NDRRMC: Storm Isang leaves two dead, two injured

 News
Jul 192013
 
NDRRMC: Storm Isang leaves two dead, two injured

Two people were killed while two others injured as Tropical Storm Isang (Cimaron) passed through the Philippines earlier this week, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Friday. In its 10 a.m. report, the NDRRMC said the two fatalities were hit by lightning in Tagudin town in Ilocos Sur last Wednesday night. The NDRRMC said the incident occurred at 9:10 p.m. Wednesday in Barangay Farola. It identified the dead as Rhea Jane Maseliones, 8; and RaymundJay Maseliones, 11. Reported injured in the incident were Evelyn Cabarsi, 31; and Elejo Cabarsi, 23. Isang made landfall over Isabela Wednesday and intensified into a tropical storm. It exited the Philippine area of responsibility early Thursday. However, the NDRRMC did not record any other incident. Local authorities in northern Luzon had prepared for the effects of Isang, prepositioning heavy equipment to clear roads that could be blocked by floods or landslides. — RSJ, GMA News

De Lima: Possible witnesses to killings of Ozamiz gangmen are not missing

 News
Jul 192013
 
De Lima: Possible witnesses to killings of Ozamiz gangmen are not missing

The five possible witnesses to the killing in Laguna of the Ozamiz robbery group members are not missing, said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday afternoon to clarify an earlier report. “They are not missing. [Authorities] were just having a hard time accessing them dahil ayaw lang pumayag yung parents and I think that’s a natural feeling,” De Lima was quoted as saying in a report on Balitanghali. “Hayaan ang CHR (Commission on Human Rights) na mag-access din sa Kanila para mas maging comfortable sila,” she added. A report on “24 Oras” on Thursday said the witnesses were missing. Also, the report said one witness living just 50 meters away from where the killings took place purportedly saw how gunmen in two vehicles ambushed the police convoy transporting Ricky Cadavero alias “Kambal” and Wilfredo Panogalinga Jr. alias “Kulot” of the notorious Ozamiz gang. It was a different version from that of the Ozamiz gangmen’s police escorts, who have said that their convoy was intercepted and shot at by gunmen on motorcycles, the report added. Also on Thursday,  a GMA News source tried contacting the family but they could no longer be reached. The source, who wished to remain anonymous, detailed that members of the family had met with NBI agents on Wednesday midnight, along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. However, during the meeting, about 20 members of the Quezon City Police District arrived, the reporty said. There was a tense moment between the law enforcers, the television report said. Read More …

Gov’t disowns anti-China rallies to be held worldwide

 News
Jul 182013
 
Gov’t disowns anti-China rallies to be held worldwide

By Christine O. AvendañoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 5:44 am | Friday, July 19th, 2013 Department Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez: Anti-China protests led by private individuals and group. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The government said it has nothing to do with the planned one-day global action on July 24 by Filipinos around the world to protest against Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), but will not try to stop it either. “Filipinos have all the right to express and voice out in a peaceful manner their positions and sentiments on the issue of the West Philippine Sea,” said Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, the Department Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson. ‘In private capacity’ At a news conference, Hernandez stressed that the government “did not sanction” the Global Day of Protest to be staged worldwide by the West Philippine Sea Coalition, saying these were being led by “individuals and groups in their private capacity.” “These are not sanctioned by the government, but being in a democracy, people have a right to voice out their position on different issues,” Hernandez said. Asked whether the protests could inflame the already tense relations between Manila and Beijing, Hernandez said the DFA hoped it would not as people just want to express their positions on the issue. Hernandez also said the global protest action will not affect the Philippines’ arbitration case against China before the United Nations. “The arbitrary tribunal will proceed with the case based upon its rules and merits of this case, Read More …

PH expects to be lifted from US air blacklist

 News
Jul 182013
 
PH expects to be lifted from US air blacklist

Agence France-Presse 7:52 pm | Thursday, July 18th, 2013 FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines expects to be removed from a US air safety blacklist this year, opening a lucrative market for its carriers, an aviation regulator said Thursday. John Andrews, deputy director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), said he was very confident the upgrade would occur following a similar decision by the European Union last week. “We’re going to make it. (It’s) as simple as that,” Andrews told AFP in an interview. The US Federal Aviation Administration said in 2008 that the Philippines was failing to comply with international safety standards, and banned its airlines from expanding services to the United States. The European Union banned all Philippine carriers from flying to Europe in 2010 for similar reasons. Reforms put in place since then, including a law creating a new aviation regulator, the CAAP, allowed the Philippines to satisfy the concerns of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in February. This led to the EU’s decision last week to allow Philippine Airlines to begin flying into its airspace. The EU said it was reviewing the case of other Filipino carriers. Andrews said he expected US aviation regulators to make similar findings when it carried out an audit before the end of the year. He said Filipino regulators had addressed safety concerns by physically tracking down every aircraft registered in the Philippines and getting their owners to submit documentation. This was to make sure the Read More …

Chinese ships sail near disputed island—Japan

 News
Jul 172013
 
Chinese ships sail near disputed island—Japan

Agence France-Presse 11:53 am | Thursday, July 18th, 2013 In this Sept. 24, 2012 file photo, Japan Coast Guard vessels sail along with Chinese surveillance ship Haijian No. 66, center, near disputed islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, seen in background, in the East China Sea. AP FILE PHOTO/Kyodo News TOKYO—Three Chinese government ships sailed into waters around islands at the center of a dispute on Thursday, the day after Japan’s premier visited coastguards who patrol the area. The maritime surveillance vessels entered the 12-nautical-mile zone regarded as the territorial waters of the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, at around 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), the Japanese coastguard said. China calls the islands the Diaoyus and claims them as its own. The move came after Japanese Prime Minister Shizo Abe on Wednesday visited coastguards charged with protecting the area. Abe was in the remote Okinawan island of Ishigaki in the East China Sea, 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) southwest of Tokyo, where he told crews his resolve to stand up for Japan was undimmed. The visit came just a few days ahead of elections for half of the seats in the upper house of parliament, which observers expect to be a shoo-in for Abe’s ruling boc. Tensions have steadily risen between the two Asian giants, with China frequently sending official ships into waters around the Tokyo-administered islands. The long-standing dispute reignited last September when Tokyo nationalized three islands in the chain in what it said was a Read More …

