TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, February 10, went to Tuguegarao Archbishop Sergio Utleg to apologize for cursing Pope Francis in one of his speeches, and said he would visit Rome after the May elections.

Duterte went to visit Utleg before speaking to supporters in Tuguegarao on the second day of his official campaign. 

“I am the mayor who [said] the name of the Pope in vain. And I am here to offer my apology and I promise to go to Rome after the election,” Duterte told Utleg. 

Duterte had since clarified that the curse was not aimed at the Pope but at the traffic the visit had caused.

The tough-talking mayor clarified that his apology and his plan to go to Rome should not be viewed as propaganda. He added that he “truly regrets” what he said.

Utleg earlier said he is not expecting Duterte to apologize for his words.

“I don’t like what he (Duterte) was saying especially [about] the Pope, and [I don't like] his attitude towards women. I believe it’s not respect [for] their dignity,”Utleg said.

But the Archbishop said he would give Duterte a chance.

“But I give him the benefit of the doubt. There are positive things that are said of him. I think he should be given a chance,” he said.

The promise of a Rome visit does not appear to be all too new, however. Sources close to Duterte said he had planned to go to the Vatican to personally apologize for his cursing the Pope, slating it for the end of January. Duterte campaign manager Leoncio Evasco Jr, however, said his main target was the Filipino workers based in Rome.

Back in Tuguegarao, Duterte made rounds of the city before speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 – mostly students – at the University of Cagayan Valley. Meanwhile, Senator and vice presidential candidate Allan Cayetano did not join Duterte in Tuguegarao. – Rappler.com

MARINKA, Ukraine – Three people were killed on Wednesday, February 10, when a passenger minibus hit a mine in separatist eastern Ukraine during a relative calm in fighting in the 21-month war.

An AFP reporter at the scene saw pools of blood and personal belongings of the victims scattered near a checkpoint at Marinka – a flashpoint village of about 10,000 people that witnessed heavy battles between pro-Russian rebels and government troops in June.

"There are lots of anti-tank mines in this field and it seems that it hit one of them," a 55-year-old witness who identified himself only as Vladimir told AFP.

"It was a huge blast."

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Zadubinniy told AFP that two civilians died at the scene and a third in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Local official had initially said that the body of a fourth victim was later found on the side of the road.

But the pro-Kiev prosecutor's office in the region said in an email sent to AFP that "information about the fourth victim proved to be wrong."

The incident occurred about 20 kilometres (12 miles) southwest of the de-facto rebel capital Donetsk as the bus and its five passengers were leaving a separatist-run part of the province towards a government-administered area.

Officials said the driver had ignored mine warning signs posted along the road and drove onto a field a few hundred metres (yards) from the Ukrainian checkpoint. 

Ukraine's emergencies ministry said it had cleared the separatist Donetsk and Lugansk regions in the former Soviet republic's once-booming industrial heartland of more than 44,000 mines by the start of December.

But the warring sides and foreign monitors are struggling to estimate how many unexploded devices remain.

Continuing negotiations between the two foes on resuming the mine clearing work have failed to make progress in recent months.

Rebels blame Kiev

Rebel leaders quickly accused the Ukrainian forces of mining the field in violation of a largely-abandoned truce and political reconciliation agreement struck in February 2015.

"We had insisted that Ukraine start de-mining roads and villages located along the front," the administration of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said on its official news site.

"But all of our demands are being ignored."

Ukrainian officials refused to assign any immediate blame for the blast.

More than 9,000 people have been killed and 20,000 injured since the conflict broke out in April following Ukraine's pro-Western revolution.

Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of plotting and supporting the insurgency in a bid to unsettle the new Ukrainian leadership and keep it dependent on Moscow's good will.

Russia denies the charges and in turn accuses Washington of orchestrating bloody Kiev uprising that toppled Ukraine's Kremlin-backed president in February 2014.

A series of truce agreements have helped to ease the fighting but have not prevented periodic clashes from breaking out along the front. – Sergei Volskiy, AFP/Rappler.com

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, February 10, named women to the newly created posts of state ministers for happiness and tolerance, and a 22-year-old female for youth affairs.

Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum named 8 women as he revealed his latest cabinet line-up of 29 ministers in a series of tweets.

Ohoud al-Roumi, who had served as director of the council of ministers' office, was appointed "minister of state for happiness".

"Happiness is not just a wish in our country. There will be plans, projects, programmes and indices. It will be part of the job of all ministries," tweeted Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the ruler of Dubai.

Shamma al-Mazroui, 22, was appoined state minister for youth, while Lubna al-Qassimi, a veteran minister of international cooperation and development, was handed the new post of state minister for tolerance.

The cabinet has 8 new ministers, including 5 new women, with an average age of 38, WAM state news agency said.

An oil-rich federation of 7 Gulf sheikhdoms, the United Arab Emirates is considered a safe haven spared in the wave of Arab Spring uprisings that hit the region.

Last year its rulers sought to widen the country's nascent democratic credentials with about a quarter of its one million citizens given the right to vote.

Eighty-seven of the 330 candidates were women, who play a much larger role in public life in the UAE than in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

But the authorities have been deeply cautious and in 2014 introduced sweeping new counterterrorism legislation that rights groups have criticised as paving the way for a crackdown on dissent of all sorts.

Citizens make up a small minority of the UAE's population of 9 million which is overwhelmingly made up of foreign workers. – Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom – Thousands of junior doctors at English hospitals staged a second strike Wednesday, February 10, against proposed new conditions and pay rates for working unsociable hours.

Junior doctors – all medics below consultant level – were providing only emergency care during the 24-hour strike, which runs until 8:00am (0800 GMT) Thursday.

Nearly 3,000 operations have been postponed, National Health Service (NHS) England said.

The main point of dispute between doctors and the government is over whether Saturday should be classed and paid as a normal working day.

Prime Minister David Cameron's center-right government says the reforms are needed to help create a "seven days a week" NHS where the quality of care is as high at the weekends as on weekdays.

Junior doctors demonstrated outside hospitals around England.

Abhishek Joshi, a heart doctor at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, said the new contracts could stop hospital operators from being penalised if doctors work prolonged shifts, "at the end of which we'll be tired and therefore dangerous".

