RH BILL
MANILA, FEBRUARY 11, 2011 (BUSINESS
WORLD ONLINE) THE PALACE is mulling sending a representative to
Taiwan to iron out a diplomatic row over the deportation to mainland China of 14
Taiwanese suspected of being part of an Internet-based extortion syndicate,
President Benigno S. C. Aquino III said yesterday.
"I might be sending an emissary to discuss with them particular issues and to
explain why we decided the way we decided," Mr. Aquino told reporters in
Malacañang.
He added that the emissary will be subject to the "restrictions imposed by
our laws."
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs could not be immediately
reached for comment.
This, as Taiwan ordered the recall of the head of its economic and cultural
officer in Manila, the island-nation's unofficial embassy, as the Taiwanese
government imposed restrictions on the entry and screening of Filipino workers.
The Philippines does not maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, formally
called Republic of China, as it recognizes the island as a territory of the
People's Republic of China.
However, it does maintain trade and cultural links through the Manila
Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taipei, with Taiwan having a similar
office (TECO) in Manila.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda defended the deportation and
said the Philippines does not need to apologize to Taiwan for the move, which is
done in the interest of the country.
The government, he admitted is concerned for the welfare of some 80,000
Filipinos working in Taiwan, but this will not have an impact in its decision.
"We do not wish to be a haven of international crime syndicates. The evidence
is in China, the crime was committed in China, so it was in our best interest,
in our national interest, to deport them to China," Mr. Lacierda said in a
separate press briefing.
The government, he added, has ordered MECO to make representations on the
case.
For her part, Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima echoed Mr. Lacierda's
statements, saying the Taiwanese will face justice for their involvement in a
syndicate.
"The prosecution of the suspects in China for the crime of estafa or similar
offenses is the best option since the victims are all residents of that
country," she said in a statement.
"Testimonies and presentation of evidence against the suspects will therefore
be done more expeditiously."
She expressed optimism that the issue will be resolved amicably.
"Taiwan is an important partner not only in trade and investments but also in
our war against international crime syndicates.
"I am optimistic that the Taiwanese leadership will see the wisdom behind our
moves," Ms. de Lima said.
The National Bureau of Investigation arrested the 14 Taiwanese along with 10
Chinese nationals last year as they cracked down on a syndicate using the
Internet to extort and siphon money out of victims primarily in China.
The suspects were subjects of outstanding arrest warrants and Interpol red
notices for their involvement in the syndicate, the Department of Justice said.
-- Nathaniel R. Melican
Palace says no withdrawal of RH support despite exclusion
from priority bills 02/10/2011 By Aytch S. de la Cruz
President Aquino's decision to drop the Responsible Parenthood (RP) bill from
his list of priority legislative agenda for the first Legislative Executive
Development Advisory Council (Ledac) he would convene is not an act of betrayal
to the women's groups, Malacañang implied yesterday.
Addressing the disappointed women's groups, deputy presidential spokesman
Abigail Valte clarified that Aquino is not backtracking from his position on his
five-pronged RP bill but that he has merely postponed its endorsement pending
the conclusions of the State's ongoing dialogs with Church leaders.
Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) has decried Aquino's
perceived preferential treatment to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) since it is the only sector being consulted on the
controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill while the women's groups were
apparently being marginalized by his government.
DSWP claimed that it has requested an audience with the members of the Aquino
administration to address its concerns over RH issues but Valte said she would
have to confirm first if indeed a request was sent to the Office of the
President.
"We'd like to clarify that the position of the President remains the same. He
is staunchly behind responsible parenthood — that has not changed. However, we
have explained in the past few days what actually happened. We have committed to
the dialog with the CBCP and the last dialog is due
to take place sometime in the last week of February. You all know that the
Ledac meeting has been set Feb. 28," Valte told reporters, reiterating
Malacañang's previous explanation.
"Again, there is that misconception that the President was pushing the RH
bill entirely in the campaign. We have always been very consistent that his
stand was always for responsible parenthood — meaning that the choice is left to
the parents after they have all the available information given to them and that
they will make the choice according to their personal belief. And secondly, that
we do not favor any method over the other," Valte added.
A total of 17 draft proposals will be presented by Malacañang come the Ledac
meeting and apart from the RP/RH bill, the Whistleblowers Act and the Freedom of
Information (FoI) bill were also excluded from the list.
Aquino, in a chance interview the other day, explained that such measures
were removed because they can no longer accommodate them owing to the other
bills that they would have to prioritize out of the original set of 180 measures
proposed by his Cabinet secretaries.
In the absence of the FoI bill, Aquino clarified: "We have been trying to be
transparent to the utmost level possible. But, of course, there are times that
when, especially in a raw state, we cannot discuss (information) lest we might
have apprehensions raised that are not necessary... The shortcut answer is we're
still fine-tuning exactly how it will be, the details, of this Freedom of
Information Bill."
Insofar as the Whistleblowers Act is concerned, presidential spokesman Edwin
Lacierda earlier said there is already a proposal to that effect that is
currently pending at the House of Representatives and they will just push it
along with their draft bill seeking the amendment of the Anti-Money Laundering
Act (AMLA).
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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