OFW found dead in suitcase in Egypt

 News
Aug 212013
 
OFW found dead in suitcase in Egypt

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 8:13 pm | Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 In this Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013 photo a convoy of Egyptian police vehicles patrols the southern city of Assiut, Egypt. (AP Photo/Roger Anis, El Shorouk Newspaper) EGYPT OUT MANILA, Philippines – An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) was found dead in a suitcase in Cairo, Egypt, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. “A female OFW was reported on Aug 17 to have been killed in Cairo. Her body was found concealed in a large suitcase which was left around the dump site in Nasr City,” Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez said in a text message Wednesday. The identity of the body could not be immediately determined due to its advanced stage of decomposition. It was also not yet clear whether the OFW was collateral damage in the ongoing civil unrest in the country. “In cooperation with the [Philippine] embassy [in Egypt], the police authorities are ascertaining the positive identity, cause, and circumstances of her death prior to notifying the victim’s next of kin,” Hernandez said. Previously, the DFA has raised crisis alert level 4 in Egypt due to the civil unrest between supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi and government security forces. Violent clashes ensued when authorities dispersed a sit-in protest of Morsi’s supporters who were demanding his reinstatement. Hundreds were reported killed with thousands more injured from the clashes. A month-long state of emergency has been declared by the government. Related Stories: First batch of OFWs repatriated from Read More …

May Pasok: Areas where classes will resume on Thursday

 News
Aug 212013
 
May Pasok: Areas where classes will resume on Thursday

Following the exit of Tropical Storm Maring from the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Wednesday and the expected improvement in weather conditions, some local governments have announced that classes would resume on Thursday, August 22. Since the weekend, at least a million people were affected by the heavy monsoon rain and floods enhanced by Maring. Here is a list of local governments which have opted to resume classes on Thursday. This list will be updated as more announcements are made. In NCR San Juan CityLas Piñas City 2nd district and all private schools in the cityQuezon City — KBK, GMA News

Some areas flood-free despite monsoon rains

 News
Aug 212013
 
Some areas flood-free despite monsoon rains

The town of Sta. Ana in Pampanga can be called a flood veteran. But this year, residents were not gearing up to evacuate their homes even after their province was placed under the state of calamity due to monsoon rains enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring. The secret? A newly build retaining wall along Matubig creek in the town. “Dati ang baha rito hanggang dibdib pero dahil napaayos na ang creek at hindi nag-overflow ito, kaya hindi binaha ang mga taga-Sta. Ana,” Pampanga provincial information officer Joel Mapiles told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Wednesday. The creek’s retaining wall is approximately 200 meters in length and about 1.2 m above the road. Apart from building concrete walls, Mapiles said that the creek has been dredged. “Silted na ‘yung mga water channels sa Pampanga kaya kailangang magkaroon ng dredging and slope protection ang mga water embankment,” he added. On Wednesday afternoon, Pampanga was placed under the state of calamity after a dike in Minalin town was breached on Tuesday, which caused flooding in low-lying areas. Metro Manila experience In Metro Manila there is another example of a once-flooded and now flood-free area due to engineering. In a text message, Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino told GMA News Online that the P. Tuazon and Aurora tunnels in Cubao have been flood-free during the last few days. This is due to an additional submersible pump provided by the agency and installed in P. Tuazon tunnel, according to MMDA general Read More …

Alan Peter, Bong Revilla deny anomalies in 'pork' releases

 News
Aug 212013
 
Alan Peter, Bong Revilla deny anomalies in 'pork' releases

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. on Wednesday denied alleged irregularities in the release of millions of pesos from their pork barrel funds. At a press briefing, Cayetano countered the Commission on Audit (COA)’s findings that he gave P2.6 million to local government units (LGUs) for projects that were not in the “menu” specified by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). “During that time, you can give financial assistance to local government units that lack financial capability and it is up to them what to do. I did not specify what to do,” Cayetano said Wednesday. In a special audit report released Friday, the COA said Cayetano released P2.6 million to three barangays in Taguig for projects without formal proposals and beyond the list of programs allowed by the DBM. The COA said these barangays used Cayetano’s pork barrel, formally known as the priority development assistance fund (PDAF), to buy uniforms for the barangay council, house numbering plates and fire busters. Cayetano however said he is certain that the money was used for their intended purposes. He added that it is up to LGUs to submit documents required by the COA. “If the COA report said I stole the money, I’d question it. But if they’re just saying na kulang ng papel, it is up to the barangay or LGU to answer it because I did my part of making sure that the money was not stolen,” he said. The senator added that he is willing Read More …

