http://pinoypundit.com Current affairs in the Philippines and overseas. Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:45:29 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Despite efforts by Piston and Bayan Muna to block the Land Transportation Office (LTO) from implementing its radio frequency identification (RFID) program, the LTO has started requiring all vehicle owners to install stickers containing a microchip that stores information about them and their vehicles. Each set of stickers costs P350 ... http://pinoypundit.com/2010/01/04/palace-allows-highway-robbery/ In the aftermath of a fairly recent string of scandals that involved the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs among a few sports personalities, it certainly behooves both the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps in the planned March 13 bout to submit to routine drug testing. But for reasons ... http://pinoypundit.com/2009/12/26/manny-talks/ As early as June 26th, helicopters from the USS Ronald Reagan began delivering relief supplies to Iloilo and other areas hardest hit by Typhoon Frank . . . even before the aircraft carrier reached Philippine waters. erbium doped fiberBad idea, according to Sen. Pong Biazon who pointed out that a U.S. ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/06/30/waters-under-the-bridge/ By most accounts, the first public appearance of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton together on the same stage after the bruising Democratic primaries was a day of unity, albeit heavily scripted, including the choice of the venue . . . a small town in New Hampshire called Unity. And everything ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/06/27/the-road-from-unity/ Barack Obama has effectively become the first-ever African-American to be his party's presidential standard bearer but what’s Hillary Rodham Clinton now up to? Her odd metric . . . pointing out that she has garnered more popular votes than Obama . . . can’t possibly set aside the reality that ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/06/04/barack-makes-history-but-hillary-resists-being-one/ White House press secretaries can only be as candid as their prime sources of information that go into their regular press briefings. Unfortunately for Scott McClellan, George W. Bush and the US president’s senior advisers expected him take on the added burden of being the chief propagandist of a sub-surface ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/05/30/great-scott-mcclellan-is-no-longer-pinocchio/ The alleged crime was committed just two days after Gloria M. Arroyo became president in the wake of Joseph Estrada’s ouster. However, for a special reason that has become an open secret, it has taken the Ombudsman all these years to charge Hernando ‘Nani’ Perez . . . Pres. Arroyos’s ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/05/24/jail-time-for-nani-perez-the-thought/ In the ZTE-NBN telenovela that’s poised to be launched its third season pretty soon, not too many may recall that it was Rolex Suplico . . . a former three-term congressman and currently the vice-gov of Iloilo . . . who went a step further than either Joey de Venecia ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/05/18/watch-this-guy-rolex/ PinoyPundit was hacked . . . some mischievous soul managed to insert ‘traffic stats’ code in my version of Wordpress that alerted visitors about a viral threat . . . but after a search for a solution that took an awfully long time, I’ve finally pinpointed and plugged a couple ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/05/18/heck-we-wuz-hacked/ My brother Rey, who’s a New Jersey-based town planner and architect, forwarded an email with magnificent photos of the almost completed Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). The email’s original sender hints at possible kickbacks of 10% in the freeway’s construction which is obviously way under the 25% to 40% ‘going rate’ . . ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/04/13/highway-robbery/ Step aside, Joc-joc Bolante. It looks like the fertilizer scam that you allegedly orchestrated has now been overshadowed. As reported by Malaya . . . "COCONUT farmers yesterday echoed the call of the Federation of Free Farmers for an investigation on a P2 billion salt fertilization project and corn seed program of ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/04/08/adding-salt-to-injury/ Hogging the headlines in the past few days is another scandal that has something to do with sort of ‘rerouting’ around P2.2B in Quedan and Rural Credit Corp. (Quedancor) funds. There are allegations that most of this government lending agency’s 2004 budget to assist farmers in boosting swine production went ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/04/05/days-of-swine-and-ruses/ Enumerable articles and quite a few books have been written about Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, including his supposed 'discovery' of an archipelago that subsequently became known as the Philippines. Most of the eyewitness accounts are attributed to Antonio Pigafetta. But would you believe that Pigafetta was practically a glorified ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/04/04/pigafetta-was-an-imbedded-correspondent/ UP professor Felipe Medalla is a rarity among former public officials. He rarely issues press statements but when he does, he makes excellent sense. As quoted by Malaya yesterday in reference to a looming rice crisis, the former Economic Planning secretary said, "The collective wisdom of the market should decide importation. ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/03/29/no-lies-shortage/ Political strategist James Carville . . . along with George Stephanopoulos . . . are credited with the brilliant strategizing of Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign. But the outspoken Carville, who’s sometimes referred to as ‘The Crazy Cajun’, clearly miscalculated when he http://pinoypundit.com/2008/03/24/worst-kiss-scenario/ The Vatican, through Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, a close ally of Pope Benedict XVI and the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary . . . which is unlike the one in Muntinlupa but one of the Roman Curia's main courts . . . has announced http://pinoypundit.com/2008/03/21/ye-must-go-green-and-sin-no-more/ In the days leading up to the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the Queen Consort of Louis XVI, was supposed to have said, “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!” (Let them eat cake!) after she was informed that the French masa (pan intended) had no more bread to eat. Some historians are unsure ... http://pinoypundit.com/2008/03/21/let-them-eat-cassava-cake/ With blood flowing from a cut above his right eye and hardly able to see powerful punches being thrown at him by Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao relied on a big brave heart to http://pinoypundit.com/2008/03/16/marquez-takes-the-floor-pac-man-takes-wbc-crown/