"There have been studies to show that tired doctors are even worse than drunk drivers," he told AFP.

"Would you want a drunk driver operating on you?... Saving your heart in the middle of the night? That's not what we want."

Outside Guy's Hospital in London, demonstrators held placards reading "Not fair, not safe" and "Tired doctors make mistakes".

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt insisted junior doctors were being offered "a fair deal".

Eight studies in 5 years had shown weekend mortality rates were higher and he had to "do something about that", he told the BBC.

A first 24-hour strike was staged on January 12. A 48-hour strike planned for January 26 was called off.

There are more than 50,000 junior doctors in England, making up a third of the medical workforce.

They are qualified medical practitioners who work while studying for qualifications for more senior roles.

A senior government source said there was a "very reasonable offer on the table" and "hopefully they can accept it".

"At the moment there doesn't seem to be any sort of movement from the BMA side," the source said.

The government could simply impose the new contracts, and "we're not going to remove that from the table", the souce added.

Doctor Johann Malawana, chairman of the British Medical Association's junior doctor committee, said the strike was "a resounding rejection of the government's threat to impose an unfair contract".

"Junior doctors already work around the clock, seven days a week and they do so under their existing contract," he said.

"If the government want more seven-day services then, quite simply, they need more doctors, nurses and diagnostic staff, and the extra investment needed to deliver it." – Rappler.com

NEW DELHI, India – NASA on Wednesday, February 10, said it was unlikely a meteorite was responsible for killing a man at a college campus in India last week, as local scientists continued to examine the mysterious object recovered from the scene.

Authorities in southern Tamil Nadu state had claimed that a meteorite fatally struck a bus driver and injured three others on Saturday.

After reviewing photographic evidence, the US space agency told AFP that they did not believe the object was a meteorite.

"While more details are forthcoming from local scientists, this is unlikely something from space," Dwayne Brown, a NASA spokesman, said in a statement. 

"To form a crater the size of what has been posted online would have required a meteorite of at least several kilograms," he said. 

Local officials recovered a blue object, which was roughly smaller than an adult hand, near the accident site and claimed it had left a crater in the ground. The college also reported that buildings on the campus were damaged during the incident.

Two days after the episode, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram said the unknown object was a meteorite, triggering an international debate.     

G.C. Anupama of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, which sent a team to examine the object, said the group has not finished their investigation yet.

"The team has received a sample from the local police investigating the event. The nature of the object will be ascertained only after a detailed analyses by the experts," Anupama, the dean of the institute, told AFP. 

Meteors are particles of dust and rock that usually burn up as they pass through Earth's atmosphere.

Those that do not burn up completely, surviving the fall to Earth, are known as meteorites.

In February 2013 a meteorite plunged over Russia's Ural Mountains, creating a shockwave that injured 1,200 people and damaged thousands of homes. – Rappler.com

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday, February 10, slammed as "hypocritical" calls by some countries urging Ankara to open its borders to Syrian refugees while failing to demand Russia halts punishing air strikes.

Turkey is under mounting pressure to open its border to people fleeing a Russian-backed assault by the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad in the north of the war-torn country.

Tens of thousands of Syrians were still stranded Wednesday at the frontier north of the second city of Aleppo, where more than 500 people are said to have been killed in the offensive since February 1.

On a visit to the Netherlands, Davutoglu insisted the borders of his country had always been open to those fleeing Syria's civil war.

"I find it hypocritical that some circles are telling Turkey to 'open your borders' while at the same time failing to tell Russia 'enough is enough'," Davutoglu said.

But he added: "We will take in Syrians who want to come (to Turkey), but as a priority we are building a new camp to accommodate Syrians inside Syria's borders."

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who had been hoping to find a way to tackle Europe's migrant crisis, also slammed the Russian air strikes, launched by Moscow late last year.

"The Netherlands calls on all parties including Russia to strictly comply with UN resolution 2254," he said.

Fighting must stop to allow "in humanitarian aid," Rutte said, adding the "Russian air strikes would seem to be in conflict with" the resolution.

Russia is a signatory to UN Security Council resolution 2254, passed in December, which orders all warring parties in Syria to respect an immediate ceasefire and allow humanitarian agencies to take food and relief supplies to besieged civilians.

But, with UN-led peace talks in Geneva stalled, Russian jets have continued to bomb Assad's enemies, most recently in the onslaught that has seen regime forces advance to all but encircle the city of Aleppo. – Rappler.com 

HAVANA, Cuba – Colombia's FARC rebel force promised Wednesday, February 10, to end recruitment of all child soldiers to its ranks, in a further bid to seal a peace deal ending a half-century conflict.

At peace talks in Cuba, the leftist guerilla group had already pledged to stop recruiting fighters under 17, but the Colombian government said that did not go far enough.

International authorities and rights groups define any member of a force aged under 18 as a child soldier.

"Today we communicate to the country our decision to end the recruitment of those aged under 18 to the FARC," a negotiator for the Marxist rebel force, Victoria Andino, said, reading out a statement.

The two sides have vowed to sign a peace deal by March 23 to end 5 decades of conflict that have left 220,000 people dead.

Wednesday's announcement appeared to be a gesture to ease negotiations by the FARC, whose leaders have warned in recent weeks of lingering obstacles to a peace deal.

The two sides have signed deals on four of the six agenda items at the talks: justice for victims, land reform, a political role for ex-rebels and fighting the drug trafficking that fuels the conflict.

The unsettled issues are disarmament and the mechanism by which the final accord will be ratified.

Disagreement remains over whether the peace deal should be put to a popular vote or passed by a constituent assembly as the FARC demands.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said Monday a referendum would be held on a possible peace deal whether the rebels want a vote or not. – Rappler.com

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Embattled South African President Jacob Zuma addresses the nation Thursday, February 11, against a background of concerted efforts in the courts, parliament and on the streets to throw him out of office.

A scandal over public money spent on his private residence and damage done to the economy when he fired two finance ministers within days are the major factors fueling the "Zuma must fall" protests.

Zuma's annual state of the nation address in parliament comes just two days after the Constitutional Court heard a crucial case accusing him of violating his oath to uphold the constitution.

