‘Spartacus’ star Andy Whitfield dies at age 39
LOS ANGELES – Actor Andy Whitfield, the former star of TV show “Spartacus: Blood and Sand,” died on Sunday of lymphoma in Sydney,…

Resolving mining licensing issues could yield as much as $13 billion in fresh investments, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines said Tuesday.

“We are appealing to the government to act faster in fulfilling the mining laws,” said Chamber of Mines president Philip Benjamin Romualdez in a media briefing at the opening of Mining Philippines 2011 Conference and Exhibition in Pasay City.

Romualdez explained that while government has made modest estimates in investments, the mining sector is more aggressively promoting greater foreign participation. The industry also wants to elevate the Philippine status as a mining country in the near future, Romualdez said.

Government forecasts show that mining investments could cumulatively rise to $13 billion in the next four years.

The $13 billion in capital investment should be on top of the $4 billion that has been invested since 2007 as well as the $1 billion investment in 2011, Romualdez said.

Mining companies are willing to allow investments to flow if the government will keep itself sensitive to the needs of investing companies “particularly on licensing issues that have affected numerous companies that have already invested a lot of money in various stages of operations,” Romualdez said.

The country will see fresh capital investment only when government does its job and start processing permits that were either cancelled or denied, he added.

“The lifeblood of mining revenue is being strangled. Certain permits are part of the development program. But then things came to a grinding halt, when the government started to cancel permits,” Romualdez said.

Protests against mining

The mining conference was also met by protests, particularly environmental activists from the Defend Patrimony Alliance along with communities hit by large-scale mining, according to a press release by Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment.

“While the nation’s mining magnates and foreign corporations have gathered to talk shop, the people have gathered here to advance a pro-people, pro environment mining policy that would benefit our economy and communities,” said Defend Patrimony convenor Clemente Bautista in a statement.

Bautista clarified that by staging a protest at the opening of the conference, Defend Patrimony is not opposing mining and foreign investment per se, but the industry’s so-called foreign-dominated and export-oriented production.

“By just having a revenue-transparent and domestic-oriented mining production we could have saved billions of pesos that could have been used for local development and social services,” Bautista said.

“The prevalence of corruption and non-transparency in the industry, mining companies under report their production to evade taxes and short change the government,” Bautista alleged.

China investors

Meanwhile, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau chief said pledges by China investors could help the Philippine government raise its investment target in the mining sector by more than twice this year.

Investments could reach $2.8 billion from the original $1.4-billion target if the commitments from China “are turned into real investments,” said MGB director Leo Jasareno in an interview with reporters at the sidelines of the Mining Philippines 2011.

“We have not taken into account probably investments from the Chinese when we did our projection for 2011 last year,” Jasareno explained. — With Paterno Esmaquel II/VS, GMA News

AMITA O. LEGASPI, GMA News

09/13/2011 | 11:39 PM

Malacañang said calls to amend the country’s juvenile justice law ought to be addressed to Congress, but administration Senator Francis Pangilinan said “fundamental lack of implementation” is what ails government’s efforts to address juvenile delinquency.

The issue of children in conflict with the law rose to public consciousness over the past several days with the apprehension of several juvenile offenders tagged as “Hamog Boys”. These youths roam along parts of EDSA and other major Metro Manila roads and then attack and rob vehicles whose doors and compartments are unlocked.

Senator Francis Escudero, chairman of his chamber’s Justice committee urged his colleagues in Congress to consider lowering the age of criminal responsibility provided in the juvenile justice law or Republic Act (RA) 9344.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda, a former law dean, urged law enforcers and concerned citizens to get members of Congress to listen to their appeals on the proliferation of juvenile crime.

“In the absence of any amendment to the law, the DSWD has been hard at work in making sure that once these minors are placed in their custody. They already have put in place a program wherein they try to rehabilitate and to inculcate, reorient ‘yung mga bata po,” Lacierda said.

Show proof

However, Senator Francis Pangilinan said in a statement Tuesday that government must focus more on implementing RA 9344 instead of blaming the law or urging Congress to amend it.

“We don’t understand the argument that RA 9344 is to blame for all these crimes. Unang-una, hindi naman dapat pakawalan ang mga batang ito pag-nahuli. Kailangan pa rin nilang managot sa kanilang ginawa. Ang RA 9344 ay isang hiwalay na justice system na isinagawa para sa mga kabataang delingkwente. Maliwanag iyan,” Pangilinan said

Pangilinan challenged the executive branch to show proof on the effectivity or lack thereof of the Juvenile Justice Law.

“Palagay ko ang dapat tutukan ng ating pamahalaan ay ang tamang pagpapatupad ng batas bago pa man magpanukala ng anupamang mga pagbabago gayong wala pa naman tayong basehan kung epektibo ba ito o hindi,” Pangilinan suggested.

