Palace congratulates Fil-Am composer for Oscar
win
Malacañang congratulated Filipino-American
composer Robert John Lopez for winning the Best Original Song trophy at the
recently concluded 86th Academy Awards in a ceremony held Sunday (Monday in
Manila) at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, California.
Lopez shares the award with his wife, Kristen
Anderson-Lopez, for the song “Let it Go” in Walt Disney Studios’ animated
musical film “Frozen," which also won the Oscar Best Animated Feature
Film.
“We certainly congratulate Mr. Robert John
Lopez, and I think his wife, for their collaboration in coming up with the song
‘Let it Go.' And (when) I was in Washington, let me tell you that the cold
didn’t bother me anyway,” Secretary Edwin Lacierda told a press briefing on
Monday, alluding to a line from the song.
The song was performed by Idina Menzel, one of
the film’s lead actresses, during the nearly four-hour award rites hosted by
television host and comedienne Ellen de Generes.
Lopez is of Filipino descent but was born and
raised in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York in the United States.
He now belongs to an elite group of artists who
have been recognized in all four major American award giving bodies: the Emmys,
the Grammys, the Oscars, and the Tony awards, otherwise known as
"EGOT" in Hollywood parlance.
According to Salon.com, Lopez won an Emmy for
the television show “Wonder Pets,” a Grammy for his work on “The Book of
Mormon,” and three Tony awards for “Mormon” and “Avenue Q”, joining the likes
of Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Mike Nichols, and Whoopi Goldberg as fellow
EGOT winners. PND (hdc)
Palace: Prosecution of pork barrel scam culprits
must go beyond 2016
Malacanang made an assurance Monday that the
cases against lawmakers being implicated in the P10-billion pork barrel scam
will continue even after President Benigno S. Aquino III steps down from office
in 2016.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Monday,
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Palace is hopeful that cases
filed against those involved in the scam will continue in courts even after the
President bows out of office more than two years from now.
“I think we can only speak till 2016. Beyond
that I cannot speak beyond 2016, and I think it will be too presumptive for me.
But I will certainly hope... we will certainly hope that the justice system
will continue,” Lacierda said.
With regards to the pace of cases being resolved
in courts, Lacierda said this is the reason why the administration wants
judicial reform—so that justice is served those who deserve it.
“That's why we need the judicial reform na isang
bagay na the President would also like to see happening. Ito ay isang bagay na
gusto rin nating makita na mabilisan ang mga kaso sa korte.”
There is also a need to build strong cases so
that they could stand trial in court, he said noting it’s the job of the
Department of Justice to prepare such cases.
The entire judicial process should also function
well, from the DOJ, the Office of the Ombudsman until the cases reach the
Sandiganbayan for the eventual prosecution of the accused.
Lacierda also said the Palace supports a
legislation being introduced by Sen. Franklin Drilon aimed at adding more
courts in the Sandiganbayan for a more effective and faster litigation of
cases.
“We hope that it would be faster but again this
is the process of our justice system right now. And part of the reform process
that is being done right now is a measure that, I think, Senator Frank Drilon
has come up before the Senate that is to increase the number of courts in the
Sandiganbayan,” he said.
“Hindi lamang dito sa PDAF cases, all cases that
involves government officials. We only have a few divisions in the
Sandiganbayan and now there is a proposed measure in the Senate to increase the
number of courts in the Sandiganbayan.” PND (as)
Drivers’ attitude, not design to be blamed for
Skyway fatalities, says Palace
The Palace said it doesn’t favor changing the
design of the Skyway for safety reason after another vehicle fell from the
elevated highway.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said they
believe the problem is not the design but the attitude of the drivers as well
as the lack of personnel enforcing traffic laws in the Skyway.
“You have two concerns: You have the drivers who
should be observing the speed limit. Kasi ‘yung Skyway ang tendency it’s so
free, the tendency is to speed up. But there are required speed limits there;
it’s clearly shown there,” he said.
“It’s the attitude of the drivers, number one.
Number two, we can improve the guards there, ‘yan ang sinabi ni Secretary
(Joseph Emilio) Abaya sa akin noon. But in terms of changing the design of the
Skyway, I doubt if that’s at all possible,” Lacierda told reporters in a press
briefing on Monday in Malacanang.
A shuttle bus used to convey tellers of the
Skyway to their booth fell off the elevated expressway after hitting a sports
utility vehicle Sunday morning in Paranaque City.
The incident happened at around 5:17am in an
elevated part of the Skyway in Sun Valley, Paranaque City.
In December last year, a Don Mariano bus also
fell from the Skyway resulting to several fatalities and injuries. PND (as)