Two opposition parties took the case to court over Zuma's initial refusal to obey a ruling by the national ombudswoman that he repay some of the $24 million lavished on his private home at Nkandla.

His own lawyers accepted in court that the case had "traumatized the nation," and conceded that he needed to obey.

But they urged the court not to be "inveigled into a position of making some form of wide, condemnatory order, which will be used effectively for... an impeachment in parliament".

The court reserved judgement.

Radical opposition party the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) pledged after the hearing that they would indeed use an adverse ruling by the court to press for Zuma's impeachment.

Any such attempt would likely fail in a parliament, where Zuma's African National Congress (ANC) holds an overwhelming majority.

'Delicate time'

But critics hope the groundswell of discontent, expected to result in losses for the ANC in municipal elections later this year, could lead the party itself to oust Zuma as president. 

The EFF has also vowed to disrupt Zuma's address in parliament if he fails to explain his sacking of the finance ministers in December, which sent South Africa's rand currency into free fall and hammered the stock market.

Similar tactics used by the EFF last year saw parliament degenerate into chaos and led to lawmakers being violently evicted.

Special precautions are in place this year in an attempt to avoid a repeat performance at this evening's speech, due at 7 pm (1700 GMT).

Security around parliament is expected to be particularly tight, with several groups planning anti-Zuma demonstrations on the streets in major cities, including Cape Town.

The heightened tension comes amid social unrest over a sharply slowing economy, high unemployment, grinding poverty and a resurgence of public racial animosity.

Commentators have predicted that 2016 could be South Africa's toughest year since the ANC came to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994.

Even Zuma's lawyer Jeremy Gauntlett told the Constitutional Court this week: "This is a delicate time in a dangerous year." – Lawrence Bartlett, AFP / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – President Benigno Aquino III is expected to raise the South China Sea dispute when he attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-US Leaders Summit in California on February 15 to 16.

Sources from the foreign affairs department said the President is expected to bring up the topic during the two-day meeting at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California, which will be attended by US President Barack Obama.

The leaders are expected to discuss economic and security issues, including the sea row wherein 4 of the 6 claimant are ASEAN members – the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

Asked whether Aquino will take up the South China Sea row at the Sunnylands meeting, Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said in a text message to Rappler, “Based on what was taken up in the ASEAN summit in Malaysia last November, it is likely that President Obama will engage the ASEAN leaders in dialogue on issues of maritime security.” (READ: Obama deepens ASEAN-US ties as sea row escalates)

“President Aquino has always represented the Philippines’ position on the importance of ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as adherence to UNCLOS and international laws. He has also been a leading advocate for a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea,” Coloma added.

In a news briefing in Malacañang on Thursday, February 11, Assistant Secretary Maria Hellen Barber-Dela Vega said the ASEAN-US summit will mark the first meeting of the ASEAN member-states and the US as “strategic partners."

"The summit aims to explore how ASEAN and the US, after elevating their relations to strategic partnership level, can work more effectively together; and especially now with the establishment of the ASEAN community," Dela Vega said.

She said the leaders are expected to discuss the ASEAN economic integration in the context of the regional bloc’s strategic partnership with the US, as well as political and security issues, among others.

Retreat format

Dela Vega said since the meeting will have a "retreat" format, the leaders would be free to initiate discussions on any issue.

"We are looking at maritime security, transnational challenges and issues like countering violent extremism. It's going to be a more informal, less structured atmosphere. So we expect leaders to be free, to raise any issues that might be of interest to them," Dela Vega said.

Asked how maritime security issues will be discussed in view of recent developments in the South China Sea, Dela Vega said: "I think that it is natural to expect that maritime security will be [an] important issue...during the summit. To what extent and how it will evolve, the expectation is that it will be less-structured so any leader may be free to initiate a discussion on this."

Aside from US President Barack Obama and the ASEAN leaders, the meeting will also be attended by ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh.

Obama proposed the Sunnylands meeting during the 3rd ASEAN-US Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year, following the leaders’ decision to elevate the ASEAN-US dialogue relations to strategic partner level. 

At the 27th ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur in November 2015, Aquino urged fellow ASEAN leaders to stand against China's aggression in the South China Sea. (READ: Aquino to ASEAN: Stop China's use of force)

LA stop

After the summit, Aquino will go to Los Angeles to address the prestigious Los Angeles World Affairs Council (LAWAC) at the Intercontinental Hotel on February 16. 

In its website, LAWAC said Aquino will discuss with its members and guests "the growing tension between the Philippines and China over sovereignty issues in the South China Sea." (READ: Philippines: China to build 'Berlin Wall of the Sea')

"He will also talk about the new defense agreement between Manila and Washington, security in East Asia, and the future for economic growth in the Philippines and its neighbors in South East Asia," it said.

The President is also expected to discuss the outcome of the ASEAN-US summit at the LAWAC dinner. LAWAC has hosted 8 US presidents and more than 250 heads of government and state, who delivered speeches over dinner and participated in question-and-answer sessions.

Aquino will also meet with executives of at least 3 major LA-based companies, and the Filipino community in Los Angeles, said Dela Vega.

Before he heads back to Manila, Aquino will receive an honorary degree from the Loyola Marymount University. – Rappler.com

TAIPEI, Taiwan – As rescuers continue the grim task of digging bodies from the rubble of an apartment complex that collapsed in a Taiwan earthquake, anger is growing over the shoddy construction of the building and the island's questionable safety record.

The Wei-kuan building was the only high-rise to crumble completely in the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that shook the southern city of Tainan before dawn Saturday, February 6, with 55 confirmed dead so far, mostly from the complex. 

More than 80 residents remain buried in the ruins and the chances of finding survivors are slim.

Prosecutors say there were "flaws" in the building as they question the developer and two associates on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. 

Distraught relatives of residents told Agence France-Presse they had complained over cracks in the walls of the building. Pictures from the disaster site show tin cans and foam were used as fillers inside the concrete.

Experts say that cost-cutting shortcuts have long dogged the construction industry in Taiwan. 

"Because of competition, for a long period of time, the local construction industry has not been well managed," said Chern Jenn-chuan, civil engineering professor at National Taiwan University.

