First Filipina, first OFW’s son graduate from West Point

The Filipinos and Fil-Ams of USMA Class 2008 pose with their sponsor, at left, Col. Bryan Goda. The graduates are Daniel Asis, Anthony Bulaclac Jr., Kimberly Jung, Christy Achanzar and Mario Feliciano.

WEST POINT, New York – The US Military Academy (USMA) Class of 2008 will be memorable for Filipinos and Fil-Ams alike. They will [...]

RP computer hackers turning into syndicates

(Second of three parts)

Authorities have been monitoring certain e-groups or “societies” that could be behind big, transnational cyber crimes, and these suspects could be your tech-savvy neighbors or seatmates at an Internet café.
Online identity thieves, who used to prefer working alone, have in recent years begun organizing as criminal syndicates, usually in connivance with [...]

More senators join Enrile in pushing for EPIRA amendments

The Philippine Star
More senators vowed to push for more amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and other measures that can reduce electricity rates.
Sen. Francis Escudero, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said the amendments being proposed by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile would not be enough to ensure that prices of [...]

More benefits for poor from VAT

The Philippine Star
Malacañang assured the poor Wednesday of more direct cash aid and other forms of assistance from the P14-billion government revenue from value-added tax (VAT) on oil and power.
In separate interviews, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said the Presidential Task Force on Energy Contingency is reviewing numerous proposals on [...]

US says RP not fully compliant on elimination of human trafficking

But making significant efforts to do so

Related Articles
• Trafficking in Persons Report 2008
• US keeps Gulf allies on trafficking blacklist
• TIP Report Hero – Cecilia Flores-Oebanda of the Philippines

The Philippines was retained in the Tier-2 list of countries in the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIPR) 2008 of the US State Department released Wednesday.
The US [...]

RP hits Myanmar for continued Suu Kyi arrest

The Philippines has criticized the military government of Myanmar in its ruling to extend, once again, the house arrest of pro-democracy leader Aung Suu Kyi.
“Concrete steps are needed to enhance the credibility of Myanmar’s Roadmap to Democracy, that includes the release of political prisoners,” a statement from the Office of the Press Secretary said.
It [...]

‘Way Kurat’ to telcos: Explain charges on missed calls

Rep. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora of Compostela Valley on Thursday called on telephone companies to explain why they charge subscribers even for dropped calls.
“That’s why I want to show them that this (charges on dropped calls) is happening. Every time my constituents call me up, I drop their calls so that I will be the [...]

‘Rice-sufficiency will fail without EVAT on oil’

The Philippines will not achieve its goal of becoming a rice-sufficient country if the expanded-value added tax (EVAT) imposed on oil products is removed, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said Thursday.
“If we’re going to remove VAT [on oil] next year, our problem in domestic rice will worsen,” Andaya told radio dzMM.
Andaya said that according to a [...]

100 Pinoy peacekeepers off to Darfur

The Philippines has committed to deploy an additional 100 police officers to serve in the United Nation’s peacekeeping operations in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The Philippine Mission to the United Nations reported to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo that it has already informed the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) of the Philippine government’s intention to send [...]

Inflation could lead to unrest—Eurasia

Inflation, if left unchecked, could lead to massive job losses, which could lead to political unrest and social tension.
Roberto Herrera-Lim, Southeast Asian analyst of the New York-based political risk consulting firm, Eurasia Group, said in an e-mail interview with abs-cbnnews.com/ Newsbreak that “If inflation pressures persist well into next year, and it feeds into further [...]