First batch of OFWs repatriated from Egypt to arrive in PH

 News
Aug 212013
 
First batch of OFWs repatriated from Egypt to arrive in PH

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 4:44 pm | Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 Egyptian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint during a dawn-to-dusk curfew in the Zamalek district of Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013. The Philippines has ordered the mandatory evacuation of some 6,000 Filipinos from Egypt following a visit to the Arab country by Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario to investigate the security situation after days of violent clashes. AP PHOTO/MAYA ALLERUZZO MANILA, Philippines – Five Filipinos will comprise the first batch of overseas Filipino workers to be repatriated from Egypt in light of the crisis alert level 4 raised due to the escalating civil strife in that country. “Five Filipinos are to be repatriated to the Philippines in view of the crisis alert level 4 imposed [due to] the current political situation in Egypt,” Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman assistant secretary Raul Hernandez said Wednesday in a text message. “Three of them came from Cairo, and two from Alexandria. Their flight is scheduled to arrive Aug 21, 4:20 p.m. via [flight] QR646,” Hernandez said. Violence erupted in Cairo after government security forces dispersed a sit-in protest of ousted president Mohammed Morsi’s supporters who have been demanding his reinstatement after being deposed in a military coup last July. Hundreds have been reported killed in the violent dispersal, the latest of a series of clashes between pro-Morsi protesters and government authorities. The DFA issued crisis alert level 4 last Aug 19 after a month-long state of emergency was declared in the Read More …

LIVE UPDATES: Floods persist as enhanced habagat dumps more rains

 News
Aug 202013
 
LIVE UPDATES: Floods persist as enhanced habagat dumps more rains

Many parts of Metro Manila and nearby areas remained flooded Tuesday amid southwest monsoon rains enhanced by tropical storm “Maring.” Classes were still suspended in most of the areas affected by floods, while Malacanang has also ordered the suspension of work in government offices. Yahoo! Philippines brings you live updates on the floods and the weather situation. Please refresh the page for the latest news. 11:30 p.m. Tropical storm “Maring” gains strength and continues to enhance the southwest monsoon that is dumping rains over Luzon. “Maring” had maximum winds of 105 kilometers per hour (kph) when it was last seen at 520 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, Pagasa said. It is forecast to move northwest at 19 kph and is expected to move out of the Philippine area of responsibility by Wednesday evening. 10:55 p.m.: The weather bureau has lowered the rainfall warning over Metro Manila and surrounding provinces to “yellow” from “orange,” even as it warned of flooding in low-lying areas. “Moderate to heavy rains is expected over Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Zambales, Bataan and Occidental Mindoro for the next three hours,” Pagasa said. 8:07 p.m.: The La Mesa Dam continues to overflow, while water is being released from the Ipo, Ambuklao, Binga and Magat dams, Pagasa said. 7:59 p.m.: Flooding is threatening, Pagasa said, as it kept an orange rainfall warning over Metro Manila and surrounding provinces. Heavy to intense rains are affecting Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales and Bataan, it Read More …

PHL, Taiwan markets closed

 General
Aug 202013
 
PHL, Taiwan markets closed

BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese property owner has started dismantling an elaborate villa built illegally, complete with a garden, on top of a Beijing apartment block after complaints from his neighbors and a government warning to tear it down. Aerial photos of the structure, perched on the roof of the 26-story block, near a lake and a busy highway, have been circulating on the Internet for the past week, causing an outcry from the block’s residents and amazement at the audacious flouting of …

International flights into PH cancelled–DOTC

 General
Aug 202013
 
International flights into PH cancelled–DOTC

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 9:57 am | Wednesday, August 21st, 2013 Photo released by the Philippine Air Force shows vehicles lined up as they wait for floods to subside in Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday Aug. 20, 2013. Some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record fell for a second day Tuesday, turning the capital’s roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response. AP/Philippine Air Force MANILA, Philippines — International flights going into the country were cancelled anew Wednesday morning due to the continuous rains and floods brought by the southwest monsoon. In the latest announcement by the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) through its twitter account @DOTCPhilippines, the flights cancelled as of 7:30. a.m. are as follows: PR-383 Guangzhou-MNL2P-801 Singapore-MNLPR-538 Denpasar-MNLPR-399 Beijing-MNLPR-313 Hong Kong-MNLPR-437 Nagoya-MNLPR-407 Osaka-MNLPR-431 Tokyo (Narita)-MNLPR-733 Bangkok-MNLPR-210 Melbourne-MNLPR-220 Darwin-MNL2P-875 MNL-Kuala Lumpur and return flight 2P-876 Kuala Lumpur-MNL Tropical storm “Maring” (international name Trami) has left the Philippine Area of Responsibility as of 7:00 a.m. according to the state-run weather bureau but the southwest monsoon continues to affect large parts of the country. RELATED STORIES: ‘Maring’ exits PH, but rains to continueFloodwaters in most areas of Metro Manila gone—MMDAWater levels of Marikina River, La Mesa Dam still on alert status 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 Read More …

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