MMDA opens 'zipper lane' but can it ease Metro Manila traffic?

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has opened up a “zipper lane” to help ease the morning rush traffic for Christmas.

Now on its second day of implementation, the zipper lane aims to decongest traffic from Ortigas Avenue to Makati every morning in Metro Manila. 

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Miriam Santiago steals the show in Napoles Senate hearing

after a relatively long absence in the Senate, feisty Senator Miriam Defensor is back and with a bang.

On the eve of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing for Janet Napoles' first public appearance, Santiago herself announced that she will be confronting Napoles. 

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Fearing for her life, Janet Napoles surrenders to President Aquino

ust hours after Malacanang set a P10-million bounty for any information leading to her arrest, Janet Napoles surrendered to President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.

Napoles, who is wanted for alleged serious illegal detention of Benhur Luy, a whistle-blower in the P10-billion "pork barrel" scam, surrendered around 9:37 pm, Wednesday.

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Pork barrel whistleblowers overwhelmed by public support

vWhistleblowers in the controversial pork barrel scam got emotional when they saw the response of the public to calls for the abolition of the pork barrel system

In a report by ABS-CBN’s Jay Ruiz, the whistleblowers wept while watching live reports of the “Million People March” in Luneta on Monday.

“Happy dahil maraming sumuporta sa panawagan namin. At the same time medyo napapa-iyak ako dahil hindi ko akalain na ganun pala karami ang taong sumuporta not only in Metro Manila but also in other provinces,” an emotional Merlin Asunas said in a phone interview with ANC.

Gertrudes Luy, the mother of key whistleblower Benhur Luy, said they were overwhelmed by the outpouring support for them. 

“Nagpapasalamat kami na marami palang sumuporta sa amin dito. Buong buo kaming nagpapasalamt sa kanila,” Luy said. 

The Luys and Asunas are currently in a safehouse while the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) probes their revelations that businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, their former employer, managed to channel P10 billion in pork barrel to fake non-government organizations (NGOs) involved in ghost projects.

The whistleblowers said the massive rally at Luneta has given them more courage to continue their fight.

Their lawyer attorney Levito Baligod was likewise touched by what he saw in Luneta on Monday. 

“In moments when we have to extract accountability from our elected leaders, our people are united in sentiment, in thought, and even purpose so we can acquire the courage and the strength to carry on the fight,” Baligod told ANC.

article from http://anc.yahoo.com/news/pork-barrel-whistleblowers-overwhelmed-by-public-support-061144626.html

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Pinoys sing and unite against corruption

Hundreds of people from all walks of life converged in Luneta Park Monday to protest the "pork barrel" system as the issue on the P10-billion PDAF scam heats up.

For some, the "Million People March" was a picnic, a reunion of sorts, but most importantly a statement against widespread corruption in the country.  From students to nuns, the middle-class to the impoverished, the participants had this common cry: Scrap pork. 

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Aquino to visit China

By Tessa Jamandre, VERA Files

President Aquino is going on a one-day trip to China on Sept. 3 in what is seen as an effort to end strained relations with China triggered by the standoff in Bajo de Masinloc in April last year.

The President has accepted China’s invitation to attend the 10^th ASEAN-China Expo (CAEXPO) to be held in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, from Sept. 3 to 6, Malacañang and Department of Foreign Affairs sources said.

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Court rules Fort Boni belongs to Makati

Makati and the Binays score, in a now 20-year battle with Taguig over Fort Bonifacio, with the Court of Appeals ruling, Fort Bonifacio belongs to Makati.

Ownership is in dispute because of transactions and laws dating back to the early 1900s. Makati and Taguig have been battling over Fort Bonifacio since 1993, when Taguig asked a regional trial court to declare the 729-hectare fort as part of its territory.

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Aquino: SONA po ninyo ito

It was not the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) after all.

This, as President Benigno Aquino III on Monday claimed the accomplishments he highlighted in his fourth SONA have been made possible by the Filipino people. Echoing his pronouncement during his inaugural speech more than three years ago that Filipinos are his “boss,” Aquino said in his 2013 SONA: “SONA po ninyo ito.”

