ANTALYA, Turkey – World leaders on Monday, November 16, sought to join forces to bring peace to Syria and destroy the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist network, hoping to curb the extremist menace after the Paris attacks.

Leaders of the Group of 20 top economies meeting in Turkey will describe the Paris gun and bombing strikes as an "unacceptable affront to all humanity", according to a draft statement obtained by Agence France-Presse.

Concretely, they will share intelligence to crack down on the movement of foreign fighters across borders, said the communique, which is subject to final approval by the leaders.

Western leaders sought in particular to narrow important differences with Russian President Vladimir Putin on bringing peace to Syria and fighting Islamic State jihadists.

The urgent need to coordinate action on Syria after the Paris attacks that killed 129 people and were claimed by the Islamic State group reshaped the agenda but leaders still pressed ahead with a drive to stave off catastrophic climate change.

Russia has refused to abandon its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the four-year civil war, which has claimed more than a quarter of a million lives and displaced millions more.

'Stop slaughter in Syria'

Moscow has embarked on its own bombing campaign that has been welcomed by the regime but greeted with suspicion in the West.

"We must not let this gap between us be the altar on which this country, Syria, is slaughtered," British Prime Minister David Cameron told BBC radio before heading into talks with Putin.

Despite disputes with Moscow, there is agreement that Islamic State was as much a threat to Russia as to Europe, Cameron said.

"We are prepared to make compromises," he added.

Only a permanent political settlement in Syria would enable world powers to "destroy and degrade" Islamic State, Cameron said, adding that British security services have foiled some seven terror attacks since June.

Turkish presidential sources said terrorism and a vast refugee crisis were discussed at Sunday's official dinner, with host President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasising the need for greater intelligence sharing.

After talks with Cameron, Putin said other disputes should be put aside to "unite our efforts in our fight against this evil, this terrorism".

Coffee table summit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for "intensive cooperation" between intelligence agencies as well as the military to combat terror.

US President Barack Obama on Sunday held one of his most intimate discussions yet with Putin, both men seen hunched over a coffee table in animated discussion during a break in the summit.

US officials said the two leaders agreed on the need for a political transition for Syria that would be set up by a ceasefire and UN-brokered talks. The Kremlin said the two sides shared the same goal of fighting Islamic State but differed on tactics.

The stepped-up diplomacy came after world powers agreed in Vienna at the weekend on an outline for political transition for Syria, but crucially not on the fraught issue of what should happen to Russia's ally Assad.

In the draft special statement obtained by AFP, world leaders raised the alarm over an "acute and growing flow of foreign terrorist fighters."

They vowed to share intelligence, track border crossings and boost aviation security to halt the movement of jihadist fighters.

Turkey, which said it had foiled a potentially, major terror attack in Istanbul on the same day as the Paris attacks, lamented that it had already warned the French authorities that one of the bombers in the attacks was a threat.

Despite the heavy shadow cast by the attacks, world leaders pressed on with their original agenda, pledging in a draft to agree legally-binding goals on climate change at a conference in Paris later this month but making no mention of whether they will help developing countries meet the targets. – Stuart Williams, AFP/Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

ANTALYA, Turkey – Leaders of the world's top economies on Monday, November 16, vowed to seek a deal to curb climate change at an upcoming UN conference in Paris, according to a draft statement drawn up in tough, all-night talks.

Negotiators at a Group of 20 summit in Turkey haggled into the early hours as Saudi Arabia and India initially refused to include specific goals such as limiting global warming to less than two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrialized levels, sources said.

France, backed by the European Union (EU), is working furiously to make the climate talks a success and Paris officials bristled at the reluctance of some countries to include its basic objectives in the statement.

"Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time," said the draft communique obtained by AFP before it was submitted for final agreement by national leaders gathered in the Turkish Mediterranean resort of Antalya.

"We reaffirm the below 2C degree climate goal," it said, underlining a "determination" to adopt a deal with legal force.

The blockbuster climate meeting will assemble 195 countries outside Paris from November 30 to December 11 in a bid to forge a post-2020 pact to roll back global warming.

The 2 C goal has been enshrined in the long-running talks -- held under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) -- since 2010.

'Elephant in the room'

France is eager to avoid the fate of Copenhagen talks in 2009 that also sought to craft a world climate rescue pact, but ended in near-fiasco amid splits between rich and emerging countries.

"At a certain point there was a feeling that we were not living on the same planet," an exhausted European negotiator told reporters after more than 20 hours of talks with his G20 counterparts.

"The idea was to just state that the G20 countries will be committed to a regular process, to get to the numbers of the target, with regular steps, that was the idea. This is common sense," he said.

Activists said the statement still offered nothing new and criticised a worrying lack of leadership just two weeks ahead of Paris.

"They have done nothing to bring the 20 most powerful countries in the world closer to consensus," said John Kirton, co-director of the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto.

Observers also deplored the apparent failure to mention financing for developing countries to make the transition to clean energy. Though not cited in the draft seen by AFP, however, this could yet feature in a final communique.

Developing nations are looking to rich countries to show how they intend to meet a promise made in 2009 to mobilize $100 billion (92 billion euros) per year in climate finance from 2020.

The funds will help poorer economies make the shift from cheap and abundant fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, and shore up national defences against climate change-induced superstorms, drought, floods and sea-level rise.

France insists this will be key to getting an agreement in December.

It is "difficult" to see success in Paris "without climate finance on the table," said Tristram Sainsbury, analyst at Lowy Institute in Sydney. "That is the big elephant in the room for the G20," he said. – Alex Pigman, AFP/Rappler.com

BRUSSELS, Belgium (UPDATED) – Belgian police launched a major raid in Brussels targeting fugitive Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam on Monday, November 16, but the operation ended without any arrests, prosecutors told Agence France-Presse.

Police meanwhile freed one of his brothers without charge, following his arrest at the weekend in the wake of the attacks in which a third Abdeslam brother took part as a suicide bomber, officials said.

