PNP to strut new uniforms by December

 News
Jul 042013
 
PNP to strut new uniforms by December

PNP designs new uniforms for its personnel. Five designers helped the PNP Directorate for Research and Development in creating these proposed police uniforms which will replace the current ones being worn by PNP personnel in various fields. Ian Cruz After 17 years, the Philippine National Police (PNP) will have new designs for its uniforms, which would be distributed before the year ends. “Hopefully lang matapos ang research pero depende pa rin sa availability sa fabric, manufacturing and distribution… In six months siguro may bago ng uniform. Siguro before December,” Gil Hitosis, police director for PNP’s research and development, told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Thursday. “[The uniform] should answer the needs of the police officer. We weigh and assess the design based on comfort, protection and better aesthetic,” he noted. The new designs will be unveiled in “Cop Walk… PNP on the Ramp” an event organized by the PNP which aims to showcase the evolution and future design of police uniforms in the country. “Cop Walk” will be staged at Camp Crame’s Multipurpose Hall on Thursday evening, Ian Cruz reported on GMA News TV’s “Balitanghali.” In a statement, the PNP said the show “will feature creations of Filipino fashion icons like Rene Salud, Eddie Baddeo and other independent designers who will help provide the PNP with essential inputs in coming up with the best quality and comfortable PNP uniform and paraphernalia by making use of the creativity of students from fashion designer schools and manufacturers of suppliers Read More …

De Lima tells families of drug mules: Cooperate with authorities

 News
Jul 042013
 
De Lima tells families of drug mules: Cooperate with authorities

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 3:04 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila De Lima ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to hunt down the alleged recruiter of the executed drug mule. “I am directing the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to investigate and hunt down the alleged recruiter with the end view of filing charges against him or her and other members of the syndicate, if any,” De Lima told reporters in a chance interview Thursday. Filipino children light candles outside the house of Sally Villanueva, one of three Filipinos executed in China after being convicted of drug trafficking, last March 2011. AFP File Photo The Filipina drug mule was executed Wednesday after the Supreme Court People’s Court of China upheld the death sentence handed down by a lower court on June 26. The 35-year old Filipina and a mother of two from Metro Manila was the fifth Filipino national to be executed for drug trafficking in China. She was arrested last January 2011 after attempting to smuggle around six kilograms of heroin in Hangzhou International Airport. De Lima also urged the family of the Filipina drug mule to coordinate with the NBI. “They probably have more information that could help the NBI in its investigation,” De Lima said. De Lima said Filipinos are among those targeted for the transport of these illegal substances because there are some 10 million Filipinos working overseas. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and Read More …

PH hunting down drug syndicates after China drug mule execution

 News
Jul 042013
 
PH hunting down drug syndicates after China drug mule execution

By Maila AgerINQUIRER.net 2:44 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – Law enforcers are hunting down drug syndicates involved in recruiting couriers in the country, Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Thursday in the aftermath of the execution Wednesday of a Filipina drug mule in China. National Bureau of Investigation Reaction and Arrest and Interdiction Division Lawyer Ross Jonathan Galicia presents to the reporters 60 improvised capsule containing shabu, which are about the size of a thumb at the NBI Headquarters, Manila. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO “Tinatrabaho ‘yan ngayon ng PDEA at NBI. ‘Yung doon sa tatlo, nahuli na nila ‘yung recruiter (PDEA and NBI are now working on it. They already arrested the  recruiter  of the three),” Binay said in a statement. PDEA is Philippine  Drug  Enforcement  Agency while NBI is National Bureau of Investigation. Binay was referring to Mapet Cortez alias Tita Cacayan, who allegedly recruited Sarah Ordinario-Villanueva, one of the three overseas Filipino workers executed in China last year for drug smuggling. Cortez allegedly misled Ordinario-Villanueva into taking what she thought was an empty suitcase that turned out to be secretly lined with more than four kilos of heroin. Binay said the Philippine government is “doing all it could to stop Filipinos from engaging in the illegal drug trade.” Drug couriers, however, usually get the drugs outside the country, he pointed out. “Ang ruta nila usually via Dubai tapos Hong Kong tapos doon na sa may area ng Shanghai (Their  route  usually is via Dubai  to   Read More …

