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   By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS THE wealth of a nation is its people. It goes without saying that a healthy population is a prerequisite for a country to progress. Healthy people live longer and are more productive. On Monday, President Aquino will deliver his 5th State of the Nation Address. The country’s health workers yesterday

By Ellen T. Tordesillas When a combative President Aquino addressed the nation Monday last week defending his Disbursement Accelerated Program or DAP which had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, he made it appear that the projects funded by DAP were cases that bordered between life and death. To underscore the purported urgent nature

By JOSEPH ARNEL DELIVERIO JOLO, Sulu—Twelve Vietnamese fishermen detained here for stealing endangered marine animals two years ago have yet to be formally charged in court simply because no interpreter has showed up to help get the case moving. The 12, who are detained at the Sulu provincial jail, are being held for illegally entering

By Ellen T. Tordesillas PRESIDENT Aquino’s belligerent stand against the Supreme Court’s decision declaring his pet initiative, the Disbursement Acceleration Program, unconstitutional was not at all surprising considering his defense of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Jr. last Friday. Reading and listening to his speech was not only appalling. It was disturbing. It showed the lethal

By VINCE NONATO DESPITE the Philippine government’s efforts to combat human trafficking, the United States’latest global Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report said it its overall number of convictions remained low. “The Government of the Philippines does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;however, it is making significant efforts to do so,”

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS FINALLY, President Aquino will speak to the people of the Philippines on the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP today, Malacañang announced. Today is exactly two weeks after the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision declared as unconstitutional Aquino and his Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad pet project. Malacañang sources said

                                     By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS LAWYER Edward Serapio, former presidential counsel during the Estrada administration, once told me when he was under detention in Camp Crame in connection with Estrada’s plunder case way back in 2001, that he was so grateful for the wife of then Philippine National Police head Leandro Mendoza  serving him coffee

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS WITH the Supreme Court’s ruling that President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad’s baby- the Disbursement Acceleration Program – is unconstitutional, expect impeachment charges against Aquino to be filed soon. The progressive groups –Anakbayan and Kilusang Mayo Uno- have hinted on impeachment in their statements hailing the High Court’s decision

SOLICITOR General Francis Jardeleza has asked the Supreme Court to order the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to reset its June 30 hearing on supposed questions about his integrity and to bar Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno from voting nominees for the position vacated by former Associate Justice Roberto Abad. In a nine-page letter to

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS PRESIDENT Aquino and his minions should not wave the legal banner about the Chief Executive’s power not to uphold the recommendation of the National Commission on Culture and Arts and the Cultural Center in conferring the National Artist awards to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of

By VINCE NONATO IT’S  not so much how the classrooms are built but how persons with disabilities (PWDs) would reach the school where they’re supposed to vote during elections. This was one of the findings of human rights lawyers group Upholding Life and Nature (Ulan) that audited the accessibility of schools in 17 towns, one

[metaslider id=29720]     By JANE DASAL AS soon as the siren rang, they ran. Armed with “bakwit”or evacuee bags containing food, water and emergency supplies, residents of Barangay Potrero in Malabon City set out from their homes and lined up for barangay trucks to take them to evacuation centers as their shelter during typhoons.