Dozens of officers in balclavas and carrying submachineguns surrounded a house in the run-down immigrant area of Molenbeek in western Brussels, which is increasingly under scrutiny as a hotbed of European militancy.

"The operation is over and the result is negative. No one was arrested," spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt told AFP. The mayor of Molenbeek district where the raid took place also confirmed it was over.

Van Der Sypt had earlier confirmed that the raid targeted Salah Abdeslam -- a 26-year-old former Brussels tram worker who is the subject of an international arrest warrant by French police -- without saying whether he was in the house.

His brother Mohamed Abdeslam was released "without being charged" by Belgian authorities on Monday along with four other suspects who were among seven people arrested in the wake of the carnage in the French capital, Van Der Sypt said.

Two remain in custody.

"There was not the slightest charge, there is nothing against him," Mohamed's lawyer Nathalie Gallant told AFP.

"He had an alibi. On Friday evening he was with a friend in Liege (eastern Belgian city) where they were working on a project renovating a bar," she said, adding that the friend's testimony and telephone records showed that he was not in Paris on Friday.

"He has had no contact with his brothers in recent days," she added.

Their brother Brahim Abdeselam was one of the suicide attackers who caused carnage in Paris, blowing himself up outside a bar on Boulevard Voltaire.

'Links' to ISIS cell

A Belgian newspaper said that Brahim Abdeslam had links to a Belgian Islamic State (ISIS) militant believed to be the mastermind of a jihadist cell dismantled in January.

His name appears in several police files alongside leading militant Abdelhamid Abaaoud relating to criminal cases in 2010 and 2011, Flemish-language newspaper De Standaard reported.

"Investigators see a link with Verviers," it said, referring to an eastern Belgian town where police shot dead two militants in January and broke up a cell aiming to kill Belgian police officers in the streets days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.

Abaaoud -- a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent who allegedly led the group and had fought with the Islamic State group in Syria -- remains at large. He has claimed in the IS English-language magazine Dabiq to have rejoined the group in Syria.

He also lived in Molenbeek.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Monday that the authorities would crack down on militancy in Molenbeek and other districts.

"I have asked the security services to give us plans very quickly, for Molenbeek but also other areas, so that we can have a much more organized approach to the fight against radicalism," he told RTL radio.

Molenbeek also home to one of the 2004 Madrid train bombers and the main suspect in the 2014 Jewish Museum attack in Brussels, while the perpetrator of the foiled attack in August on the Amsterdam-Paris train stayed in Molenbeek with his sister before boarding in Brussels. – Danny Kemp, Lachlan Carmichael, AFP/Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

MANILA, Philippines – Jaime Dichaves, the businessman who claimed to own the dummy Jose Velarde account that prompted the downfall of former President Joseph Estrada in 2001, was granted permission to travel to China for 15 days after posting P1 million in travel bonds before the Sandiganbayan Special Division. 

A co-defendant in the plunder case against Estrada, Dichaves has yet to undergo trial nearly 15 years since the case was filed in April 2001. (READ: Cast in Erap plunder case: Where are they now?)

Dichaves left the Philippines on November 14 and will return on November 29, based on the Manifestation filed by his lawyer Noel Malaya. He told the court he is going to Hong Kong, Shenzen, Guanzhou, and Shanghai.

Malaya noted that Dichaves' travel was approved on September 23 by the Supreme Court 2nd Division, which set conditions such as the submission of a manifestation to the Sandiganbayan that will include his final itinerary. Dichaves was also ordered to appear before the Special Division upon his return  and show his passport for verification. 

Malaya said Dichaves posted a P500,000 bond on November 12 in addition to earlier cash bonds of P200,000 posted in February 13 and P300,000 posted in March 19. These have not been withdrawn.

Dichaves was accused of helping Estrada amass at least P189.7 million of commission out of the P1.847 billion combined investments made by the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System in Belle Corporation.

He claimed to own and control the dummy Jose Velarde account that was linked to Estrada by a bank executive who testified against the president in his impeachment trial. The refusal of the Senate, sitting as an impechment court, to open an envelope that would detail the bank transactions prompted the second People Power revolution that ousted Estrada in January 2001.

Dichaves flew out of the country and escaped trial while Estrada was later tried, convicted, and pardoned. He returned to the Philippines in 2010 to challenge the plunder charge, arguing that he was not accorded an opportunity to refute the allegations against him in a proper preliminary investigation.

His case was returned to the Office of the Ombudsman, which eventually affirmed the previous indictment and refiled the case with the Sandiganbayan. 

Before a new arrest warrant was issued, Dichaves ran to the Supreme Court. The High Court issued a temporary restraining order in his favor in July 2013.

The TRO remains in effect to date. 

He has since rekindled his relationship with Estrada and was spotted partying with the Estrada family in a family affair where pork barrel queen Janet Lim Napoles was also present.

Based on court records, Dichaves is president of Plaster Glass Manufacturing Inc, with a supposed annual income of P200 million. Last year, he attempted to join Estrada’s entourage in a trip in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo, but was disallowed travel by the Sandiganbayan. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines first hosted the APEC summit in 1996 in Subic, Zambales. Back then, the country was dubbed as "Asia's next economic tiger."

Liberalizing the telecommunications services sector was considered its major success, but for this year, several economists said it could be placing MSMEs at the front and center of regional trade.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is composed of 21 member-economies: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States of America, and Vietnam.

Watch Day 6 of the APEC summit here live. For those who want to watch the SME Summit, click here. – Rappler.com

GENEVA, Switzerland – Boko Haram Islamists have destroyed an estimated 1,100 schools this year in their stronghold region surrounding Lake Chad, the United Nations envoy to the area, Toby Lanzer, said Monday, November 16.

Lanzer, who became the UN envoy to central Africa's restive Sahel region in July, said the targeted schools were in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, the four countries most affected by the extremist uprising.

The name Boko Haram is a Hausa-language term that roughly translates into "Western education is forbidden", and the group has been blamed for scores of attacks on schools and universities in an insurgency that has killed at least 17,000 people since 2009.

