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THE Senate and House of Representatives Bicameral Conference Committee approved a bill Dec. 15 exempting persons with disabilities (PWDs) from paying the value added tax (VAT). The said exemption would be on top of the 20 percent discount on, among others, medicines, hospital and laboratory services, and transport fares PWDs are entitled to under the

By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS IF  Pres. Aquino believes the strategy that if Mar Roxas’  lawyers in Comelec succeeds in eliminating  Grace Poe from the presidential race, the presidency would be  an easy clinch for his anointed, he is dreaming. If the fight is three-way – Rodrigo Duterte, Jojo Binay and Roxas, Duterte will win. If

By CONG B. CORRALES  CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Former community organizers who had put up strong opposition against a repressive regime more than four decades ago have joined the call for the Aquino government to end impunity in the country. Hugo “Ka Jerry” Orcullo, Melencio Cabaraban, and Armand Naul, who were part of the First

By MARIA FEONA IMPERIAL        A newly formed multi-sectoral election watchdog has vowed to monitor the level of inclusion of persons with disabilities (PWDs) not only on polling day itself but also during the government’s preparations for the 2016 elections. Ensuring the accessibility of polling places and holding PWD-sensitivity trainings are part of

By DANIEL ABUNALES Victims of human trafficking in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), including Filipinos, hesitate to complain to authorities. Reason: They fear they would end up behind bars and be treated as criminals. A study conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Walk Free Foundation (WFF) reveals that law enforcers

By Ellen T. Tordesillas Living up to his macho image of a crime buster that discriminates no one, in Tagalog, “walang sinasanto,” Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte took on the well-loved Pope Francis whose arrival in the Philippines last January caused him to be stuck in traffic he had to pee in his car. Last

By JAKE SORIANO Early and adequate information dissemination about the planned mall voting next year would be key to its success. This was what persons with disabilities (PWDs) told the Commission on Elections (Comelec) during a public consultation Friday, while expressing general support for the initiative. “The general feeling of persons with disabilities is that

(On Tuesday, Nov. 17, on the sidelines of the 23rd APEC Leaders Meeting, President Aquino and Vietnam President Truong Tan Sang will hold bilateral talks in Malacanang. They will finally be signing the  “Joint Statement on the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership between the Republic of the Philippines and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” which

  By PROCOPIO RESABAL, JR  TAGBILARAN, Bohol – Vice presidential aspirant Leni Robredo has found inspiration in the late president Carlos P. Garcia, whose political life she describes as one designed by destiny, the same situation she finds herself in. “After listening to the life story of President Garcia this morning … hindi mo talaga

By JAKE SORIANO Photos by DANIEL ABUNALES IF all goes according to plan, voting next year will be more convenient for persons with disabilities (PWDs). Areas with high concentrations of PWD voters might see the last of cramped public school classrooms, as polling could be transferred to hundreds of air-conditioned malls nationwide. The Commission on

  By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS SOUTH China Sea looms large even if it is not in the agenda of the 23rd meeting of  the  leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation in Manila on Nov. 18 and 19. Foreign Undersecretary Lula del Rosario, chair of the APEC 2015 Senior Officials Meetings, which did all the

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario’s dogged determination to pursue the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea dispute through the rule of law has proven his approach correct. The court ruled that the case was “properly constituted” under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, that China’s “non-appearance” (i.e., refusal to participate) did not