PGH: 'Alarming' spike in leptospirosis cases since Aug. 31, seven fatal

 News
Sep 052013
 
PGH: 'Alarming' spike in leptospirosis cases since Aug. 31, seven fatal

An “alarming” 33 cases of leptospirosis, seven of them fatal, were noted this past week at the Philippine General Hospital, the University of the Philippines Manila said Friday. UP Manila said Dr. Kristin Luzentales, PGH Chief Fellow of Section of Adult Nephrology, said 33 cases were admitted since August 31. “The Section of Nephrology of Department of Medicine at the UP Philippine General Hospital has reported an alarming increased rate of admissions from leptospirosis,” it said. This was shortly after floods and rain from the southwest monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring swamped Metro Manila and nearby areas in Luzon. UP Manila noted 680 leptospirosis cases, 40 of them fatal, occur on average every year. Citing information from the Philippine Clinical Practice Guidelines in 2010, it said leptospirosis is “seasonal with a peak incidence during the rainy months of July to October.” PGH nephrologist Dr. Rey Tan said signs of leptospirosis may include: acute febrile illness of at least two days and either residing in a flooded area or has high-risk exposure at least two of the following symptoms: myalgia, calf tenderness, conjunctival suffusion, chills, abdominal pain, headache, jaundice, or oliguria High-risk exposure involves wading in floods and contaminated water, contact with animal fluids, swimming in flood water or ingestion of contaminated water with or without cuts or wounds. “Clinicians should therefore have a high index of suspicion among patients with febrile illness and high risk exposures because mortality may be as high as 15 percent,” Tan said. He advised Read More …

PH, Japan hold ‘frank discussions’ on sea disputes

 News
Sep 052013
 
PH, Japan hold ‘frank discussions’ on sea disputes

By Nikko DizonPhilippine Daily Inquirer 3:21 am | Friday, September 6th, 2013 Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines and Japan on Thursday had “very frank discussions” on the territorial disputes in regional seas without specifically mentioning China, which has been aggressively asserting its claim to islands that are within both countries’ territories. Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and visiting Japanese Minister Ichita Yamamoto discussed the territorial disputes at the Department of National Defense (DND) in Camp Aguinaldo. Yamamoto, the state minister for Okinawa and affairs related to Japan’s northern territories, is the third Japanese official to visit the Philippines in the last three months. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to visit and met with President Aquino in July and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera was in Manila in June. In a statement, the defense department said Yamamoto’s visit was “aimed to further reiterate Japan’s position and views under the administration of Prime Minister Abe on regional security issues, especially [in] the East China Sea.” Gazmin and Yamamoto “acknowledged [that] the common concerns of the Philippines and Japan are issues related to maritime security,” the statement said. Arbitration It said Gazmin stressed the need for all parties, whether in the East China Sea or in the West Philippine Sea, to exercise strategic restraint. Gazmin reiterated that the Philippines would continue to deal with the West Philippine Sea dispute through arbitral proceedings under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). Yamamoto supported the Philippines’ position and “stressed that Read More …

Two ranking NBI officials not resigning — DOJ chief de Lima

 News
Sep 052013
 
Two ranking NBI officials not resigning — DOJ chief de Lima

Two ranking officials of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have not submitted their courtesy resignations, despite calls from Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for deputy directors with “trust and integrity issues” to resign out of delicadeza. De Lima said this is the situation after emerging from a meeting with NBI Deputy Directors Reynaldo Esmeralda (Intelligence Service) and Ruel Lasala (Special Investigation Services) late Thursday afternoon. Esmeralda and Lasala had requested the meeting with De Lima, following the resignation of NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas. Earlier, allegations surfaced that two of Rojas’ subordinates tipped off pork barrel fund scam suspect Janet Lim Napoles about an arrest warrant against her. De Lima then revealed that “three to four” of the six NBI directors have “trust and integrity issues,” as she appealed to them to resign out of delicadeza. Apart from Esmeralda and Lasala, the remaining NBI deputy directors are Rickson Chiong (Technical Services), Edmundo Arugay (Administrative Services),  Virgilio Mendez (Regional Operation Services), and Rafael Ragos (Comptroller Services). De Lima had already cleared Mendez in the controversy, while Arugay had earlier tendered a courtesy resignation. “I don’t think they are willing to submit courtesy resignations… They explained why and therefore I cannot compel them to submit their courtesy resignation,” said De Lima, explaining that resignations of presidential appointees, like NBI deputy directors, whether courtesy or not are supposed to be voluntary. De Lima said Esmeralda and Lasala gave her an explanation why they did not want to resign, but De Lima refused to Read More …

