Garcia office padlocked due to her 'abuses' — Cebu vice gov

source: www.gmanetwork.com

Acting Cebu governor Agnes Magpale said the recent actions of suspended governor Gwen Garcia led to the padlocking of Garcia's office on Wednesday, ending more than 40 days of her being holed up there.

In a phone interview on GMA News TV’s “Kape at Balita” on Thursday, Magpale, the provincial vice governor, said she ordered Garcia’s office to be padlocked due to the alleged “abuses” committed by Garcia and her allies.

“I have been saying time and again that I will exercise maximum tolerance for as long as her presence there will not hamper the delivery of services to the constituents of Cebu. Tinupad ko po iyon,” Magpale said.

Garcia’s suspension stemmed from an administrative case filed in 2010 by the late Vice Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr., although she and her camp claim the case was politically motivated and accused Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas of trying to control Cebu, a vote-rich province, in time for the May midterm elections.

Magpale noted that one example of tolerance extended to Garcia was allowing her to participate in the Sinulog Festival last January 20, where the embattled governor left the Capitol for the first time since she started staying there.

“Kaya lang po lately ay parang inaabuso na po talaga,” Magpale said.

The acting Cebu governor then said that Garcia’s allies have been using the Capitol’s old session hall—renovated to be a receiving room for foreign and local dignitaries—for other purposes such as sleeping and even laundry.

Magpale also said that on January 26, Garcia and other members of her political party, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), conducted a meeting at the Capitol. “Parang naging headquarters,” she said.

Magpale also raised the issue of Cebu’s finances, saying Cebu is “really cash-strapped,” and noted that the Capitol's maintenance and other operation expenses (MOOE) budget has been slashed by 20 percent, affecting all departments.

Magpale also said Garcia’s stay in the building has sapped taxpayers’ money through expenses incurred by using air-conditioning and electricity. “So I thought, ‘Sobra naman na ito,’” she said.

Garcia’s office was padlocked on Wednesday, as she left the Capitol to speak with her supporters in the town of Oslob.

Garcia’s brother, Rep. John Pablo, said they are mulling legal options in reaction to Magpale's actions.

In another report on "Kape at Balita," Garcia said she will still not leave the Capitol, describing the suspension order as invalid. The report noted that Garcia's camp said they will leave it to the people to judge Magpale's decision.

"I am protecting the mandate that the people have given me, not just once, not just twice, but three times. And the people supported that stand," Garcia said. — Gian C. Geronimo/KBK, GMA News

China's narrow focus on oil in South Sudan won't work: U.S. envoy

source: www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - China needs to move beyond a narrow focus on oil issues in South Sudan and help tackle that country's larger political disputes with Sudan, the outgoing U.S. special envoy to the two African states said on Wednesday.

Ambassador Princeton Lyman said he had worked closely with Chinese officials more than two years, during which time South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 to become the world's newest nation.

China is Sudan's biggest ally and is the largest investor in the oil industry there and in South Sudan - a position that Western diplomats say gives Beijing the best chance of defusing tensions between Khartoum and Juba over sharing oil wealth and ending violence on both sides of their shared boundary.

But Lyman said the disputes, which have shut down landlocked South Sudan's oil output, underscore the limits of staying aloof from political problems.

"They have weighed in very significantly on the oil issue. But what China doesn't like to do is to get involved in some of the underlying political problems that are keeping the oil from flowing," he told reporters in Washington.

"Without that stability and (with) the danger of conflict on the border, the chances of having a long-term productive oil sector is threatened, so they can't just concentrate on the oil and just pretend that the other things aren't bearing on it," he said.

China has long held up as its foreign policy mantra non-interference in countries' internal affairs, a principle it first enunciated in 1954 - long before it was an economic power with interests around the globe.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Magnitude 6.8 quake shakes Chile, but no serious damage

source: www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit central-northern Chile on Wednesday, shaking buildings as far away as the capital Santiago, and possibly leading a woman to die minutes later of an apparent heart attack, the U.S. Geological Survey and local officials said.