New Saudi rules set rights for domestic workers

 News
Jul 172013
 
New Saudi rules set rights for domestic workers

Agence France-Presse 11:37 am | Thursday, July 18th, 2013 A maid carries a folding chair for waiting Saudi women along the sea front in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah. AFP FILE PHOTO RIYADH—Saudi Arabia has announced new rules to protect the rights of foreign domestic workers, most of whom are from South Asia, but stressed they must “respect” Islam and “obey” their employers. Labor Minister Adel Faqih said the new rules require employers to pay workers “the agreed monthly salary without delay, and give them a day off each week,” in remarks carried by the official SPA news agency. Employers are also required to provide domestic workers with “suitable accommodations, as well as granting them time to rest for at least nine hours each day,” Faqih said. Under the new guidelines, workers are entitled to paid sick leave and a one-month paid vacation after putting in two years of work as well as end of service compensation equal to one month salary after four years, he said. But Faqih also insisted that employees must respect “Islam and its teachings… and obey the orders of the employers and their family members concerning getting the agreed work done.” A domestic worker “does not have the right to reject a work, or leave a job, without a valid reason,” he added. Around eight million foreign workers are employed in the oil-rich kingdom, with most of them coming from South Asia and earning low wages. The number of domestic workers is not Read More …

American pastor laments ‘military harassment’ in Mindanao disaster areas

 News
Jul 172013
 
American pastor laments ‘military harassment’ in Mindanao disaster areas

By Germelina LacorteInquirer Mindanao 11:23 am | Thursday, July 18th, 2013 Armed Forces of the Philippines. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Americans joining a four-day international solidarity mission to disaster areas in Mindanao said they were appalled by the “military harassment” suffered by people even in communities worst-hit by Typhoon Pablo last December. The Rev. Frank Wulf, a pastor of the United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, California, said they would pressure the US government to stop sending military aid to the Armed Forces of the Philippines because they observed that civilians were being made to suffer in communities with a heavy presence of soldiers. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Disaster , Military Harassment Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Reader’s Advocate. Or write The Readers’ Advocate: c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94

11 hostages freed in Philippine Muslim clan feud

 News
Jul 162013
 
11 hostages freed in Philippine Muslim clan feud

Seven children and four other hostages caught up in a decades-old southern Philippines clan war have been freed in a straight swap by the feuding families, the military said Tuesday. The hostages, aged as young as two, were snatched last week in tit-for-tat kidnappings on the remote southern island of Basilan, a hotbed of Muslim guerrillas and other militants that the government does not fully control. The crisis ended when a Muslim clan leader known as “Commander Hassan” agreed to release his eight hostages on Monday, said Lieutenant-Colonel Paolo Perez, commander of an army battalion stationed on Basilan. A rival Muslim clan leader known in the area as “Jiabrin” had freed Commander Hassan’s three daughters late on Sunday, according to Perez, who said the clan dispute had been going on for the past 30 years. “The feud ranges from previous disputes over property, aggravated by killings on both sides,” said Perez, who took part in the negotiations that led to the release of the hostages including the seven children aged between two and 14. About 20 people are believed to have died in battles between the clans over the years, a regional military spokesman said last week. Hassan is a member of the Moro National Liberation Front, a former Muslim separatist rebel group, while Jiabrin is a member of the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the military said. Authorities will not seek to lay charges against those involved in the kidnappings, according to Colonel Carlito Galvez, a local military commander Read More …

Legal issues hound mosque construction at UP

 News
Jul 162013
 
Legal issues hound mosque construction at UP

Muslim students and teachers pray inside a conference room at the Romulo Hall in the University of the Philippines …(Conclusion) By Jon Lindley Agustin, Katria Ayanna Alampay, Jhesset Thrina Enano, Elizabeth Escaño and Luis Adrian Hidalgo VERA Files Within the University of the Philippines-Diliman campus already stand two churches: the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice for Catholics and the Church of the Risen Lord for Protestants. Members of the UP Muslim community advocating for a proper worship area have used the cases of the two churches to push for their right to establish their own prayer place. But for many times and several reasons, they were denied. The 1987 Constitution mandates the separation of the Church and State. As a state university that is secular in nature, can UP have a masjid or mosque within its campus without violating the Constitution? Lawyer Theodore Te, former vice president for legal affairs of the UP system and current chief of the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court, said the possible objection to the establishment of a mosque at UP would be that the university might “either be favoring or establishing a religion.” But he also said, “I think the argument already loses force because there is already a Catholic church (and) a Protestant chapel.” Established in 1955, the Holy Sacrifice was originally a chaplaincy, giving spiritual service and religious instruction, but not catering to a specific denomination. That is no longer the case. Occupying a 10,000-square-meter lot, the parish under the Roman Read More …

Immigration chief Ricardo David resigns

 News
Jul 152013
 
Immigration chief Ricardo David resigns

Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David has resigned from his post, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte announced Tuesday. Valte said President Benigno Aquino III accepted David’s resignation, stated in a letter dated July 12. The President’s spokesperson said she has no information on David’s replacement at the moment. David also served as chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. — RSJ, GMA News

 Older Entries  Newer Entries