Naming cyclones after corrupt pols may violate PAGASA rules — weather forecaster

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Sep 052013
 
Naming cyclones after corrupt pols may violate PAGASA rules — weather forecaster

A proposal to name cyclones after corrupt government officials may have little chance of materializing as it could violate the state weather bureau’s rules, a senior weather forecaster said Thursday. PAGASA forecaster Buddy Javier said that while it is “possible” to name a cyclone after a corrupt politicians, one of PAGASA’s rules is that a cyclone’s name must not have “negative or offensive” connotations. “Bawal ang negative o offensive meanings (We cannot name a cyclone based on negative or offensive meanings),” Javier said in an interview on dzBB radio, referring to the rules established in 1999 in naming cyclones. When asked if cyclones can be named after corrupt politicians, he said, “pwede siguro pero paguusapan yan. Matagal na paguusap yan (it’s possible but there would be a long discussion).” An online signature campaign is now circulating to ask PAGASA to name cyclones after corrupt politicians, in the wake of the scandal involving pork barrel funds. “The devastation they cause is so great… Mother Nature can’t even compete with them for the destruction of life and property,” said Ismael Tomelden of Marikina, who started the petition. He added the petition aims to be “a constant reminder of how our hard-earned money has been stolen or misspent by corrupt politicians.” Javier said other criteria for naming cyclones include: – the name cannot start with ñ, ng, or x – the name should not have more than nine letters and three syllables – the name can refer to plants, places, or animals Javier Read More …

Outgoing CBCP head backs EDSA anti-pork vigil

 News
Sep 052013
 
Outgoing CBCP head backs EDSA anti-pork vigil

The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Thursday expressed solidarity with participants to an upcoming prayer vigil against the pork barrel system at the EDSA Shrine on September 11. CBCP president and Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma also called on the Catholics to make Saturday, Sept. 7, a “Day of Atonement” for letting corruption the pork system offend God. “It’s about time that people manifest their own conviction. The people have already organized. Ours is an expression of solidarity,” he said. Next week’s vigil is a follow-up of sorts to the anti-pork gathering at the Luneta in Manila last Aug. 26. Participants in the Aug. 26 gathering had called for the abolition of the pork barrel system in the wake of a P10-billion scam involving ghost non-government organizations that siphoned funds from the Priority Development Assistance Fund. Contrition In a pastoral statement Palma signed, the CBCP said “God is offended” because His commandments against stealing, coveting others’ goods and bearing false witness against neighbors are violated. It added the faithful’s first response to the pork barrel issue must be not protest but contrition. “We are not just victims of a corrupt system. We have all, in one way or another, contributed to this worsening social cancer—through our indifferent silence or through our cooperation when we were benefiting from the sweet cake of graft and corruption,” it said. While Palma urged the Catholic faithful to join Pope Francis in offering prayers and sacrifices on September 7 for peace Read More …

Govt probing Napoles assets abroad — BIR chief Henares

 News
Sep 052013
 
Govt probing Napoles assets abroad — BIR chief Henares

Commissioner Kim Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue said Thursday the government is already taking steps to probe businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles properties abroad. “We are coordinating with foreign governments kasi sa foreign governments pati bank accounts puwede namin makuha dito hindi,” Henares told reporters in Manila, adding that the government’s purpose was merely to “get information” from these foreign governments. The BIR is in the middle of investigating if Napoles, embroiled in a P10-billion pork barrel fund scam, has been paying the right taxes. Napoles had insisted her wealth came from legitimate sources, saying she owns shares in a mining company in Indonesia. It has likewise been reported thatvshe owns properties in the US. “If she has business abroad, mas malaki ang problema niya because the US tax you in a global manner… if you have a US connection,” Henares said. The BIR chief refused to elaborate further on her agency’s ongoing probe, saying: “Puwede kapag handa na kami, sasabihin ko.” Henares also revealed that some of the almost 30 properties earlier reported to be owned by Napoles could have been placed under other people’s names. Similar to doing a “google search,” Henares said her agency earlier asked around different agencies and searched their databases for any properties owned by Napoles. “So iyong nage-generate (so far i connection with Napoles) hindi nagmamatch sa 30 na real properties, 28 dati, ngayon 30… hindi sya nagma-match,” Henares said, adding the BIR is now in the process of tracing who the owners Read More …

