Maniolas

Associated Press 2:39 pm | Friday, September 12th, 2014 INQUIRER.net STOCK PHOTO MANILA, Philippines— China on Friday warned its citizens not to travel to the Philippines after a Chinese teenager who worked in a family-run store was kidnapped. The Chinese Foreign Ministry also said it was worried because of plots confirmed by the police in the Philippines that criminal groups planned to attack the Chinese embassy, Chinese companies and public venues such as malls. “Given that the safety situation in the Philippines is deteriorating, the consular service of the foreign ministry is asking Chinese nationals not to travel to the Philippines for the time being,” the warning read. The warning comes as relations between the countries have soured and even turned hostile in recent years as Beijing and Manila battle over claims to the same territory in the South China Sea. On late Thursday, 18-year-old Li Peizhi was seized by unidentified gunmen in Zamboanga Sibugay province’s Kabasalan township, Senior Inspector Leo Castillo said. The gunmen also took 20,000 pesos ($455) from the store’s cash register. Castillo, the provincial police spokesman, said officers in pursuit found the kidnappers’ vehicle burning in a village about two kilometers (1.25 miles) away. Mayor George Cainglet said Abu Sayyaf militants who kidnapped Australian Warren Richard Rodwell in 2011 may have been involved. He said no ransom demand had been made. RELATED STORIES Chinese teenager kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay Group behind Naia bomb try bitter at gov’t tack vs China – NBI Follow Us Other Stories: Read More …

In this handout photo taken on October 2013 and released by Philippine Armed Forces public affairs office (AFP-PAO) on August 29, 2014 shows officers and men of the 7th Philippine peacekeeping force bound for the Golan Heights posing for photos during their send-off ceremony at the army heradquarters in Manila. Heavily armed Philippine peacekeepers defied Syrian rebels on August 29 in a Golan Heights standoff hours after the gunmen disarmed and took hostage 43 Fijian soldiers there, Filipino authorities said. AP MANILA, Philippines – The Filipino peacekeepers in Golan Heights who made a daring escape from the Syrian rebels after being locked in a standoff “could hardly be called cowards,” Malacanang said Saturday. “For someone fighting and engaging the enemy for seven hours, that’s hardly…that can hardly be called cowardice,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said on radio. Lacierda was reacting to the accusation of Lieutenant General Iqbal Singha, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) commander, that the escape of the Filipino peacekeepers from the Syrian rebels was an act of cowardice and disobedience to the UN chain of command. The Filipino peacekeepers said that Singha ordered them to surrender their firearms to the rebels, which the Filipino rebels did not do. This, however, was denied by Singha and the UN. “The situation in the ground is something that the Filipino peacekeepers were very well aware of. They’re the ones in the ground. They’re the ones taking enemy fires and they’re the best persons to say on what to do Read More …

By Nestor Corrales |INQUIRER.net 3:21 pm | Saturday, July 19th, 2014 A woman lays flowers near a sign reading “Putin kills children” in front of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev on July 18, 2014 to pay tribute to the 298 people who died after flight MH17 of Malaysia Airlines crashed in rebel-held east Ukraine. The Boeing 777 came down in cornfields in the separatist-held region yesterday, spraying debris and body parts for kilometres around, with the United States claiming it was shot down in a missile attack. AFP PHOTO/ SERGEI SUPINSKY MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines on Saturday condemned the “brutal act” of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine that claimed the lives of 298 people, including three Filipinos. “We convey our profound condolences for all who perished in this tragedy,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement. “Those responsible should be made fully accountable for this unconscionable assault on a non-military aircraft that posed no threat whatsoever to any party,” it added. The DFA said the international community should unite to help determine those responsible for the “brutal act” and to take concerted action to help reduce such tragedies all around the world. “States and non-state elements in dispute should exercise restraint, respect international law, and search for the peaceful resolution of disputes,” it said.RELATED STORIES Filipino-Indon family also deadMother, 2 kids on board crashed MH17―DFA PH expresses ‘deepest sympathies’, seeks probe in MH17 crash Follow Us Other Stories: ‘Tragedy after tragedy’ Read More …

FILIPINO STUDENTS manning the ‘Bayanihan Haiyan Aid’ booth at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University cafeteria from Nov. 12-22 There are times in life when we doubt if any good can come out of a tragedy.  Other times, those doubts are erased, and a series of fortunate events leads to great and wondrous things. Six months after a terrible typhoon devastated Eastern Visayas, I look back and know I have been very blessed to be a witness to the latter—learning lessons that will sustain me through life’s unpredictable ups and downs. I have been living in Japan for the past three years as an undergraduate student in a tiny city called Beppu located on Japan’s southern island, Kyushu (Oita Prefecture). I had just started my fourth year taking up Sustainable Development at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), an international university in Japan, when Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) struck. The magnitude of the disaster slowly revealed itself on news and social media.  Feeling utterly helpless and far away, our Filipino community of 16 students and 4 faculty at APU felt this immense need to help our fellow Filipinos in Eastern Visayas who were affected. Although our little community has had its share of conflicts, we really came together and set all of that aside to focus on raising funds for the typhoon victims. There were even a few of us who had family members that were affected in Tacloban. COMMON HUMANITY Encouraging messages of many languages written by the students, guests Read More …

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono: Diplomacy AP PHOTO Buoyed by the new maritime boundary agreement with the Philippines, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has proposed that the two countries conduct joint naval patrols to combat poaching in the seas. The landmark agreement demarcating both countries’ overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZ) in the Mindanao, Celebes and Philippine seas offers new opportunities in fishing, maritime and security engagements for both countries, Malacañang said. In his meeting with Mr. Aquino on Friday morning, Yudhoyono said he was instructing his minister for economic coordination “to prepare an outline for enhancing maritime cooperation,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said. One major area of cooperation between the two archipelagic countries would be joint naval patrols to deter crimes such as poaching of protected wildlife—a constant concern in the West Philippine Sea. Coloma said they could now move forward with maritime cooperation on fisheries and aquatic resource development, and prevention of maritime crimes like poaching since there were no “more pending issues” between the two countries. At the state dinner later Friday, Yudhoyono said both countries should “seize the momentum from the historic achievement” to also boost cooperation in the maritime and ecotourism sectors. “I am glad that our bilateral relations are indeed on the right track with plenty of room for further expansion,” he said in a toast to Mr. Aquino. Coloma, who was present at the bilateral meeting, said the two leaders talked of possible joint patrols in the resource-rich seas between them. “The good Read More …