Lanzer also provided updated figures for the number of people displaced by the conflict.

He said the population of Maiduguri, a northeastern flashpoint city throughout the conflict, had swollen to 2.6 million people following an influx of 1.6 million people fleeing Islamist violence.

In total, 2.6 million have been forced from their homes by the fighting, 2.2 million of whom are Nigerians, Lanzer added, following a tour of the Lake Chad basin region, which touches all four affected countries.

The UN envoy stressed that while Boko Haram refugees were not currently a significant contributor to Europe's migrant crisis, that could change if the situation around Lake Chad remains dire.

"Is that something that could be on the cards? Absolutely," Lanzer told journalists, warning that with a rising population, crippling poverty and continuing violence, significant numbers of young men around Lake Chad could increasingly try to migrate towards Europe.

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to power in May, has instructed his military commanders to crush the insurgency by the end of the year.

Lanzer offered broad praise for Buhari's response to the crisis, taking office.

"There is a pretty realistic appreciation of the gravity of the situation," he said, specifying that he was speaking specifically about the administration led by Buhari, who took power from Goodluck Jonathan whose handling of the conflict was fiercely criticized. – Rappler.com

BRUSSELS, Belgium (UPDATED) – Belgium on Monday, November 16, charged two people with involvement in terrorism after they were arrested over the Paris attacks, as a major police operation in Brussels failed to nab a key suspect.

The charges came as French President Francois Hollande said that Friday's attacks in which 129 people were killed were planned in Syria but launched from Belgium, with French help.

In Belgium, the pair were charged "with a terrorist act and participation in the activities of a terrorist group", while five others held at the weekend were freed without charge, the federal prosecutor's office said.

One of those released was Mohamed Abdeslam -- whose brother Brahim was one of the suicide attackers in Paris, and whose other brother Salah is being hunted by police.

The prosecutors confirmed that a major police raid in Brussels on Monday aimed at arresting Salah Abdeslam had ended without anyone being detained.

Dozens of officers in balaclavas and carrying submachineguns surrounded a house in the Molenbeek district in western Brussels, a the run-down immigrant area which is increasingly under scrutiny as a hotbed of European militancy.

"The operation is over and the result is negative. No one was arrested," a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, Eric Van Der Sypt, told AFP.

Van Der Sypt had earlier confirmed that the raid targeted Salah – a 26-year-old former Brussels tram worker who is the subject of an international arrest warrant – without saying whether he was in the house.

His brother Mohamed was released because there was "nothing against him," Mohamed Abdeslam's lawyer Nathalie Gallant told AFP.

"He has had no contact with his brothers in recent days," she added.

PM vows crackdown

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Monday that the authorities would crack down on extremism in Molenbeek, where Brahim had been living before he blew himself up outside a cafe in Paris on Friday.

"I have asked the security services to give us plans very quickly, for Molenbeek but also other areas, so that we can have a much more organised approach to the fight against radicalism," he told RTL radio.

Molenbeek was home to one of the 2004 Madrid train bombers and the main suspect in the 2014 Jewish Museum attack in Brussels, while the perpetrator of a foiled attack in August on an Amsterdam-Paris train stayed in Molenbeek with his sister before boarding in Brussels.

A Belgian newspaper said meanwhile that Brahim had links to a Belgian Islamic State (ISIS) militant believed to be the mastermind of a jihadist cell dismantled in January.

Brahim's name appears in several police files alongside leading jihadist Abdelhamid Abaaoud – who also lived in Molenbeek – relating to criminal cases in 2010 and 2011, Flemish-language newspaper De Standaard reported.

"Investigators see a link with Verviers," it said, referring to an eastern Belgian town where police shot dead two militants in January and broke up a cell that was planning to kill Belgian police officers in the streets days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.

Abaaoud – a 27-year-old Belgian of Moroccan descent who allegedly led the Verviers cell and had fought with the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria – remains at large. He has claimed in the ISIS English-language magazine Dabiq to have rejoined the group in Syria. – Danny Kemp, Lachlan Carmichael, AFP/Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and Vietnam will sign a strategic partnership on Tuesday, a Filipino official said, cementing an alliance forged in the face of twin territorial rows with China.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino and visiting Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang will witness the signing of the pact, foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose told Agence France-Presse Monday, November 16.

Sang will be in Manila along with other leaders from the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) group for a two-day summit meant to focus on trade starting Wednesday.

But Aquino is taking the opportunity to firm up important alliances as the Philippines looks for support in its dispute with China over competing claims to the South China Sea.

China claims nearly all of the sea, which is believed to sit atop vast oil and gas resources and is home to vital shipping routes, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbors.

The sea's other claimants are the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The Philippines and Vietnam have in recent years been the most vocal in criticizing moves by China to assert greater control over these waters.

Their shared concerns over China have brought them closer in recent years, with the imminent strategic partnership the most significant development.

Jose confirmed to AFP Tuesday's scheduled signing via a short text message, without giving further details.

But the Philippines and Vietnam had previously said the agreement would bolster defense, political and economic ties, and was being brokered with China in mind.

"We will deepen our cooperation in order to solve all the issues concerning the South China Sea," Vietnamese ambassador to the Philippines Truong Trieu Duong told reporters in September when discussing the planned partnership.

On the sidelines of APEC, Aquino is also scheduled to hold official bilateral talks with US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Obama's aides have said the South China Sea would be a "central issue" during his visit to the Philippines.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also due to arrive in Manila on Tuesday for APEC. China has insisted the row should not be a focus during the summit.

Aquino has not been able to secure a meeting with Xi, according to Philippine officials. – Rappler.com

VERSAILLES, France – President Francois Hollande said Monday, November 16, France would step up the battle against the Islamic State (ISIS) group in Syria in the wake of Paris attacks he dubbed "acts of war".

Hollande told an exceptional meeting of both houses of parliament he would meet US President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin in the coming days and called for a UN Security Council meeting over the fight against ISIS jihadists.

