Aquino fell into saboteurs’ trap

Needs to learn the importance of right choice of words.

Malacañang believes that the occupation of the seaside village of Lahad Datu in Sabah by Rajah Mudah Agbinuddin Kiram, brother of the Sultan of Sulu, and his followers is really meant to sabotage the peace talks that his administration is conducting with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Reports said Malacañang suspects the national security adviser of Gloria Arroyo, Norberto Gonzales, as behind the sabotage.

The saboteur?

It is easily believable because Gonzales has deep network in Muslim Mindanao and is close to Nur Misuari, the leader of another disgruntled group, the Moro National Liberation Front.

Gonzales and Misuari’s partnership go back a long way to their special operations training days in Malaysia during the 1960’s.

When Misuari staged a rebellion in 2001. Gonzales was known to have exerted influence to allow the former governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao to be placed under house arrest. The case was eventually dismissed.

There are intelligence reports that Gonzales and his Jesuit priest friend have been meeting with some sectoral leaders and talking about “a revolutionary situation” under Aquino.

If Gonzales has a hand in the Sabah stand off, could Gloria Arroyo be far behind? Remember Jamalul Kiram III was in the senatorial ticket of the Arroyo administration in 2007?

If it’s true that the Sabah stand off is an act of sabotage, not only of the peace talks with the MILF, but to embarrass President Aquino who is riding high in popularity surveys, the instigators achieved their objective. Aquino fell into their trap.

No royal treatment in Malacanang event.

Aquino’s statement, which betrayed his ignorance of the root of the Sabah issue, arrogance and immaturity only deepened the “sama ng loob” that Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, his relatives and supporters have been harboring about Aquino.

Imagine telling the Sultan and his followers asserting their right over their property in the hands of Malaysia that it is a “hopeless cause.”

It has been a series of snubs for Kiram III starting with the spurning of his request for a meeting with Aquino made at the start of the administration in 2010. Aquino said the letter was lost in the “bureaucractic maze.”

The administration officials condescending attitude towards the Kiram III and his followers is also reflected in their comments. When told about Kiram III’s complaint that he was not given a good seat during the signing of the preliminary peace agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF October last year, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda remarked that he, himself, had no seat.

Why,is he also royalty like the Sultan? Why did he even have to insert himself into the picture?

Another official who should be told to think twice or thrice before he opens his mouth on this issue is Police Chief Alan Purisima.

Aquino wants those in the Sabah standoff to return home before he talks with Kiram III. This Purisima threatens to arrest those people. He said:“Kung may dala-dala silang armas na babalik din sa atin that is illegal possession of firearms and puwede silang arestuhin because the crime is being committed in the presence of the law enforcers.”

Kiram III made more sense with his reply, “Huhulihin pa kami at mga taong ibabalik.What kind of government is this?”

Oo nga naman, bakit sila uuwi ay huhulihin pala sila.

My Singapore Food Street in Megamall

The beauty of globalization and how Manila’s landscape has changed! These days, we don’t need to fly to our great neighbors Singapore, Malaysia or Vietnam to taste their food, thanks to foreign entrepreneurs who have either settled or invested in the Philippines’ bustling food scene. Methinks food is still infinitely better in the country of origin but there’s no harm trying a good enough version of pho, spring roll, nasi lemak or prawn paste chicken when the craving hits.

my singapore food street

My Singapore Food Street is a new sprawling food outlet found in SM Megamall’s 2nd Level Bridgeway. Its diverse menu and affordability of the dishes echo the offerings of Singapore’s famed hawker centers.

hainanese chicken

We were invited to try the food here recently and of course, one of the first things we tasted was their Hainanese Chicken Rice – it’s the yardstick by which these Singaporean specialty restaurants are judged. For this dish, they have a rice topping of only P99 as well as quarter, half and whole chicken. We had the Hainanese Chicken Meal (P195) which was enough to assuage my hunger that lunchtime, with its ample portion and taste. The rice just need to have more “oomph” in it but otherwise the meat and the sauces were tasty.

In my opinion, the best dish I had was their laksa (P185) – that iconic Peranakan dish consisting of noodles over a hot soup made from coconut milk and curry paste, among other ingredients. It was simply delicious!

laksa

Am a barbecue lover and glorious satay (especially chicken) is something I cannot refuse, especially when served with its delectable peanut sauce.

satay

Char Kway Teow (P195) – a dish I can spell but cannot pronounce like a true Singaporean. This dish reminds me of pad thai (because of its noodles) or even our local pancit but the soy taste is more pronounced. I also like the abundance of toppings – sliced fish cake, shrimp, Chinese sausage and veggies.

char kway teow

The menu is quite extensive and believe it or not, you can fill your tummy here for P50 (kaya toast) to P150 (rice dishes like nasi goreng, chicken curry & lemon fish etc.)

The people behind My Singapore Food Street are beauteous Singaporean model & emcee Vivien Tan as well as Jean Henri Lhuillier, the husband of former gymnast Bea Lucero who is also the Chairman of the Board of Global Restaurant Concepts (franchise holder of CPK, IHOP etc).

vivien tan

lhuillier

SC fines media lawyer for indirect contempt

ATTY PRIMA QUINSAYAS
THE MEDIA LAWYER who filed a disbarment case against Ampatuan defense counsel Sigfrid Fortun before the Supreme Court was the one instead who was cited for contempt and fined by the tribunal after she allegedly violated the rule on confidentiality in disbarment cases.