There were no reports of serious damage.

The quake, initially reported as a magnitude 6.7, struck at a depth of 28.4 miles, 63 miles southwest of the mining town Copiapo and 364 miles north of Santiago at 5:15 p.m. (2015 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said.

A 50-year-old woman in Copiapo died after presumably suffering a heart attack following the quake, Chile's Onemi emergency office said.

The earthquake hit well south of large mines in the world's top copper producer and Chile's emergency office said there were no preliminary reports of significant damage.

"Mining companies have reported some minor rock falls on auxiliary roads ... the companies' personnel are fine and there are no structural damages to speak of," said Copiapo's regional mining authority Mauricio Pino.

The navy said the quake did not meet the conditions needed to generate a tsunami off the country's Pacific coastline.

Nearly three years ago, a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami ravaged central-southern Chile, killing hundreds of people and causing billions of dollars worth of damage.

The mayor of Vallenar, a town close to the epicenter, told CNN Chile some walls had collapsed in lower-income areas with poorer quality buildings.

Television showed images of minor damage to homes such as broken windows and bottles of cooking oil thrown from their shelves in a local supermarket.

(Reporting by Santiago newsroom and Sandra Maler in Washington; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer and Anthony Esposito; Editing by Jim Loney and Lisa Shumaker)

Exclusive: Iran crude oil exports rise to highest since EU sanctions

source: www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - Iran's crude oil exports in December leapt to their highest level since European Union sanctions took effect last July, analysts and shipping sources said, as strong Chinese demand and tanker fleet expansion helped the OPEC member dodge sanctions.

Exports rose to around 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in December, according to two industry sources and shipping and customs data compiled by Reuters on a country-by-country basis and corroborated by other sources and consultants.

The sources said they expected exports to dip in January from the December peak ahead of new U.S. sanctions.

Western sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's disputed nuclear program halved Iran's oil exports in 2012 from 2.2 million bpd in late 2011, leading to billions of dollars in lost revenue and a plunge in the Iranian currency.

But continuous robust demand from top buyer China and others such as India and Japan, as well as the purchase of new tankers, allowed the Islamic Republic to unexpectedly boost exports late last year.

The United States and the EU are hoping the economic pressure will force Iran to address international concerns about its nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes but the West suspects is for making weapons.

Salar Moradi, oil market analyst at oil and gas consultancy FGE, estimated that Iran shipped more than 1.4 million bpd of crude oil in December and forecast that exports would remain between 1.1 million and 1.3 million bpd in the first quarter of 2013.

This represents an increase from a low point of less than 900,000 bpd in September and suggests monthly revenues worth approximately $4.7 billion based on December Brent prices.

"They (Iran) bought a number of tankers from China and can now do more deliveries ... It's taken some pressure off Iran and facilitated tanker traffic and we are seeing higher exports to China," he told Reuters this week.

The second industry source said the rise in exports to near 1.4 million bpd was a result of traditional buyers finding new ways to secure shipping insurance.

But, like FGE, he estimated that they would fall slightly to around 1.3 million bpd in January.

CHINESE THIRST

Chinese data showed the country bought 593,400 bpd of Iranian crude in December, the second-highest level of daily imports in 2012, a rise that Chinese officials also attributed to an easing of shipping delays.

Previously, Iran's tanker fleet had struggled to meet delivery schedules to China because EU measures in July barred Europe-based insurers from covering tankers that carry Iranian oil.

"China is saying let's up the numbers because no one is doing anything about it, and it looks like Obama has made a political decision not to go to war with Iran," said a senior source with a large independent trading house, referring to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Elena McGovern, oil and gas analyst at Business Monitor International, said: "The implications of preventing Chinese imports from Iran would be too damaging to the (U.S.-China) bilateral relationship. I would be very surprised if Obama were to take China to task on Iranian imports."

India's imports of Iranian crude were up 29 percent in December from November at around 275,000 bpd, according to tanker arrival data.

