Category Archives: Politics

Government, International, Law Enforcement, Politics

FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO FINDS AN ALLY IN MRS. GEORGE CLOONEY

March 8, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, a.k.a. Mrs. George Clooney, has filed a case against the Philippine government before the United Nations over the continued detention of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Clooney filed the case on Feb 26 before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), a body under the UN Commission on Human Rights, Philippine media reported late on Sunday.

“The case concerns Arroyo’s protracted detention by the Philippine government despite her age, health condition and the court’s continued denial to grant her bail,” one of Arroyo’s lawyers, Modesto Ticman, told GMA News Online.

In filing the case, Mrs Clooney wants the UN to persuade the Philippine government to release Arroyo, who has been under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Centre (VMMC) in Quezon City.

Upon hearing of the news, Janet Lim-Napoles, suspected mastermind of the Ten Billion-peso pork barrel scam and who is currently in detention, asked to meet with Clooney. Napoles wants Clooney to handle her case in the Philippines.

“My lawyers have not done a good job in defending me in my case. That’s why I remain in detention. I am confident Mrs. Clooney, since we are both women, can do a better job to exonerate me from the charges against me, and negotiate for my release from detention,” Napoles said.

“I am willing to pay Mrs. Clooney whatever amount she demands. I have enough funds from the pork barrel scam that I masterminded, so money is not going to be a problem,” Napoles added.

Meanwhile, TV host and presidential sister Kris Aquino has reportedly sent an email to Mrs. Clooney, asking if she could help her schedule a one-on-one interview with her husband, George. “I’m a fan of George, and it would be wonderful to interview him for my gossip show,” Aquino stated in her email.

Business, Food, Government, Health & Medicine, International, Politics

CALIFORNIA BANS ALL PORK IMPORTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES

March 6, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Philippine pork longganisa (sausage). Photo by The Adobo Chronicles

SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – If you live in California and you like Filipino food, you had better stock up on your packaged tocino or longganisa.

Effective March 15, 2015, the state of California will impose a comprehensive ban on all pork imports from the Philippines. The ban covers livestock, frozen meat and packaged pork-based food items.

The Manila government immediately criticized the move, saying that California is merely retaliating for a recent ban on chicken imports from California imposed by the Philippines. The chicken ban was a result of confirmed cases of Avian or Bird Flu found in several chicken farms in California.

But California Governor Jerry Brown told reporters that the state’s decision to ban Philippine pork imports was the result of a series of serious considerations which began after Filipino business people and senators were accused and jailed for the pork barrel scandal which defrauded taxpayers of some Ten Billion Pesos. The pork barrel money allegedly went into the pockets of the individuals accused of the massive scam.

“We’re simply taking precaution to make sure that our state government, especially our state legislature, will not engage in similar pork scams ” Brown said.

The price of pork in the world market currently averages $198.00 per barrel.

U.S. imports of agricultural products from the Philippines totaled $991 million in 2013 alone. The California ban on pork imports will hurt the Philippines’ overall revenue from its exports to the U.S., since California is recognized as having one of the largest economies in the world.

Food, Law Enforcement, Politics, Religion

INDIA BANS SLAUGHTER OF COWS; PHILIPPINES CONSIDERS A BAN ON PIGS

March 5, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Philippines Senator Nancy Binay is proposing a bill that would copy a newly-approved law in India which bans the slaughter of cows and the sale and consumption of beef in the western state of Maharashtra.

Hindus, who comprise 80% of India’s 1.2 Billion population, revere cows and the sale and consumption of beef is banned or restricted in many states.The state of Maharashtra includes India’s commercial capital and biggest city, Mumbai.

Binay wants a similar law to apply to pigs in the Philippines.

The daughter of the Vice President says her bill will prevent future pork barrel scams which have plagued the country in the last two years. The scams siphoned some Ten Billion pesos of taxpayer money into fake projects and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) for the personal gain of some business people and politicians.

Several senators and high-ranking government officials are now in jail facing charges of corruption in connection with the pork barrel scandal.

“Kung bawal na ang kumatay ng baboy, eh di wala nang pork barrel,” Binay said. (If the slaughter of pigs is banned, then there will be no more pork barrel)