There are three Senate bills on juvenile justice pending before Escudero’s Justice committee. In the counterpart committee of the House of Representatives, there are five pending proposals to amend RA 9344. — ELR/VS, GMA News

Masaya at excited daw ang controversial TV host at actress na si Kris Aquino sa first team-up nila sa movie ng Kapuso leading man na si Dingdong Dantes.

Sa ulat ni showbiz reporter Aubrey Carampel para sa Chika Minute ng GMA news 24 Oras nitong Martes, ibinalita ni Kris na nagsimula na sila ni Dingdong na mag-shooting para film fest movie na Segunda-Mano.

Nagkausap na rin daw sila ng Kapuso Primetime Queen na si Marian Rivera na girlfriend ni Dingdong.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

“Kasi sinabihan niya ko, ‘ate dadalaw ako.’ Sabi ko anytime, all the time, come,” ayon kay Kris patungkol kay Marian.

Dagdag pa ng actress-TV host, nauna silang maging magkaibigan ni Marian bago niya naging kaibigan si Dingdong.

“Sabi ko nga sa kanya stress-free ang magiging shooting ni Dong para sa kanya,” kuwento pa ni Kris.

Ngayong nakasama na niya si Dingdong sa movie, sinabi ni Kris na next year ay si Marian naman ang nais niyang makatrabaho sa pelikula na gagawin niya sa GMA Films. – FRJ, GMA News

Plunder and graft charges worth almost P134 million were filed Tuesday with the Office of the Ombudsman against members of a political family in the northern Philippine province of Abra.

The 26-page complaint was filed by Bernadine Joson, municipal planning and development coordinator and concurrent secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan of the Municipality of Lagayan.

Among those named as respondents to Joson’s complaint were former Lagayan Mayor and former Abra Rep. Cecilia Searas Luna, as well as her son Jendricks Seares Luna — also a former Lagayan mayor and current president of the Association of Barangay Captains in Lagayan.

Joson accused Cecilia of “plundering” P56.19 million during her tenure as mayor from 2003 to 2007…” The money that remained unaccounted for was supposed to cover the salaries and other benefits of municipal employees.

Jendricks was also accused of violating Republic Act No. 7080 or the Anti-Plunder Act for “systematically squandering” at least P77.71 million in public funds when he assumed the mayoral post from his mother from 2007 to 2010.

“[K]ey members of a political family in a small far-flung, underdeveloped town in Abra, over a period of a little more than a decade, in the absence of a viable system of checks and balances, has been raiding and plundering the town’s coffers,” according to the complaint.

“The plunder committed by mother and son take[n] together from the years 2003 to 2010 amounts to total of at least Php 133, 907, 142.24,” Joson claimed.

Another respondent, Cecilia’s daughter and Lagayan Vice Mayor Lara Haya Seares Luna, was charged with violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Ethic for Public Officials and Employees for her alleged “chronic absenteeism” while in office.

Cecilia’s distant cousin, 82-year-old Lagayan Mayor Purificacion Paingan, was also charged with graft and corruption “for grave misconduct, dereliction of duty and gross negligence for allowing Jendricks S. Luna to take over the helm of the municipality and continue his plunder of the town coffers, this time, as a barangay captain.”

Municipal officials also charged

Aside from the members of the Seares-Luna family and Paingan, also charged were three other municipal officials.

“The plundering ways of Cecilia Seares Luna and Jendricks Seares Luna could not have been made possible without the willing and active cooperation of the following persons, namely: Municipal Treasurer Marissa G. Donato, Municipal Accountant Meno C. Dickenson and Municipal Engineer Osborne P. Dolaoen,” the complainant said.

Joson said despite knowing about the Lunas’ alleged practice of “dipping” their hands into the salaries and benefits of municipal employees, she did not dare question it at the time knowing any attempt would only become “futile.”

“Mayor Cecilia would always tell me: ‘Wait until you become mayors too! Gawin niyo rin kung anong gusto niyo kapag kayo na ang mayor!’” the complainant said.

Joson claimed she had endured many indignities and humiliation from the Luna family while serving in the local government office, but it was on May 6, 2011 that she decided to call it quits when Jendricks humiliated her once more during an “emergency meeting” in front all municipal officials and employees.

During the meeting, Jendricks allegedly blasted at Joson over a resolution — in which Joson’s signature was included — seeking the immediate transfer and replacement of Donato.

The Lunas blamed Joson for the resolution, but she maintained her signature was “forged.”

“You authored this, you’re the only one who knows the budget of the municipality, since my mother’s time, you’re the only one who had been showing off her smarts and complaining about salary and benefits. You’re shit, you’ re a slut! If you don’t solve it yourself, you watch out!” Jendricks allegedly told Joson.

“This was the last straw for me. It was there that I declared to myself it is time to put a stop to all the years of humiliation and indignities. Thus, I decided to speak out against the reign of greed and terror of the Lunas in Lagayan,” Joson said. — VS, GMA News