Weekend balita august 1, 2014

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LOS ANGELES

Miss Young Philippines 2014 and Miss Philippines USA winners known See TITLE WINNERS page 9

VOL. XXII, NO. 26

AUGUST 2-8, 2014

THE LEADING SOURCE OF NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR FILIPINO-AMERICANS

AFP: Ex-generals can speak vs gov’t MANILA, July 31 (Mabuhay) – The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday reiterated that it will respect its retired members’ right to a self-expression, as long as it will not lead to an armed movement against the government. “Kasi kung miyembro ka ng AFP, liberties mo tinatanggal – like freedom of expression – iyan ay babalik kapag retired ka na,” explained Armed Forces public information chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala. “Bilang mga retirado ka na, pwede na silang magsalita on any issues lalo na against [the] government, as long as hindi sila gumagawa ng any armed move or destablization move na involved ang armed components or the AFP. Other than that, wala po tayong nakikitang problema sa expression,” he added. Zagala likewise assured that newly installed military chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. has been going around different camps explaining to soldiers the issues the government is facing – particularly the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program, which the Supreme Court recently voted to strike down some parts of it as unconstitutional. “The Armed Forces of the Philippines is a recipient of DAP. Of course, itong mga project na ginawa natin sa AFP improved our capabilities,” he said. “Minarapat ng ating chief-of-staff na explain na mayroong DAP kasi ang DAP na ‘yan ay subject to criticism, and we want our soldiers to know See EX-GENERALS, page 6

President Benigno S. Aquino III hands-over the Saber to Lt. Gen. Gregorio Catapang Jr. during the Armed Forces of the Philippines Change of Command ceremony at the AFP General Headquarters grandstand of Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo last July 18. Retiring AFP Chief Emmanuel Bautista has been replaced by Lt. General Catapang (MNS photo)

Manila faces challenges to evacuate 13,000 amid renewed Libya clashes MANILA, August 1, 2014 (AFP) – A Philippine plan to evacuate all 13,000 of its workers in strife-torn Libya is a “challenge”, with many reluctant to leave despite the dangers, the Filipino foreign ministry said Friday. The ministry announced a “mandatory” evacuation of all 13,000 of its nationals living in Libya last month after the beheading of a Filipino construction worker abducted by unknown suspects. That killing was followed by the gang rape of a Filipina nurse in the capital Tripoli

on Wednesday. “Our target is 100 percent” evacuation, foreign department spokesman Charles Jose told AFP on Friday. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario left for Tunisia to arrange the evacuations on Thursday. He announced the government would charter ships to pick up Filipinos from Libyan ports, or transport them by land if the sea vessels failed to gain passage. But many Filipinos in Libya fear losing See EVACUATE, page 6

Luy shocks defense lawyers, pulls nine folders of Revilla-Napoles transactions MANILA, July 31 (Mabuhay) -- Taking the witness stand anew on Senator Ramon Bong Revilla’s bail petition, principal whistleblower Benhur Luy presented on Thursday nine new folders as evidence that senators supposedly benefited from the bogus NGO scam masterminded by his former boss Janet Lim Napoles. The folders allegedly contain a summary of all transactions related to the pork barrel scam Luy himself facilitated from 2004 to 2012. Luy said he printed the documents from a hard drive.

During open court, the prosecution presented a hard drive containing the alleged Benhur files, and asked Luy to identify it. Luy confirmed the white, 500GB external hard drive taken out of a sealed envelope was his, saying the files in it contained transaction and disbursement records of dealings with senators and implementing agencies. “Ito yung external hard drive na sinubmit ko sa NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) Cybercrime Division, to be examined for forensic evidence,” Luy See LUY SHOCKS, page 6

Manila Archbishop Antonio Luis G. Tagle announces the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines on January 15-19 next year during a press conference on Tuesday (July 29, 2014) in Intramuros, Manila. (MNS photo)

Pope to visit PHL in January VATICAN CITY, July 29, 2014 (AFP) – Pope Francis will travel to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January for his second trip to a continent where evangelisation is a big priority for the Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Tuesday. The 77-year-old Argentinian will visit Sri Lanka from January 12 to 15, before heading to the Philippines – Asia’s largest Catholic country – until See POPE VISIT, page 6


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