The Supreme Court ordered Atty. Prima Jesusa Quinsayas, a lawyer representing media murder victims in several cases including the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre, to pay a fine of P20,000 after the tribunal found her guilty of indirect contempt.

Interestingly, the charge stems from the disbarment case that Quinsayas filed against Fortun, the main defense counsel of the Ampatuan clan that has been accused of masterminding the Maguindanao Massacre.

Quinsayas, who is a lawyer of the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), a network of media organizations that supports the families of media murder victims, filed the disbarment case against Fortun in November 2010, a year after the Maguindanao Massacre. Quinsayas accused Fortun of using and abusing “all legal remedies” in order to delay the proceedings in the Maguindanao Massacre case. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism is a co-founder and an active member of the FFFJ.

The disbarment case has not yet been resolved more than two years after its filing. The case is still being reviewed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), which will then make a recommendation to the high court. Fortun for his part struck back at Quinsayas by filing a petition for contempt against Quinsayas and several media personalities for allegedly violating the confidentiality rule governing all disbarment cases.

Fortun accused Quinsayas of distributing to the media copies of the disbarment complaint that she had filed against Fortun in 2010. Fortun claimed that in doing so, Quinsayas violated Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court that makes all disbarment proceedings confidential until a ruling is finally made by the court.

In addition to Quinsayas, Fortun had asked the SC to also cite for contempt the officers of the FFFJ, media executives and on-camera talents of ABS-CBN and GMA, and several reporters and editors of the Philippine Star and the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Fortun said the other accused were also guilty of disseminating information on the disbarment case.

Among those that Fortun asked the court to cite for contempt were members of the Board of Trustees of the FFFJ, including PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility director Melinda Quintos de Jesus, Center for Community Journalism and Development director Red Batario, and Rey Hulog of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said that proceedings against attorneys need to be confidential so that the court may be free from all influence or interference. The confidentiality rule was also intended to ensure the protection of the professional reputations of attorneys and other officers of the court.

“As a general rule, disbarment proceedings are confidential in nature until their final resolution and the final decision of this court,” the court said.

The court absolved the media organizations, saying they merely reported on a lead that they received on the filing of the disbarment case against Fortun, who is a person of public interest. Members of the Board of the FFFJ were also absolved after Fortun failed to prove that they had a hand in the distribution of the complaint.

However, in the case of Quinsayas, the court said that she remains bound by Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court, “both as a complainant in the disbarment case against petitioner and as a lawyer.”

“Instead of preserving its confidentiality, Atty. Quinsayas disseminated copies of the disbarment complaint against petitioner to members of the media which act constitutes contempt of court,” the court ruled.

Sought for comment, Quinsayas said the ruling was “totally unexpected,” and said she may still file a motion for reconsideration.

“I have mixed feelings,” Quinsayas said in a text message to the PCIJ. “Being cited for indirect contempt was totally unexpected. At the same time, there are reasons to be thankful for as the High COurt reaffirmed the importance of press freedom and recognized the significance of the massacre case.”

 

Canon seeds firmware updates for S100 & S110

Canon has recently released an incremental firmware update for both of their high-end PowerShot S-series cameras namely the S100 and its successor S110.

canon powershot s110

The firmware update for both snappers bears the same version name (Version 1.0.2.0) and is said to fix the issue regarding the cameras’ control ring functions. The update also fixes the WiFi connectivity issues on the PowerShot S110 when it’s synced with an iOS device.

• Fixes a phenomenon in which the focal length may not change when the control ring’s function is to control the step zoom, and the control ring is turned slowly, click-by-click. (Both for S100 and S110) (In AUTO, SCN, or Movie mode, the default function for the control ring is to control the step zoom.)

• Changes the camera’s specification in accordance with the specification of iOS 5/6 so that the Wi-Fi connection between the camera and an iOS device will not disconnect after one minute, when the PowerShot S110 is set as an Access Point and an iOS device is connected to that Access Point.

The firmware update for the Canon PowerShot S100 can be found here while the one for the Canon PowerShot S110 is available in this link.

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Twitter updates it Windows Phone app

It’s been a long time coming, but Twitter has finally brought the Windows Phone version of their app at par with its other versions on different platform in terms of design and functionality.

The updated version of the app features that familiar 4-tab layout for Home, Connect, Discover and Me, but with a little bit of Windows Phone flavor on the side. Just above the iconic Windows Phone capacitive buttons are two icons for Tweet and Search that are present regardless of what tab you’re in.

twitter for windows phone

Twitter also added support for Live Tiles on this new version, allowing users to pin a Twitter account or just lists to the Start screen. This also makes it easier for users to engage and check updates on Twitter.

Users should be automatically prompted about the update if they have the old version of Twitter installed on their handsets. However, for those of you who’ll be trying the app for the first time, you can download and install the app by going to this link.

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The post Twitter updates it Windows Phone app appeared first on YugaTech | Philippines, Tech News & Reviews.