PAGASA: LPA off Surigao intensifies into TD Gorio

 News
Jun 272013
 
PAGASA: LPA off Surigao intensifies into TD Gorio

A low-pressure area east of Surigao on Thursday night intensified into a tropical depression and was locally codenamed Gorio. PAGASA, in its 11 p.m. advisory, said Tropical Depression Gorio was estimated at 520 km east of Surigao City, with maximum winds of 45 kph near the center. Tropical Depression Gorio was forecast to move north-northwest at 7 kph. PAGASA said Gorio is forecast to be 420 km east of Surigao City by Friday evening. By Saturday evening, it is expected to be 410 km northeast of Surigao City, and about 270 km east of Virac, Catanduanes by Sunday evening. PAGASA said Gorio may bring rainfall of 5 to 15 mm per hour (moderate to heavy) within its 300-km diameter. Also, the weather service said Tropical Depression Gorio will enhance the southwest monsoon, “which will bring moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms over the eastern section of Visayas and Mindanao.” PAGASA advised the public and disaster coordinating councils concerned to take appropriate actions. — DVM, GMA News

Lone winner bags P33.917M Lotto 6/42 jackpot

 News
Jun 272013
 
Lone winner bags P33.917M Lotto 6/42 jackpot

A lone winner bagged the P33.917-million jackpot of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Lotto 6/42 draw Thursday night. The PCSO said the winner got the combination of 38-27-32-35-22-08 to win the night’s jackpot worth P33,917,556.00. The PCSO the winner’s name. Meanwhile, no one won the Superlotto 6/49 draw for Thursday night. The combination was 33-46-30-44-18-41 for the jackpot worth P46,648,476. On Wednesday, no one won the PCSO’s Grand Lotto draw that featured a prize of P153,004,061.20. Last June 6, two lotto bettors got the winning combination of 22-13-05-19-25-10 to win the Lotto 6/42 jackpot worth P39,462,944. On June 4, a lone lotto bettor became P90.996 million richer after hitting the jackpot in the PCSO Superlotto 6/49 draw. The PCSO said the bettor got the winning combination of 20-05-45-35-26-21 to win the night’s jackpot worth P90,996,106.40. Last April 30, two lucky bettors shared P95,932,278 after getting the combination to the Superlotto 6/49 draw jackpot. But the biggest lotto prize ever won was the November 2010 Grand Lotto draw, when a lone bettor won some P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — DVM, GMA News

Biometrics among added requirements for gun permit from PNP

 News
Jun 272013
 
Biometrics among added requirements for gun permit from PNP

Licensed gun owners applying for permits to carry firearms outside their homes may have to comply with added requirements, including biometrics samples, the Philippine National Police said Thursday. “All licensed gun-owners applying for gun-carrying privileges are now required to personally submit their biometric fingerprint specimen and photograph as mandatory requirements for issuance of (PTCFOR),” it said. The PNP said the new administrative requirements will be used for adjusting records in the Firearms Information Management System (FIMS) database. Such adjustments aim to “further improve the processes in the issuance of firearms licenses and permits.” For his part, PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Reuben Sindac said these processes also seek to boost the campaign against “delinquent gun owners and those in possession of loose firearms.” Meanwhile, the PNP said it will continue to implement Oplan “Katok” or house visits on licensed gun owners, to verify the current status of the guns and its registered owners. In the last six months, the PNP conducted 464,996 house visits on registered gun owners with expired licenses, to remind them to update their firearms records.  — ELR, GMA News

