Maniolas

DFA spokesman Charles Jose. AP FILE PHOTO THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has called on the parliament of the European Union (EU) to verify its information on supposed extrajudicial killings in the country and not merely rely on media reports. DFA spokesperson Charles Jose on Monday said, “The Philippines and the European Union have a long-standing close partnership and it is the right of the duly elected EU lawmakers to issue such a statement. “But we would like to call on the members of the EU Parliament to verify the information [on the human rights situation in the Philippines] and not base their statement on mere media reports,” Jose said in a press briefing. The European Parliament (EP) last week issued a statement expressing concern about the human rights abuses and summary killings in the Philippines, alongside African states Somalia and Zimbabwe that suffer lingering civil unrest, armed conflict and repressive regimes.   In plenary session The EP held a plenary session in Brussels to tackle the human rights situation in the three countries. “The parliament condemns the current wave of extrajudicial executions and killings in the Philippines, the deteriorating security and widespread intimidation in Somalia, and the growing violence against demonstrators and breaches of human rights in Zimbabwe, in three resolutions voted on Thursday,” an EP statement said. The EP legislators earlier condemned the bombing in Davao City’s night market on Sept. 2 which left 14 people dead and 70 wounded. Monitor PH The legislators called on the Read More …

A lifeboat safety drill on the Norwegian Breakaway cruise ship killed two Filipino seamen in Bermuda. SAN FRANCISCO – A Filipino seafarer died after spending a month in intensive care in Jackson Memorial Hospital in Bermuda following a cruise ship safety drill accident that earlier killed another Filipino. Ben Buenaventura died from the injuries sustained in the tragic incident when a Norwegian Breakaway lifeboat fell into the water last July 20, during a weekly lifeboat drill while the ship was docked in Kings Wharf, Bermuda, according to a report by Crew-Center.com. http://crew-center.com/2nd-crew-member-dies-hospital-after-ncl-breakaway-accident Four crewmembers were in the lifeboat when line snapped and one crewmember, 41-year old Diogenes Carpio was killed immediately. Buenaventura was flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital with fractures to both legs, hip, right arm, punctured lungs and traumatic brain injuries. The maritime and admiralty law firm Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P.A. represents Buenaventura’s family in a legal case against Norwegian Cruise Line. Buenaventura had been a waiter on NCL for more than a decade. He leaves behind a wife and 5-year-old son. RELATED STORY: Filipino sailor dies in cruise ship safety drill accident in Bermuda Latest Duterte on De Lima’s ouster: Senate is not my territory Duterte:  Another bombing may happen Duterte’s war won’t stop until last drug pusher is dead MNLF seen as key to safe release of Abu Sayyaf captives Recommended Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments which are inconsistent with our editorial standards. FULL Read More …

Jollibee Food Corporation Foundation gifted the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital with $25,000 in appreciation for the warm and successful launching of its first Midwest store in the Chicago area. Pictured from left are Foundation President Grace Tan Caktiong, JFC founder and chairman Tony Tan Caktiong, Comer’s Vice president Karen Stratton, Comer’s Director of Child Life Jennie Ott, JFC CEO Ernernesto Tanmantiong, JFC President for North American Jose Minna and Maribeth dela Cruz, JFC general manager for USA. PINOY/ANONG SKOKIE, Illinois –After its “most successful opening” last July 29 weekend in this village, just north of Chicago, all the top executive officers of the Jollibee Food Corporation (JFC) gathered here, Sept.15, to show their appreciation for the “overwhelming reception” that Filipino Americans in the Chicago area and neighboring states had given to their very first Jollibee restaurant in the Midwest. JFC Chairman and Founder Tony Tan Caktiong and his wife, Grace, president of the JFC Foundation, personally handed an oversized check for $25,000 to the University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital, which was represented by Karen Stratton, Comer Children’s vice president for Women’s and Children’s Services and Jennie Ott, the hospital’s director of Child Life and Education. Tan Caktiong led his officers including CEO Ernesto Tanmantiong and JFC Group President for North America Jose Minana in expressing their company’s dedication to family and children’s values and their desire to give back to the community. Also attending the appreciation day was Consul General Generoso Calonge, who expressed his Read More …

Alec Denji Santos poses with the “Securitree” prototype. Screen grab from mapua.edu.ph A Filipino student has received global recognition in an international invention contest. Alec Denji S. Santos, of Mapúa Senior High School, won a gold prize at the 5th World Invention Creativity Contest (WICC) in South Korea last July 28-30. Santos, a grade 11 student under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) strand of Mapúa, led his teammates from Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science to victory and bagged the Gold Award for their ingenious invention called “Securitree.” True to its name, the youthful group came up with a device with built-in sensors against illegal loggers and forest fires, which won first place in the Environment and Biology category at the WICC) held at the Seoul Trade and Exhibition Convention. On the outside, “Securitree” is designed as a camouflaged-themed box equipped with sensors, a camera and a solar panel, and is intended to be installed in a tree. The motion sensors detect suspicious activities, which would trigger the built-in camera to take pictures, while a micro-controller board analyses the captured data and sends them to forest authorities through the internet. The innovative project was also made possible through the widely emerging technology of the Internet of Things (IoT), which enables autonomous communication between intelligent devices that are sensitive to the presence of a person. Santos said the massive forest fires in Mt. Apo last March led to his idea. “During the forest fires on Mt. Apo, we decided to come up Read More …

TURNOVER Norwegian hostage Kjartan Sekkingstad is turned over to Nur Misuari, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front, by the Abu Sayyaf in Indanan town in Sulu province. AP INDANAN, Sulu—A freed Norwegian hostage on Sunday said he was “lucky to be alive” after he was kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf bandits and held in the jungles of Sulu for more than a year. Kjartan Sekkingstad appeared gaunt and frail as he was handed over to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza along with three Indonesian fishermen who had been held captive with him. “I am so very happy and lucky to be alive,” Sekkingstad, heavily bearded and wearing a camouflage jacket, told reporters in Indanan town on Jolo island before being flown to Davao City to meet President Duterte. Sekkingstad and the fishermen were turned over by the Abu Sayyaf to Nur Misuari, leader of a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that has signed a peace agreement with the government, at the MNLF camp in Indanan on Saturday night. Misuari handed over the freed captives to Dureza in Indanan on Sunday. At his meeting with Sekkingstad in Davao City late on Sunday, President Duterte thanked Dureza, Misuari and former Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan for working hard for the release of the Norwegian. To Sekkingstad, Mr. Duterte said: “Your travails in life are over.” Sekkingstad thanked Mr. Duterte, Dureza, Misuari and the Norwegian government for working for his release. “I am happy to be alive and Read More …