A grave Hollande said the attacks in the French capital that killed 129 people as they enjoyed a Friday night out in bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium, "were acts of war."

They "were decided and planned in Syria, prepared and organised in Belgium and perpetrated on our soil with French complicity," he said.

In response, France would "intensify" operations in Syria, Hollande said a day after French jets pounded ISIS targets in the group's Syrian stronghold of Raqa, its first military response to the Paris carnage.

"We will continue the strikes in the weeks to come," Hollande told lawmakers.

In the fight against the extremists, Hollande said he wanted increased international assistance.

"I will meet in the coming days with US President Obama and President Putin," he said.

Turning to measures within France, he said he would ask parliament to consider extending a state of emergency by three months.

His long and solemn speech culminated in a rendition by lawmakers of the Marseillaise, the French national anthem. – Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

ANTALYA, Turkey – US President Barack Obama said Monday, November 16, the United States had no precise intelligence warning of the Paris bombing and shooting attacks that have been claimed by Islamic State jihadists.

The United States has agreed to speed up its sharing of military intelligence with France to try to avert such assaults, the US leader added in a news conference after a summit in Turkey.

"There were no specific mentions of this particular attack," Obama said following a gathering of leaders of the Group of 20 top world economies in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya.

The United States is working closely with France in its investigation of the attack and its hunt for suspects in the "heinous" attacks, he said.

"France is already a strong anti-terrorism partner and today we are announcing a new agreement: We are streamlining the process by which we share intelligence and operational military information with France."

The agreement would allow US personnel to pass threat information including on Islamic State jihadists to France "even more quickly and more often" Obama added.

"We need to be doing everything we can to protect against more attacks and protect our citizens."

Obama also hailed "modest progress" in diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the Syria conflict, after high-level talks between world powers including Russia in Vienna.

"We have begun to see some modest progress on the diplomatic front, which is critical," Obama told reporters.

"The Vienna talks mark the first time that all the key countries have come together... and reached a common understanding."

The Vienna talks have seen the world powers find common ground on the need for a ceasefire in Syria, UN-brokered peace talks and a political transition.

"These are obviously ambitious goals. Hopes for diplomacy in Syria have been dashed before," cautioned Obama.

"There are any number of ways in which this latest diplomatic push could falter," he added.

Obama, who held an informal coffee-table summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday, said there were still differences between the two leaders over the future of President Bashar al-Assad "who we do not believe has a role in Syria's future because of his brutal rule."

"What is different this time, and gives us some degree of hope, is that for the first time all major countries on all sides of the Syrian conflict agree on a process to end this war," he said.

As world leaders grapple with a migrant crisis in Europe and elsewhere, Obama also warned against "equating the issue of refugees with the issue of terrorism".

"Many of the refugees are the victims of terrorism themselves, that is what they are fleeing. Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values," the US leader said. – Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

PARIS, France – The Eiffel Tower reopened on Monday, November 16, three days after closing because of the wave of terror attacks on Paris.

The iconic tower -- like monuments the world over following the deadly jihadist attacks on Paris -- will be lit up in the French national colors blue, red and white from sundown, its operator said Monday.

Normally visited by between 15,000 and 20,000 people a day, the tower was closed until further notice after Friday's attacks.

But it has now reopened, and will glow with the patriotic colors for the next three evenings, the company said.

The illumination will also include the defiant Latin slogan of Paris, "Fluctuat nec mergitur" meaning "It is buffeted by the waves, yet remains afloat."

The attacks prompted the company to halt the tower's nightly illumination and hourly five-minute flashing light show.

The illumination resumed on Sunday, but without the light show, during which the tower erupts in bursts of lights, appearing to dance and float in the night.

The Sydney Opera House and One World Trade Center in New York have been among structures around the world to light up in blue, white and red in solidarity with France. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France – Security fears in the wake of Friday's brutal slaying of 129 people in Paris threaten to overshadow a crunch climate summit to be launched by 120 world leaders in the French capital on November 30.

France's government has said it will not "give in" to terrorism and insists that the long-anticipated conference will go ahead, tasked with no less than producing a plan to rescue Earth's climate.

But Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday, November 16, that "without a doubt" concerts and other gatherings of a "festive" nature would be cancelled.

The UN climate conference, for which about 40,000 delegates, journalists, observers, NGOs and other participants are accredited, will be "limited to negotiation", said Valls – excluding certain planned side-events.

US President Barack Obama has said he still intends to attend the summit, and Valls said none of the 120-odd heads of state or government who accepted invitations to the opening had asked for a postponement.

"All want to be there. To do otherwise would, I believe, be to yield to terrorism," said Valls, who on Sunday, November 15, called the gathering "an essential meeting for humanity."

But the violent events of the weekend, claimed by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists, have thrown into doubt a mass rally in central Paris planned for November 29, on the summit's eve, and another on December 12, the day after the meeting is scheduled to close.

Coalition Climate 21, the civil society grouping organizing the marches, met in Paris Monday to decide how to proceed.

"The tragedy in Paris has only strengthened our resolve," it said in a statement on Monday evening.

"This movement for climate justice has always also been a movement for peace – a way for people around the world to come together, no matter their background or religion, and fight to protect our common home."

But no final decision has been taken, and the coalition said it would meet French authorities in the coming days to discuss "how we can move forward with the (November 29) march."

"We fully share their (the authorities') concerns about public safety – just as we fully oppose any unnecessary crackdowns on civil liberties," said the statement.

Valls said the safety of demonstrators was paramount, and security forces would have to "concentrate on the essential" – the conference itself.

This threatened a series of exhibitions, concerts and other gatherings organized around the city to beat the drum for urgent climate action.

In the midst of a national state of emergency and massive anti-terror deployment, it might be hard to free up the 5,000-odd police and military police required to secure the November 29 rally, a security source told Agence France-Presse.

The march is meant to start at Place de la Republique square, very close to the scene of Friday's restaurant and bar shootings.

