PAGASA: Typhoon Huaning still heading for north Luzon, may become super typhoon

 News
Jul 102013
 
PAGASA: Typhoon Huaning still heading for north Luzon, may become super typhoon

Typhoon Huaning (Soulik) moved closer to Batanes in extreme northern Luzon early Thursday, while state weather forecasters were not discounting the possibility that it could further intensify into a supertyphoon. “Hindi pa siya umaabot pero nariyan posibilidad na maging supertyphoon kasi nasa karagatan pa siya,” PAGASA forecaster Buddy Javier said in an interview on dzBB radio. Javier said a cyclone must have maximum sustained winds of 210 kph and gustiness of 250 kph to be considered a supertyphoon. But Javier said Huaning was moving west-northwest and was unlikely to make landfall over the Philippines. “Pinapakita ng model natin maliit chance tumama sa kalupaan ng ating bansa. Tinatahak niya papunta northern Taiwan gigilid lang pero maapektuhan ilang part ng Batanes,” he said. As of Thursday morning, he said Huaning had maximum sustained winds of 175 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph. 5 a.m. advisory PAGASA’s 5 a.m. advisory said Huaning was estimated at 910 km east of Itbayat, Batanes as of 4 a.m. It said Huaning was moving west-northwest at 20 kph and is expected to be 550 km northeast of Itbayat, Batanes Friday morning. By Saturday morning, it is expected to be 420 km north of Itbayat, Batanes. By Sunday morning it is expected to be 710 km northwest of Itbayat, Batanes or outside the Philippine area of responsibility. Batanes remained under Storm Signal No. 1. PAGASA said Huaning may bring rainfall of 10 to 25 mm per hour (heavy to intense) within its 800-km Read More …

UP adopting systemwide @up.edu.ph email service

 News
Jul 102013
 
UP adopting systemwide @up.edu.ph email service

Students and employees at the University of the Philippines will soon be getting their @up.edu.ph email addresses as part of the state university’s eUP program. UP Manila Information Management Service Director Romeo Villarta Jr. said the eUP email will use the Google App for Education accounts that provide 30 GB of mailbox space. “The University of the Philippines, through the eUP Program, has created a new system-wide email service. The plan is to provide email addresses for all UP students and employees. These email addresses will be using the email domain name of @up.edu.ph. These eUP email addresses will be used by students and employees in accessing the information services to be provided by eUP,” Villarta said.   Users can activate their account by logging in at http://google.com/a/up.edu.ph, Villarta said. Aside from 30 GB of mailbox space, the new eUP e-mail service allows use of other Google services, such as Gmail, Google+, Google Drive, and Google Groups using the UP account. He added the eUP email account is different from the UP Manila email service (@post.upm.edu.ph), though holders of the UP Manila accounts can continue using them. “The user has the option to utilize both accounts for email purposes. But for eUP purposes, the eUP email using @up.edu.phmust be used for authentication purposes,” he said. But as of Wednesday, he said email accounts for some employees and students, particularly freshmen, have not been created yet. He said UP Manila will coordinate with eUP to resolve this issue.  — ELR, GMA Read More …

AFP ready to repel attacks of NPAs out to avenge defeat in Sorsogon

 Entertainment
Jul 102013
 

MANILA, July 8 (Mabuhay) — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday said that it was more than prepared to respond should the New People’s Army (NPA) would decide to go ahead with its plan to conduct vengeance attacks against civilian and military targets in Sorsogon. This is in the wake of the […]

JM de Guzman withdraws from ‘Calungsod’ biopic

 Entertainment
Jul 102013
 

Actor JM de Guzman has opted to pass up the title role in a Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entry about the life of Pedro Calungsod, the second Filipino to be declared saint. Francis Villacorta, the writer and director behind “San Pedro Calungsod: Batang Martir,” confirmed that the 24-year-old actor has backed out of the […]

Laguna facility helps people with chronic mental illness, substance-related disorders

 News
Jul 102013
 
Laguna facility helps people with chronic mental illness, substance-related disorders

Rudin Gonzales Jr., founder of the One Algon Place Foundation Inc. MANILA, Philippines – Hope springs eternal for beautiful minds and loving hearts. These are the inspiring words of steel trader Rudin Gonzales Jr., who founded a facility dubbed “The Academy of Hope” for patients suffering from chronic mental illness and substance-related disorders, dismissed as “hopeless” by their families and communities. With prayers and determination, Gonzales, his wife Annie, and their three children conceptualized the facility as part of their long-cherished aspiration to help people, especially drug dependents, alcoholics and co-dependents. Located at 0633 Barangay Mamatid in Cabuyao City, Laguna (tel. no. 584-4301), the sprawling home-like facility was established by the One Algon Place Foundation Inc. (TOAPFI or Algon) in early 2004. The word Algon was taken from the middle name and surname of the foundation’s chairman, ALmendral and GONzales, respectively. It used to be a fishpond owned by the Gonzales family who later converted the one-hectare private family resort into the Academy of Hope for Filipinos with mental illness. And for the Gonzales family, this was the start of a dream that became a reality. Humble beginnings Homepage ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Gonzales came from a poor family. His mother was a teacher, and his father an accountant. Bullied as a kid, the future steel trader concentrated on his studies and excelled academically, graduating from Ateneo de Manila University; he also studied at San Jose Seminary. Being the fourth child in a brood of 10, Gonzales pursued Read More …

