Archive - Focus

By KIM ARVEEN M. PATRIA
AT first, politicians attend to needs. After some time, the needs turn to wants and desires. Soon the desire becomes greed. Then, to satisfy greed, they push the country to the brink of poverty.

WHAT has the country got to do with the highly publicized marital case of television host and presidential sister Kris Aquino and basketball star James Yap? None, many might be quick to say. But for Kris, the speedy resolution of her petition to nullify her marriage to James will not only benefit her but the

By MELVIN PURZUELO
ILOILO CITY. -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday stopped the test-firing of the newly constructed coal-fired power plant in Barangay Ingore, La Paz district due to complaints by residents of the barangay and other nearby communities about the foul odor and the noise coming from the plant.

ONLY Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has been recommended for criminal sanction by the committee that investigated the August 23 hostage; the rest of the government officials were recommended  for administrative sanctions. At the same time, the recommendations opened the possibility of heavier sanctions for officials involved with the  “recommendation  that a preliminary investigation be conducted

ON 20 September 2010, the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has been given by the Philippine IIRC the First Report of the IIRC on the 23 August 2010 Rizal Park Hostage-taking Incident: Sequence of Events, Evaluation and Recommendations. Since it is a long report, the Chinese side does need time for a careful study. The

THE Incident Investigation  and Review Committee on the August 23 hostage-taking identified eight critical incidents that turned the  crisis into a tragedy, the report made available to the public today showed. They are: 1.The Crisis Management Committee was not activated in accordance with the Manual on the activation of a Crisis Management Committee (CMC).  Mayor

By KHRYSTA IMPERIAL RARA EVERY day at 6:30 a.m., Pacman goes to his training area for a 30-minute run. Egged on by his trainer, he goes through his morning routine with the focus and determination of a top-seeded athlete. But this Pacman doesn’t spar with his coach. This Pacman chases his trainer around instead. Pacman the

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS MALACANANG has antedated the appointment papers of Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo to cure the original that the Commission on Appointments found defective. Romulo, a holdover from the Arroyo administration, took his oath and had been functioning as foreign secretary in the first 40 days of the Aquino administration without an appointment, documents showed. Romulo

By TESSA JAMANDRE A MILITARY court will decide today on the plea—twice denied under the government of former President Gloria Arroyo—to exonerate 16 military officers facing mutiny charges for a supposed plot against her in 2006. This is the first time that the court martial proceedings will resume under the new commander-in-chief, Benigno Aquino III. After

PRESIDENT Aquino  is giving himself and Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo two more months to  work on the compatibility of their working style. In an ambush interview, Aquino confirmed  a report by VERA Files Monday that the reason Robredo’s appointment is in acting capacity was due to differences which date back to the election campaign. “There

SUPPORTERS of Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo are rallying behind him, saying it is “unjust” for him to be blamed for the Aug. 23 hostage debacle when he has no jurisdiction over the Philippine National Police. This developed as Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda confirmed a VERA Files report that the appointments of Robredo, together with

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS, LUZ RIMBAN, YVONNE CHUA and AVIGAIL OLARTE WHEN Malacañang submits to Congress for confirmation its list of Cabinet appointees, Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo, who is under fire for supposedly mishandling the Aug. 23 hostage-taking crisis at the Quirino Grandstand, won’t be on it. A list of appointments made by