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BARELY a
month since the abduction of eight Filipino workers in
Nigeria, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
reported on Tuesday that a Filipino seaman had been
abducted in the oil-rich Bayelsa state in Nigeria.
Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria Masaranga Umpa, in a
report to the DFA, said the kidnapping occurred on May
25 around 7 a.m. (Nigeria time) and that the others
taken include four British nationals, three Americans,
one South African and one Nigerian.
He said
several boatloads of armed men attacked the offshore
construction barge where the victims were working. (E.
Torres)
Palace defends tuition hike
Malacañang on Tuesday defended the decision of the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to allow 88
private colleges and universities to raise tuition by an
average of 7.66 percent this school year.
Cabinet
Secretary Ricardo Saludo said, “The CHED always consults
with parents before deciding on tuition to ensure that
any increases are truly needed to maintain academic
standards.”
The
commission had changed its position not to allow any fee
hike exceeding the inflation rate, which is 6.2 percent,
after a series of meetings with the Council for Private
Education Association. The commission said it granted
the increase to support improved education quality. (M.
Gonzalez)
Makati, QC tax mapping stepped up
INTERNAL
Revenue Commissioner Jose Mario Buñag has ordered a
step-up of the bureau’s tax compliance verification
drive in Makati City and Quezon City with electronic and
manual tax-mapping systems.
The
electronically assisted system got a daylong pilot run
at the Glorietta, Rockwell, Waltermart and
Paseo Center
in Makati City.
The
regionwide tax-mapping operation discovered defective or
nonregistered cash registers, nondisplay of original BIR
permit stickers or use of dilapidated stickers on the
machines, nonavailability of sales books, nonsubmission
of daily cashiers report and cashiering summary to the
BIR, nonconformity of cash registers with the six-digit
minimum requirement, as some were discovered to have
only four-digit systems.
SC suspends Negros judge
THE
Supreme Court has suspended for three months Regional
Trial Court Judge Henry Trocino of
Bago City, Negros
Occidental, for causing undue delay in rendering
decisions and making wrongful statements about his
accomplishments.
The
Court noted that Trocino had stated untruthfully in each
of his Monthly Certificates of Service for the months of
November 2004 to February 2005 that he had decided “all
special proceedings, applications, petitions, motions,
and all civil and criminal cases which had been under
his submission for decision or determination for a
period of ninety [90] days or more.”
The SC
also ordered the suspension of Bago City RTC Branch 62
court stenographers Emezer Arellano and Evelyn Montoyo
and Sheriff IV Silvino Malana of the Tuguegarao City RTC
for simple neglect of duty and failure to transcribe
respective stenographic notes in a total of 97 cases;
and in Malana’s case, for failing to make a return of
the writ of execution in a civil case.
The
Court has reprimanded Ormoc City RTC Judge Francisco
Gedorio Jr. and former Bago City RTC Judge Edgardo
Catilo for conduct unbecoming of a judge and causing
undue delay in rendering decisions, respectively.
In
addition, the Court also ordered lawyer Josephine
Mutia-Haggad, clerk of court of Bago City RTC Branch 62,
to pay the fine of P5,000 for simple neglect of duty.
The Court also ordered Sheriff IV Charlie Gatbunton of
the Balanga, Bataan, RTC Branch 4 to pay the fine of
P10,000 for gross ignorance of the law. Records of the
court administrator show that from January to April of
this year, 45 court employees have been disciplined with
sanctions ranging from admonition to dismissal from
service. (J. San Juan)
P1.8 million for free movies
MAKATI City
paid P1.83 million to four cinema owners for the first
quarter in support of its free movie perks for its
senior citizens.
Manuel
Mendez, officer in charge of the Business Permit Office,
said the amount represents 62,758 tickets. Under the
program,
Makati’s 48,000 senior citizens need only to present their senior
citizens’ card and movie tickets booklet, both issued by
the city government, at the ticket booths for free
admission.
Lim at Quijano de Manila forum
MAYOR-ELECT Alfredo Lim will attend the Quijano de
Manila Symposium (QMS) today at 11 a.m. to share his
opinions on elections, as well as his plans for the city
of Manila.
Symposium regular panelists professors Benito Lim and
Felipe Miranda, BusinessMirror editor in chief Lourdes
Molina-Fernandez, freelance journalist Inday
Espina-Varona and retired Manila Standard editor in
chief Cipriano S. Roxas will lead the discussions.
Columnist-author Adrian Cristobal is the panel
moderator. The QMS is organized in collaboration with
the BusinessMirror and the Philippine Graphic, in
coordination with host Cherry Blossoms Hotel on Jorge
Bocobo Extension, Ermita, Manila.
DOF staff in tax case suspended
THE
Sandiganbayan has ordered the suspension for 90 days of
Department of Finance employee Rowena P. Malonzo,
planning officer III, in relation to pending 42 counts
of graft cases involving tax credit scams. The court did
not believe the accused, who argued she could no longer
influence her cases since she had been transferred from
her former unit, the One Stop Credit and Duty Drawback
Center. (R. Acosta)
‘Make sure all schools are safe’
TAGUIG
Mayor Freddie Tiñga has directed the local building
official to inspect all the 117 Taguig school buildings
to ensure the safety of students when classes start this
year.
Buildings inspection chief Joselito Mastrili said, “We
will check the structural integrity of the buildings and
recommend the necessary measures to be taken if there
are defects observed during the inspections.
Schoolbuildings should also have unobstructed fire exits
and ample staircases and hallways to ensure the safety
of students and faculty in any emergency.”
Makati teachers get P2,000
MAKATI
has set aside in this year’s budget P5.64 million to
cover additional incentives and benefits for the 2,819
Makati public-school teachers, who will each receive
P2,000.
Makati
Mayor-elect Jejomar Binay said this is the city’s way of
reciprocating the “commitment and dedication to service
of teachers and their valuable role in empowering the
residents of
Makati
through education. . . .Public-school teachers are among
the grossly underpaid sectors in government service.”
Makati
teachers also continually undergo academic and teaching
development training. The city’s public school system is
regarded as the best in the country as the city
government continuously prioritizes education. It
increases yearly its budget allocation to cover the
expenses of modernizing its public-education system. |