Congressman Benaldo 'stable' in hospital with gunshot wound to the chest

 News
Jun 272013
 
Congressman Benaldo 'stable' in hospital with gunshot wound to the chest

(Updated 11:53 p.m.) Cagayan de Oro first district Rep. Benjo Benaldo was rushed to the hospital after he was found bleeding from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the South Lobby of the Batasan Pambansa early Thursday evening, officials said. In an interview with Jessica Soho on GMA’s State of the Nation news program, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the 43-year-old Benaldo was alone in his room before he was found bleeding in the lobby. “Apparently, nag-iisa lang siya sa room at the time it happened. He probably shot himself in the chest,” Belmonte said. Marcelo Castro of the House Media Bureau, who saw Benaldo drenched in blood at the lobby, told GMA News Online that the wounded congressman was immediately brought to New Era Hospital along Commonwealth Avenue. As of posting time, Belmonte said Benaldo’s condition was “progressing” at the hospital. “Nakakapag-thumbs up pa nga siya at nakatawa,” the Speaker said.     Belmonte said Benaldo did not appear “emotionally distraught” before the incident, but added that he may have been depressed after losing his reelection bid in the 2013 elections. “He was probably feeling depressed after the loss like everybody else,” Belmonte said. A first-term congressman from the Nacionalista Party, Benaldo lost to barangay chairman Rolando Uy of the Liberal Party in the May polls. Also at the hospital with Belmonte were Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, Quezon City Police District director Senior Superintendent Richard Albano, and Benaldo’s wife, Brazilian model and television personality Daiana Menezes. Quimbo said the bullet Read More …

Phl stocks extend gains as US equities soar

 Economy
Jun 272013
 
Phl stocks extend gains as US equities soar

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua)  – The three-digit gain of the US equities lifted the Philippine stock market for the second time today. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped by 3.42 percent, or 209.06 points, to 6,328. The broader all-share index rose by 3.14 percent, or 17.96 points, to 3,877.61. Trading volume reached 3.56 billion shares worth P12.11 billion ($278.99 million) with 139 stocks advancing, 37 declining, and 32 unchanged. All six counters were up. “On a slow news day from the domestic front, investors kept eyes turning on unfolding events overseas.  With share prices in Europe posting decent gains and US stocks extending a triple- digit advance, local counters joined its regional peers in the green,” analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment. European markets were supported by the easing of concerns over China’s credit crunch and a better-than-anticipated consumer confidence numbers. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Likewise, American investors appear to have found incentive to enter the equities despite reports that the economy is growing a less-than-expected pace. First quarter gross domestic product was revised to 1.8 percent, significantly lower than the 2.4 percent preliminary estimate as the gains in household purchases, accounting for 70 percent of growth, was lowered to 2.6 percent from the 3.4 percent estimate last month. “Sentiments have turned yet again, almost seemingly at a single flip. The main source of fears, namely the US Fed and the Chinese credit crunch, appears to Read More …

De Lima: Internal probe ongoing for drug suspect's 5-year illegal detention

 News
Jun 272013
 
De Lima: Internal probe ongoing for drug suspect's 5-year illegal detention

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday said she is already awaiting the results of an internal investigation into the five-year illegal detention of a drug suspect. De Lima said she ordered the investigation after a Court of Appeals ruling that branded as illegal the detention of suspect Joan Urbina in the absence of any formal charges in court. Urbina and her boyfriend Ben Bryan Chua were arrested in December 2007 for alleged use of illegal drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, in violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. In January 2008, the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office dismissed the drug complaints against Chua for lack of evidence, while those against Urbina remained. She was locked up at the Philippine Custodial Center in Camp Crame. “I’m waiting for the result of the [DOJ] Internal Affairs Unit investigation. Titignan ko kung ano ire-recommend na sanction,” De Lima told reporters in Manila. “Titingnnan ko rin kung ang handling prosecution lamang ba ang dapat parusahan. [Kasi] baka may iba pa diyan,” she added. Assistant State Prosecutor Gerard Gaerlan had already owned up to the delay in the resolution of Urbina’s case. But De Lima stressed despite the prosecutor’s apology, she also wanted to take full responsibility for the illegal detention. “Inaako ko iyang kasalanan ng mga nasa baba sa akin. Kasalanan ko rin iyan but of course it’s humanly impossible to monitor   all case here,” De Lima said. “But as head of the institution ako ang mananagot sa lahat, good or Read More …

PNoy swears in 4 new senators, 78 House allies

 News
Jun 272013
 
PNoy swears in 4 new senators, 78 House allies

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday swore in four newly elected administration senators and 78 of his allies who won posts in the House of Representatives. In a formal event inside Malacañang Palace, Aquino administered the oath to Senators-elect Alan Peter Cayetano, Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino, Antonio Trillanes IV and Cynthia Villar. All four ran under the administration slate during the midterm polls. Five other administration senators-elect—Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Grace Poe, Juan Edgardo Angara and Aquilino Pimentel III—took their oaths before the President earlier this month. Seventy-eight allies of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), which is currently being chaired by Aquino, also took part in the oath-taking ceremony. The newly elected House members were led by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who is likely to retain his post next Congress. Also present during the event were Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, LP president, and Senator Franklin Drilon, who is likely to become the administration’s bet for Senate President next Congress. Among the House members who took their oaths of office before the President were Camarines Sur Rep. Maria Leonor Robredo, widow of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo; Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, Jr., who led the prosecution team during the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona; and Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, who is likely to chair the powerful House appropriations committee in the next Congress. Celebrity House members such as Quezon City Rep. Alfred Varga and Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, were also sworn in by the President. Read More …

