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Just a ‘Sun’ away from home

News

Jul 022013

INQUIRER.net 9:31 pm | Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – The story of Steph is the story of many children separated from their parents because they have gone abroad. But a simple call and a regular greeting can bridge the love they have for each other. Sun lets your loved ones know whatever’s in your heart (Alam ng Sun kung gaano kahalaga ang pagsasama ng pamilya. Ang kuwento ni Steph ay kuwento rin ng maraming anak na nalayo sa kanilang mga magulang na nag-abroad. Sa simpleng tawagan at dalas ng kamustahan, natutuloy pa rin ang pagmamahalan. Sa Sun, kung ano man ang nasa puso – agad na naipaparamdam.) (advt) Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Consumer Issues , mobile phones , ofws , Sun Cellular Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

PH in the dark on exact date, time of Filipina’s execution in China

News

Jul 022013

PH in the dark on exact date, time of Filipina’s execution in China

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:18 pm | Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The deadline is Wednesday (July 3), but the Philippines remains in the dark on the exact time the Filipino drug courier sentenced to death in China will be executed. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Tuesday afternoon that the Chinese government had not informed the Philippine government when it would carry out the death penalty on the 35-year-old Filipino woman arrested for drug trafficking in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China in 2011. “We have not yet received any specific date or time for the execution of our kababayan in Hangzhou, but it seems that it is very imminent,” the DFA spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, said in a press briefing on Tuesday. On Monday, the woman’s family, including her mother and son, were granted a 30-minute final visit at the Zhejiang Detention Center in Hangzhou, where she has been jailed for two years now. The family, who was in Shanghai as of Tuesday, has requested that their privacy be respected and asked that their loved one’s name be kept in confidence, Hernandez said. “We don’t know if we will be informed before or after [the execution]. There were cases when we were informed before and there were cases when it happened right after the visit of the family of the accused,” he said. Hernandez said the execution would likely be carried out through lethal Read More …

Rep. Bello: I have evidence of embassy sex racket

News

Jun 202013

Rep. Bello: I have evidence of embassy sex racket

By Christian V. EsguerraPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:35 pm | Thursday, June 20th, 2013 Representative Walden Bello MANILA, Philippines—Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello threatened on Thursday to reveal more damaging evidence against overseas welfare officer Mario Antonio if he would insist on his “brazen lie” that illegal recruiters had made up the “sex-for-flight” scandal. “We don’t want to preempt the investigation, but if he continues with his brazen lies, we’re going to make more of his misdeeds public,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone following a meeting with Assistant Labor Secretary Rebecca Chato at the House of Representatives. Bello also called for a parallel investigation independent of the one promised by the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Labor and Employment. He said his informants from both agencies were more willing to talk in a Malacañang-initiated inquiry. “They’ll feel safer and more confident in an independent investigation initiated by the Palace,” he said. In the meeting with Chato, Bello said, he asked that DOLE expand its investigation to cover Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Bello earlier alleged that female overseas Filipino workers were being sexually exploited by some Philippine labor officers in Kuwait, Damascus in Syria, and Amman in Jordan. Antonio denied the allegation, saying it might have been floated by illegal recruiters who wanted him out. The response incensed Bello, who said his information had come from “mid- to high-level” officers of both the DFA and DOLE. “What he is saying, that’s a brazen lie,” he said. Also tagged Read More …

Philippines, US to hold naval exercises near disputed reef

News

Jun 202013

Philippines, US to hold naval exercises near disputed reef

Agance France-Presse 3:11 pm | Thursday, June 20th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – The United States and the Philippines are to hold joint naval maneuvers in the South China Sea next week between the main island of Luzon and a reef claimed by both China and Manila, the Filipino navy said Thursday. The exercises taking place from June 27 to July 2 by the two allies are to be held about 108 kilometers (67 miles) east of Scarborough Shoal, navy spokesman Lieutenant-Commander Gregory Fabic told AFP. Chinese government vessels are still believed to be patrolling the waters around the shoal after a lengthy stand-off last year with the Philippines, which ended with a Filipino retreat. “This was planned way back in 2010. Whatever happened since then was purely coincidental,” Fabic said when asked if holding the exercises there this year were a way for the Philippines to reassert its sovereignty over the shoal. The maneuvers would be held over 12,347 square kilometers (4,767 square miles) of waters, he added. Chinese embassy spokesmen in Manila could not be reached for comment Thursday. Beijing claims it has sovereign rights over nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters far away from its main landmass and approaching the coasts of Southeast Asian countries. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the sea, and the area has for decades been regarded as a potential trigger for major military conflict in the region. Since last month the Philippine navy has also Read More …