NBI chief Rojas' mind 'made up'; De Lima might take over for now

 News
Sep 052013
 
NBI chief Rojas' mind 'made up'; De Lima might take over for now

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima on Thursday revealed that she and President Benigno Aquino III had tried several times to convince National Bureau of Investigation Director Nonnatus Rojas not to give up his post, to no avail. In an interview with reporters in Manila, De Lima said Rojas seems to have “made up his mind” to resign from the highest post at the NBI not only after two of his men were accused of tipping off pork barrel scam suspect Janet Lim Napoles about her arrest, but also due to health reasons. “I talked to Dir. Nonni three times and I was unsuccessful in convincing him so sinabi ko na rin kay Presidente iyon na hindi ko na-kumbinse,” De Lima said. She added: “Kinausap niya [the President] rin once the other day ata [si Rojas]… at hindi na magbabago iyon, irrevocable ang kanyang resignation.” De Lima said she would await President Aquino’s announcement whether he was accepting or rejecting Rojas’ resignation before looking for his replacement. She said the one who would be replacing Rojas would come from within the Department of Justice, including the NBI and any of the DOJ’s other attached agencies. “One thing is clear, it’s not going to be an undersecretary kasi may jurisprudence na yan na hindj puwede mag act concurrently [ang isang undersecretary],” De Lima said. De Lima also revealed that she might head the NBI while she is looking for an officer in charge to replace Rojas. “If I am unable to designate Read More …

10 protests that rocked the Philippines

 News
Sep 052013
 
10 protests that rocked the Philippines

Kuwento By Boying Pimentel 8:27 pm | Thursday, September 5th, 2013 Protesting has long been part of our history. And the successful anti-pork barrel rally on Monday underscored this. There have been other big, important protests in the past. Some were high-profile events that attracted worldwide action. Others were little-known acts of defiance that nevertheless had a huge impact in our history. As promised, here are 10 Filipino protests that rocked the country in the past half century. It must be stressed that this is, no doubt, an incomplete list. I’m sure there are other historic demonstrations that we could add to the list, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao. Still, just so we can put what happened on Monday in broader context, let’s start with these: Follow Us More from this Blog: 10 protests that rocked the Philippines The anti-pork protest and Martin Luther King One Filipina’s social media activism (and how it shaped the Aug. 26 protest) Pork, Freedom of Information and Aquino’s silence Why Ninoy still matters 30 years after he was murdered by the Marcos dictatorship 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 mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Features , Global Nation , Pork Barrel , Protest Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Read More …

PH envoy to China back home for consultation

 News
Sep 052013
 
PH envoy to China back home for consultation

Agence France-Presse 6:16 pm | Thursday, September 5th, 2013 Erlinda Basilio INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has asked its ambassador to China to return home for consultations, the foreign department said Thursday amid fresh tensions in a seething maritime territorial row. Ambassador Erlinda Basilio flew back to Manila as the defense department this week accused China of laying 75 concrete blocks on disputed territory in the South China Sea. “She was asked to come home for consultations, and she will (be in Manila) for the next few days,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters. Defense officials have expressed concern the Chinese block-laying could be a prelude to building structures at the shoal. The outcrop is about 650 kilometers from Hainan island, the nearest major Chinese land mass. Asked if Manila would lodge a diplomatic protest or undertake other options, Hernandez said: “We are still studying the matter.” The Philippine foreign ministry earlier said President Benigno Aquino had also called off a planned trip to China on Tuesday for a trade fair after Chinese authorities imposed conditions on the trip. The concrete blocks have raised concerns in Manila that China could be planning construction in the waters, as it did in Philippine-claimed Mischief Reef in another area of the sea, in 1995. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei rejected the Philippine allegations of block-laying on Wednesday, while asserting China’s sovereignty over the shoal. China claims most of the South China Sea, including waters close to the coasts Read More …

Aquino urged to use own 'pork' to fund AFP modernization

 News
Sep 052013
 
Aquino urged to use own 'pork' to fund AFP modernization

A former government official who served under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III’s mother has an advice for the President: use pork barrel funds to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). In a Facebook post, Rafael Alunan III asked Aquino to “please cut the bureacratic red tape so that you can, as Commander-in-Chief, buy ASAP the necessary capital assets and support systems for the Navy and Air Force needed to defend our country, protect our EEZ (exclusive economic zone) and uphold our nation’s dignity and honor.” Alunan served as Tourism secretary during the term of the late President Corazon Aquino, and secretary of Department of Interior and Local Government under President Fidel Ramos. Alunan said Aquino and the lawmakers could use part of their Special Purpose Fund (SPF) and Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), respectively, in bankrolling the military’s long-delayed modernization He gave the advice amid the growing tension between the Philippines and China regarding the supposed Chinese structures being raised at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a disputed area in the West Philippine Sea, as well as the issue on the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds by some lawmakers. Alunan said the government fully knows what the military needs in its modernization. “They (military) have submitted their requirements and all it needs now is decisiveness to negotiate and buy what is needed from the most reliable suppliers,” he said, adding that  Aquino must prioritize the purchase and construction of necessary infrastructure to support those assets in the Read More …

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