Friday, May 23, 2008

Case Filed Against Palawan Mining Board and Engineer Baltazar Camoy

Philippine News Agency - A civil case for breach of agreement has been filed at the Palawan Regional Trial Court (RTC) against the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) and Engr. Baltazar S. Camoy, the geodetic engineer it hired to conduct revalidation of survey and resurvey of the applied small scale mining area of Agapito A. Salido, Jr. of Aramaywan Metals Development Corporation (AMDC).

Specifically, the PMRB and Caimoy are being sued by plaintiff Salido for "breach of agreement" with nullity of report dated March 31, 2008 and injunction with prayer for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.

This recent development came following Salido's failure to convince the PMRB to "partially lift" the suspension of his small scale mining operation in Barangay Aramaywan, Narra.

In his first cause of action, Salido said that in an agreement dated March 28, 2008, notarized before lawyer Nesario Awat of Kilusang Sagip Kalikasan (KSK), the services of Caimoy was commissioned by him and the PMRB to conduct a relocation, ground verification and revalidation survey of the area, the technical description of which is shown in Small Scale Mining Permit (SSMP) 47 issued by the Office of the Governor.

The purpose of the agreement, he stated, was to settle once and for all the exact boundaries of his small scale mining area as shown in his permit.

But on the day of the supposed revalidation, ground verification and relocation at the mine site, Caimoy merely conducted an observation of the discovery or observation post and of the mine pit using his instrument that can allegedly determine the global positions or the global positioning system (GPS).

Salido said Caimoy did not conduct an actual relocation, ground verification and revalidation survey because no monument was ever placed on the ground to determine the exact geographical position of the four corners of his approved mining claim under the SSMP 47, all in violation of the stipulations in the agreement dated March 28.

While Caimoy did identify the discovery or observation post and the mine pit of the mining area, he intentionally and with evident bad faith did not identify and establish the geographical position of the four corners and the point of reference on the ground and their deliberate exclusion from his observation through the GPS, creates a confusion as to the true and exact boundaries of plaintiffs' mining claim and makes it appear that the mine pit or the area explored by plaintiff is outside of his claim covered by the permit.

By allegedly conducting mere observation and only of the discovery or observation post and mine pit, Caimoy's work is incomplete and inconclusive. It also breached the agreement in which he was called to perform, not only to do observation but survey, ground verification and relocation of the whole mining area covered by SSMP 47, to the damage and prejudice of Salido.

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Palawan Philippines Files Case Against 25 Vietnamese Nationals

The Palawan Provincial Prosecutor's Office has filed charges of violation of the provisions of Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines against 25 Vietnamese nationals who were caught smuggling rice into the country through Calanduran Bay in Balabac last May 16.

Commodore Danilo Vilda of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Palawan said the foreign nationals are being sued for specifically violating Section 2530, paragraphs a, d, f, r and (1-1) of the tariffs and customs code. Six Balabac's residents were also included in the cases filed with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

He said one of the Balabac residents is Rabana Ami, owner of M/L Princess Aika, which is also involved in the transport of the sacks of rice from the large Vietnamese ship to Balabac port.

The cases against the Vietnamese fishermen were filed last Tuesday (May 20), the PCG chief said, adding their ship, M/V Binh Phuoc, was responsible for bringing to the country more or less 200 sacks of undocumented rice smuggled from Vietnam. The vessel's captain was identified as Vu Van Trung.

On May 16 at about 8:30 p.m., a text message was received from the commanding officer of MCS 3009 that stated it accosted a Vietnamese cargo vessel whose crewmen were unloading sacks of rice to M/L Princess Aika without pertinent documents at Calanduran Bay.

Initial investigations conducted by authorities disclosed that on April 23, the Vietnamese cargo vessel went to Zamboanga City from Saigon, Vietnam and delivered 135,000 sacks of rice to the National Food Authority (NFA) there. The said vessel arrived in the said city on April 28.

It left Zamboanga port on May 9 supposedly to go back to Vietnam without any load based on records and clearance given by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) of Zamboanga. - Philippine News Agency

Western Visayas Adopts Batch Request Entry System (BRES)

More local government units in Western Visayas are adopting the batch request entry system (BRES) which is intended to cut short the long queue of applicants at the National Statistics Office (NSO) here requesting for documents in security paper (SECPA).

The BRES is an off line processing by batch where applications for documents such as birth, marriage and death certificates and a certificate of no marriage using SECPA are encoded at the local government level or at the local civil registrar.

Thereafter, the requests are brought at the NSO regional office for processing, which would take about one week.

With the BRES, the applicant is spared of too much expense because the same charges apply when the document is being secured right at the NSO.

The LGU, however, is allowed to put on additional charges to defray the cost of using the town's resources and manpower.

Thirteen towns in Iloilo province namely Calinog, Balasan, Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, Bingawan, Dingle, Estancia, Janiuay, Lambunao, Leon, Mina and San Joaquin have adopted the BRES.

It is also being implemented in Roxas City and President Roxas town in Capiz; Hamtic and Lauan in Antique; and cities of Kabankalan and Sipalay in Negros Occidental.

NSO regional director Norman Julag-ay said the BRES is not exclusive to residents of a particular LGU such that those from neighboring places can also apply in towns nearest them.