Bidding for LRT extension deferred

General

Jun 142013

Philippine Daily Inquirer 9:14 pm | Friday, June 14th, 2013 The transportation department is postponing the bidding for the P60-billion LRT Line 1 Cavite extension and operation project to the end of next month from June 17 to give participating groups additional time, a regulatory filing Friday showed. The decision followed recent discussions with the private sector made during one-on-one sessions with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). “Please be notified that the bid proposal submission date is hereby extended to July 30, 2013,” the filing, signed by Transportation Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo Lotilla, showed. There are four qualified bidders for the project, which aims to extend the LRT Line 1 from the Baclaran terminal to the Niyog station in Bacoor, Cavite. This will also increase average weekday ridership from 560,000 passengers to 820,000 passengers by 2015. The bidders are Consunji-led DMCI Holdings Inc., the Light Rail Manila consortium (Metro Pacific Investments and Ayala Corp.), the consortium of SMC Infra Resources Inc. led by San Miguel Corp.) and the MTD Samsung consortium headed by Malaysia’s MTD Group and South Korea’s Samsung. Two other local groups, Romero-led EcoRail and Light Rail Transit Systems, also submitted documents but were disqualified for being late. Lotilla told reporters early this week that the transportation department was mulling over the postponement of the bidding, citing several unsettled “issues.” He declined to elaborate. “The bidders needed more time,” he said, noting that a project like the LRT Line 1 extension could be complicated given its “highly Read More …

Israel commends Filipino peacekeepers

News

Jun 142013

By Frances MangosingINQUIRER.net 7:53 pm | Friday, June 14th, 2013 Israeli soldiers stand on top of a Merkava tank stationed in the Israeli annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria on May 26, 2013. A former commander of UN peacekeeping troops in the Israeli occupied Golan Heights has warned that the entire force would be in jeopardy if Austria withdraws. Austria — which provides the largest number of troops to the UN Disengagement Force (UNDOF) on the Golan — has threatened to withdraw its troops over concerns for their safety if the EU lifts an embargo on supplying arms to the Syrian opposition. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Israel on Friday expressed gratitude to the Filipino peacekeepers “for their courage” and determination to keep peace in the volatile Golan Heights. “The government of Israel, through its Embassy in Manila, sincerely thanks the brave men and women of the Philippine Army for their courage and adherence to the goals of peace and security,” the Israeli Embassy in Manila posted in its Facebook account. The embassy tagged the Filipino soldiers as “world class.” The 341 Filipino members of the United Nations Disengagement Force now comprise the biggest contingent in the Golan Heights after Austria began pulling out its 377 troops amid intense fighting between Syrian troops and rebels. “The continued contribution and deployment of the Filipino contingency is an asset to international society as we highly respect the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Force. The Filipino soldier is, indeed, world-class,” the Read More …

Foreign cargo ship runs aground off Biliran

News

Jun 142013

Foreign cargo ship runs aground off Biliran

By Joey GabietaInquirer Visayas 4:43 pm | Friday, June 14th, 2013 wikipedia photo TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—A foreign commercial vessel manned by Vietnamese and loaded with more than 1,600 pieces of lumber ran aground off Maripipi Island in Biliran province Thursday night, officials said. The Japan-bound ship M/V Unicorn Logger, which had 18 crew members and was skippered by Nguyen Anh Tuan, ran aground at Sambawan Islet at around 7:10 p.m., Maripipi town local government operations head Ritchie Peñaflor said in a phone interview. The 5,691-ton Panamanian-registered ship was carrying lumber weighing a total of 836 metric tons, Peñaflor said. He identified the vessel’s operator as Wisdom Marine Lines based in Panama. The vessel departed from Sandakan, Malaysia, on June 11 at around 9 a.m. and was bound for Japan when it ran aground at the Sambawan Islet off the island town of Maripipi. The vessel hit about 270 square meters of coral reefs, Peñaflor said. “This is now our concern. The incident has resulted in the destruction of our coral reefs covering 270 square meters based on the initial assessment of our local fishery and agriculture office,” Peñaflor said. On top of this, they were also looking for possible oil leaks that might result from the incident, he added. So far, no oil was seen coming from the vessel. Peñaflor said the Maripipi local government was studying the possibility of seeking damages for the destruction of coral reefs from the owner of the vessel. The site of the grounding is Read More …

