Cebu traders stir up boycott of Big 3 oil products
Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) president Samuel Chioson said they have been trying to build up support for the boycott among the group's members to protest the selling of oil products at prices higher than those in Manila.
In Manila, prices of oil products range from P38.85 to P39.41 per liter for unleaded gasoline and P28.35 to P34.25 per liter for diesel.
On the other hand, in Cebu, diesel is being sold by as much as P38 while the unleaded gasoline is sold by as much as P45.70.
During a recent press briefing, Chioson called on all sectors to join the fight against oil prices by refraining from sourcing their fuel requirements from the Big 3 -- Petron, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Chevron (Caltex) Philippines.
CCCI vice president for external affairs Ted Locson said the chamber would encourage members, especially those who have been using a lot of fuel, to patronize only the independent oil companies.
However, Chioson admitted that the campaign would have a huge impact on the sales of the Big 3 if the independent oil players had enough number of gas stations to meet the requirements of Cebu.
At present, the independent oil companies have 21 outlets, way below the 223 gasoline stations of the Big 3, according to Chioson.
More price cuts for drugs postponed for 2010
Philhealth to suspend hospitals found to file fake claims
Desidido na ang PhilHealth na ipa-suspinde ang mga ospital na mapapatunayang nandadaya ng mga claims at namemeke ng mga dokumento ng pasyente. Umalma naman ang mga pribadong ospital at nagbanta na hindi nila tatanggapin ang PhilHealth sa bayarin ng mga pasyente.
Pag-Ibig implements mandatory membership of all employees
Starting January next year, all employees, whether permanent, temporary or provisional, all self-employed persons, regardless of trade, business or occupation with an income or salary of at least P1,000 a month will be mandated to apply as members of the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-ibig Fund).
Sanchez hits Provincial Board's slow pace in reopening of Balili probe
Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. is upset over the delay in the Provincial Board's investigation into the controversial Balili land deal.
Capitol: No conflict in Glenn's Capitol deals
IN CASE businessman Glenn Anthony Soco wins as vice governor, a Capitol official sees no conflict of interest in the Province's deals with his family's manpower services company.
Pacman at SRP
BOXING champion Manny Pacquiao wants to buy a parcel of land at the South Road Properties (SRP), but Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is lukewarm about the offer.
Osmeña confirmed yesterday that Pacquiao expressed interest in buying a property at the SRP, but the mayor advised him to enter into a joint venture agreement with Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) instead.
Extended voters registration starts next week
Comelec commissioner Rene Sarmiento told INQUIRER.net that based on preliminary discussions of the en banc regarding the ruling, the extended voters' registration will run from Mondays to Fridays between 8a.m. to 5p.m.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the petition of Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond Palatino to nullify the Comelec resolution fixing the deadline of registration to Oct. 31, 2009.
Holding registration during Christmas holidays and weekends is still being considered by the poll body if there would be a surge of voters flocking registration centers again, as seen during the last days of registration on the last week of October and early November, said Sarmiento.
Sarmiento said extending the registration period beyond office hours would incur additional budget and Comelec has to justify first the need for the additional hours before its implementation.
"Right now we are collating the inventory of our registration paraphernalia and equipment like the registration forms and data capturing machines for biometrics, after which we will hold the registration nationwide since the decision is immediately executory," Sarmiento said.
But the official is worried that with the new ruling, preparations for the 2010 elections especially the printing of ballots slated between January and February 2010 will be delayed.
The petition of Kabataan party citing Voter's Registration Act of 1996, which states that registration of voters shall be conducted daily but prohibited only during 120 days before a regular election or on Jan. 10, 2010 is "applicable only to manual elections" that requires only three to four months of preparations, said Sarmiento.
Ballots for manual elections, which only contain blank spaces where voters would write the name of candidates for a position is easy to mass produce unlike special ballots for automation requiring studies for font size, spacing and prevention of over-voting and finally, configuration per municipality or city and per polling precinct.
Sarmiento added the Comelec will seek "further clarifications" with the Supreme Court if the extended registration only covers first time voters and not those who will validate their biometrics/or update/reactivate their voters' records.
Dates for new listup
CEBU City's poll offices could get some 10,000 additional voters with the extension of the registration period, although the offices are still waiting for guidelines from Manila.
Smartmatic-TIM says COMELEC also delayed
Smartmatic-Asia President Cesar Flores said "enemies" of the automation are making a big deal out of the issue when, in fact, the delay is only in terms of shipment, not in the production line at Qisda Factory in Suzhou, China.
Flores said the adjusted schedule was mutually agreed upon by the Automation Project Management Office (PMO) of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and Smartmatic-TIM following their two-month battle at the Supreme Court against the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM).
The CCM filed a petition before the High Court in July, seeking to nullify the P7.2 billion automation contract. This, Flores said, placed COMELEC at a cautious stance when it comes to payments for every deliverable stipulated in the contract.