The disaster has struck a nerve with the public, increasingly embittered by a string of disasters, from food safety scandals to a water park explosion that left 15 dead.

"So-called competitiveness in Taiwan is all cost-oriented, so this kind of situation isn't a surprise at all," said a post on Taiwan's popular PTT online forum after the building collapse.

"They just collect the money and it's not their responsibility anymore," another user commented.

Prosecutors said there were too few steel reinforcing bars in parts of the building, and that the developer may have used a borrowed licence for the construction of the property.

Engineers helping at the rescue site added that some walls many have been knocked down on the ground floor, which housed part of a multi-storey electronics store. 

"Apparently in this case, there were indeed flaws in the construction of the building," a court statement said Wednesday.

'Black-hearted developers'

The Wei-kuan building had 96 apartments and was completed in 1994, before a new building code was brought in following a devastating earthquake that left 2,400 people dead in 1999. 

Professor Chern said the disaster, which brought down buildings across the island, had led to better safety measures and awareness among developers.

"Many people now understand the grave responsibilities," he told Agence France-Presse, adding the number of safety breaches had dropped.

The revised building code put in stricter requirements to make structures more quake-proof, including increasing the number and resilience of reinforcing bars. 

But Max Lo, former president of the Taiwan Engineering and Science Association, says while newer buildings are structurally sound, not enough has been done about the ones built before 1999. 

"Each county had identified the most notable at-risk buildings in its area, but they still haven't all been dealt with," he told Agence France-Presse. 

"Just because a building doesn't collapse after a quake, that doesn't mean it's okay," he added. 

"It needs regular check-ups, like a human body. The government needs a complete set of policies to deal with such older, or higher-risk buildings as soon as possible."

The island's President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, who will take office in May, said she would prioritize building safety and review the resistance of older buildings to quakes and other disasters.

Meanwhile, the public is calling for maximum punishment for the developers – particularly after skepticism over previous safety scandal cases.

Last year, food tycoon Wei Ying-chung was acquitted on charges of selling tainted cooking oil, prompting protests over his release.

There was also outrage when only one person was indicted after an explosion at a water park killed 15 and injured hundreds when clouds of multi-colored corn starch sprayed on revelers ignited due to heat from the stage lights.

Victims have demanded prosecutors reopen the probe into that accident.

"I hope these black-hearted developers all get death sentences," said one PTT forum user in response to the Wei-kuan disaster.

"They killed so many people just for the sake of making money." – Benjamin Yeh and Michelle Yun, AFP / Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – What would happen if Jose Rizal and Ninoy Aquino met and saw the current state of the Philippines? 

For Ariosto “Nonong” Reyes, the two heroes might be disappointed enough to have Filipinos shot. 

A former stage actor from Dulaang Sibol – the high school drama group of the Ateneo de Manila University – Reyes took to music to describe the problems plaguing Philippine politics, and chided Filipinos for allowing it to happen. 

In his song, “Pagkikita ni Rizal at Ninoy” (If Rizal and Ninoy Met), Reyes said elections based on celebrity status and selfishness in governance continue to contribute to the Filipinos’ suffering – and Filipino themselves are to blame.

Can the 2016 elections change things for the better? Reyes’ song did not answer the question, but Filipinos can on May 9.

Discuss and share what you think about the song on X. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Despite mushrooming problems in the election system, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) remained unsure if it can sanction technology provider Smartmatic for these crunch-time errors.

Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista even requested reporters to help him “find a provision” in the contract between Comelec and Smartmatic, to possibly pin down the Venezuelan company.

“I will have to look at the contract to see if we can find a way to hold them accountable,” Bautista said.

This comes after the Comelec on Wednesday, February 10, admitted more problems in the automated election system less than 3 months before the May 9 elections.

A major problem involves vote-counting machines. In a recent test conducted by the Comelec, the machines rejected 1-2% of ballot papers. 

If the vote-counting machines rejected 2% of the actual ballots on election day, that would mean 1.14 million ballots going to waste.

The Comelec plans to print 57 million ballots for the May 9 elections.

The other issue revolves around the consolidation and canvassing system (CCS). The CCS consolidates election results from voting precincts on election day. 

The Comelec explained that there was a problem in generating the image to make the CCS program “installable.” Still, the poll body said it will take only a few hours to resolve this issue.

In all these, the company in the hot seat is Smartmatic. 

'Part of the normal process'

Smartmatic, a Venezuelan firm, manufactured the vote-counting machines for the Philippines’ first two automated elections, in 2010 and 2013. 

It is also providing the 97,000 vote-counting machines needed for the Philippines' third automated elections on May 9. (READ: Smartmatic: PH's new voting machines '7 times faster')

At the same time, Smartmatic is the subject of appeals for blacklisting. A group of election watchdogs, which includes former poll commissioner Augusto “Gus” Lagman, wants the Comelec to get rid of Smartmatic supposedly because its machines can be easily rigged.

The Comelec’s problems bolstered critics’ claims against Smartmatic.

Bautista, however, didn’t readily answer the question on holding Smartmatic accountable. When first asked this question, he passed the mic to Elie Moreno, Smartmatic’s project director and general manager.

Responding to this, Moreno explained that finding errors in the system “is part of the normal process for sofware development.” 

“While we see those changes, I believe we are reacting very fast to make sure that we address them,” Moreno said. 

Lito Averia, an information technology professional, agreed that discovering errors is “part of the normal process.” But he added that it is normal “if you had normal time.”

“But this is crunch time,” Averia said during the news conference, which he also attended.

Bautista replied, “Doctor Averia, when you say crunch time, you also have to look at it in the proper context.”

He explained that in 2010, when the Philippines first held automated elections, the Comelec had to fix compact flash cards “one week before the elections.” 

Bautista told Averia on Wednesday: “I still have 88 days, my friend. We still have time.” – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – As the world's first-ever dengue vaccine becomes available in the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) reminded the public not to let their guard down against the disease.

"The vaccine is an additional strategy we're putting into the dengue program. Baka sabihin nila may bakuna na sa dengue, hindi na concern yung kalinisan. Dagdag na strategy lang siya. It's not replacing any strategy; walang tatanggalin na approach," Health Spokesperson Lyndon Lee Suy told reporters on Thursday, February 11.