Security 'reinforced'

Before the coordinated wave of attacks carried out by three groups of gunmen and suicide bombers on Friday night, it had been announced that 1,500 police, military police and firefighters, more than 100 UN guards and 300 private security agents would secure Le Bourget outside Paris where the conference will be hosted.

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said security would be further "reinforced".

Dubbed COP21 – for the 21st Conference of Parties to the UN's climate convention – the gathering aims to deliver the first truly global agreement on reining in greenhouse gas emissions blamed for dangerous levels of climate change.

"Of course COP21 proceeds as planned. Even more so now," tweeted UN climate chief Christiana Figueres.

The conference is meant to crown 6 years of tough negotiations after talks broke down during the previous attempt at clinching a global deal, in Copenhagen in 2009. 

Even before the attacks, France had reintroduced border checks as it tightened security ahead of the summit. – Catherine Hours and Mariëtte Le Roux, AFP / Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

PARIS, France – French President Francois Hollande vowed to destroy the Islamic State group (ISIS) on Monday, November 16, after its atrocities in Paris, promising tough new anti-terror measures at home and intensified bombing of Syria.

France and Belgium staged dozens of raids on suspected extremists as the manhunt continued for an eighth jihadist, including in a known radical hotspot in Brussels where some of the attackers are thought to have lived.

Describing the coordinated attacks that killed 129 people as "acts of war," Hollande urged a global fightback to crush ISIS and said he would hold talks with his US and Russian counterparts on a new offensive.

Friday's "acts of war... were decided and planned in Syria, prepared and organized in Belgium (and) perpetrated on our soil with French complicity," Hollande told an extraordinary meeting of both houses of parliament in Versailles.

"The need to destroy Daesh (ISIS) ... concerns the entire international community," he told lawmakers, who burst into an emotional rendition of the La Marseillaise national anthem after his speech – only the second time in more than 150 years a French president has addressed a joint session of parliament.

On the domestic front, Hollande called for an extension of the state of emergency by 3 months and announced 8,500 new police and judicial jobs to help counter terrorism.

A government source told Agence France-Presse that those returning from Syria could be placed under house arrest and said the presidency was considering amending the constitution to allow for tougher security measures. 

With emotions running high, thousands paused in the streets of Paris for a minute's silence to remember those killed at nightspots and at the national stadium in the worst-ever attack on French soil.

Investigators identified two more extremists involved in the assault, including a Frenchman previously charged with planning a terror attack and a suicide bomber found with a Syrian passport, which has yet to be authenticated. 

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a G20 conference in Turkey, said the attacks proved the need for an international anti-terror coalition.

"I spoke about this at the United Nations... and the tragic events that followed have confirmed that we were right," he said.

US President Barack Obama, also in Turkey, said a new deal had been agreed with France to speed up intelligence-sharing.

His secretary of state, John Kerry, landed in Paris late on Monday to discuss the attacks and described ISIS as "psychopathic monsters".

Rocket launcher

During pre-dawn raids in the southeastern French city of Lyon, police found "an arsenal of weapons," including a rocket launcher and Kalashnikov assault rifle.

More than 100 people have been placed under house arrest, 23 arrested and 31 weapons seized, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

As authorities scrambled to find those responsible, the grieving French tried to return to the humdrum of daily life.

Mountains of flowers and candles have been laid at the scenes of the attacks and in front of businesses that lost loved ones.

"We need to understand how this barbarism can exist and why France is paying this heavy price," said David Boy, a 52-year-old advertising agency boss, his lips trembling as he lingered at one of the memorials on his way to work. 

Metro trains were packed with commuters, pupils returned to schools and museums reopened, although a national state of emergency remained in place.

A social media campaign urged everyone to visit cafes and bars on Tuesday night, November 17.

In the face of "barbarism... culture is our biggest shield and our artists our best weapon," said Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls steeled the nation for more bloodshed, telling RTL radio that more operations "are still being prepared, not only against France but other European countries too."

Late on Sunday, November 15, French planes bombed the stronghold of IS jihadists in northern Syria.

French jets hit an ISIS command post, a recruitment centre, a munitions depot and a training camp in Raqa, the jihadists' de facto Syrian capital, and more raids were reported Monday.

The Belgian connection

The manhunt continued for 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam, one of 3 brothers linked to the attacks. 

One brother blew himself up in the Bataclan concert venue and was identified from a severed finger, while the third was arrested in Belgium but released without charge.

The brothers lived in the rundown Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek, which has a reputation as a hotbed of Islamic militancy and where police have made several arrests.

Abdelhamid Abaaoud, 28, a Belgian of Moroccan descent also from Molenbeek and thought to be fighting for IS in Syria, is considered a possible mastermind of the attacks. 

Five of 7 known attackers have been identified, but it is unclear if other gunmen fled after the carnage.

Two of the gunmen behind the bloodbath at the Bataclan, where 89 people were killed, have been identified as 29-year-old Paris native Omar Ismail Mostefai and 28-year-old Samy Amimour. Both detonated suicide bombs.

A Turkish official said its police had twice warned France about Mostefai, who was one of 10,000 people tagged by French intelligence as an extremist.

Amimour was charged in France in 2012 for "conspiracy to commit terrorism" over an attempt to travel to Yemen and was wanted on a global arrest warrant after violating the terms of his judicial supervision. 

There are fears some of the assailants entered Europe as part of the huge influx of people fleeing Syria's civil war, after a Syrian passport was found near the body of one suicide bomber at the Stade de France in the name of Ahmad Al Mohammad.

The document has yet to be verified and Serbia detained a migrant on Monday whose passport contained the same data.