Tracking Iranian shipments has become increasingly difficult as companies have sought to conceal tanker movements from Western governments by turning off satellite signals.

Estimates of the Islamic Republic's monthly crude exports can vary considerably and are frequently revised.

NEW SANCTIONS LOOMING

A fresh round of U.S. sanctions coming into force next month could cap Iran's exports in the coming months as some buyers balk at the prospect of falling foul of the measures.

From February 6, U.S. law will prevent Iran from repatriating earnings it gets from its shrinking oil export trade, a powerful sanction that the U.S. officials say will "lock up" a substantial amount of Tehran's funds.

"We continue to engage in close consultations with our international partners on U.S. sanctions with the objective of maintaining pressure on Iran to comply with its international obligations," said U.S. State Department spokesman John Finn.

"Month-to-month variability in crude oil purchases is not unusual," he added.

The International Energy Agency in December forecast a drop in Iranian exports to around 1 million barrels per day in late 2012 and early 2013.

But no matter how many rounds of sanctions are in effect, they are never watertight. Iran found creative ways to market its products and managed to sell more than 1.3 million tonnes of its fuel oil last summer, generating revenues equal to up to a third of its crude exports.

However, the latest data showed fuel oil exports have also taken a dip from the average 648,000 tonnes from July to October.

Exports fell to approximately 230,000 to 330,000 tonnes in December, Salar Moradi said, although he attributed this partly to higher domestic consumption in winter as utilities switch to fuel oil to replace gas used to meet heating requirements in the country.

In a more conservative estimate, data from a firm tracking Iranian fuel oil shipments showed that December exports were around 150,000 tonnes.

Condensate exports also fell by around 300,000 tonnes from November to 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes in December, data from the same firm showed. A Dubai-based analyst said condensate exports might come under further pressure as Iran's biggest customer in the Middle East has decided to reduce its purchases.

Dubai government-owned Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC) has started importing condensate from Qatar to replace sanctioned Iranian oil and is close to finalizing deals with other producers, the company said on Sunday.

Still, some analysts think Iran will continue to find ways to safeguard against significant drops in its oil revenues.

"What we have seen is that when Iran is pushed to a do-or-die situation, they have looked for creative solutions to get around sanctions," said McGovern.

"The system will always find a way to cope."

(Reporting by Emma Farge, Humeyra Pamuk in Dubai; additional reporting by Alex Lawler in London and Manash Goswami in Singapore; Additional reporting by Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Giles Elgood and Lisa Shumaker)

US Congress official relays regrets over USS Guardian incident

source: www.gmanetwork.com

US House foreign affairs committee chairman Congressman Ed Royce has relayed his regrets to Philippine House of Representatives officials over the US minesweeper USS Guardian's running aground at Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17.

Royce, who is leading a US Congressional delegation visiting the Philippines this week, also committed to protect the environment and assured the Philippines of US cooperation, a ranking US Embassy official tweeted Wednesday.

"In Royce('s) meeting with (House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and 11 members), (he) expressed regrets regarding the USS Guardian accident, (and) commitment to protect environment and close cooperation with the Philippine governmnet," US Embassy deputy chief of mission Brian Goldbeck said on his Twitter account.

Goldbeck also said Royce noted his first trip as chairman to Asia, including the Philippines, was "important."

Royce and his delegation are visiting the Philippines from Jan. 28 to 30.

A news release from the Philippine embassy in Washington said the delegation will also meet with President Benigno Aquino III, and with the business community.

This is Royce's first visit to the Philippines.

Royce is a Republican representing the 39th District of California and newly selected chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 113th US Congress.

The embassy said he has been one of the strongest supporters in the US Congress of closer Philippine-US relations, particularly on security and economic cooperation.

"He is also supportive of President Aquino’s efforts in fighting corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and promoting human rights," the embassy said.

When he met with Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert del Rosario and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.  last Jan. 17, Royce had reiterated his support for the Philippines’ rules-based approach to the West Philippine Sea issue and the peaceful resolution of disputes within the framework of international law.