(The vaccine is an additional strategy we're putting into the dengue program. The public might think because we already have a vaccine for dengue, we shouldn't be concerned anymore about cleanliness. It's just an additional strategy. It's not replacing any strategy; we're not removing any approach.)

Dengue, a disease common in tropical and sub-tropical countries in the world, is transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito. Dengue fever is potentially fatal and mainly affects children.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 400 million people are infected with dengue worldwide every year, two-thirds in Asia.

On Thursday, Lee Suy said even with the availability of the vaccine, actively pursuing measures against dengue – such as cleaning one's surroundings – is still a better approach since it also targets other mosquito-borne diseases such as chikungunya virus and the Zika virus.

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<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EARLIER: DOH Spokesperson Lyndon Lee Suy says gov&#39;t procurement of the dengue vaccine is already being processed. <a href="https://t.co/Avu7JuYi5L">pic.twitter.com/Avu7JuYi5L</a></p>&mdash; Jee Y. Geronimo (@jeegeronimo) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeegeronimo/status/697709997367566336">February 11, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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School-based immunization

The health department has allocated P3.5 billion ($73.61 million) from its savings for the purchase of the dengue vaccine, which will be given to all Grade 4 public school students (excluding those below 9 years old) in the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon, and Calabarzon beginning April.

The 3 regions recorded the most number of dengue cases in 2015. Of the total 200,415 cases recorded from January 1 to December 31, 25,208 were from NCR, 35,966 from Central Luzon, and 33,709 from Calabarzon.

Lee Suy said the government's procurement for the school-based immunization is already being processed.

"Nagcommit naman sila na naka-[sunod] sa timeline talaga kasi siyempre, naka-schedule 'yung pagbibigay natin," he added, referring to French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur which developed and manufactured the vaccine.

(They committed to really stick to the timeline because of course, we have already scheduled the immunization.)

Dengvaxia, which provides protection from all 4 dengue strains, will be given in 3 doses at 6-month intervals. It is recommended for all healthy individuals aged 9 years old to 45 years old.

The first dose of the dengue vaccine will be given as early as April, in hopes it would provide partial protection to students ahead of the rainy season, when the number of dengue cases is expected to soar.

Lee Suy said the school-based immunization will also be crucial as it will determine whether the vaccine can eventually be expanded to the rest of the country and be included in the health department's budget in the coming years.

"Di pa 'to kasama sa regular budget natin…. We have to be very good with this one. We need to come up with good documentation ng lahat ng nangyayari so we can appeal it sa susunod na budget hearing natin na maipasok siya, dapat tuloy-tuloy 'to," he explained.

(This is not yet included in our regular budget....We have to be very good with this one. We need to come up with good documentation of everything that will happen so we can appeal it in our next budget hearings and include it in our budget in the coming years.)

In 2015, the health department's budget for its dengue control program was only P330 million ($6.94 million), despite WHO's 2015 report on neglected tropical diseases which placed the Philippines among countries in the Western Pacific with the highest dengue incidence in recent years. – Rappler.com

US$1 = P47.55

MANILA, Philippines – Candidates criticized the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Thursday, February 11, after the poll body admitted more problems in the voting system less than 3 months before election day.

In a statement, the party of presidential bet Vice President Jejomar Binay described the reported glitches as “a cause for alarm.”

United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) spokesman Mon Ilagan said, “We should not allow sinister parties to manipulate the elections, and Comelec must see beyond these delays and glitches and probe if there are quarters from within who are present to influence and exploit the situation.”

“It seems that someone is already laying the predicate and some do allow these problems to surface to give them enough window to manipulate the elections,” Ilagan added. 

This comes after the Comelec on Wednesday, February 10, bared new glitches in the automated election system.

A major problem involves vote-counting machines. In a recent test conducted by the Comelec, the machines rejected 1-2% of ballot papers.

Earlier, another glitch prompted the Comelec to postpone the printing of ballots. 

'Deliberate, intentional' delays?

In his statement on Thursday, Ilagan said he hopes the delays “are not deliberate and intentional” to allow the Comelec to postpone the elections.

Section 5 of the Omnibus Election Code, after all, allows the Comelec to postpone elections “for any serious cause such as violence, terrorism, loss or destruction of election paraphernalia or records, force majeure, and other analogous causes of such a nature.”

The law allows the postponement to a date “reasonably close” to the original date. The new date should not be later than 30 days after the cause of the postponement. 

The camp of presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe and her running mate, Senator Francis Escudero, also hit the Comelec over the reported problems.

Lawyer George Garcia, who represents Poe and Escudero, wrote the Comelec about this on Thursday, February 11.

In a letter addressed to all Comelec members, Garcia said it “is quite alarming” that the designated Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) hasn’t issued a crucial certification or report required by the law. 

Republic Act (RA) 9369 requires the TEC to certify, through “an established international certification entity,” that the automated election system can count votes accurately. 

The TEC should issue this certification “not later than 3 months” before election day.

Mock polls after deadline

The law requires the TEC to base its certification on criteria such as the following:

• A field testing process, followed by mock elections in one or more towns or cities
• A successful audit on “the accuracy, functionality, and security controls” of the automated election system software
• A successful review of the source code, or “master blueprint,” of the vote-counting machines
• A certification that the source code “is kept in escrow” in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)

The period 3 months before election day ended on Tuesday, February 9.

The Comelec will hold the mock elections only on Saturday, February 13, or 4 days after this deadline.

Because of the glitches, the Comelec has also been delayed in putting all the needed source codes in escrow at the BSP. The poll body is set to complete this process only on Friday, February 12.

The other problem is that the Comelec discovered new problems in the voting system. 

The Comelec has subjected the source codes to the review required by law. The poll body, however, is set to subject it to another review after it recently found glitches in the voting system.

Bautista said the new source code review is “going to happen after we have deposited these source codes with the BSP.” 

Garcia said he “cannot overemphasize the importance of the strict compliance” with RA 9369.

The election lawyer then requested the Comelec for a dialogue with stakeholders like them “concerning the accurate status” of election preparations, as well as “a comprehensive written report” on the testing of vote-counting machines.