The attacks came less than 11 months after jihadists struck the Paris offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket, killing 17. – Eric Randolph and Clare Byrne, AFP / Rappler.com

More on the Paris attacks:

• Over 128 killed, 180 injured in Paris attacks
• IN PHOTOS: November 13 Paris attacks
• ISIS claims Paris attacks
• US band caught up in Paris attacks reported safe
• Witnesses tell of 'bloodbath' at Paris rock concert
• Shock, horror for 80,000 fans at Stade de France after Paris attacks
• French search for friends, shelter online after Paris attacks

 Global, social media reactions

• World leaders condemn Paris attacks, vow to help
• Pope Francis on Paris attacks: 'This is not human'
• Aquino: 'Philippines stands shoulder to shoulder with France'
• 'This time it's war:' French press react with horror to attacks
• World mourns and condemns attacks in Paris
• #PrayForParis, #Fusillade trends on Twitter amid Paris attacks
• Celebrities call for support, prayers for Paris

MANILA, Philippines – US President Barack Obama and other Asia-Pacific leaders will arrive in the Philippines Tuesday, November 17, for a summit meant to foster trade unity but with terrorism and territorial rows in focus. (LIVE: APEC Day 6)

The two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit will begin Wednesday, November 18, under the global shadow cast by last week's murderous rampage in Paris that killed at least 129 people.

While the 21-member APEC group's mission is to promote trade, the leaders will undoubtedly discuss the tragic events in the French capital and efforts to counter the Islamic State (ISIS) group, which has claimed responsibility for the carnage.

Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Manila from Turkey, where they attended a summit of the Group of 20 top economies that also focused heavily on ISIS and bringing peace to Syria, where ISIS controls a vast swathe of territory. 

Philippine authorities, which had already deployed more than 20,000 security forces for the summit, said security had been ratcheted up even higher because of the Paris attacks. 

Another sensitive issue this week will be China's recent efforts to assert control over the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea), which is home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes. (READ: US-China rivalry on backdrop of Asia summits)

The other claimants are APEC members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

The Philippines, one of China's most vocal critics in the row, had promised to be a "perfect host" to Xi, who is also due to arrive in Manila on Tuesday.

But, while keeping the dispute off the official agenda, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III appears to be taking the opportunity of the APEC summit to firm up alliances aimed at countering China.

On Tuesday, Obama will tour the Philippine Navy's flagship vessel, the US-made Gregorio del Pilar, which is providing APEC security in Manila Bay.

Obama's aides had previously said Obama would tour the boat to showcase American commitment to providing maritime security in the region.

China's building of artificial islands in parts of the South China Sea close to the Philippines had already prompted the US military to deploy a missile destroyer and B-52 bomber planes to the area.

The Philippines, which has one of the weakest militaries in Asia, has in recent years sought to draw longtime ally the United States into the dispute as a protector against China.

Aquino and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang are also set to oversee the signing on Tuesday of a bilateral strategic partnership that will deepen defense ties.

The Philippines and Vietnam have been brought closer in recent years by their shared concerns over China, with the imminent strategic partnership the most significant development.

Any focus on the South China Sea in the Philippines will irk China, which has insisted the APEC forum should stick solely to trade issues.

It has also repeatedly said the United States has no role to play in the dispute. – Rappler.com

In 2004, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's leaders agreed that their economies should nurture and sustain good governance, economic development, and prosperity by ensuring transparency and fighting corruption. This was reaffirmed in Beijing in 2014.

APEC’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group (ACTWG) continues to seek new ways to tackle corruption by promoting international cooperation in prevention, enforcement, rule of law, and cultures of integrity within and across economies, markets and supply chains.

In this roundtable, business stakeholders, government and multilateral organizations can potentially lay the groundwork for broader rule of law discussions, looking forward to Peru’s hosting of APEC in 2016.

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Institute of Corporate Directors Chairman Jesus Estanislao, Makati Business Club Chair Ramon del Rosario, and 2016 APEC Business Advisory Council Chair Juan Francisco Raffo, and US Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews talk about their lessons in fighting corruption. - Rappler.com

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government has served Bacolod City Mayor Monico Puentevella the notice of the 90-day preventive suspension order issued against him by the anti-graft court.

Late afternoon on Monday, November 16, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region VI Director Anthony Nuyda and legal officer Cedric Jaranilla served the suspension order to Puentebella at his house in Barangay Villamonte.

Puentevella is facing graft charges for his alleged involvement in the procurement of a computer package worth P26 million using his Priority Development Assistance Fund when he was still congressman of Bacolod. 

According to Nuyda, Puentevella personally received the suspension order, which was issued by the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division on September 28. The mayor said that he was already expecting the order, Nuyda added.

With Puentevella’s suspension, DILG appointed Vice Mayor Greg Gasataya and Councilor El Cid Familiaran as acting mayor and vice mayor, respectively. They immediately took their oaths of office before Municipal Trial Court in Cities Judge Montano Medel at the People’s House. 

Both officials will assume and exercise the functions of mayor and vice mayor for a period of 90 days while Puentevella temporarily vacates his office, as provided in Section 46 of the Local Government Code of 1991.

Nuyda said that Gasataya, as acting mayor, has the authority to hire and fire employees, since he will assume office for more than 30 days.

Gasataya said that “my position is just temporary. I appeal for the cooperation of the employees for 90 days.”

For his part, Familiarian said that his assumption of the vice mayoral post is “nothing new” because he has served as acting vice mayor several times before when Puentevella left the country on official trips. – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – Japan on Tuesday, November 17, said it is negotiating a “legal arrangement” with the Philippines to finalize a deal to see if Tokyo can give Manila military equipment.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could discuss this on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit hosted by the Philippines.

Citing sources, Reuters reported on Monday, November 16, that Aquino and Abe “will agree this week on a deal paving the way for Tokyo to supply Manila with used military equipment.”

“The deal will mark the first time Japan has agreed to directly donate military equipment to another country, and is the latest example of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's more muscular security agenda,” Reuters added.

In a briefing with reporters in Manila on Tuesday, Japanese Deputy Press Secretary Koichi Mizushima confirmed that Aquino and Abe “agreed to launch negotiations” on this deal when Aquino visited Japan in June.

