By Christine Fel Viernes
They were supposed to make laws for our land, but now they are being tried by the law.
Opposition Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Juan Ponce Enrile are now facing plunder charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Atty. Levito D. Baligod, as private complainant, to the Ombudsman on Monday afternoon.
The ex-reporter and now Laguna Third District Representative Sol Aragones filed a bill to prevent teenage pregnancy. | Photo from philStar.com
One of the many concerns for the media-practitioner-turned-legislator Sol Aragones last Friday was the rise of teenage pregnancy in the country.
The Third District Representative of Laguna promotes House Bill 337, also known as the Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Responsibility and Opportunity Act which seeks to give information on the bad effects of early pregnancy and how it can be prevented.
Aragones believed that teens growing up in disadvantageous economic, social and familial circumstances are more likely to engage in risqué behavior and have a child during adolescence.
She further said this bill would make grants to local educational and public health agencies to provide educational support for the prevention of teenage pregnancy.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Philippines
By Jaries S. Villavicencio
AS the barangay elections are set to be held on October 28, the abolishment of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) continues to draw in support from a variety of lawmakers.
The SK is a barangay-based governing body that acts as the local youth legislature. The officials are elected alongside barangay officials.
Rep. Hon. Sergio A. F. Apostol joins the support in dissolving the SK, which has been tagged as a breeding ground for corruption and political dynasties by some.
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
By Maria Velli Badillo
IN a Roman Catholic country like the Philippines, some would deem it sensitive and unimaginable to even consider absolute divorce as part of the law but a certain sectoral representative is proposing for it to be regarded as an addition to existing remedies for an aggrieved spouse.
In filing House Bill 1799 on July 27, 2010, GABRIELA party-list representatives, Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana De Jesus said that separation is usually the last resort of many married Filipinos only after many years of trying to make the marriage work and divorce should be an option for the couple.
"Couples must have the option to avail of the remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and have protection of their human rights. Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights," they said in an interview with GMANews.TV.
Commuters try to adapt after the implementation of the bus ban in Manila | Photo by Christine Fel Viernes
By Christine Fel Viernes and Louise Maureen Simeon
It may be hard in the first place, but you’ll soon get used to it.
Since the implementation of the Manila bus ban, Richelle Bondoc, an Adamson University student, has been waiting for nearly an hour in Kalaw Avenue to get into any public utility vehicles (PUVs).
“The bus ban made me and other commuters wait longer and harder to look for a vehicle to ride on,” Bondoc, who travels from Fairview to Manila on a daily basis, told the Streamline News via text message.
Former President now Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Ejercito-Estrada imposed last July 23 a ban on buses having no terminals within the city to ease traffic congestion, which upset commuters and bus drivers.
By Anne Kathleen S. Vicho
The 88-year-old business tycoon Henry Sy is on his sixth year as the country’s richest man, according to Forbes Magazine’s August issue in an article titled “The Philippines’ 50 Richest.”
With the Philippines’ fast growing economic prowess, the rich are getting richer according to the magazine, and it was proven when the collective wealth of the people on the list summed up a combined total of $ 65.8 billion, or more than a quarter of the Philippines’ total gross domestic product.
Sy’s 2012 estimated wealth of $ 9.1 billion increased with the help of the country’s booming economic performance adding up another
$ 2.9 billion reaching his 2013 record of $ 12 billion.
By Maria Velli Badillo
A man was found dead along a street near the University of Santo Tomas, Friday morning last week.
The body was found at the corner of the streets Gelinios and Laong Laan by a tricycle driver around 5 a.m.
The victim was wrapped with a brown curtain and was lying on his right side with a cardboard on his chest containing the message, “Snatcher ako!!! Wag pamarisan.”
Last July 15, a man was also found dead at the corner of P. Florentino Street and Lacson Avenue.
The bust of Mother Theresa at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Garden. Photo by Joan Dino
By Christine Fel A. Viernes
The government and the people of the Republic of India bestowed to the University of Santo Tomas the bust of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
The bust, carved by West Bengal-based Indian sculptor Gautam Pal, was unveiled at the Santisimo Rosario Parish Garden last July 16 together with the Embassy of India to the Philippines His Excellency Amit Dasgupta.
A plaque was placed in front of the bust which recounts the life of Mother Teresa and highlighted her famous adage, “Your strength lies in small things” which sums up the philanthropic work she did as a missionary.
It also commemorates her role as a source of inspiration for the Thomasian community in upholding UST’s core values - competence, commitment and compassion.