'Sowing undue fears'

Garcia said these moves will “dispel” negative reports regarding the initial testing of vote-counting machines.

On Tuesday, February 9, Senate President Franklin Drilon already urged the Comelec to stop “sowing undue fears” regarding the elections.

Comelec Commissioner Christian Lim had warned that elections could be postponed in some areas because of a major system problem.

"The Comelec should focus on doing all it could to fulfil its mandate and refrain from making speculations which will cause unnecessary fears and doubts among the public regarding the upcoming elections considering the already tense and toxic political atmosphere," said Drilon, vice chairman of the ruling Liberal Party (LP).

The LP, chaired by President Benigno Aquino III, is fielding Manuel “Mar” Roxas as its presidential candidate.

Despite these problems, the Comelec chairman said he is confident that the elections will happen on May 9. 

Bautista said he is unsure, however, if the Comelec can hold technology provider Smartmatic accountable for these system problems. – Rappler.com

CAVITE, Philippines – The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay on Thursday, February 11, defended his proposal to abolish the income tax for those earning P30,000 and below.

Binay’s spokesmen made the statement following an Inquirer report quoting Liberal Party-led coalition spokesperson and Marikina Representative Romero "Miro" Quimbo as saying that Binay’s proposed program would cut government revenues by half.

“Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan. Pero kung gusto, may paraan. Tingin ko naubusan na rin sila ng think tank e, kasi lahat sila ngayon, sa mga kalaban, ay nasa election mode na. Naunahan lang sila ng UNA (United Nationalist Alliance) at ni Vice President, kasi maganda ito, malapit sa masa,” said UNA spokesperson Mon Ilagan in an interview with reporters during Binay’s sortie in Cavite City.

(If you don’t like something, you have many reasons not to do it. But if you want something, you find ways. I think they ran out of think tanks, our rivals, because they’re on election mode already. UNA and the Vice President proposed this ahead of them because it's good and close to the masses.)

“Imagine, susuweldo ka P30,000 or less then, or about P360,000 for one year. Malaking tulong ito. Tax relief ito para sa mahihirap and it would benefit 6 million private and public employees. So sino ‘yun? Ito ‘yung mga policemen, itong mga teachers, mga call center agents, ‘yung mga mababa ang suweldo,” he said.

(Imagine, you earn P30,000 or less, or about P360,000 for one year. That’s a big help. That’s tax relief for the poor and it would benefit 6 million private and public employees. These are the policemen, teachers, call center agents and others with a low salary.)

During his proclamation rally on Tuesday, Binay said he would remove income tax for employees earning P30,000 and below if he is elected president. 

He said he would remedy the resulting government revenue losses by leading a crackdown on smuggling.

‘Leave it to the experts’

Ilagan explained on Thursday that the government is estimated to be losing P230 billion a year because of smuggling of agricultural products, P30 billion from oil smuggling, and P12 billion from tobacco smuggling.

“So ang laking pondo ang nawawala sa gobyerno. Naisip ito ni Vice President at least makakatulong ito hindi lamang sa mga ordinary workers kung hindi doon sa mga private sector because it will generate income, it will generate employment,” he said.

(So the government loses a lot in terms of funds. The Vice President thought about this to help workers in the public and private sector because it will generate income, it will generate employment.)

According to Ilagan, Binay plans to strengthen the government agencies involved in stopping smuggling activities in the country. (READ: The Leader I Want: Jejomar Binay's to-fix list for 2016)

“He will leave it to the experts kung papaano mareresolbahan itong ating problema sa smuggling.  Kasi right now, kung makikita natin, mukhang kapos sa pondo, kapos sa pangongolekta ang target ng BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) at Bureau of Customs,” he said. 

(He will leave it to the experts how to solve the problem of smuggling. Because right now, we can see that the BIR and the Bureau of Customs are falling below their collection targets.)

By putting an end to smuggling, the Vice President believes that the government would be able to generate more revenues compared to the projected P30 billion it would lose from reducing income taxes.

Convene LEDAC

Binay, if he wins the presidency, also plans to convene the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) during his first 100 days to push for his income tax exemption proposal. (READ: Binay to businessmen: We'll be partners for the country's good)

His economic adviser, former finance secretary Margarito “Gary” Teves, said that reforming the country’s current tax system will not necessarily lead to higher value-added tax (VAT).

“Raising VAT is not the only way to compensate the revenue loss. We already have a menu of options to compensate for the potential revenue losses from reducing tax rates,” said Teves in a statement sent to reporters.

Apart from fighting smuggling, Teves said these include the sale of government assets and the privatization of a number of government-owned and -controlled corporations, approval of revenue-generating measures, and continued improvement in tax administration and collection efficiency. – Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea on Thursday, February 11, expelled all South Koreans from the jointly-run Kaesong industrial zone and seized their factory assets, saying Seoul's earlier decision to shutter the complex had amounted to a "declaration of war."

Pyongyang said it was placing Kaesong, which lies 10 kilometers (6 miles) inside North Korea, under military control and cutting two key communication hotlines with Seoul.

The measures mark a significant escalation of cross-border tensions that have been elevated since North Korea carried out a nuclear test last month and a long-range rocket launch on Sunday.

Seoul had announced on Wednesday it was closing down operations at Kaesong, and the North said it would now experience the "disastrous and painful consequences" of that action.

By shutting Kaesong, the South had killed the "last lifeline" of North-South relations and made a "dangerous declaration of war" that could bring the divided peninsula to the brink of conflict, the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) said in statement.

Relations between the two Koreas have always been volatile, but analysts said the current situation risked turning into a full-blown crisis.

'No more buffers'

"Now we can say that all strings between the Koreas have been cut and that there are no more buffers," said Ko Yoo-Hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

"An escalation of tensions is inevitable, and I see further trouble ahead with Kaesong and the issues of seized assets, especially if North Korea militarizes the zone," Ko said.

All South Koreans were ordered to leave Kaesong by 5 pm Pyongyang time (0830 GMT) and told they could take nothing but their personal possessions.

The order was published by the North's official KCNA news agency just 30 minutes before the expulsion deadline.