"Some LGUs were hesitant at first to adopt the system but later on they recognized that it is beneficial both to the town and their residents," he said.

An average of 1, 000 applications daily are being processed at the NSO regional office in Iloilo City. - Philippine News Agency

TechTeam Global and Rainmaker Asia Establish Service Desk Operations in Philippines

TechTeam Global, Inc., a worldwide provider of information technology (IT), enterprise support and business process outsourcing services, said that it has entered into an agreement with Rainmaker Asia, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rainmaker Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMKR), to establish service desk operations in the Philippines. Under the agreement, Rainmaker and TechTeam will jointly build delivery capability in Manila using Rainmaker's existing facility, infrastructure and staffing capabilities.

"After careful consideration of many potential locations, we selected the Philippines based on the availability of individuals with excellent language skills, deep technical skills, a high degree of professionalism and a strong customer service orientation," said Gary Cotshott, President and Chief Executive Officer of TechTeam Global.

"Establishing capability in the Philippines is an important step in the execution of our globalization strategy and will enable our company to offer more service options to existing and new customers. We are impressed with Rainmaker's operational expertise, and we are confident in our ability to team with them to create excellent customer-focused solutions. This agreement provides us with the ability to quickly and efficiently respond to growing customer demand while ensuring high quality service delivery. As part of our strategy, we also expect to establish a TechTeam-owned facility to meet growing customer demand," said Cotshott.

"We are excited to be working with TechTeam to provide services to their Fortune 1000 customers. The addition of new clients such as TechTeam to our recently expanded operations at Rainmaker Asia highlights the high quality services we provide to our clients and their customers," said Michael Silton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rainmaker Systems.

About Rainmaker
Rainmaker Systems, Inc. delivers sales and marketing solutions, combining hosted application software and execution services designed to drive more revenue for our clients. Our Revenue Delivery Platform(SM) combines proprietary, on-demand application software and advanced analytics with specialized sales and marketing execution services. Rainmaker clients include large enterprises in a range of industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, and financial services industries. For more information, visit www.rmkr.com or call 800-631-1545.

About TechTeam Global, Inc.
TechTeam Global, Inc. is a worldwide provider of information technology, enterprise support and business process outsourcing services to Fortune 1000 corporations, multinational companies, product providers, small and medium-sized companies, and government entities. TechTeam's ability to integrate computer services into a flexible, ITIL-based solution is a key element of its strategy. Partnerships with some of the world's "best-in-class" corporations provide TechTeam with unique expertise and experience in providing information technology support solutions. For information about TechTeam Global, Inc. and its services, call 800-522-4451 from the United States or visit our Web sites at www.techteam.com and www.techteam.eu. TechTeam's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "TEAM." - Philippine News Agency and PRNewswire and Asianet

Reject Coal: Greenpeace says Philippines at Risk from Climate Change

By Leonard D. Acosta
Philippine News Agency

With a strong message to "Quit coal, save the climate", the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior docked on Tuesday at the Legazpi City port, marking the start of a month-long campaign on climate change.

The most famous Greenpeace ship arrived from a five-week sail from New Zealand to hold an advocacy campaign, asking the people to act in combating the climate change which is the greatest threat facing the whole world.

"We are here to expose the role in climate change, the greatest threat to life and biodiversity on the planet," Mike Fincken, skipper of the Rainbow Warrior, said in a press conference on board the ship.

"We are here to highlight the urgent need for adaptation of strong mitigation and adaptation measures to tackle the worst impacts of climate change," he added.

Greenpeace study revealed that the Philippines is included in the list of countries most at risk from climate change with Albay province as most vulnerable to extreme weather impacts.

Climate change has been wreaking havoc across the world with increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and storms, sea level rise, water scarcity, decline in agricultural output, proliferation of pests and diseases and the extinction of species.

In 2006, Albay was pummeled by a series of strong typhoons, including Super Typhoon Reming, as it triggered a massive mudslide on the slopes of Mayon volcano, killing 734 people and causing agricultural damages worth P1.6 billion.

Von Hernandez, Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director, thus said "it is time for us to wake up."

"There is very little time to waste and the tide is not going to wait either. Coal causes climate change. Climate change is already here and wreaking havoc across the country," Hernandez warned.
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Philippine President visits Bacolod City Philippines

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will keynote the two-day Local Peace and Security Assembly (LPSA) for Western Visayas on May 21 and 22 at La Planta Centro Hotel in Bacolod City.

Negros Occidental Governor Isidro Zayco said representatives of the national government, headed by National Security Adviser Norberto B. Gonzales, are set to meet with local leaders from various sectors of Region VI to strengthen local initiatives and mechanisms at promoting peace and security in their localities.

Zayco, who said President Arroyo will be the keynote speaker on the second day (Thursday) of the assembly, said LPSA is the continuing consultation drive in the various regions of the country.

He said LPSA for Western Visayas will bring together major stakeholders to agree on solutions to peace and security problems through an action agenda that they themselves would formulate and implement, taking into consideration the unique features of their localities.

He said the action agenda will be presented to President Arroyo at the close of the assembly.

Zayco noted some 200 members of the Cabinet, local government officials, Army and police commanders, leaders of civil society, business groups, religious institutions, and the academe are participating. - Philippine News Agency