“The two leaders agreed to launch the negotiations, so if we start negotiations, that means that we will reach an agreement in the end, so we have been working,” Mizushima told reporters.

He said the equipment from Japan, however, is not necessarily unused.

Mizushima also said he is unsure if Aquino and Abe will announce updates on the negotiations when they meet on Thursday, November 19.

“We have been working very hard to follow up on that agreement, and we are still working hard to do our homework, and so we will see,” Mizushima said. 

He said the negotiations involve, among other things, Japan's "very strict rules to export defense related equipment.

‘Legal arrangement’ needed

"In order for us to export or share technologies with other countries, we need to have a legal arrangement beforehand. So I think that is why the two countries have started negotiations," the Japanese official said.

He explained, "Usually, the countries who receive the technology equipment should not transfer the technology to other countries."

Mizushima said it is crucial for the Philippines to receive military aid in the face of China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea. "It is important for the Philippines to build its capacity to contribute to peace and stability in the region," he said.

Japan, for its part, also wants "to contribute to peace and stability"'in the Asia-Pacific.

Referring to the South China Sea, Mizushima said, "This is a very important sea lane for Japan, the US, and for China, too." 

Japan earlier vowed to donate patrol boats to the Philippines.

Japan is the Philippines’ only strategic partner aside from the United States, as of Tuesday. Vietnam is also eyeing a strategic partnership with the Philippines. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – “I know football is not the favorite here. So can you imagine a basketball team where half of the players are not participating? It's like a country!” 

Using metaphors, jokes, and her colorful personal story, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet commended Filipino women, and encouraged them to work harder to plug gaps in gender equality. 

Chile's first female president took a break from the stiff events of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and visited Miriam College on Tuesday, November 17, to meet and laugh with women and the youth. The school is the oldest women's college in the Philippines. 

Bachelet paid tribute to Philippine efforts to promote women's empowerment, and the role of women in the Southeast Asian nation's long struggle for democracy. 

“There is no doubt about the contribution of the women of Katipunan in 1986, and the Katipuneras of Miriam College women against the Marcos dictatorship,” said Bachelet, who was tortured and exiled under the dictatorship of the late general Augusto Pinochet.

One of only two female leaders in the 21-member APEC, Bachelet made it a point to meet with women during her first visit to the Philippines. She is the first foreign head of state to visit Miriam College.

Broadcast journalist and Rappler founding editor Cheche Lazaro moderated the forum with Bachelet. 

The Latin American leader commended the Philippines for ranking 9th in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2014. 

“I want to acknowledge the progress in the Philippines. The Philippines is the only Asian country that closed the gap in education, and health, and in the top 10 of the report. I congratulate you,” she said. 

Bachelet paid tribute to former Philippine senator Leticia Ramos Shahani, also former United Nations assistant secretary general for social and humanitarian affairs. Shahani introduced Bachelet during the program. 

On women in government, Bachelet pointed out that the Philippines has a 26% rate in female participation in politics, higher than the Asian average of 18.4%, and the Chilean rate of 16%. 

Still, Chile's first two-time president said that many challenges remain for women globally to break the glass ceiling. 

“I can imagine it's not a paradise for women here. In my country, we had a female Senate President, female presidents of the trade union but we still have issues. Women have difficulty in accessing credit. We still have violence against women. The face of poverty is still that of women and children,” she said. 

Bachelet said that closing the gender gap, and the political participation of women are issues deeply personal to her. She was the first director of UN Women, the agency in charge of promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. 

“There, we discussed many issues like on peace and security. I remember talking to women who said: 'It's not enough for women to sit on the table. I want to decide the size and the shape of the table I'm sitting at,'” she said, drawing laughter from a crowd of students, teachers, and top Philippine officials. 

'We need women in military, police' 

Bachelet reaped cheers when she was introduced as Chile and Latin America's first female defense minister.  

She quipped: “You're surprised I was the first female defense minister in my country. I'm not proud. It shows how bad we were before that!” 

Responding to students' questions, Bachelet stressed the importance of having women in the military and the police. It is a lesson she learned from her experience of deploying female Chilean peacekeepers.  

“Defense is not just a matter of men but of society, and women are part of that. In countries where we send peacekeepers, women have low self-esteem because they are treated like second-class citizens. They find it hard to talk about rape, gang-rape and torture. But women peacekeepers gain their confidence and trust in conflict-torn areas,” Bachelet siad. 

Even in countries at peace, the president said it was important for security agencies to include women as they bring in different perspectives and specialties. 

To have more women politicians, Chile passed a law that requires 40% of candidates for parliament to be female. Political parties must comply with the law. 

“But we know laws can be fooled. You can put women candidates in places where they can't be elected. We don't just want women candidates but we want women elected. Parties who elect more women will have a financial incentive,” she said. 

She recall how difficult it was for her to get elected in some parts of her country. 

“I was invited to a municipality where women usually get just 2% of the votes. I went there and I lost. I had 2%. When I came back to that place, I told them: You see what you lost?!” 

'Have a sense of humor' 

Despite the strides that women made, Bachelet warned young girls in the audience against what she called “a leaking pipe” that they might encounter in their career.  

She cited a study of US firm Deloitte with data from the Harvard Business Review. The study found that a woman and a man interviewed for a job both had “fantastic records” and “a regular interview” but employers called the woman “insecure” while the man was said to “have potential.” 

Bachelet said: “The same kind of attitude in a woman can be considered a weakness. That's called invisible bias.” 

The questions that made Bachelet most animated were those about her personal life. 

Asked about her advice on love, the Chilean president sighed twice.

“I’m not sure I’m the best model because I’m a single mother now,” said the woman who separated from her husband, and who claims to be agnostic.  

“My first advice is in any field, not just in politics, but economics, etc is you have to understand that there's no such thing as a superwoman. There are always costs. You can't be the best professional, the best mother.”

She added: “The important thing is don't try to be a superwoman. That will only bring frustration. Second: prepare yourself, study, develop relationships with others. Be assertive but listen to other people.”

