Maniolas

popular Kiefer Ravena emerge as top collegiate baller of 2014 Church: Pope banners with biz firms’ logos fund-raisers Aquino urged to name new PNP chief PH child actor wins in France Manila back in the black, says Mayor Estrada Binay: UNA in talks with LP’s Recto, Osmeña to join 2016 senatorial slate Holiday Cheer: John Arcilla A heartening letter from an animal lover videos Hundreds of passengers stranded at Matnog port due to Ruby Time-warped with Lemonheads at Whitespace Filipino peacekeepers granted holiday break, exempted from ‘Ruby’ red alert Tablet shopping: ‘More cores aren’t always better’ Ombudsman suspends PNP officials In this photo taken on October 3, 2011 freed US woman Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann (C) and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat (L) give a press conference in the southern city of Zamboanga after she was freed by armed men in nearby Basilan island. AFP / HO / Office of Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat FILE PHOTO WASHINGTON — A US jury has indicted four Philippine nationals sought in the 2011 kidnapping of an American woman and her teenage son during a family vacation in the Philippines. Gerfa Lunsmann was held hostage for 82 days and her son Kevin for 151 days in the abduction, in which the family was forced to pay ransom. After the mother was released, her son escaped his captors. Federal prosecutors said the two were taken hostage from an island beach cottage off the mainland of Zamboanga City. None of the four defendants, who were not Read More …

Department of Foreign Affairs building. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The government still has no solid quarantine policy that it should implement for returning Filipinos from the three West African countries stricken with the deadly Ebola virus. The government interagency body tasked to come up with such a policy failed to reach an agreement at a meeting in Malacañang last Wednesday, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is a member of the group. “There was no decision reached in Malacañang so I think this needs to be studied,” said the DFA spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Charles Jose. Jose said the government will have to defer its plan to raise alert level 3 in the West African nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, which would have called for the voluntary repatriation of Filipinos there. The government agencies met last Wednesday to come up with a policy on whether or not it should implement quarantine regulations for Filipinos returning from the three afflicted West African states, and if it does, the length of the quarantine period. The government has been observing a 21-day quarantine period for returning Filipinos, imposing it on the Filipino soldiers returning from United Nations peacekeeping duties in Liberia and who just last weekend completed the quarantine period. There are 14 Filipino workers just arrived from the Ebola-stricken countries who are now being held at the Bureau of Quarantine office at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Jose told reporters that pending the Palace approval of a quarantine protocol, Read More …

Australian and British nationals staying in the Philippines were advised Thursday to take precautions amid the threat from Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit). The Australian and British governments issued separate updates to their travel advice for the Philippines. “(Ruby) is expected to bring strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges to coastal areas. Australians in the Philippines should monitor the media for information on the storm and follow the instructions of local authorities,” the Australian government said on its updated travel advice. It said Ruby “is expected to bring strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges to coastal areas.” Also, it advised Australians in the Philippines to “monitor the media for information on the storm and follow the instructions of local authorities.” Ruby entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility at 3 a.m. Thursday. State weather agency PAGASA said there is a chance it may make landfall on Eastern Visayas on Saturday. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office similarly advised its nationals in the Philippines to take precautions as well. It said Ruby is likely to remain in the Philippines until Tuesday, Dec. 9. PAGASA has also warned of possible storm surges with waves as high as three to four meters this weekend along the coastlines of Eastern Visayas. “There is also a risk of flash floods in low lying areas, and landslides in mountain regions,” it added. “British nationals in the Visayas and Mindanao should continue to monitor weather forecasts and advisories and follow the instructions of government officials, police Read More …

PHL braces for Typhoon Hagupit . A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) image taken by MTSAT-2 at 0530Z on Tuesday, December 2, shows Typhoon Hagupit moving west at 20 mph southwest of the eastern Caroline Islands in the western Pacific Ocean while strengthening to Super Typhoon status forecast later this week. Survivors of super typhoon Yolanda that killed thousands in the central Philippines last year are preparing for the powerful new storm, as authorities scrambled to find safe evacuation centers. Hagupit is building strength in the Pacific Ocean as it moves toward PHL where farming and fishing communities have yet to recover from the previous devastation. AFP/NOAA Schools and government offices were shut in parts of the central Philippines on Thursday and residents stocked up on supplies and food, as provinces yet to recover from last year’s devastating super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) braced for another category 5 storm. Typhoon Ruby (Hagupit) was churning across the Pacific around 860 km (585 miles) east of the island nation on Thursday, the local weather bureau said, packing winds of up to 195 kph (120 mph) with gusts of up to 230 kph. It was expected to strengthen to a category 5 storm before slamming into Eastern Samar on Saturday, the weather bureau said. Eastern Samar and the island of Leyte were worst-hit in November last year by Yolanda, one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall. Yolanda left more than 7,000 dead or missing and more than 4 million homeless or Read More …

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has a new hotline number for commuters who want to complain against public utility vehicles, GMA News’ 24 Oras reported on Wednesday. The new hotline number, 459-2129, is the agency’s way to improve their service. Commuters interviewed by GMA News claimed that the agency did not respond to their text messages or calls to the LTFRB hotline. There are only five staff members of the LTFRB public assistance and complaints desk, including those who is tasked to answer the phone. “Sabihin na natin kulang kami sa staff… Hindi lang siguro sa budget kasi sa government kapag magdadagdag ka ng isang plantilla position ihahain mo pa ito sa DBM (Department of Budget and Management), inaabot pa ng ilang taon bago maibalik kung napaboran o hindi,” LTFRB public assistance and compaints desk head Arnel del Rio said. The agency has received 3,181 compaints so far this year, but 74 percent of complainants decided not too pursue the case as LTFRB requires complainants to file formal compalints in their office. —Kathryn Mae P. Tubadeza/NB, GMA News