Crew of rescued foreign yacht now in El Nido

News

Jun 142013

Crew of rescued foreign yacht now in El Nido

By Redempto D. AndaInquirer Southern Luzon 2:58 pm | Friday, June 14th, 2013 FILE PHOTO PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines—The three foreigners aboard the distressed yacht Simoune have been safely brought to the pier of El Nido town, the Armed Forces’ Western Command (Wescom), which carried out the rescue, said Friday. Wescom in a statement issued its spokesperson, Lt. Cherryl Tindog, identified the multinational crew as Ian Riley, skipper, 50, from United Kingdom; Glenn Cooke, 51, an Australian national; and Ryan Mann, 36, a US national. The three crew members of the Simoune left Hong Kong on June 6 intending to proceed to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. However, they encountered bad weather and rough seas conditions along the way, the Wescom statement said. While they were sailing 70 nautical miles west of El Nido on June 12, the engine of the yacht malfunctioned and ran out of fuel, prompting the crew to send a distress signal that was picked up by Wescom’s Joint Task Force Malampaya based at the Coast Guard Station in El Nido. The Wescom report said PG 386 was immediately dispatched for a search-and-rescue mission amid bad weather and found the yacht 2.5 nautical miles north of Lalutaya Island at 12:30 p.m. on June 13 through the assistance of the Coast Watch Station on Lalutaya Island. PG 386 and CWS Lalutaya guided and monitored the yacht until it safely reached El Nido Pier on Thursday night. The crew members were in good physical condition, said the report. Follow Us Read More …

All PH missions on alert for coronavirus

News

Jun 052013

All PH missions on alert for coronavirus

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 8:33 pm | Wednesday, June 5th, 2013 DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — All Philippine missions overseas are now on alert for the coronavirus, a deadly respiratory disease known to have originated in the Middle East but has spread to parts of Europe. No Filipino has so far been reported to have contracted the disease, but all Philippine embassies and consulates around the world are now closely watching developments relating to the virus, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. “As you know, this has already spread to other countries, so all of our embassies and consulates around the world are closely monitoring developments in their respective jurisdictins and they regularly seek updates from their host governments,” said DFA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez in a briefing. He also reiterated the government’s advice to Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, the country currently worst-affected by the virus, with 25 known deaths out of 39 reported cases. There are some 1.5 million Filipinos currently in Saudi Arabia as workers or residents. “The personnel of our embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia can effectively relay relevant information regarding the virus to our compatriots, and they have already done this,” said Hernandez. “What we really need now is our citizens’ cooperation. Filipinos should heed the advice of our embassy and consulate and relevant authorities of the host country,” he added. He said Filipinos in affected countries–now including France, Germany and Great Britain–should immediately consult Read More …

‘Kabang’ set for hero’s return after surgery in US

News

Jun 042013

‘Kabang’ set for hero’s return after surgery in US

Agence France-Presse 9:02 pm | Tuesday, June 4th, 2013 Kabang, a two-year-old injured mixed breed, chews on a toy after being released from the from the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at the University of California, Davis, in Davis, Calif., Monday, June 3, 2013. Kabang lost her snout and upper jaw saving two girls’ lives and is heading back to the Philippines after treatment at a California hospital. AP MANILA, Philippines — A mongrel dog is set for a hero’s welcome when she returns to the Philippines following surgery in the United States to reconstruct her face after apparently saving two girls from being hit by a motorcycle. Kabang was released from the University of California’s Davis Veterinary Hospital on Monday after eight months of treatment in which her face was partially rebuilt and she was cured of cancer and heartworm. In 2011 Kabang, then aged two and pregnant, became a hero in the Philippines after running in front of a motorcycle in what her owner said was a deliberate act to save her daughter and niece who were crossing a busy road. Thousands of dollars were raised for her treatment through an online campaign. “I think I will cry when I see her. She’s like a member of our family,” said owner Rudy Bunggal, a laborer who lives in a shanty in a poor southern Philippine town, told AFP by phone on Tuesday. In the accident Kabang’s snout and part of her jaw were torn off when Read More …

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