Roxas vows 'thorough and conclusive' probe on Serendra blast

 News
Jul 042013
 
Roxas vows 'thorough and conclusive' probe on Serendra blast

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas has promised a “thorough and conclusive” investigation — with the help of foreign experts — on the deadly May 31 Serendra blast that claimed its fourth fatality Thursday morning. Angelito San Juan, occupant of the condominium unit where the explosion occurred, perished Thursday morning at the hospital without giving a statement that could have helped investigators get a clear picture on the incident. “Our sympathies go to the family and loved ones of Angelito San Juan for their grievous loss,” Roxas said in a statement as he appealed for calm amid the ongoing probe. “Dapat siguro magpakahinahon tayo dahil hayag po at transparent ang ginagawa ng gobyerno dito,” he added. Roxas said foreign experts have already been tapped to help in the investigation. “Kumuha pa tayo ng foreign experts dahil kulang tayo sa karanasan at kaalaman sa pag-imbestiga ng pangyayaring ito,” he said. Prior to San Juan, three workers from an appliance distributor firm were killed when their vehicle was crushed by a concrete slab that fell from the condominium unit following the explosion. Initial investigation said the blast was caused by a leak from condominium unit’s centralized LPG system, although Roxas said there are still many questions that need answers. “Malinaw na gas explosion. Ang tanong, saan ba pumalpak ang sistema? Mali ba ang design? Yung mga sensor at saka yung mga automatic na shutoff ay pumalya ba? Yung installation sa unit ginalaw ba o hindi? Hindi natin masabi kaya kumuha tayo Read More …

PHL govt welcomes China's decision to hold talks on sea code

 News
Jul 042013
 
PHL govt welcomes China's decision to hold talks on sea code

The Philippine government on Thursday described as a “forward step” China’s decision to discuss a code of conduct on the South China Sea with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries. At a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the Philippines is ready to discuss its draft of the code with Chinese officials to try to diffuse tension at the South China Sea. “We have already drafted the code of conduct, and we have asked them to discuss it with us. China has already said that they are discussing with us, so this is a step in the right direction,” Lacierda said. The President’s spokesperson refused to “speculate” when asked if the Philippine government thinks China is only using talks on the code as a delaying tactic. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country has agreed to hold “official consultations” on a proposed code of conduct on the South China Sea with Southeast Asian nations.   Sea dispute China is asserting its historial claim on the entire South China Sea. The Philippines, however, is claiming its ownership of some parts of the South China Sea—which it calls the West Philippine Sea—under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei also have claims over parts of the South China Sea.  Lacierda said that the Philippines will continue to seek international arbitration on its territorial dispute with China while talks on the sea code are ongoing. “We have used the proper approaches, Read More …

Coast Guard to acquire 10 patrol ships from Japan

 News
Jul 042013
 
Coast Guard to acquire 10 patrol ships from Japan

By Jerry E. EsplanadaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 1:51 pm | Thursday, July 4th, 2013 This image received from Taiwan’s CNA and taken on September 25, 2012 shows a Japan Coast Guard patrol boat with a (neon) sign reading “Japanese territorial waters” as they monitor a flotilla of Taiwanese fishing boats which are headed to the Diaoyu / Senkaku islands disputed in the East China Sea, in territorial waters. AFP PHOTO/CNA MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard expects to wrap up talks with the Japan International Cooperation Agency within the next few months for the acquisition of 10 brand-new patrol boats from Japan in late 2014 or early 2015. This was disclosed to the Inquirer on Thursday by Cmdr. Armand Balilo, PCG spokesperson, who said “the talks are ongoing.” Quoting Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena, the Coast Guard commandant, Balilo said, “Hopefully, the talks will be completed by the last quarter of the year so that actual construction of the vessels could be started.” “The two sides have agreed that all 10 patrol boats will be 40 meters (131 feet) long. But they are still talking about other specifications,” added  Balilo, chief of the Coast Guard’s public affairs office. The JICA, he said,  proposed that five of the vessels be built in the Philippines and the five others in Japan, but the Coast Guard “prefers that all 10 patrol boats be built in Japan.” Established in 1974, the JICA is the primary Japanese government agency engaged in technical cooperation and other forms of aid Read More …

