Pangalangan goes to Hague

Former University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law Dean Raul Pangalangan was sworn in today as a new judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at a ceremony held at the seat of the court in The Hague, The Netherlands. According to a posting by the UP College of Law, Pangalangan  was elected on June 24, 2015 to fill a judicial vacancy during the resumed thirteenth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute in The Hague. His term of office will end on 10 March 2021. –End-

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Apple in the PH

Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that vital components of iPhones and iPads would soon be made in the Philippines as its China supplier would transfer about 8,000 jobs to Manila.

Apple itself mandated Foxconn Technology to transfer one of its manufacturing plants to a Southeast Asian country and the Philippines was the one chosen by both Foxconn and Apple.

“We received tons of positive feedback about Filipinos working in factories in the Philippines and abroad. We are very confident that they can produce high-quality products of Apple,” Cook was quoted by GRU News as saying.

Construction of the Batangas plant was said to have started last April and scheduled to be finished by November this year, said Apple’s director for manufacturing Jorge McDough.

Foxconn has 13 factories in People's Republic of China, with the largest factory in Longhua, Shenzhen. It also has manufacturing plants in Brazil and other Asian countries like Japan. -End-

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2nd hearing of PH vs China case in The Hague on July 13

The Philippine delegation to The Hague is ready to answer clarificatory questions from the arbitral tribunal handling its maritime dispute with China. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the tribunal is likely to ask the clarificatory questions during the second round of oral arguments on May 13. The hearings will address the issue of the Arbitral Tribunal's jurisdiction over the case. Presenting the Philippine position is Florin Hilbay Solicitor General, as agent of the Philippines, together with counsel from the Washington DC-based law firm Foley Hoag and, headed by Paul Reichler. -End-

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It's Murray vs Federer

Hometown favorite Andy Murray dispatched Canadian Vasek Pospisil in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to set up a semifinal duel with Roger Federer in the 2015 Wimbledon tennis championships.

It would be Murray’s sixth appearance in the final four at Wimbledon following his victory over Pospisil in two hours and 13 minutes.

Two rain delays that saw the roof on center court being closed seemed to have gotten on Murray’s nerves but not enough for the Canadian to gain any momentum except in the closely fought second set.

“I felt I played some good stuff. He served extremely well for periods. I tried to change my return position at the end of the second set to see the returns better,” said Murray. –End-

Image by: World Tennis Magazine

Right over Might

China is trampling not only the Philippines’ right to its 370-km exclusive economic zone, but also the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) that guarantees the same.

This was the position raised by the Philippine panel led by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario in asking the five-member Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague to assume jurisdiction over the case.

The Philippines maintained that it was not raising sovereignty issues before the said court but only China’s incursion and building of artificial islands in the exclusive Philippine economic zone.

Based on the UNCLOS, every country has exclusive economic right 370 kilometers out into the sea from its coastlines.

The Philippines has filed the case under the UNCLOS’ dispute resolution mechanism, underscoring its “conviction that principles trump power, that law triumphs over force, and that right prevails over might.” -End-

Image by: Manila Bulletin

When big companies Show hearts

More than 60,000 students throughout the country are now benefiting from the Aboitiz Group’s initiatives in education last year, amounting to P437 million or 72 percent of its total budget allocation for corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Of its P610-million CSR spending in 2014, some 21 percent or P129 million was allotted to health-related and other corporate donations, five percent or P30 million to enterprise development programs, and the remaining two percent or P15 million to environmental protection.

This is the largest amount the Group has allocated so far, up by 26 percent from its P483-million CSR budget in 2013. “In our focus area of education, our goal is to achieve universal public education by continuing to establish and develop Aboitiz Better World schools that promise a better learning environment,” said Aboitiz Group CEO and President Erramon Aboitiz.

The Aboitiz Group, led by its social development arm Aboitiz Foundation, has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd), in constructing 27 classrooms in Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Albay, and Cebu for TechVoc high schools. The Foundation will continue funding teachers’ training for Technical Education Skills Development Authority’s (Tesda) NCII certification.

In 2014, the Aboitiz Group built a total of 185 new classrooms to help address the issue of overcrowding and lack of classrooms in public schools nationwide. In the last 26 years, it has donated more than 800 classrooms. The Foundation turned over 23 regular classrooms in nine schools in Benguet, Cebu, and Davao del Sur last year. It also turned over 42 additional Silid Pangarap kindergarten classrooms in partnership with the Aklat, Gabay, Aruga tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa (AGAPP) Foundation, which it has been supporting in the last four years.

Majority of the Foundation’s infrastructure building projects last year focused on the Post-Yolanda Schools Rehabilitation Program where it surpassed its commitment to build or rehabilitate 200 classrooms. This year, the Foundation completed the physical turnover of 272 classrooms to Northern Cebu schools devastated by super typhoon Yolanda. –End-

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PLDT to expand subscription video services

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and wireless unit Smart Communications Inc. expect rapid growth in subscription video on demand (SVOD) services in the country consistent with global trends. PLDT president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said the company has partnered with Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service provider iflix to cope with the strong demand. “Consumer viewing habits are going through a major shift towards online video, including video on demand.  Our partnership with iFlix places us in an excellent position to meet that demand through a very affordable, high quality video on demand subscription service,” Nazareno said.

A recent report on the Global OTT TV & Video Forecasts from Digital TV Research revealed that the number of homes globally with SVOD subscriptions would jump by 485 percent from 20 million in 2010 to 120 million by end-2015. The report said the number is expected to reach 250 million by 2020. According to PLDT executive vice president Ariel Fermin, the Philippines is moving in line with global trends. “With iflix, PLDT and Smart can offer the widest library of video content to more Filipino homes when and where they want it.  Our subscribers can access and enjoy more than 11,000 hours of TV and movie entertainment from the best content providers around the world,” he said.

At affordable monthly rates that start at P99 per month, Fermin said PLDT HOME and Smart subscribers nationwide could view all the video content at home or using their TV screens, desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. iflix chairman Patrick Grove said his company is excited to join forces with the PLDT Group. With over 75 million Filipinos communicating and being entertained using the PLDT Group services, PLDT is the perfect partner for iflix in the Philippines,” said Grove.

PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan indicated earlier that the company wants to increase its initial investments in the video-streaming provider. Last April 23, PLDT announced it was infusing $15 million into Southeast Asia’s leading Internet TV service provider to make available top TV shows and movies to 600 million consumers in the region. Kuala Lumpur-based leading investment firm Catcha Group infused another $15 million.

The PLDT Group made its biggest foreign investment when it spent €333 million to acquire a 10 percent stake in Rocket Internet last Aug. 7. The stake of PLDT in Rocket Internet was diluted to 6.1 percent after the German firm went public but the value of the investments has gone up to €434 million in early June. PLDT’s wireless arm Smart Communications Inc. initially invested P1.54 billion for a 33.3 percent stake in a joint venture company with Berlin-based Rocket Internet AG. Apart from the Philippines, iflix would soon be available in other countries,  including the United States, Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai, Thailand and Tokyo.

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