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A THIN layer
of fog descends on Hong Kong’s main business center, seen
here from Victoria Peak. It was from the Hong Kong office
of ZTE that the Chinese telecom giant’s package for a
national broadband network (NBN) for the Philippine
government was crafted, according to reports reaching the
Senate. Although canceled, the NBN-ZTE deal, as it has
been called, continues to shake up the government amid
allegations that certain top Philippine officials sought,
and received, kickbacks in advance of official approval of
the project. This caused the financials to balloon from
$268 million to $329 million, per Senate witness Rodolfo
Noel Lozada Jr., who ended a week of hiding in Hong Kong
last week to testify on the controversy.
--BUTCH FERNANDEZ |
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3rd
bid for Boni’s best lots set
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THE Bases
Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) makes a third
attempt to sell off its 1.2-hectare “primest lot” in
Bonifacio Global City (BGC) within the month, with high
hopes the “more reasonable” terms of reference (TOR) this
time will finally result in an acceptable bid. |
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IT
BEGAN AND ENDED HERE |
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SENATE
probers looking into alleged anomalies in the aborted
$329-million national broadband network (NBN) project
awarded to Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Co. Ltd.
(ZTE) of China were asked to summon ZTE chairman Fu Yong, as
well as commercial attaché Fan Yang of the Chinese Embassy
in Manila, to shed light on the participation of the Chinese
government in the controversial NBN-ZTE deal. |
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ABALOS BLAMES DE VENECIA DUO |
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THE lawyer
of resigned Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman
Benjamin Abalos Sr., possibly in consultation with his
client, said the testimony of former Philippine Forest Corp.
president Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr., before the Senate
blue-ribbon committee is part of the machinations to bring
down President Arroyo. |
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The
Jpepa jump-start: Dissecting a treaty |
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WHEN the
Jpepa first entered our collective consciousness, its
critics had the upper hand. The nightmares they etched into
the public mind linger like disembodied ghosts even when our
most potent statutes readily safeguard against imagined
abuses. |
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Flood alert up over La Niña |
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THE weather
office has warned residents of Camarines Norte, most parts
of Davao and Soccsksargen, Eastern Visayas and Maguindanao
that they may face floods with the progress of the very wet
La Niña phenomenon. |
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Transco told: Divest of STAs |
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TARGETING to
meet the mandate of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira),
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has given the
National Transmission Corp. (Transco) the go-ahead to divest
its subtransmission assets to qualified distribution
utilities and electric cooperatives, Arthur N. Aguilar,
Transco president, said Friday. |
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Govts just huffin’ ‘n puffin’ against evils of smoking |
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GOVERNMENTS
around the world are not doing enough to protect their
citizens from the dangers of smoking, according to a World
Health Organization (WHO) report.
The Report
on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2008 is the first in a series
of WHO reports that will track the status of the tobacco
epidemic and the impact of interventions implemented to stop
it. |
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MORE STORIES ... |
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Red hot from
NZ. Models from
Miriam College wearing designer clothes from New Zealand
pose for a photo opportunity, as part of the New Zealand
trade fair that ended Sunday at the Shangri-La Mall in
Mandaluyong City. New Zealand fashion, artists and industry
partners were featured in the event themed “Red Hot from New
Zealand.” The NZ Embassy, together with the NZ Trade and
Enterprise (NZTE) and the Philippines-New Zealand Business
Council (PNZBC), organized the weeklong celebration—a golf
tournament, continuing with Waitangi Day (New Zealand’s
National Day) on February 6, capped by the trade fair at the
Shangri-La Plaza mall.
--NONIE REYES |