The US delegation also includes Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-New York), Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-New York), Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-Florida), Congressman Matthew James “Matt” Salmon (R-Arizona), and Congressman Thomas Anthony “Tom” Marino (R-Pennsylvania). —KG, GMA News

USS Guardian to be dismantled, but may further damage Tubbataha

source: www.gmanews.com

After wrestling with various other options, the US Navy has announced that it has no other choice but to dismantle the minesweeping vessel that has been stranded on Tubbataha Reef since January 17, according Defense News, a news site about the US military.

The US Navy had been preparing to lift the entire ship with giant floating cranes to deeper water or onto another ship. But the close proximity of salvage ships to the reef for the lifting operation would pose a greater risk to the reef, the US Navy has determined.

“Our only supportable option is to dismantle the damaged ship and remove it in sections,” Capt. Darryn James, spokesman for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, told Defense News on Tuesday.

Lory Tan, president of WWF Philippines, lamented that dismantling the ship is the "least desirable" solution because the operation, though now apparently unavoidable, would entail more movement on the reef than if the ship were lifted intact.

"It's too early to say, but basta may gumalaw dyan, may pwede mangyari," said Tan, who is also a member of Tubbataha's protected area management board.

"If they're not careful, it could be messy," he added.

The grounding of the USS Guardian is an unprecedented problem for the US Navy with a complex mix of crucial factors, including unpredictable weather conditions, the coordination between the two governments, and environmental concerns.

"We suggested in the beginning that (the Tubbataha Task Force) develop various (recovery) scenarios. The last option was the breakup," he added.

The US Navy has apparently decided that the last and least desireable option is now probably the only option. — KG/HS, GMA News 

Philippine Air Force to buy 10 attack helicopters

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

MANILA, Philippines - Ten attack helicopters will be purchased from Italy for the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

The PAF will also get 21 Huey helicopters, three medium-lift fixed-wing aircraft and 12 lead-in jet fighters before yearend as part of the P75-billion Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) modernization program.

Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino de la Cruz said the Philippines preferred the Italian helicopters as they are cheaper compared to those made in the United States.

“I was in Italy to look at some of the attack helicopters that were offered and hopefully, we will have them by the end of the year,” he said.

De la Cruz arrived Monday after participating in the Farnborough Air Show in the United Kingdom.

“I was able to take a first-hand look at some of the industry participants, talk to some of them and would now report to senior leaders in the AFP on the best options available for the country,” he said.

De la Cruz said the government is planning to get 12 jet fighters that are not so sophisticated for the pilots to easily adjust from lead-in to multi-role fighter jets.

The four contenders to sell the jet fighters are Italy, South Korea, Russia and the UK, he added.

The attack helicopters would replace the aging OV-10 Bronco and MG520 attack helicopters, and the three fixed-wing aircraft will augment the C-130 plane, he added.

De la Cruz said the acquisitions would be purely for defense purposes.

“The Armed Forces had concentrated on dealing with internal insurgency, until we realized the need for credible defense following the row with China over the Spratlys,” he said.

The Air Force has been given the authority to purchase medium- and light-lift aircraft as replacement for the C-130 Hercules troop and transport carrier, long-range patrol aircraft, radar, the SAA/LIFT and the attack helicopters, according to spokesman Col. Miguel Okol.

The Department of National Defense and the AFP are working to fast-track the approval of a total of 138 contracts mostly aimed at boosting air and naval assets.  

PH to buy 12 S. Korean fighter jets

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

MANILA - The Philippines will buy 12 South Korean FA-50 fighter jets to strengthen its poorly-armed military, government spokesmen said Wednesday, amid increasing maritime tensions with China.

The FA-50s will be the first fighter jets to be operated by the Philippine air force since it retired the last of its US-designed F-5 fighters in 2005, said President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

"We don't have any existing jets right now that are in use, therefore it is necessary for us to upgrade. This is part of the ongoing process of modernizing our military hardware," he told reporters.