PAGASA: Weather disturbance off Mindoro unlikely to become cyclone

 News
Jul 032013
 
PAGASA: Weather disturbance off Mindoro unlikely to become cyclone

A weather disturbance, a low-pressure area, off Mindoro has a slim chance of becoming a cyclone, at least while it is inside the Philippine area of responsibility, state weather forecasters said Thursday. PAGASA forecaster Alvin Pura said the LPA, which is 170 km west of Calapan in Mindoro Oriental, is moving away from the Philippines. “Hindi ito inaasahang maging bagyo sa loob ng Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR),” Pura said in an interview on dzBB radio. But should the LPA become a cyclone within the PAR, it will be locally codenamed “Huaning,” he said. In the meantime, Pura said the LPA may bring light to moderate rain. Earlier, PAGASA said the LPA may enhance the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone now affecting Southern Luzon and Visayas. — LBG, GMA News

BRP Alcaraz to arrive in PHL on Aug. 3 — DFA

 News
Jul 032013
 
BRP Alcaraz to arrive in PHL on Aug. 3 — DFA

The BRP Alcaraz, the Philippine Navy’s newest warship, is due to arrive in the Philippines on August 3, the Department of Foreign Affairs said. In an article posted on its website July 3, the DFA mentioned the expected arrival date after the BRP Alcaraz reached San Diego last June 29. “BRP Alcaraz is expected to arrive in the Philippines on August 3, 2013,” it said. Last June 29, the BRP Alcaraz arrived at the 52nd US Naval Base in San Diego, California, while en route to the Philippines. Its crew received a warm welcome from Philippine Consul General to Los Angeles Maria Hellen de la Vega and the Filipino community, the same article said. De la Vega said the BRP Alcaraz is “a fitting acquisition for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program.” She added it “will enhance the Philippines’ naval assets, adding the Philippines must attach greater focus and attention to maritime security.” BRP Alcaraz (PF-16) is the Philippine Navy’s second Hamilton-class cutter and sister ship of the BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15). The BRP Alcaraz has 14 officers and 74 crew members led by Capt. Ernesto Baldovino. “(It) is capable of conducting patrols for long periods of time and can withstand heavy weather and rough sea conditions,” the DFA said. BRP Alcaraz was named after Commodore Ramon Alcaraz, a Philippine Navy officer, who commanded a patrol boat that shot down three Japanese aircraft. — RSJ, GMA News

Business leaders write Noy: Overhaul customs, develop ports

 Economy
Jul 032013
 
Business leaders write Noy: Overhaul customs, develop ports

In this June 1 file photo, Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon (left) inpsect three container vans of sugar, misdeclared as engine and aircon parts seized by authorities. The 1,521 bags are estimated at around P5 million. MANILA, Philippines – International and local business leaders drew eight recommendations to President Benigno Aquino III to facilitate inclusive growth within his term, including an overhaul of the Bureau of Customs as well as the country’s gateways. “It is imperative to overhaul the Bureau of Customs and to create an oversight body with private sector representations,” heads of 14 business groups including Makati Business Club president Ramon del Rosario Jr., Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting president Antonio Lopa and the American Chamber of Commerce president Rhicke Jennings said in the letter received by the Office of the President last June 21. The letter said that the estimated P100 billion lost from smuggling can instead be used for social programs and infrastructure. “Smuggling continues to derail your efforts on revenue collection and job generation,” it says. The groups also advised Aquino to pass a measure that would ensure that the country’s customs procedures comply with the Revised Kyoto Convention recognized by the international community. The immediate implementation of transportation infrastructure projects was also among the groups’ recommendations, highlighting the need to develop the Ninoy Aquino International Airport among others. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 De-clogging of the Port of Manila at Manila Bay  and the connection project of major highways NLEX Read More …

No on-screen rivalry between Julia Barretto, Kathryn Bernardo

 Entertainment
Jul 032013
 

YOUNG actress Kathryn Bernardo dismissed on-screen rivalry with the newest member of the Star Magic family, 16-year-old showbiz royalty Julia Barretto. The two are often compared because of their fan base and acting skills. “Ayoko talaga na kino-compare ka, kahit naman siguro sinong tao ayaw nilang ma-compare. May iba naman akong personality, may ibang akong […]

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