Maniolas

Philippine police arrested eight suspects and are hunting more in connection with an Internet extortion racket that has victimised hundreds of people in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau, an official said Saturday. This is the second large-scale arrest of suspects allegedly for “sextortion” — using the Internet to lure foreigners into sending them compromising material which they can use for blackmail, said Jhoanna Fabro, spokeswoman of the national police anti-cybercrime division. The eight suspects were arrested and five minors taken into custody following a raid on Thursday in towns just outside Manila, she said. But Fabro warned that an undetermined number may have escaped before the raid. “There are other targets but we weren’t able to get them,” she told AFP. About 400 people from Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau were targeted by the group and the arrests were made due to complaints from victims, Fabro said. The suspects operated from towns in Bulacan province, about 30 kilometres (17 miles) from Manila. They used social media websites such as Facebook to meet people overseas and then used video call services such as Skype to engage in “cybersex,” the police said. “Unknown to the victim, these acts were recorded. Once the suspect captured sufficiently lewd video footages, he/she would stop the call instantly. Immediately, the victim would receive messages… from the suspect, threatening the victim that his lewd acts were video recorded with a video link to prove it,” the cybercrime division said in a statement. The suspect would then demand Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III, assisted by SACASOL’s chairman Jose Maria “Jomari” Zabaleta and president Jose Maria “Sech” Zabaleta, Jr., leads the Ceremonial Switch-on of the San Carlos Solar Energy, Inc in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental last May 15 as lawmakers mull a bill mandating the installation of solar panels in public schools in isolated places in the country without electricity to improve the learning capabilities of students in the areas. MANILA (Mabuhay) – Lawmakers have filed a bill mandating the installation of solar panels in public schools in isolated places in the country without electricity to improve the learning capabilities of students in the areas. Reps. Mariano Piamonte and Julieta Cortuna (Party-list, A TEACHER) filed House Bill No. 4715 in consonance with the policy of the State to improve the quality of education in all areas nationwide. Piamonte said in far-flung areas of the countryside where electricity is not available, public school classrooms are also without electricity. “This fact simply demonstrates that public schools in some areas could not be provided with computers as a learning support tools because of the absence of electricity,” Piamonte stressed. Piamonte said it is logical to conclude that students who came from these schools could not learn much of the basics in today’s information technology age. “Because of the absence of electricity in some areas, the students in public schools suffer from educational content gap – an important content at that,” Piamonte stressed. Cortuna said when electricity is not available, support technology Read More …

By Aries Joseph Hegina |INQUIRER.net 7:57 pm | Tuesday, August 19th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines – Thailand donated $622,243.39 or P27.195 million to aid in the rehabilitation efforts for communities devastated by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” November last year, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement released Monday. Residents sit outside their damaged house after powerful Typhoon Haiyan slammed into Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013. AP Thailand Ambassador to the Philippines Prasas Prasasvinitchai presented the check to DFA Secretary Albert F. del Rosario as additional donation. Also present in the turnover ceremony was Thelsa Biolena, the director of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Response Operations Office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Del Rosario thanked the Royal Thai Government and the people of Thailand for their “generous” donation, stating that it would “help the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the disaster-stricken areas.” The amount was raised in a telethon in November 2013, which was organized by the office of then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. After one hour and 45 minutes, the telethon was able to raise $2.813 million. RELATED STORIES Thai musicians organize day-long event to help ‘Yolanda’ victims Asian newspapers rushed to aid of ‘Yolanda’ victims Follow Us Other Stories: 2 Filipino students win gold, silver medals in China math tourney Ex-US president Jimmy Carter, PH activists to be honored on Ninoy Aquino Day DFA probes ‘inhumane’ treatment of repatriates DFA: Rumors PH passports being stamped ‘not valid for Libya’ Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Comedian Ramon Bautista is currently in hot water after a joke he made at the recent Kadayawan Festival in Davao City on Saturday, August 16. In an event, Bautista quipped: “Tama! Ang daming hipon dito sa Davao, alright.” He then asked the crowd to chant the word “hipon.” Hipon is a Filipino slang that refers to a person with a sexy body but an unattractive face. The comedian later apologized over his remark. “I’m here in front of you to say my apologies because sinabi ko ang daming hipon dito. Oo nga, nahihiya po ako sa inyo because you welcomed me in your beautiful city. Andito po ako lagi at nag-e-enjoy po ako dito. Para masabi ko po yung mga yun na marami sa inyo ang na-offend. I’ll say my sincerest apologies, sana po matanggap niyo,” he said. Bautista added, “Andito po ako para makisaya sa Kadayawan Festival at para maging enjoyable ang gabing ito. From the bottom of my heart, sobrang nahihiya po ako sa inyong lahat. Sana mapatawad niyo po ako. Mahal ko po kayong lahat.” Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In a Facebook post on Sunday, August 17, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo “Pulong” Duterte said he reprimanded Bautista over his joke. Meanwhile, former Davao City mayor Sara Duterte is calling for Bautista to be declared as a persona non grata. “Attended this Kadayawan Invasion and heard this (Ramon Bautista) guy say “hipon” ang mga babae sa Davao. Pila sa Read More …

NO TURBULENCE For a 45-minute “flight” from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Jake Adonis Sebial sits at the cockpit of an Airbus flight simulator with veteran AirAsia pilot Lee Seong Thiang. PHOTO COURTESY OF AIRASIA The “Big C” must be the most serious disturbance in Cebuano teenager Jake Adonis Sebial’s turbulent life. The same disease, however, paved the way for the fulfillment of his dream of becoming a pilot, even for just 45 minutes of his revitalized life. Last Wednesday afternoon, Jake experienced how it feels to fly a plane, through no less than a state-of-the-art Airbus A320 flight simulator at Asian Aviation Center of Excellence in Sepang, Malaysia, thanks to the generosity of AirAsia—the largest Asian low-cost carrier—as well as the help of nonprofit Make-A-Wish Foundation Philippines. Jake has always dreamed of occupying the pilot’s seat, his aunt Rubi told reporters. At one point, she related, the 18-year-old thought the dream would no longer materialize. In August last year, Jake was hospitalized after showing symptoms of dengue fever. A month later, however, he was diagnosed with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), a cancer affecting the blood and bone marrow. According to medical experts, AML progresses quickly and can lead to death within weeks or months if not immediately treated. But the disease did not stop Jake nor his family in Danao City from fighting for the young man’s life. That was not the first time Jake hung on for dear life. At the age of 7, he was electrocuted and lost Read More …