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Aquino legacy-building

For the fourth time, President Aquino will report to the nation on his assessment of the country’s situation and his own agenda for his fourth year in office. It is expected that he will also elaborate on his program for the last half of his term, which is scheduled to end in June 30, 2016. Lastly, he may indicate his planned legacy he will bequeath to the nation.

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Where to Celebrate Independence Day

Our economy is booming, our beaches are topping world’s best lists, the future looks bright—there is no better time to be proud to be Pinoy. Looking for a meaningful way to commemorate the 115th anniversary of Philippine independence? Do more this weekend and feel patriotic in these spots around the metro.

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Philippines' surprisingly strong first-quarter growth eclipses China

By Karen Lema

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines on Thursday posted surprisingly strong growth in the first quarter, knocking China from pole position in Asia, driven by robust domestic consumption and government spending.

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First quarter GDP exceeds expectations

Looks like economy is beginning to be really more fun in the Philippines.

This, as the Philippine economy exceeds expectations by expanding by 7.8 percent in the first quarter, a growth a Cabinet official says was among the fastest in the region.

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Clock runs down on PH standard time

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Government agencies tasked to standardize Philippine time nationwide seem to be running late.

Days before a new law on the Philippine Standard Time (PST) takes effect, state weather bureau Pagasa, the lead agency for its rollout, admitted that they have yet to hammer out rules for its implementation.

Pagasa’s Time Service Unit has yet to meet with other government agencies to craft the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 10535, the unit’s head Mario Raymundo said.

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PH has good laws, weak will vs. disasters

The Philippines has good laws on disaster risk reduction but weak local governance tends to render these useless, the United Nations said.
 
A new UN report released Thursday found that poor urban governance led to ineffective building codes and land use planning at the local level.

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Philippine economy grows 6.6% in 2012

The Philippines said Thursday its economy grew by a better-than-expected 6.6 percent last year as confidence rose in President Benigno Aquino's efforts to fight corruption and alleviate poverty.

A final-quarter expansion of 6.8 percent boosted the full-year figure, the government said, cementing the country's status as one of the best performing in Asia and raising expectations of stronger growth in 2013.

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PNoy Back from Switzerland; PH to Host WEF 2014

MANILA, Philippines --- President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived on Sunday afternoon from his successful first attendance in the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland and announced that the Philippines will be preparing to host the global competitiveness summit in 2014.

Aquino arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after

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Google Philippines office is now open for business

Search giant Google has set up a local office in the Philippines, a move seen to "change" PH's internet landscape.

Manuel L. Quezon III, Undersecretary for Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning, who represented President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III at the company's launch said he is optimistic that Google Philippines' presence would lead to innovations.

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No stopping Manila Bay reclamation

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) under the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has rejected the demand of fisher folk that it recall its approval of land reclamation projects in Manila Bay, a militant group said yesterday.

The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said its demand that the EMB recall the environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) it had issued for land reclamation projects in Manila Bay had been denied.

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Confusion, uncertainty over Pacquiao’s planned April return

The plan of eight division champion Manny Pacquiao to return to the ring in April following his crushing 6^th round knockout at the hands of Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas last December 8 has been marked by confusion and uncertainty.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum appeared somewhat peeved over reports that others in Team Pacquiao were basically trying to arrange a Pacquiao fight on their own initiative without granting the lead role to his recognized promoter, even as Arum’s stepson and Top Rank president Todd duBeof was in Macau and Singapore exploring the possibilities of a Pacquiao fight in April.

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Four of five Pinoys have no Internet at home

The Philippines may boast of being the social networking hub, but nearly four out of five Pinoy adults still have no Internet access at home, results of a new poll showed.

A total of 79 percent of Filipinos reported being offline at home, U.S.-based pollster Gallup found in a survey of 1,000 adults in each of 148 countries globally.

The report put the Philippines among the 100 countries where less than a majority of respondents answered yes when asked the question "Does your home have access to the Internet?"

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