Malaysian police exec met with Kiram brod in late 2012

 News
Jun 272013
 
Malaysian police exec met with Kiram brod in late 2012

A ranking Malaysian police official met with an elder brother of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III months before the standoff and deadly clashes between Kiram’s followers and Malaysian forces in March. But at the time, Kiram’s brother did not appear to be aware of the plan by the sultan’s followers to enter Sabah, former Sabah Special Branch deputy chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Zulkifli Abd Aziz told a court. Zulkifli told the High Court Wednesday he met the sultan’s elder brother Datu Esmail Kiram for a cup of coffee and to “get to know him” last December, according to a report from Malaysia’s The Star Online. Zulkilfli was testifying at the trial of police corporal Hassan Ali Basari, 58. Hassan had been accused of withholding information relating to terrorist acts. Kiram’s followers had engaged Malaysian forces in a standoff in Lahad Datu for three weeks. The standoff ended in deadly clashes March 1 and 2. Sabah row not discussed The Star Online report said Zulkifli, who was questioned by lawyer Ram Singh, claimed Esmail did not reveal plans by the sultan’s so-called Royal Sulu Force to occupy Tanduo. He said Esmail merely asked for his help to look for investors who could help him develop his 1,600-hectare land in Mindanao into an oil palm plantation. But in February 2013, Zulkifli said he contacted Esmail to get the phone number of his younger brother Agbimuddin Kiram, who led the Kiram followers to Sabah. When asked by Ram if he and the special Read More …

De Lima: PHL, Taiwan haven't exchanged probe results yet

 News
Jun 272013
 
De Lima: PHL, Taiwan haven't exchanged probe results yet

Almost a month after completing their separate investigations on the May 9 shooting incident in disputed waters off extreme north Luzon, the Philippines and Taiwan have yet to share their probe results with each other. This was confirmed by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima when reporters in Manila asked for updates in the Balintang Channel shooting incident that left a Taiwanese fisherman dead. “We have not  given each other a copy of the respective reports kasi ‘pag ire-release, [we will] give prior notice,” the Justice chief said. De Lima said the release of the probe results would be “halos sabay” [almost simultaneous]. “But I haven’t  seen their  report and they haven’t seen ours,” De Lima assured the public. Also, de Lima said they would be following up with the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) so the Philippines can finally get a copy of Taiwan’s probe results. “And if they ask for our copy, we will furnish them simultaneously in public for the release.” De Lima earlier forwarded to President Benigno Aquino the probe results prepared by the National Bureau of Investigation, which conducted weeks of investigation both in Manila and in Taiwan. “I’m waiting the clearance from the President kung puwede nang i-release  ang Taiwan report… Since it’s with the President  already [at] since binabasa na niya iyon, I’m just waiting,” she said. Earlier, De Lima, while at the World Congress Against Death Penalty, confirmed to reporters that criminal and administrative charges have been recommended by the NBI against Read More …

Comelec to release Random Manual Audit results Friday

 News
Jun 272013
 
Comelec to release Random Manual Audit results Friday

The Commission on Elections will release the results of the Random Manual Audit (RMA) of 234 precincts in the May 13, 2013 midterm polls on Friday, June 28, at 10 a.m. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez made the announcement in a post on his Twitter account Thursday. RMA committee head Henrietta de Villa hopes that the findings of the audit would convince those who are skeptical of the results of the recent polls. “We hope it helps since that is the purpose of the Random Manual Audit. It’s just like the final examination of the conduct of the polls if it was accurate and credible,” said De Villa, who is also chairperson of elections watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). An RMA, which checks for discrepancies between the manual count and the automated count, is required under Section 24 of Republic Act 9369 (Automated Elections System Law), which states that in automated elections, there shall be a random manual audit in one precinct per congressional district, randomly chosen by the Comelec in each province and city. — BM, GMA News

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