Lacierda said the jets would be used for "training, interdiction and disaster response" and would use their aerial cameras to survey areas.

He stressed that the planned purchase was "not aimed at any particular country" despite the new tensions with China over conflicting maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Defense department spokesman Peter Galvez said the FA-50 was chosen because it fitted all the country's requirements and because of its cost, adding that 18.9 billion pesos ($464 million) had been budgeted for their acquisition.

Manila will now begin negotiations for the aircraft, he said, adding that the government will seek to have two planes delivered as soon as possible so Filipino pilots can begin training on them.

In recent months the cash-strapped Philippines has stepped up efforts to modernize its military in the face of increasing Chinese assertiveness in pressing its claims to most of the South China Sea.

Although the Philippines has long relied on its defense ties with the United States for most of its arms, it has recently been seeking more weaponry from other countries like Poland, Spain, Italy, Canada and France.

President Aquino discussed acquiring more South Korean military equipment when South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak visited the country in November 2011.

© 1994-2013 Agence France-Presse

China to conduct naval drills in Pacific amid tension

source: Reuters through www.gmanetwork.com

BEIJING - Three advanced Chinese warships left port on Wednesday for naval drills and war games in the Western Pacific, and the fleet will likely pass through disputed waters in the East and South China Sea, state media said.

The official Xinhua news agency described the maneuvers as routine, but they come as China is engaged in an increasingly bitter, high stakes dispute over maritime territory with Japan and with several Southeast Asia nations.

"The fleet will carry out more than 20 types of exercises including naval confrontation, battle drills far out at sea, the protection of maritime rights and command and control," Xinhua cited the Defense Ministry as saying in a statement.

"These exercises on the high seas will take in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, the Miyako Strait, the Bashi Channel and the seas to the east of Taiwan."

President Hu Jintao has made boosting the navy a priority, especially in trying to turn it into a blue-water fleet able to operate far from China's shore, and Chinese ships have participated in anti-piracy missions off Somalia.

But China's growing defence budget, military advances and perceived lack of transparency have alarmed its neighbors and the United States. China is developing stealth fighters and last year launched its first aircraft carrier.

On Sunday, the government said it had again tested emerging military technology aimed at destroying missiles in mid-air.

China says it has no hostile designs and that it is simply updating its outdated forces.

The Pacific drills are "a normal way of exercising to raise the fighting ability of the navy," Xinhua cited a naval officer as saying, adding that it was common for other navies to drill in seas far from home. — Reuters

South Korea launches first civilian rocket amid tensions with North

source: www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - South Korea launched its first space rocket carrying a science satellite on Wednesday amid heightened regional tensions, caused in part, by North Korea's successful launch of its own rocket last month.

It was South Korea's third attempt to launch a civilian rocket to send a satellite in orbit in the past four years and came after two previous launches were aborted at the eleventh hour last year due to technical glitches.

The launch vehicle, named Naro, lifted off from South Korea's space center on the south coast and successfully went through stage separation before entering orbit, officials at the mission control said. Previous launches failed within minutes.

South Korea's rocket program has angered neighbor North Korea, which says it is unjust for it to be singled out for U.N. sanctions for launching long-range rockets as part of its space program to put a satellite into orbit.

North Korea's test in December showed it had the capacity to deliver a rocket that could travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles), potentially putting San Francisco in range, according to an intelligence assessment by South Korea.

However, it is not believed to have the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead capable of hitting the continental United States.

The test in December was considered a success, at least partially, by demonstrating an ability to put an object in space.

But the satellite, as claimed by the North, is not believed to be functioning.

South Korea is already far behind regional rivals China and Japan in the effort to build space rockets to put satellites into orbit and has relied on other countries, including Russia, to launch them.

Launch attempts in 2009 and 2010 ended in failure.

The first stage booster of the South Korean rocket was built by Russia. South Korea has produced several satellites and has relied on other countries to put them in orbit.

South Korea wants to build a rocket on its own by 2018 and eventually send a probe to the moon.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)