MANILA (Mabuhay) — Neophyte Senator Grace Poe on Thursday vowed to prioritize the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill as chairperson of the committee which handles it, but admitted the Palace is lukewarm about the measure. “There is no denying that it is not the priority… I’d love to see where the concern is coming from,” […]
MANILA (Mabuhay) — A Malacañang spokesman on Thursday said there is no need to send peacekeepers to Mindanao, contrary to what former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari told the United Nations (UN) in a letter. During a press conference earlier in the day, Misuari said he wrote to UN Secretary General Ban […]
A letter that threatened a revenge attack by followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III on Sabah turned out to be a hoax after all, Sabah police claimed Saturday. Sabah police commissioner Datuk Hamza Taib disclosed this, according to a report by Malaysia’s Bernama news agency posted on Malaysia’s The Star Online. The letter dated July 3 had warned of an attack by Kiram followers in Sabah this August, supposedly in retaliation of the deadly clashes in Sabah earlier this year. “Please don’t spread such rumors to scare the public,” Hamza said. He added Sabah residents should remain calm and stop speculating, and instead cooperate with the security forces to prevent such incidents. Earlier this year, Kiram’s followers engaged Malaysian forces in a standoff that lasted three weeks. The standoff ended in deadly clashes March 1 and 2. In turn, Malaysian forces mounted offensive operations to flush out Kiram’s followers from Lahad Datu. Earlier this month, a letter circulated supposedly signed by a “Militant Commando” who claimed to be acting on behalf of Kiram’s family. But the police did not take the rumors lightly – Hamza said they took steps to tighten security. Such steps included mobilizing 100 strike force personnel who can respond quickly to any contingency. On the other hand, he urged the community to keep alert for any suspicious activity, and to inform security forces accordingly. — LBG, GMA News
TEMECULA, Calif., July 25, 2013 – “Stop in the name of love” singer and Billboard magazine’s “Female Entertainer of the Century” Diana Ross will be performing this summer at the Pechanga Theater in a string of “one night only” shows that will also feature Chicago, the hit all-male American rock band during the 1970s and 1980s, and Daughtry, another American rock band […]
Six people were killed and at least 48 wounded in the Philippines when a bomb struck a restaurant filled with doctors after a national convention, police said Saturday. Police said the improvised explosive device went off around midnight (1600 GMT Friday) at a popular restaurant in the southern port city of Cagayan de Oro. Most of the victims were doctors and pharmaceutical salesmen who had just attended a national convention of lung-disease specialists at a nearby hotel, said the city police chief, Senior Superintendent Graciano Mijares. “This is one of the busiest areas of Cagayan de Oro…. somebody left a bomb on a chair at the bistro,” he told reporters. He declined to speculate on the motive for the bombing, saying an investigation was under way. Cagayan de Oro is located on the main southern island of Mindanao, which has been blighted by a decades-old rebellion by elements of the large Muslim minority in the mainly Catholic Asian nation. Witnesses at the scene described horrific scenes, with the top of the head of one victim blown off and the torso of another hanging limply on a chair as police sifted through the debris for evidence. Local businessman Noel Arcenas, who owns an electronics shop at the shopping complex where the restaurant is located, said at least 100 people were inside the bistro when the explosion occurred. “I felt then heard the blast,” said Arcenas, who added he was standing about 15 metres (49 feet) away. “I looked around and saw Read More …
A potential cyclone, a low-pressure area, moved to Davao Oriental in Mindanao Saturday afternoon, even as state weather forecasters warned of flash floods and landslides over Bicol in southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the next 24 hours. PAGASA said that as of 4 p.m., the LPA was estimated at the vicinity of Davao Oriental, embedded in the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone affecting Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao. “Bicol region, Visayas and Mindanao will experience cloudy skies with moderate to heavy rain showers and thunderstorms, which may trigger flash floods and landslides,” PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. bulletin. Also, it said Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Mimaropa will have “cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms.” PAGASA’s extended weather forecast for Metro Manila indicated cloudy skies with rain showers or thunderstorms until July 31. The rest of Luzon will be “partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms,” PAGASA added. Earlier, PAGASA said that if the LPA became a cyclone, it would be locally codenamed “Jolina.” Meanwhile, PAGASA said moderate to occasionally strong winds from the southwest will prevail over Palawan and Mindanao and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to occasionally rough. — LBG, GMA News
Cagayan de Oro blast kills six people. Bomb squad operatives inspect the area where the Friday night blast ripped through a crowded bistro in Cagayan de Oro City. Bobby Lagsa Six people were killed and more than 40 wounded in the Philippines when a bomb struck a restaurant filled with doctors after a national convention, police said Saturday. Police said the improvised explosive device went off around midnight (1600 GMT Friday) at a popular restaurant in the southern port city of Cagayan de Oro. Most of the victims were doctors and pharmaceutical salesmen who had just attended a national convention of lung-disease specialists at a nearby hotel, said the city police chief, Senior Superintendent Graciano Mijares. “This is one of the busiest areas of Cagayan de Oro…. somebody left a bomb on a chair at the bistro,” he told reporters. He declined to speculate on the motive for the bombing, saying an investigation was under way. Cagayan de Oro is located on the main southern island of Mindanao, which has been blighted by a decades-old rebellion by elements of the large Muslim minority in the mainly Catholic Asian nation. Local businessman Noel Arcenas, who owns an electronics shop at the shopping complex where the restaurant is located, said at least 100 people were inside the bistro when the explosion occurred. “I felt then heard the blast,” said Arcenas, who added he was standing about 15 metres (49 feet) away. “I looked around and saw this ball of white smoke. People Read More …
By MYNARDO MACARAIGJuly 27, 2013 4:30pm Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Malacañang . President Benigno Aquino and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Malacañang during Abe’s visit to the Philippines on Saturday. Robert Viñas /Malacañang Photo Bureau
If a bill filed in the House of Representatives is passed into law, hoarding Philippine coins may become a crime with the offender facing up to eight years in jail. House Bill 1662, the proposed Anti-Hoarding of Philippine Legal Tender Coins Act of 2013, filed by Iloilo Rep. Jerry Treñas also provides for a fine of at least P300,000. “The unscrupulous practice of hoarding of coins is tantamount to economic sabotage and is creating an artificial shortage of coins,” Treñas said in a news release. In his bill, Treñas said hoarding coins of any denomination may cause an artificial shortage of small denominations of currency. He cited how many establishments have lacked small change. The proposed bill criminalizes the keeping or possession of coins of any denomination exceeding the allowable aggregate value, number of pieces and weight “to be determined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) by any person, corporation, partnership, association or any other form of juridical personality.” The bill seeks to stop the alleged practice by syndicates of hoarding coins, which are smelted and converted into other materials for industrial uses. Treñas added the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will be the proper agency to enforce and implement the proposed act. Exempted from the bill’s coverage are charitable institutions, private banks, banking and financial institutions of the government, and government agencies and instrumentalities that “hold or keep such coins in connection with their official duties.” The bill lets the BSP “review and change, if needed, the aggregate amounts Read More …
THE HOUSING and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) has approved the new zoning plan of Makati City to make the metropolis adaptable to disasters, according to a press release on Friday.