Bachelet also shared her views on what makes women successful. 

“'Successful' is a word that has many meanings. For some, it means to earn a lot of money and to have a Jaguar. For others, it's to be loved. To some, it's to have a handsome husband, and appear in fashion magazines. The more important thing is to know what you want, where you wanna go and how you will get it. I recommend to be honest, consistent, coherent.” 

No stranger to stress, she said: “Have a sense of humor. It will help you survive.” 

What makes her happy? Bachelet said she enjoys singing, dancing and cooking. 

Chile's most powerful woman had a simple message to aspiring women leaders: “If you do what you think is right, you will feel happy.” – Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) noted that more than 50,000 beneficiaries of the government’s Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) received their salaries later than the period prescribed by law in 2013. 

Under the SPES, close to 700,000 qualified beneficiaries were hired as food service crew members, customer touch points, office clerks, gasoline attendants, cashiers, sales ladies, "promodizers", as well as in clerical, encoding, messengerial, computer and programming jobs.

The program, mandated in 1992 under Republic Act No 7323 and which ended in December 2014, was implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). (READ: SONA 2015: The state of Philippine labor under Aquino)

DOLE shouldered 40% of the wages of the SPES beneficiaries, who were supposed to receive their salaries within 11 days after the duration of their employment.

However, a 2013 COA report showed that payments to at least 54,177 students amounting to P139,359,581.48 were delayed by one to 441 days.

The report said the figure is equivalent to 52.06% of the total P267,665,995.61 disbursements.

State auditors discovered delays in the student worker salary disbursements in the following areas:

The SPES was open to 15-25-year-old high school, college or vocational students or drop-outs and interested employers.

Qualifications included the following:

• Enrolled during the present school year/term or during the school year/term immediately preceeding the summer vacation
• Dropout who intend to continue his/her education
• Parents' combined net income after tax, including his/her own, if any, does not exceed P36,000 per annum
• Garnerned a passing grade during the school year/term referred above or in case of dropout, the last year/term attended
• His/her parents have been displaced or about to be displaced due to business closure or work stoppage provided he/she meets a, b and d above. 

Unclaimed, stale checks

State auditors also discovered that 1,052 SPES checks amounting to P2,304,476.19, prepared from July 2004 to June 2013, were unclaimed and became stale. 

The same goes for another 1,619 checks totalling P4,967,876.94 prepared from July to December 2013.

“Moreover, the staled checks which were subject to replacement were not reverted back to the cash account; hence, understating cash account and liabilities by the same amount,” said state auditors.

“Thus, the objective of the program of helping poor but deserving students to pursue their education by providing or augmenting their income was somehow affected,” they added.

According to several DOLE regional cashiers and chiefs of the Accountants and Technical Services and Support Divisions, the delay in the release of checks may be attributed to the following:

• Huge volume of claims for processing
• Claims were not processed if supporting documents were incomplete
• There were no placement reports submitted by the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) to DOLE regional offices (DOLE-RO) or SPES babies could not be found in the submitted placement report
• The students cannot be located
• The payrolls on the 60% share of the employers for the salaries of the SPES beneficiaries – which would also be the basis for paying the 40% DOLE share – were incomplete or not submitted by the PESO to the DOLE-RO concerned.

In a statement on Tuesday, November 17, the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay urged DOLE to speed up the payment of wages to working students.  

"Nakakalungkot. Kailangan ng tulong ng mga kabataang mahihirap para makapagtapos sila ng pag-aaral. May batas upang tulungan sila, may pondo upang maituloy ang pangarap nila na makapagtapos. Nguni't ang pamahalaan mismo ang nagpahirap sa kanila para makamit ito," said Joey Salgado, the media affairs head of the United Nationalist Alliance’s standard-bearer.

(This is sad. The youth from the poor sector need help so they can finish their studies. There is a law and a fund intended to help them complete their studies, but the government itself is making it hard for them to do so.) 

"Nakikiusap si VP Binay sa DOLE na sa taong ito at sa susunod pang mga taon, bilisan nila ang pagproseso ng mga dokumento upang ang tulong ng pamahalaan ay makarating agad sa mga benepisyaryo," he added.

(VP Binay is urging DOLE to speed up the process this year and in the succeeding years so the government’s help will immediately reach the beneficiaries.) 

DOLE previously said it has developed an information technology system to establish a database of SPES beneficiaries nationwide and facilitate their claims for salaries.

Salgado hopes the use of an automated system of SPES by DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment will speed up the process.

Other anomalies

According to COA, salary payments to SPES beneficiaries were also made through automated teller machines, cash cards, and issuance of checks directly to the beneficiaries. The law prescribes that payment be made through education vouchers.

“Thus, the existing modes of payment did not ensure that the salaries were used to pay the tuition and fees and books of the student-beneficiaries,” said state auditors, who recommended that DOLE comply with the required payment scheme. 

A part of the SPES fund worth P4,929,226 was also realigned to finance expenditures for other programs, including the Workers Income Augmentation Program, the Tulong Pang-hanap-buhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers, and the Promotion of Rural Employment through Self-employment and Entrepreneurship Development.

COA advised DOLE to refrain from using the SPES fund for other purposes to “avoid disallowance of the transactions.” – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is reminding the public that drones are not allowed while the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit is ongoing in this city.

In a statement on Tuesday, November 17, PAF spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Enrico Canaya said they have received reports of drone sightings near the Midas Hotel and Heritage Hotel Manila, both in Pasay City.

The two hotels are minutes away from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which is under tight security amid the arrivals of world leaders attending the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting from November 18 to 19.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a no-fly zone advisory covering areas near NAIA and the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) – venue for the talks. This advisory covers drones.

Canaya said the public can report violations through APEC Public Assistance hotline numbers 0949-7260082 and 0906-2163615.

Domestic and international flights have also been cancelled for the duration of APEC week. (READ: Cancelled flights due to APEC meetings in November) – Rappler.com