The North also said it had ordered a "complete freeze of all assets," including raw materials, products and equipment.

The owners of the 124 South Korean companies operating factories in Kaesong had sent hundreds of staff and empty trucks into the North on Thursday morning in the hope of bringing out as much as they could.

It was not immediately clear how many were still in the estate when the order to leave was issued.

"We will make the utmost efforts to make sure that all our nationals return home safely," Seoul's Unification Ministry said in a statement.

Sneaking goods out

Several people who crossed back into the South on Thursday morning said they had noticed an increased military presence in Kaesong, including armed soldiers carrying backpacks and sleeping bags.

Despite the ban on removing anything beyond their personal belongings, some trucks crossing the border after the expulsion order were carrying factory materials.

"No one stopped us when we were moving our goods into the truck," said Park Seung-Gul, the manager at a textile company in Kaesong.

Defending its decision to halt operations at Kaesong, Seoul said North Korea had been using the hundreds of millions of dollars in hard-currency that it earned from the estate to fund its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

The government's move was slammed as "utterly incomprehensible" by the Kaesong company owners who said their businesses were being destroyed by politics.

Born out of the "sunshine" reconciliation policy of the late 1990s, Kaesong opened in 2004 and proved remarkably resilient, riding out repeated crises that ended every other facet of inter-Korean cooperation.

Earlier in the day, the United States signaled its own unilateral moves against North Korea, with the US Senate unanimously adopting a bill expanding existing sanctions.

The United States and its main Asian allies, South Korea and Japan, have led a push for tough UN Security Council sanctions over the North's nuclear weapons program, but have met resistance from North Korea's main diplomatic protector China.

Although fiercely critical of Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, Beijing is more concerned at the prospect of Kim's regime being pushed to collapse – triggering chaos on China's border. – Jung Ha-Won, AFP/Rappler.com

Vice President Jejomar Binay vists another bailiwick on the third day of the campaign period — Cavite.

In exchange for securing votes for him the province, Binay has a reward for ally and incumbent Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla.

Mara Cepeda reports. - Rappler.com

Vice President Jejomar Binay heads to Cavite, another provincial stronghold, on the third day of the official campaign period. In 2010, Binay beat then Liberal Party vice presidential bet Mar Roxas by around 200,000 votes. 

After six years and with both political rivals neck and neck in the presidential race, will Cavite once again prove that it is Binay country?

Vice President and United Nationalist Alliance presidential bet Jejomar Binay tours Cavite City, Noveleta, and Kawit. He is comfortable here becase his ally Governor Jonvic Remulla adopted him in the local Partido Magdalo as a member. 

Remulla assures that Cavite, where Binay won over Mar Roxas in 2010 by around 194,000 votes, will secure a win for the UNA standard-bearer. There are over 1.84 million registered voters in Cavite for the May polls.

JONVIC REMULLA, CAVITE GOVERNOR: I know you’re looking for someone who will help you like how Jojo Binay did in Makati. I know you’re looking forward to a hospital like in Makati where everything is free. I know you’re looking for care for our senior citizens like how Jojo Binay did it in Makati. I know the poor will only find hope in Jojo Binay.

If he wins the presidency, Binay says he already has a reward in mind for Remulla.

JEJOMAR BINAY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Local government officials, I have news for you. I am making Governor Jonvic as the next secretary of the interior and local government. Why did I choose him? Because the issue now is about who has the capability and the experience for the job.

But can Binay emerge victorious in the province in the coming elections? 

Caviteños who voted for him in 2010 say they will vote for Binay again in May even if he's hounded by corruption allegations during his time as Makati Mayor.

ROSITA NACIONAL, BINAY SUPPORTER: Of course! Whatever happens, we’re supporting him. 

RAPPLER: Why are you supporting him?

ROSITA NACIONAL, BINAY SUPPORTER: Because they’re saying that he’s a thief and yet they can’t prove it. How dare them!

EVELYN BAUTISTA, DUTERTE SUPPORTER: Even if they’re saying he overpriced city projects, that’s okay because he accomplished many things when he was Makati Mayor. That includes building a hospital with free equipment and services. We’re okay with that. That’s better than those who are actually corrupt and didn’t do anything to help others.

Binay takes this to be a good sign.

JEJOMAR BINAY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because of your warm welcome, I am sure that I will win the coming elections.

Securing the Caviteño vote will be key if Binay wants to rise up from his second place finish in the latest presidential survey. 

PARIS, France – France's deeply unpopular President Francois Hollande is expected to announce a government reshuffle Thursday, February 10, as he seeks fresh political momentum ahead of a run for a second term in office in 2017.

Top on his list of priorities will be to name a new foreign minister after the veteran Laurent Fabius bowed out of politics to take up a position at the country's Constitutional Council.

Hollande, whose popularity has once again plunged after a brief surge in the wake of the November jihadist attacks in Paris, will also be looking to cabinet choices that will widen his voter base with just 15 months to go until he seeks re-election.

Hollande "must increase his political base at all costs", said a source close to the president, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"We can't face a presidential election without a Socialist family rallied behind their candidate and without the ecologists," said a source close to the president.

France's Greens Party (EELV) refused to take part in government in 2014 after Manuel Valls -- considered to be on the right of the Socialist Party -- was named prime minister, and have been divided ever since over whether they should return to the fold.

The outspoken Valls is expected to retain his position -- making the task of finding an ecologist happy to work with him all the more complex.

His predecessor Jean-Marc Ayrault, 66, is tipped to return to government as foreign minister.

Ayrault, a former prime minister, is a fluent German speaker and his understanding of the language and culture will be seen as an advantage in dealing with Berlin and the most pressing issues facing the European Union, such as the migration crisis.

Hollande is also said to be considering Segolene Royal, the high-profile environment minister and his ex-partner, for foreign minister.

Torrid first term

The 61-year-old Hollande, elected in 2012, has had a torrid first term, as his country has faced record unemployment, a stagnating economy and its worst-ever terror attacks.

He already carried out a major government shake-up in 2014 after the Socialists took a drubbing in municipal elections.

Regional elections at the end of 2015 did not go much better, with the center-right Republicans of former president Nicolas Sarkozy coming out in front.