"Smartmatic-TIM has already shelled out P4 billion for the project, we have received only P1 billion from COMELEC. The first payment was delayed for 58 days, the second was delayed for 37 days and the third and fourth payments are now delayed by 19 days as of today. This is why we had agreements on the adjustment on delivery schedules, too, because these payment delays also had dramatic implications on how the project is funded," Flores said.
Flores further said this is one thing the public does not know--that there are also delays on the part of the COMELEC, but that the poll body should not be blamed for that because the SC case affected the course of the project.
"We do not blame anybody, because we know the CCM petition tied so many people's hands that we couldn't get going as fast as we all wanted to. More importantly, we are all partners in this and the COMELEC PMO and Smartmatic-TIM are mutually coming to these agreements and adjustments. Article 15 of the contract also allows extensions on the deliverables so this is something that we can do," he added.
'Gentleman's agreement'
COMELEC spokesman James Jimenez confirmed a "gentleman's agreement" was forged between COMELEC and Smartmatic-TIM. Jimenez said this is why the COMELEC sees no reason, at this point, to hold the vendor liable for delivery delays.
"There is no election-related activity stalled attributable to the absence of the machines as of now. No major preparation has been affected. For example, mock elections and fields tests are scheduled to be conducted next year yet, we continue the relationship with Smartmatic-TIM and see no reason to impose sanctions or penalty charges at this point, as long as they are able to deliver all 82,200 machines in February," Jimenez said.
Around 42,000 PCOS machines should have already been delivered by Smartmatic-TIM by year-end. But the adjusted schedule allows delivery in batches. For December, Smartmatic has only committed to deliver 10,000 machines due to shipment traffic.
The CCM told ABS-CBN News yesterday that these changes in delivery schedules are a ground to rescind the automation contract.
Namfrel wants to audit elections
9 of 10 Filipinos see hope in 2010 - Pulse Asia
Troopers find corpse buried near Ampatuan patriarch's compound
Police show alleged machine gun of Andal Jr. used in massacre
'I killed more than 100 for Ampatuans since I was 12!
Lumutang ngayon ang isang umano'y dating child assassin ng pamilya Ampatuan. At ayon sa kanya, mahigit 100 tao ang kanyang pinatay bilang pagsunod umano sa utos ng mga Ampatuan.
Dealer says he sold Ampatuans weaponry worth P6 M in cash
SC orders new raffle in wake of Cortez inhibition from Ampatuan massacre case
'Charge cops at checkpoint in Maguindanao massacre'
Teodoro seeks transparent probe into Ampatuans' arsenal
Home study starts for Maguindanao pupils Thursday
Abu Sayyaf co-founder arrested
Indonesian authorities picked up Abdul Basir Latip on November 21, but he was only brought back to Manila on Wednesday, said Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) spokesman Ricardo Diaz.
The NBI said Latip was a founding member of the Abu Sayyaf and had worked with its spiritual leader, Khadaffy Janjalani, who the Philippine military killed in 2006.
Daiz said Latip served as a conduit of funds between Al-Qaeda leaders in Saudi Arabia and the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim militant group blamed for the Philippines' worst terror attacks.
Offensives launched in Basilan to recapture 29 jail escapees
Military: Expect "fireworks" in Basilan
Party-lists question car ID system before SC
Bicam approves P1.54 trillion 2010 budget
Arroyo sorry for being wary of reporters
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. trumpets presidential ambition
Santiago sees red over envoys' appointments
The agreement, Santiago explained, was a document signed by the sitting president and sent to receiving states, asking if they would agree to receive the newly appointed ambassadors.
The issue was brought up during the hearing on the nominations of four ambassadors, including those of Congressman Antonio Cuenco as ambassador to Italy and Francisco Benedicto as ambassador to China.
Senators question P10-M costs for new Rome envoy
Japanese man jailed for killing two Filipinas
Lebanese woman jailed for abusing Pinay maid
President Arroyo: Philippine economy in better shape than I found it
Global warming could sink Cebu
Global warming and climate change threaten to submerge and wipe out the whole of Cebu by 2020, the chairman of Typhoon Committee Foundation, warned, as he called for the public to be aware of drastic effects of calamities that may hit Philippines, specifically Cebu.
Angelo Palmones told The Freeman that based on the Green peace Southeast Asia report, the top ten provinces vulnerable to one-meter sea level rise are Sulu, Palawan, Zamboanga, Northern Samar, Zamboanga Sibugay, Basilan, Cebu, Davao, Bohol, and Camarines Sur.
The top ten regions which are reportedly to sink are ARMM, Region 9, Region 4B, 8, 5, 7, 6, 11, 4A, and Region 1.
Climate change a 'ticking time bomb' for food—UN expert
AP source: Obama writes letter to North Korean leader
President Barack Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il as part of an intense effort to draw the reclusive nation back to nuclear disarmament talks, a senior State Department official said Tuesday.
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