1034 - Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots dies. Donnchad, the son of his second daughter Bethócand Crínán of Dunkeld, inherits the throne.
1120 - The White Ship sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son of Henry I of England.
1177 - Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Chatillon defeat Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard.
1491 - The siege of Granada, last Moorish stronghold in Spain, begins.
1542 - Battle of Solway Moss. The English army defeats the Scottish.
1987 - Supertyphoon Nina pummels the Philippines with category 5 winds of 165 mph and a surge that swallows entire villages. at least 1,036 deaths attributed to the storm.
1988 - German politician Rita Süssmuth becomes president of the Bundestag.
1992 - The Czechoslovakia Federal Assembly votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia from January 1, 1993.
1994 - Sony founder Akio Morita announces he will be stepping down as CEO of the company.
The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or Number Coding Scheme starts at 7:00 am - 7:00 pm with window hours starting from 10:00 am - 3:00 in the afternoon.
The Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) or Number Coding Scheme starts at 7:00 am - 7:00 pm with window hours starting from 10:00 am - 3:00 in the afternoon.
The cities of Makati and Las Piñas do not implement window hours. Thus, number coding is strictly implemented from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm.
The city of Pasig implements its window hour from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.
However, the cities of Parañaque, Marikina, Taguig, and Muntinlupa do not implement the Number Coding Scheme.
In addition, the following areas in Pasay do not implement the Number Coding Scheme: Ninoy Aquino Ave., MIA Road, Domestic Road, Airport Road, Sales Road, and portions of Buendia.
EDSA, C-5 Road, Diosdado Macapagal Avenue, and Roxas Boulevard are included in the implementation of Window Hours regardless of the city where they belong.
All Public Utility Buses (City and Provincial) are now covered under the Number Coding Scheme, with no "Window Hours". Motorcycles, on the other hand are exempted from the scheme.
All UVVRP exemptions and truck ban conduct passes granted in accordance with MMDA Regulation No. 96-005, as amended, MMDA Regulation 98-006-A, and MMDA Regulation 10-001 shall not include authority to use the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).
More student protests are expected in the following days due to the proposed budget cuts in 2011 by the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III to State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), including the University of the Philippines System. But U.P. officials have not helped U.P.'s cause much with legislators – due to their massive failure to control the misuse of state funds – the 2009 Consolidated Audited Annual Report (CAAR) of the Commission on Audit (COA) shows.
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad says that a zero-based budget approach was used for the entire proposed 2011 national budget. Zero-based budgeting essentially throws away previous assumptions of previous years and forces the beneficiaries of the budget to justify on a line item basis every proposed expenditure. However, there is barely any time left for U.P. to make its case for 2011, as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has already promised to pass the budget out of the Senate by December 1.
From the one-dimensional point of view of DBM, moreover, cutting the budgets of SUCs automatically creates greater efficiencies in utilization and causes graft and corruption to be minimized because funding will no longer flow abundantly, as water does from a faucet. Student protester from U.P. disagree, however, saying that the existing budget of U.P. in 2010 was barely enough to keep its operations intact. They say that it is the duty of the State to subsidize education for state scholars and say that the unique mission of U.P. is that it is a public university that teaches its students that they have the obligation to serve the Filipino people and they are not there just obtain an excellent education.
On the revenue side, student protesters say that the alternative path of raising funds – which is the commercialization of education in U.P. – is wrong, because it essentially allows the State to pass on its obligations to U.P. on to market forces which will seek out the highest revenue yielding courses and aggressively seek efficiencies of all sorts and thereby force U.P. to ultimately abandon its commitment to serve the people.
But the stark reality is that on the cost side, U.P. has not kept its side of the street clean, as state and taxpayer funds from at least six (6) U.P. campuses continue to be diverted into unauthorized uses with the outgoing U.P. Administration unable or unwilling to exercise appropriate measures despite years of warnings from COA auditors.
COA's 2009 CAAR repeatedly scores the outgoing U.P. administration for “lapses in internal control on the granting/liquidation of cash advances were observed in all of the UP campuses of which a total of P21.77 million unliquidated cash advances have been long outstanding for two years or more contrary to COA Circular No.97-002 dated February 10, 1997.”
MANILA, Nov. 23 (PNA) -– Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad on Tuesday said the economy’s growth will not be affected by the Aquino administration’s decision to limit expenses.
In the first 10 months of this year, expenditures totaled to P1.26 trillion, a six percent jump over the P1.19 trillion year-on-year.
This is, however, 5.3 percent or P70.1 billion lower than the P1.33 trillion program for the 10-month period, Abad said.
For October alone, disbursement totaled to 109 billion, a 12.7 percent drop compared to the P124.9 billion program for the month due to the lower operating and interest payments.
Abad attributed the lower-than-programmed disbursement to, among others, the lower funding requirement after the front-loading in the first half of the year, lower maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE) of the various agencies, lower personnel service releases, and under-spending in net lending among government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).
