At least six domestic flights were canceled as of Sunday afternoon due to bad weather, the Manila International Airport Authority said. The MIAA said the flights belonged to Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines Express and Tiger Air. It said the flights included: 5J 625 and 626: Manila to Dumaguete and back2P 5545 and 5546: Manila to Dumaguete and backDG 5543 and 5544: Manila to Tacloban and back — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
Two killed in Zamboanga City explosion. At least two people were killed while 52 were injured following an explosion near a bus terminal in Zamboanga City Friday afternoon. YouScoop/Mervinne Minano President Benigno Aquino III arrived Sunday morning in Zamboanga City to check the security there after the deadly car blast last friday that left two people dead and hurt 52 others. The airplane carrying the President landed at 10:30 a.m. at the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City, according to a report on dzBB by Jayvee Francisco. According to the report, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman were with the President upon arrival in the city. Aquino will proceed to the blast site, the report said, adding that the President is being briefed by local authorities regarding findings of the investigation on the attack. The President is expected to pay his respects to the two poeple killed in the explosion in front of the Guiwan bus terminal and Red Palm Inn last Friday. He is also expected to visit the 52 people who were injured. On Saturday morning, police said the death toll had risen to two, with 52 wounded, and that the explosives used in the incident was a car bomb. Security was tightened in the city after the bombing, with police and military forces conducting checkpoints and paneling operations. Full alert Philippine National Police Region 10 OIC director Chief Supt. Agrimero Cruz Jr on Saturday said he issued a directive to all Read More …
Yellow flowers on Sunday adorned the tomb of former President Corazon Aquino on what would have been her 82nd birthday. Many Filipinos also went to the Manila Memorial Park to pay their respects to the former leader, radio dzBB’s Mao dela Cruz reported. Photos tweeted by dzBB’s dela Cruz showed people leaving flowers or standing briefly in front of the tomb. Mrs. Aquino is the mother of incumbent President Benigno Aquino III. She is best remembered for helping restore democracy after being catapulted to the presidency following the EDSA revolution ousted then strongman Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. The former leader died after a bout with cancer on Aug . 1, 2009. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
The Department of Education has issued guidelines on activities and materials involving indigenous peoples’ culture. In a news release, the DepEd said this came after consultations with indigenous peoples communities, educators, and civil society support groups nationwide. “Kami po sa Kagawaran ng Edukasyon ay patuloy na pinag-aaralan ang mga katutubo nating kaalaman. Kami po ay mga guro pero alam ko po na sa larangan ng katutubong kultura ay marami pang dapat malaman. Hindi po kami mga eksperto sa mga bahaging ito. Kaya hinihiling namin… na huwag po ninyo ipagkait sa amin ang mga katutubong kaalaman, bagkus, patunayan po ninyo na kayo ang tunay na nangangatawan sa pinapahalagahan ng ating mga katutubong komunidad,” DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said. The guidelines provide guidance on the ethical assessment of learning activities and related engagements of schools, DepEd offices, and other education initiatives that involve aspects of indigenous peoples’ culture. DepEd credited IP community representatives for being instrumental in crafting the guidelines. Luistro emphasized the importance of cultural exchange in better understanding indigenous culture in education. Meanwhile, the DepEd has also been recognizing private educational institutions serving IP learners to promote the right of IP communities to cultural integrity and due recognition of “katutubong kaalaman” in the education system. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
Citing high demand, the Philippine Postal Corp. (PHLPost) is making available online the commemorative stamps of Pope Francis’ recently concluded visit to the Philippines. PHLPost said it will accept orders and purchase transactions for commemorative stamps and the rare coinage souvenir sheets through its official shopping portal. “To protect the public’s interest, we encourage the public who want a piece of a Pope Francis memorabilia in the form of stamps to purchase online through the PHLPost web portal, at face value,” Postmaster General Josie dela Cruz said. But she encouraged buying the commemorative items from the Pinoy eMall site, where they are sold at their actual prices. PHLPost cited reports that copies of the commemorative stamps are now being sold in the black market at price twice or even higher. To buy the stamps, people can log on to www.phlpost.gov.ph and click the Pinoy eMall icon. They will be directed to the website, Pinoy e-Mall. Payments may be in the form of Electronic Postal Money Order (E-PostMO) and Visa Card. Fastest-selling PHLPost said the 7,000 souvenir sheets featuring the first ever coinage stamp were sold out during the first day of issuance last Jan. 13. Another set of 10,000 copies had been printed to address high demand. “The Pope Francis stamps and souvenir sheet are considered as among the fastest selling stamps in the postal service history,” dela Cruz said. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News
To make sure the faithful remember Pope Francis’ messages during his visit to the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is eyeing distributing reading materials containing such messages. CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said such materials will be distributed to parishes, schools and communities. “The Holy Father spoke to us with his heart, in his beloved language. In the following days we will collate all these words in very readable form and send them out to all parishes, schools and communities, where, led by their pastors, the faithful can reflect on them as a community or with their families and friends,” he said. He said the reading materials could contain what it means to “cry”; to be open to surprises; to love; to dream; to have no words to say; to be silent. But he also said the CBCP will encourage the faithful to come up with “actions” based on their reflection. “Pope Francis was very emphatic, he would often say, to priests at the Cathedral, and to the people in other events, ‘act!’ “Acts’ are important he said,” Villegas said. Meanwhile, Villegas urged Filipinos to pray for the pope, who during his visit had asked the people to “Pray for me.” “We all promised to pray for him, but in the days and weeks ahead we will pray as the Church of the Philippines, through this prayer for Pope Francis, that we will request to be prayed in all Masses in all parishes, shrines, chaplaincies, Read More …
Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado said he is ready to face charges for accusing Vice President Jejomar Binay of receiving a P200-million kickback from a joint property development venture of Alphaland Corp. and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. He also said in a new statement that he will file a complaint against Binay, officials of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and Alphaland Corp. before the Office of the Ombudsman over P600 million that the BSP was supposed to receive for the development of a one-hectare property donated by BF Goodrich Philippines (now Sime Darby) to the BSP in 1976. He said the BSP has not yet received the money while Binay has already supposedly received the P200-million kickback. In a statement, property developer Alphaland said that it “vehemently and categorically denies Mr. Mercado’s lies and falsehoods. Alphaland intends to sue Mr. Mercado for criminal libel and defamation (and will claim at least P100 million in damages) before the proper courts.” The Boy Scouts have already said the deal is above board and that it has been receiving P530,000 a month as lease payment from Alphaland. For his part, Binay, who is also the national president of the Boy Scouts maintained his innocence and denied any involvement in the allegations. “Hindi naman po totoo ‘yung dala-dalawang daang milyong sinasabi. Kasi nagkaroon pa nga ng power of attorney yan. Siya pa nga ang nakikipag negotiate diyan,” Binay said, referring to his former political ally turned critic. Binay also said he isn’t worried Read More …
On the fourth anniversary of the murder of Palawan broadcaster Dr. Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega, media watchdog group National Union of Journalists of the Philippines criticized the lack of action by authorities in bringing the perpetrators to justice. In a press statement on Saturday, NUJP cited law enforcers’ “failure” to capture the two suspects in the killing. “Since this tragic event, the accused masterminds – former Palawan Governor Joel T. Reyes and his brother Marjo – have remained in hiding and the wheels of justice grind painstakingly slow,” it said. “On the hunt for the Reyes brothers, the government’s early promises to get them have degenerated from rhetoric to amnesia. There is, in fact, no sign a manhunt is even taking place, insofar as the family and relatives of the victim are concerned,” it added. On January 24, 2011, a lone assailant gunned down Ortega in Puerto Princesa City after his radio program. The gunman was arrested immediately after the attack. Ortega, 47, was the morning news anchor and commentator of Radyo Mo Nationwide’s (RMN)’s Palawan station dwAR. On the other hand, NUJP called on the government, particularly the Department of Jusice, to take action on the murder case trial. “The case is pending in the Supreme Court, after the Court of Appeals curiously upheld the defense’s claim that the creation of a second panel by the DOJ, which indicted the Reyes brothers and their accomplices, was illegal,” it said. “A credible and simple recourse offered by the Ortega family is Read More …
The world can learn from the turnaround of the Philippines’ disaster awareness as shown by its experiences with super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013 and Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) in 2014, a US surgeon who took part in the response to both disasters, said. Michael Karch, a surgeon with Mammoth Hospital in Mammoth Lakes, California, said learning lessons from Yolanda and applying them during Ruby may have saved the lives of some 1.7 million Filipinos. “The preemptive actions of the Philippine government, military, medical, and civilian sectors should serve as valuable lessons for the rest of the world as we collectively begin to embrace mass casualty education and preparedness on an individual, national, and international platform,” Karch said in a blog post. Yolanda, which tore through the Visayas on Nov. 8, 2013, left more than 6,300 dead. In contrast, Ruby – which, like Yolanda, packed powerful winds and posed a major threat – resulted in 18 deaths. The lower casualty count was in part due to massive evacuations in areas Ruby was projected to hit. Karch said Yolanda’s destruction had been described as the “Night of 1,000 Knives,” due to the flying debris that “wreaked injury and death on the Filipino population.” In contrast, he said, Ruby could be dubbed the “Night of a Million and a Half Flames” referring to 1.7 million plus people who survived the typhoon. “Widespread public health and civil defense measures that had been established in the interim between Haiyan and Hagupit were initiated in the Read More …
Zamboanga City mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has opposed the possibility of the city’s inclusion in the envisioned Bangsamoro territory that will be formed as part of the comprehensive peace pact signed between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Speaking to lawmakers at the last public hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) Wednesday, Climaco-Salazar said that while she and her constituents support the government’s peace efforts, the city should not be made part of the envisioned Bangsamoro core territory at any time. “The city should never form part nor be included in the Bangsamoro now or ever. Neither of its 98 barangays or municipalities should be part of Bangsamoro now or ever,” she said. Aside from excluding Zamboanga City from the Bangsamoro core territory, Climaco-Salazar said the city’s municipal waters will continue to remain its own while the Cabatangan property should be transferred to the national government and not purchased by Congress. She said the city government is willing to buy the land. Under Section 1, Article XVIII of Republic Act 9054, otherwise known as the Act to Strengthen and Expand the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), all properties in the areas which chose not to join the ARMM should be purchased by the national government. The local government units having jurisdiction over them, in turn, can buy the lands from the national government. Right to self-determination But for Bangsamoro Transition Committee chair and MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, the people of Read More …