Function 8 and Mr Au were "irresponsible and regrettable". For clarity, His Grace should also make known to members of the public if his first letter to the organisers of the 2 June event was solicited or unsolicited."

Angst About Japan Island Dispute Builds in China

• Print
• Email

Policemen block demonstrators near the Japanese consulate during a protest in Shanghai September 16, 2012.

• 
  

RELATED ARTICLES

• Chinese Protest at Japanese Embassy
• US Defense Chief Concerned Asia Disputes Will Spread

TEXT SIZE 

William Ide

September 16, 2012

BEIJING – Thousands rallied Sunday in the streets of dozens of cities across China as public anger with Japan over disputed East China Sea islands swelled. In view of the protests Japan’s prime minister has urged Beijing to guarantee the safety of Japanese citizens and businesses in China.

Outside the Japanese Embassy in the Chinese capital, protests were impassioned and brimming with angst. Some yelled “Japan, get the hell out of China!” and others chanted “Go China, go China!”

A heavy, double barricade of metal fences and flanks of security forces made it difficult for protesters to repeat Saturday’s attempt to storm the embassy’s front gate.

Authorities allowed protesters organized into large groups to march past the front of the embassy. When they did, many pelted the gate with water bottles, fruit and sometimes stones and glass.

One of the protesters, a woman from China’s central Xian province says she joined the rally out of a sense of duty. She says she came to show that the Diaoyu islands belong to China, adding that the Japanese like stealing things.

Last week, Japan announced a $26-million deal to nationalize the disputed island chain, whose waters contain rich fishing grounds and potential oil reserves. The islands, called Senkaku in Japan, had been owned by a Japanese family for several decades.

Japanese officials say the move was meant to make sure no individual could trigger a confrontation with China by developing the uninhabited islands. China called Japan's purchase a violation of Chinese sovereignty.

Anti-Japanese protests have been held in dozens of cities across China in recent days.

Security forces in the southern city of Shenzhen hurled tear gas canisters at protesters. Some tossed them back at authorities and a police vehicle was overturned.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency says in Guanzhou protesters broke into a hotel next to Japan’s consulate, smashed windows and damaged a Japanese restaurant.

Ning Mengmeng, a 24-year old hairdresser in Beijing says he and others in his salon put up a sign that reads: “No Japanese or dogs allowed.”

Ning says it is very simple. He hates Japanese. He says that maybe it is because of what he has seen in movies and what older people have told him about how the Japanese tyrannized Chinese people in the past.

He adds that while he does not advocate using violence to protest against Japan, he may stop going to Japanese restaurants and start boycotting its goods.

The Chinese government is walking a fine line between allowing the public to reasonably vent its anger and ensuring protests do not turn violent.

The Japanese Embassy says protesters in China have set fire to Japanese factories, sabotaged assembly lines, looted stores and illegally entered Japanese businesses.

Speaking with Japanese public broadcaster NHK on Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Japan deplores the violence and urged both sides to share information and maintain close contacts.

London: Lawyers for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton are scheduled to appear in court in Paris tomorrow to prevent further publication of topless photos

London: Lawyers for Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton are scheduled to appear in court in Paris tomorrow to prevent further publication of topless photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, days after a French magazine splashed them in its latest issue. 

A spokesman for St James's Palace said official legal proceedings would begin tomorrow. 

"It is the first airing and we will be seeking an injunction from them using the pictures and it will lead to a longer court case where damages will be sought," he said. 

The announcement of legal action comes as Prince William and his wife continued their tour of south-east Asia, while the Irish edition of Daily Star became the second publication to use the photos reportedly taken while the royal couple was on a holiday in France. 

Italian magazine Chi said it would print a special 26-page edition featuring Kate Middleton's photographs tomorrow. 

The French magazine Closer and Chi are reported to be both part of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Mondadori media group. Meanwhile, speaking to BBC, ex-Prime Minister John Major the photographer's actions were those of a "peeping Tom" and a boundary had "plainly been crossed". 

He said: "The way (these photographs) have been obtained is tasteless. It is the action of a peeping Tom. In our country we prosecute peeping Toms. That's exactly what they have done and they have been peeping with long lenses from a long way away. They're very distasteful." 

Major praised the British press for not publishing the photographs. 

Manila: A long-awaited law punishing cybercrimes has been signed into law by President Benigno Aquino

Aquino signs law against cybercrime

Move to enhance growth of information and communications technology-driven economy in the Philippines

• By Gilbert P. Felongco, Correspondent
• Published: 14:20 September 16, 2012
• 

Manila: A long-awaited law punishing cybercrimes has been signed into law by President Benigno Aquino, as a senior lawmaker lauded the long-awaited move.

Senator Edgardo Angara said the approval of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (RA 10175) by Aquino is a milestone as it will enhance the growth of ICT-driven [information and communications technology] economy in the Philippines.

“The passage of the cybercrime bill is timely especially after the recent arrest of an estimated 400 foreign nationals involved in cybercrime which defrauded victims of millions per day,” explained Angara, who authored and sponsored the measure.

Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission of Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), said: “Existing laws already criminalise certain online activities but now a wider range of internet-driven crimes are covered.”

According to deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, punishable acts under the new law include offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of computer data system, illegal access, illegal interception, data interference, system interference and misuse of devices.

These also include computer-related offences such as computer-related forgery, fraud, and identity theft. Such crimes are rampant on the internet.

Also punishable are content-related offences like cyber sex and child pornography, Valte said.

Aside from these, the new law also punishes unsolicited commercial communications or the so-called practice of “cyber squatting,” she said.

Cyber squatting is defined as the acquisition of a person’s domain name in bad faith to profit, mislead, destroy the reputation and deprive others from registering the same.

The Philippine government classified cyber crimes in the country under two categories: internet crimes and commercial crimes committed with the use of the internet..

Under existing Philippine laws, punishable crimes carried out using the internet include voyeurism (Republic Act 9995); child pornography (RA 9775) and trafficking in persons (RA 9208).

Lauding the approval of the new edict, Angara said: “With this law, we hope to encourage the use of cyberspace for information, recreation, learning and commerce. By protecting all users from abuse and misuse, we enable netizens to use cyberspace more productively.”

Philippine law enforcement agencies had along awaited the law which will punish crimes committed using relatively new technolody. “This measure will deter people from committing crimes because the virtual world will no longer be a lawless realm. Its enactment sends out a strong message to the world that the Philippines is serious about keeping cyberspace safe,” the Senator said.