He said that amid the drop in disbursement capacity of national government agencies, their utilization rate got better at 99.3 percent last October from the previous month’s 97 percent.
“We have consistently spent below target in the past four months, and that is way better than the leakage-laden overspending regime that we have had in the past,” he said.
And, because spending is kept under control compared to the over-spending in the first half of the year, Abad is confident that the budget deficit this year would remain within the P325 billion ceiling.
“We are also in a better position to manage our debt and deficit in the medium term,” he said.
Growth of the domestic economy is now assured and would further be solidified by the administration’s public-private partnership (PPP) initiative, he said, citing investors’ optimism on the administration’s ability to “achieve fiscal targets through good governance.”
On the other hand, Abad cited that spending for subsidies of GOCCs was higher-than-programmed by P2.7 billion or 20.1 percent because of the full release of the P8 billion for National Food Authority’s (NFA) price stabilization and food security program.
He said that of the P1.5406 trillion obligation program for this year, some P1.308 trillion of allotment authorities has been issued as of last October while the P232.5 billion or 15.1 percent of the total is still available for the last two months of this year.
He said some P100.4 billion of appropriations for MOOE and capital outlay can be utilized for November and December this year.
“This amount could be fully or partially utilized, considering our continued use of the zero-based budgeting approach to make budget execution more efficient. Clearly, we have enough room to maneuver in managing our year-end deficit,” he added.
As of last October, budget gap was lower than the P292.8 billion program at P270.3 billion. This year’s budget deficit ceiling is P325 billion.
The growth target for this year is between five to six percent while actual growth, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), in the first half of the year, stood at 7.9 percent. (PNA)
"In the University of the Philippines- Manila, UP Manila professors, administrators, students, and PGH health workers announced in a press conference today that the UP Manila community will hold its strike on November 25 and 26 to intensify its call to stop the P1.39 Billion UP Budget cut and P114 Million budget cut in the Philippine General Hospital."
MANILA, Nov. 24 (PNA) -- The means of travel and communications in Luzon improved greatly with the inauguration On November 24, 1892 of the 195-kilometer long railway line from Manila to Dagupan in Pangasinan.
This led to the efficient delivery and transport not only of goods and people but also information to the north via reliable and fast (8 hours at that time) mode of transportation the Philippines enjoyed during the last decade of the 19th century.
The general plan for the establishment of the railroad line was introduced as a means of exploiting the untapped riches of the virgin islands of Luzon, which had been endowed with nature’s blessings but only slightly stirred by trade and commercial activity, even during the galleon trade.
Hence, on June 25, 1875, a royal decree of King Alfonso XII of Spain required the Inspector of Public Works of the Philippine Island to submit a general plan for the establishment of a railroad line on the island of Luzon.
On June 1, 1887, a concession for the construction of a railway line from Manila to Dagupan, Pangasinan was awarded to Don Edmundo Sykes of the Ferrocaril de Manila-Dagupan, the original corporate name of the Manila Railway Company Ltd. of London.
The cornerstone of the project was laid on July 31, 1887 at the present site of the Philippine National Railways' main terminal building at Tutuban, Manila.
Since then, the construction of lines continued such that by 1940, the railway had been extended up to Legazpi, Albay in the South and to San Fernando, La Union in the north. Branch lines were constructed from Paniqui, Tarlac to San Quintin, Pangasinan; from Tarlac, Tarlac to San Jose, Nueva Ecija; from Bigaa, Bulacan to Cabanatuan City; from San Fernando, Pampanga to Carmen, Pangasinan; from College to Sta. Cruz, Laguna and from Sta. Mesa to Hulo in Mandaluyong.
The Manila Railroad officially became the Philippine National Railways (PNR) on June 20, 1946 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4156. The PNR is an attached agency under the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Also on this same day in 1895, Eduardo A. Quisumbing, a leading botanist and national scientist in the country, was born in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
Quisumbing’s book, Medicinal Plants of the Philippines (1951), is the forerunner of all studies on the subject.
On this same day in 1779 was also the birth of Manuel Blanco in Zamora, Spain. Blanco was the Augustinian priest known for his extensive study of Philippine flora. His Flora de Filipinas (1837) is a systematic and scientific book on 1,200 kinds of plants in the country. (PNA)
Manila (23 November) -- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will be having its first national painting competition this 2010. The competition aims to support the development of Philippine contemporary art and challenge artists to strive for a higher level of artistic excellence.
The BSP, the prime financial institution of the country, is a known patron of the arts and have in its collection impressive artwork ranging from the 18th century to the present era.
Through the competition, the BSP intends to raise the public's awareness and appreciation of art and to recognize the artistic excellence of contemporary artists.
The competition is open to professional and non-professional Filipino artists who have previously won in national and international competitions and art fairs. Artists are free to explore any subject or theme.
