LOS ANGELES
Angel denies going on cruise with politician See ANGEL on page 16
VOL. XXI, NO. 49
JANUARY 11-17, 2014
PHL blasts China over new fishing law MANILA, January 10, 2014 (AFP) – The Philippines denounced Friday a new Chinese law that Manila says compels foreign vessels to seek a permit from Chinese regional authorities for activities in large areas of the South China Sea. “We have requested China to immediately clarify the new fisheries law issued by the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress,” the Filipino foreign department said in a statement. “We are gravely concerned by this new regulation that would require foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval from Chinese regional authorities before fishing or surveying in a large portion of the South China Sea.” Press reports said the law was passed last year and took
effect on January 1. China claims almost all the South China Sea but the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims. Tensions between the Philippines and China have risen in recent years as Beijing becomes more aggressive in asserting its claims. Earlier this year Manila took Beijing to a United Nations tribunal over the contested Scarborough Shoal, which has been controlled by Chinese government vessels since last year. “This new law reinforces China’s expansive claim under the 9-dash line,” the Philippine foreign department alleged Friday, referring to China’s delineation of the
extent of its maritime territorial claim. “It is a gross violation of international law,” the statement added. “This development escalates tensions, unnecessarily complicates the situation in the South China Sea, and threatens the peace and stability of the region.” The statement said the Philippines was not the only country to be affected by the new Hainan regulations. “These regulations seriously violate the freedom of navigation and the right to fish of all states in the high seas, as provided for under UNCLOS (the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea),” it said. “Under customary international law, no state can subject the high seas to its sovereignty.”
Barefoot hordes in spectacular Nazareno procession in Manila BY JASON GUTIERREZ
Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Weapons and Tactics personnel look at the crowd next to their weapons as they maintain security during the start of a grand procession of the Jesus of the Black Nazarene in Manila January 9, 2014. The Jesus of the Black Nazarene, a life-size wooden statue of Jesus Christ carved in Mexico and brought to the Philippines in the 17th century, is believed to have healing powers in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. (MNS photo)
MANILA, January 9, 2014 (AFP) – Millions of barefoot devotees packed the Philippine capital’s streets Thursday for one of the world’s biggest Catholic parades, honoring an ancient statue of Jesus Christ they believe has miraculous powers. Chanting “Viva, Viva Senor Nazareno! (Long Live Mister Nazarene)”, frenzied pilgrims climbed over one another in the suffocating heat to touch the Black Nazarene during the ebony-hued wooden statue’s slow procession. “This has been a family tradition for years, and the Nazarene has given us many
blessings over the years,” housewife Josephine Manalastas told AFP after she and her 80-year-old mother were pulled out by medics from beneath the surging crowd. They were taken to an ambulance for treatment after a section of the crowd stampeded over a steel barrier protecting the statue’s carriage, shortly before the parade began at Manila’s largest park in the morning. Medics said the two were uninjured. But by mid-afternoon police said 879 people had been treated for various injuries as the life-sized, 406-year-old icon was borne towards its home in a central Manila church. See BAREFOOT, page 7
New system to ease nightmarish MM traffic MANILA, Jan 9 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III led Wednesday the launching of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Traffic Signalization System and Command and Control Center that will ease traffic flow and enhance safety and security. The launch of the project is just in its initial phase which is worth P295 million, the President said. The government targets to complete Phase 3 of the project in 2016. “Kasabay po ng pagpapabuti natin sa mga mekanismong direktang gumagabay sa mga motorista, tinututukan din natin ang mas malaking sistemang kokontrol sa lahat ng mga ito,” the President said in a speech during the project launch. “Ang makabagong Command and Control Center pong ito ang magsisilbing utak sa pagmonitor at pagkilos ng MMDA sa masusing pangangasiwa ng sitwasyong pangtrapiko, at magiging pang-kalamidad at pampublikong seguridad.” See NEW SYSTEM, page 3
President Benigno S. Aquino III watches the Video Launching of the new Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Traffic Signalization System and Command and Control Center at the new MMDA Command and Control Center in Orense Street, Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City on Wednesday (Jan. 8, 2014). The new upgraded Information Technology (IT)-based traffic signalization system is set towards elevating mobility management in the future, through comprehensive and integrated approach that improves not just vehicle movement, but also the overall network movement of people, goods and services.
U.S. deported around 369,000 immigrants in 2013 By Anthony Advincula New America Media/Philippine Daily Inquirer
NEW YORK, January 9, 2014 – The U.S. government deported about 369,000 immigrants, including a number of Filipinos, during fiscal year 2013, according to new statistics from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released last month, showing a 10 percent drop from the previous year – the first since President Barack Obama took office in 2008.
Nearly 60 percent (216,810) of the total deported immigrants, the year-end report showed, had been previously convicted of a crime. Of this number, ICE apprehended and deported 110,115 individuals with a crime conviction from within the country and another 106,695 at the border while attempting to unlawfully enter or re-enter the United States. ICE officials described these figures as “meeting one or more immigration
enforcement priorities” that the Obama administration announced two years ago, stating that his administration would no longer devote federal resources to deporting immigrants with “low priority cases,” including those without a criminal record and not a threat to national security. “The 2013 numbers make clear that we are enforcing our nation’s laws in a smart and effective way, meeting our enforceSee U.S. DEPORTED, page 7