Maniolas

Relatives mourn 6 soldiers killed in Basilan ambush. In Zamboanga City on Monday, November 3, relatives of one of the six fatalities in the November 2 ambush staged by Abu Sayyaf bandits weep at the sight of their slain loved one. The soldiers were ambushed while conducting a security patrol in Sitio Mompol, Barangay Libug in Sumisip, Basilan around 7:30 a.m. The attackers were led by a certain Radzmi Jannatul and a certain Katatung. Jun Veneracion The remains of one of the soldiers killed in an ambush by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan on November 2 arrived at Villamor Air Base Tuesday evening. Relatives of 2Lt. Jun Corpuz, 22, were emotional as they saw the flag-draped coffin bearing their loved one, radio dzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo reported. Photos posted by dzBB’s Ravelo showed the casket bearing Corpuz’s remains being carried by soldiers. A separate photo tweeted by GMA News’ Ian Cruz showed Corpuz’s parents Elizabeth and Cresencio holding back their emotions. Earlier Tuesday, the military held departure honors for the six in Zamboanga City before their remains were flown to their respective home provinces. Corpuz and his five fellow soldiers fought valiantly and would be missed, one of their fellow soldiers told GMA News’ Jun Veneracion on “24 Oras.” Private First Class Marvin Paragoso said he could have been among the fatalities. He suffered a wound in his foot in the incident. “Masakit kasi sa loob ko nangyari… Kaibigan ko sila. Masakit sa dibdib ko. Kasama ko sila sa katatawanan, sa Read More …

The chances of Vice President Jejomar Binay attending the Senate blue ribbon committee probe on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II appear slim after two of his allies were booted out of the subcommittee’s hearing last week. Lawyer Jose Virgilio “JV” Bautista, one of those shown the door by Senate security, said the Senate subpanel’s treatment of him and Navotas City Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco showed that Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III has “lost control” of Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Alan Peter Cayetano and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. “Sa takbo ng mga insidente na ‘to, parang hindi na rin ginaganahan ang ating Pangalawang Pangulo na pumunta sa mother committee… Nakikita nya hindi naman pala kontrolado ni Senator Guingona itong nagwawalang tatlong senador. ‘Yung iniiwasan ni VP na mangyari sa subcommittee ay baka mangyari doon sa mother committee, ganon din lang yon,” he said in an interview on dzBB radio Sunday. Bautista, however, added the decision on whether or not to attend the probe is still up to Binay. Cayetano barred both Bautista and Tiangco from speaking at the hearing last Oct. 30, saying they were not invited as resource persons or witnesses. He then ordered the Senate sergeant-at-arms to escort the two executives of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) out of the session hall. The Blue Ribbon main committee has formally invited Binay to appear at the Senate to shed light on purported irregularities in the construction of the P2.7-billion Makati building. Challenge: Probe Read More …

A lawmaker wants to regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale, importation and use of electronic cigarettes, which has become popular among smokers trying to overcome their tobacco addiction. Parañaque City Rep. Eric Olivarez,author of House Bill 5093 or the proposed E-Cigarettes or Vape Regulation Act of 2014, said e-cigarettes cannot be considered completely risk-free because they are still a source of nicotine, a known addictive substance. “Although it may be safer than a cigarette or tobacco, because it does not produce real smoke as a very dangerous by-product of the latter, the long-term effects of vaping e-cigarettes are still not guaranteed to be completely safe,” he said in the bill’s explanatory note. Under Olivarez’s proposal, manufacturers of e-cigarettes will be required to put health warnings on the packaging of their products. The Department of Health (DOH) will prescribe the standard for the size and content for these labels. Apart from this, the DOH may also impose restrictions and regulations on the flavor, composition, advertising and promotion of e-cigarettes. The sale of e-cigarettes to minors will be prohibited regardless of who will use or consume the product. Even if e-cigarettes are marketed as a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, Olivarez said they can still induce substance dependence because they function as a nicotine delivery device. “E-cigarette delivers toxic chemicals and carcinogens into the lungs. It also has the potential of making bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics,” he said. E-cigarettes contain a liquid solution that produces an aerosol when heated by an atomizer Read More …

An Army official who has been ordered relieved from his post has been given a new position in the AFP Medical Center — only to be relieved again. Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang has ordered the relief of Lt. Col. Florencio Ritchie Capulong from the center’s Technical Working Group, which supervises the implementation of certain projects. Capulong had been earlier sacked as disbursement officer of the AFP Medical Center for his involvement in an alleged anomalous procurement of medicines and medical supplies worth P80 million, but he was designated secretariat head of the TWG by acting AFP Medical Center chief Col. Benedicto Jovellanos. Jovellanos gave Capulong his new assignment on October 15, or a day after Capulong was sacked as disbursement officer. Asked if Jovellanos was aware that Capulong had been ordered relieved when he gave him the TWG assignment, AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said: “He knows but I don’t know the rationale [behind it).” “I don’t know the reason why he was given a job. I can only assume that it is due to his expertise that might be lost because he will be doing nothing, so that we can utilize his expertise for certain tasks,” he said. Cabunoc said the sacking of Capulong and several others aims to provide transparency to an ongoing internal investigation on the alleged anomalous procurement. Also sacked pending the investigation by the AFP’s Office of Ethical Standards and Public Accountability were AFP Medical Center chief Brig. Read More …