The most unpopular French president in history, Hollande saw his star rise after the jihadist attacks against Charlie Hebdo newspaper and a Jewish supermarket in January 2015.

It rose again after he took a tough line on security following the attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers that killed 130 people in Paris in November.

However this time his rise was short-lived, as praise for his post-attacks approach quickly turned to criticism both from within his own party and the conservative opposition.

Efforts to enshrine tough new security measures into the constitution, and a hotly contested reform to strip convicted terrorists of their French nationality, have been deeply divisive.

Rebellious fringe

Many among Hollande's Socialist Party see this as yet another shift to the right, and former justice minister Christine Taubira was so opposed to the nationality measure that she quit in January.

Efforts to kickstart a flagging economy with a raft of reforms last year led to a similar criticism of a shift in ideology, with a rebellious fringe of the Socialists accusing the Valls government of being too pro-business.

The dissent in the corridors of power has left voters cold, with an opinion poll by the Liberation newspaper published this week showing some 75 percent of French people are opposed to Hollande being re-elected.

Record unemployment figures of about 10 percent are also haunting Hollande, who vowed at the start of his mandate that he would not run again if he failed to improve the jobless rate.

In another blow to Hollande's hopes to unite the left ahead of the 2017 election, the leader of the radical Left Party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, who won 11 percent of votes in 2012, announced Wednesday he would run for president.

"I don't think this is convenient for the left or the ecologists," said government spokesman Stephane Le Foll. – Fran Blandy, AFP/Rappler.com

BRUSSELS, Belgium – NATO launched on Thursday, February 11, an unprecedented naval mission in the Aegean Sea to tackle people smugglers taking migrants and refugees from the Turkish coast, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

The move follows a request this week by alliance members Germany, Greece, and Turkey for assistance in tackling Europe's biggest migrant crisis since World War II.

Speaking after NATO defense ministers approved the mission, Stoltenberg said NATO is "now directing the standing maritime group to move into the Aegean without delay and start maritime surveillance activities".

The group comprises 3 ships that are currently under German command.

The NATO chief said the migrant crisis, driven by conflict and turmoil in Syria across the Middle East and North Africa, posed a major security threat to the 28-nation alliance.

"This is not about stopping and pushing back (refugee boats)... but about critical surveillance to help counter human trafficking and criminal networks," he said.

The move is a major step forward into humanitarian territory for NATO, an alliance formed during the depths of the Cold War and which normally reserves its assets for strictly military matters.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Turkey on Monday, agreeing to make the request to NATO as thousands more refugees fled heavy fighting around the Syrian city of Aleppo.

US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter earlier said that the NATO ministers had backed the plan. 

"NATO and all the parties at the table this morning indicated a willingness for NATO to support and be a part of that operation," Carter said.

"All 3 of those countries emphasised the need for NATO to act quickly, with which the United States strongly agrees, because this are people's lives and destinies at stake here."

Carter said military planners will now look at the issue and report back to NATO for final approval.

EU welcome

German Defence Minister Ursula Von der Leyen said that "several NATO members had pledged ships" for the mission.

"There is a clear accord with Turkey that any refugees picked up will be sent back to Turkey," she told reporters.

Sources said the force would likely comprise 5 to 7 ships and that they would carry out a surveillance mission. The return provision is to cover cases where the ships would rescue refugees at sea as they are obliged to do under international law if lives are in danger.

The European Commission welcomed the plan, but said it aimed to create its own border and coast guard system to fulfil the same function.

"This is a decision we welcome. We hope that lives will be saved in the Aegean Sea," commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker's spokesman Margartis Schinas told a news briefing.

"We regard this as very much a sort of a forerunner of the European coast guard, going back to proposals made in December," he said.

Turkey – the only Muslim-majority nation in NATO and with one of its largest armies – was the main transit country for the more than one million migrants who reached Europe last year.

Having reached Greece, most of them made their way north to Germany and other richer countries in the European Union.

More than 70,000 made the dangerous crossing in January, with over 400 dying, according to the International Organization for Migration (OIM).

The fear now is that hundreds of thousands more could follow this year with no prospect of a negotiated solution to the war in Syria which has killed more than 260,000 people and displaced half the population since March 2011. – Bryan McManus, AFP/Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom – A top Google executive was left struggling for words when he could not remember his own salary at a grilling by British MPs on Thursday, February 11, over the US tech giant's controversial tax bill.

Matt Brittin, head of Google Europe, Middle East and Africa said he would provide the figure at a later date after Meg Hillier, head of the public accounts scrutiny committee, demanded it four times.

"You don't know what you get paid?" the lawmaker said.

"Our there, taxpayers, our constituents, are very angry. They live in a different world, clearly, to the world you live in if you can't even tell us what you are paid," said the Labour opposition MP.

She accused Brittin of having "tin ears."

Britain's tax agency announced last month that Google would pay a £130 million (166 million euro, $187 million) tax settlement for 10 years' operations in Britain where it makes 11% of its global sales.

Finance minister George Osborne hailed the agreement as a victory.

But there was a barrage of criticism, including from within Prime Minister David Cameron's own Conservative Party as the announcement coincided with a key tax filing deadline for many Britons.

It later emerged that Google had made profits of £106 million on revenues of £1.18 billion in Britain in the last 18 months alone and the Labour opposition claimed the giant was paying only "3% tax."

"Do you hear the anger and frustration out there that with these huge figures you settled for a figure of £130 million?" Hillier asked Brittin.

He replied: "I understand the anger and understand that people, when they see reported that we are paying 3% t tax, would be angry. But we're not. We're paying 20% tax".

Tom Hutchinson, Google Inc's vice-president for finance, told the committee hearing that the £130 million was the largest tax settlement following audit ever paid by Google outside the United States.

The company thought it was "fair", he said.

Brittin also dismissed British press reports of higher tax payments being demanded of the company in France and Italy, where it has less business.

"They are just statements from politicians asking us to pay more money," he said.

The European Commission has said it could examine Google's British tax settlement and has announced plans to stamp out tax avoidance by multi-national corporations as anger against the tech giant has spread to other European countries. – Rappler.com