Winners will be announced on 16 February 2011. There will be an exhibition of the top three winners and the finalists at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila from 16 February to 16 April 2011.
Prizes will be awarded during the opening ceremony of the exhibit.
Competition rules and regulations and entry forms may be downloaded online at www.bsp.gov.ph.
For more information, participants may contact the Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas at 524-9534/ 516-7499 or 524-7011 locals 2981 and 2377.
(Editor's note: The following is a transcript of an interview released by the Philippine Senate as a press release on the issue of the 2011 national budget. In the interview, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile says the national budget will be passed by the Senate by December 1, 2010. It is, however not clear if the December 1 passage deadline also includes the concurrence of the bicameral conference committee (Senate and House) and whether it will be signed into law as the General Appropriations Act of 2011 by President Benigno S. Aquino III. President Aquinio submitted the proposed national budget to Congress last July 26, 2010)
Press Release
November 23, 2010
Transcript of Interview of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile
On the Budget Deliberations
Q Ano po ang timetable ninyo for the budget deliberations?
SP We are going to debate the budget but in the end we will have to pass it.
Q Daily po?
SP Yes, daily.
Q May hinahabol pong timetable sir?
SP We will finish it (inaudible) December 1.
Q Sir, ano po ang bottleneck between the versions of the two budgets? What would be the most significant change?
SP I don't think there would be too many changes. We will give the benefit of the doubt to the present administration. Next budget time, if we find anything amiss, then we will have to scrutinize it.
Q The CCT remains intact?
SP I think so, by and large.
Q Tataas po daw ang credit standing natin?
SP Siguro. Kanina, may pinag-usapan, 'yung VFA.
Q Meron pa po bang cuts sa budget?
SP I don't think so.
Q How about realignment?
SP Maybe here and there, we will punish the agencies that do not perform well.
Ferruginous Flycatcher (Muscicapa ferruginea), migrant, rare in the Philippines at the Univesity of the Philippines (U.P.) Diliman, Quezon City. See the bird by clicking the link here: http://tinyurl.com/34gmx2k
Its Christmas time once again! Following the success of last years' BAZAAR FOR ALL SEASONS: A Grand UP Bazaar, we invite you to join us this year for BAZAAR FOR ALL SEASONS YEAR 2: A CAMPUS CHRISTMAS AFFAIR. This year there will be two runs for the bazaar, on November 26-27 and December 10-11 (Both are Friday-Saturday, 10am-7pm) at the UP Ang Bahay ng Alumni, UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City. The bazaar will feature the following items:
Clothing for men and women
Fashion Accessories
Bags, shoes and accessories
Health, beauty and lifestyle products
Organic, herbal and natural products
Children's clothes and toys
Premium gift items & novelty items
Filipiniana and handicrafts
Christmas decors
Gift items
Food booths
Join us as we celebrate the Christmas season! Shop till you drop and enjoy great finds at the UP Bazaar for All Seasons 2: Campus Christmas Bazaar.
Contact Details:
For inquiries and booth reservations, please email jenn.tabs@gmail.com or SMS: Jenn at (63 922) 862-1784.
STATEMENT OF THE UP MUSLIM STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION IN COMMEMORATION OF THE AMPATUAN MASSACRE
Twelve months ago, we witnessed the irrefutably, one of the worst election-related violence that took fifty-eight (58) lives – thirty-two (32) of them journalists – in the town of Ampatuan, Maguindanao on November 23, 2009. As Muslim Filipinos, we are extremely disgusted, ashamed, and horrified over the gruesome killings that not only took innocent lives, but also left a negative imprint, however superficial, on the already tarnished image of Mindanao and the Bangsamoro people.
We are in one with the Philippine society in commemorating and condemning in strongest possible terms such barbaric act. We also express our deepest condolences to the relatives of the victims.
The brutal killings may be shocking but the underpinnings of the incident are not novel. Political dynasties, warlordism, the Philippines as the most dangerous country for journalists, just to name some.
The Ampatuan Massacre is hence both a dagger and an energizer, wounding us with the painful realities of our society, and at the same time, awakening us to fight for justice and to strive for genuine social change.
It is fitting that one year (and even more years) from the incident; we continue to keep a close watch on the developments of the Ampatuan case. We call on the national government to award and strengthen the witness protection program to the witnesses to ensure their security and their respective families. To stop the alleged VIP treatment for the Ampatuans, and to expedite the trial.
We salute the media for the unwavering display of bravery in informing the public on the developments of the case and in exposing matters of public concern. We call on them to continue fighting for justice and freedom of expression.
We call on the concerned local government units to exert extensive efforts in searching for the body of Reynaldo “Bebong” Momay, the 58th victim.
We call on our fellow Muslims to show a resounding damnation of this carnage, and to join hands with the authority for the speedy disposition of the case.
We call on everyone to remain vigilant. Let us not forget. Let us not falter.