Three Pinays refuse to lodge complaint after accusing PHL exec in Saudi of sexual abuse

 Entertainment
Jul 102013
 

MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Three overseas Filipina workers accused an embattled Philippine labor official in Saudi of sexual abuse but refused to file formal testimonies. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the three Filipinas complained against Assistant Labor Attaché Antonio Villafuerte, who has repeatedly denied allegations of sexual abuse against him. “They are not coming with statements […]

PAGASA: Huaning maintains strength, west-northwest course

 News
Jul 102013
 
PAGASA: Huaning maintains strength, west-northwest course

TS Soulik as of 5pm, 9July2013. As of Tuesday afternoon, tropical storm Soulik was located some 1,570km east of Basco, Batanes. It is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday morning, and will be locally codenamed Huaning. GMA News Typhoon Huaning (Soulik) maintained its strength as it continued to move west-northwest Wednesday night, state weather forecasters said. PAGASA, in its 11 p.m. advisory, said Batanes in extreme northern Luzon remained under Storm Signal No. 1. As of 10 p.m., PAGASA said Huaning was estimated to be 1,030 km east of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum winds of 175 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph. It was moving west-northwest at 20 kph and would be 640 km northeast of Itbayat, Batanes Thursday evening. By Friday evening, it is expected to be 390 km north-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes. By Saturday evening it is forecast to be 600 km north-northwest of Itbayat, Batanes or outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility. PAGASA said Huaning may bring rainfall of 10 to 25 mm per hour (heavy to intense) within its 800-km diameter. PAGASA warned fishermen, especially those using small seacraft, not to venture to the northern and eastern seaboards of Luzon due to big waves generated by Huaning. — DVM, GMA News

Bettor wins P23.715M in Megalotto 6/45 draw

 News
Jul 102013
 
Bettor wins P23.715M in Megalotto 6/45 draw

A lone bettor won P23.715 million in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s Megalotto 6/45 draw Wednesday night. The PCSO said the bettor got the winning combination of 41-09-45-03-21-17 to win the night’s prize. The PCSO did not identify the winner. On the other hand, no one got the combination of 25-35-30-44-24-18 that would have won Tuesday night’s Grand Lotto jackpot of P30 million. On Tuesday night, a lone bettor got the combination of 29-39-11-15-07-21 to bag the Lotto 6/42 prize worth P17,093,184. Last July 1, a lone lotto bettor became P178.849 million richer after hitting the jackpot of the PCSO Grand Lotto draw. The biggest lotto prize ever won was in the November 2010 draw, when a lone bettor won some P741.176 million for getting the winning combination 11-16-42-47-31-37. — DVM, GMA News

Fire bureau: BGC unit owners required to do self-inspection of condos

 News
Jul 102013
 
Fire bureau: BGC unit owners required to do self-inspection of condos

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is now requiring homeowners in Bonifacio Global City to conduct their own inspection of their units following the explosion at the Two Serendra condominium on May 3. The bureau will start giving out a “self-safety assessment and evaluation” checklist for the tenants to complete starting Wednesday, BFP officer-in-charge Carlito Romero said. “Safety is a shared responsibility and interest… We’re on the same boat. This is a consultation, so we welcome comments,” Romero said in a statement. An interagency task force determined that a gas leak caused the explosion, which claimed the lives of four persons, including three whose vehicle was crushed by a wall that was ripped off the unit. The unit’s tenant, Angelito San Juan, succumbed to burns on July 4. The owners should submit their accomplished checklists to their building administrators, the fire bureau said. “Take advantage of this period, after which we will issue directives with or without comments,” Romero said. Unit owners and building administrators have until July 19 to comment on the checklists, and have from July 20 to 26 to accomplish them, Romero said. After an inspection and a directive to be issued in August, the BFP will inspect the units in BGC every three months, said Taguig city administrator Joel Montrales in the statement. “For this to work, we need 100-percent compliance,” he added. The Department of Interior and Local Government is expected to release the final report on the blast in two weeks’ time. Foreign experts Read More …

Court orders arrest of ex-CAAP exec over graft

 News
Jul 102013
 
Court orders arrest of ex-CAAP exec over graft

A former Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) official is facing arrest in connection with the graft cases filed against him. This was after the Sandiganbayan First Division ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant against Daniel A. Dimagiba, former deputy director for operations of CAAP, after finding probable cause to proceed with his trial on two counts of graft. “After personally perusing the Information and evaluating the resolution of the prosecutor, the evidence in support thereof and the records of the preliminary investigation attached thereto, it appears that sufficient ground exist for the finding of probable cause. Wherefore, let a warrant of arrest be issued against accused Daniel A. Dimagiba,” the anti-graft court said. The order was issued less than a month after the Office of the Ombudsman charged Dimagiba for allegedly pressuring two CAAP flight operations inspectors to give passing grades to two flight school students who failed the Pilot Proficiency Flight Check. Dimagiba was also implicated in an alleged unlawful issuance of an operating permit to an airline in 2008. The Sandiganbayan also issued a hold departure order has also been issued against Dimagiba, directing the Bureau of Immigration to prevent him from leaving the country unless with a court-issued clearance. Dimagiba has already asked the court to suspend the proceedings against him to give him a chance to file a motion for reconsideration before the Ombudsman. The charges, filed June 24, stemmed from the complaint filed by former CAAP director general Ruben Ciron. Graft investigators also found Read More …

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