Jul 312014
 
Palace downplays coup threats

Philippine soldiers in a pass-in review during the Testimonial Review and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Change of Command Ceremony at the AFP General Headquarters Grandstand, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo in Quezon City Friday (July 18, 2014) being witnessed by President Benigno S. Aquino III. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Wednesday said it was unfazed by rumors of a coup d’état against President Benigno Aquino III since it is confident that the men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were satisfied with the government. “The reason for the lack of interest is, I think, primarily the reforms that the Aquino administration has already implemented with respect to the armed forces. We have provided mission-essential equipment to the people on the ground,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said when prodded about the issue. He also said there would be no loyalty check among the members of the military since “there is no issue.” “There is no such truth to the coup rumors,” Lacierda said.  Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. earlier said that while the President has received death threats, they are not considered serious. Senator Antonio Trillanes earlier said that he received word about retired generals planning to destabilize the government through the help of active members of the AFP. But AFP spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said there were no such reports. He said as far as the rank-and-file personnel of the AFP were concerned, they were not being recruited into any destabilization plot. Read More …

Jul 302014
 
Kylie Padilla moves on through music

Kylie Padilla (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — KYLIE Padilla is now moving on after her breakup with Aljur Abrenica. “I’m okay na. Lumipas na yung malungkot na panahon. Okay na,” she said. The 21-year-old actress said that following the split, she learned to love herself more and to always look at the bright side of things. “Dapat laging magtira para sa sarili. Love yourself and focus on the more important (thing). Discover yourself again, your strengths and not your weaknesses,” she said. The actress said she is not in a hurry to find a new love. “Pahinga muna,” she said. Meanwhile, aside from being an actor, Kylie is adding another job title to her growing showbiz resume — a recording artist. She launched “Season,” her debut album under GMA Records, featuring carrier single “Gitara”. According to the “Adarna” actress it took her two years to create this album. She wrote five songs out of the eight titles. Included in the tracklist are “Awake,” “Mine,” “Thank You,” “Lonely Without You,” “Seasons,” “Sulat,” and “Alive”. A keen songwriter herself, Kylie said she never thought that someday she would release an album of her own. “Hindi kasi pinlano to release an album. Nagsusulat na ako nun because this is an outlet for me. Making this album was truly an emotional journey. I got to know more about myself,” she said. She added that music changed her. It calms her and she turns to music to express every emotion. “Nag-evolve na ako. The Kylie Read More …

Jul 302014
 
Gatchalian pushes for swift enactment of revised anti-hazing law

Sherwin T. Gatchalian – Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Valenzuela City’s First District (photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian vowed on Monday to push for the passage into law of House Bill No. 4714 which seeks to totally prohibit hazing and impose graver penalties on fraternities, sororities, student organizations and school administrators who will be involved in violent hazing in the future. He made the pledge before the parents of Guillo Cesar Servando who died exactly a month ago after undergoing violent hazing in the hands of members of the Tau Gamma Phi Fraternity chapter of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. Gatchalian’s filing of House Bill No 4714 was prompted by the death of the 17-year-old Servando, a sophomore student of DLS-CSB who died last June 28 due to injuries from hazing conducted by members of the said fraternity. Aurelio Servando and his wife were invited by Congressman Gatchalian as his guests when President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his fifth State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa Bldg. in Quezon City. Yellow stickers bearing the anti-hazing logo and support for the Servando Act were distributed in the House of Representatives to mark the first month of Guillo Cesar’s death. “I call on the families of hazing victims as well as groups who are against hazing to join me and Mr. and Mrs. Servando in pushing for the immediate passage into law of the Servando Act (HB 4714) that will Read More …

Jul 302014
 
Islamic militants kill 21 Muslims marking Eid: AFP

Student protesters hold a slogan denouncing the killing of 58 people, including at least 32 media workers, during a rally in suburban Quezon City, north of Manila, Philippines on Sunday Nov. 21, 2010. Almost a year has past since Andal Ampatuan Jr., the scion of a powerful clan, was said to have led his men in killing 58 people, including 32 media workers, in southern Maguindanao province.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila) MANILA (AFP) – Islamic militants on Monday massacred 21 people, including one child, who were travelling to a village feast in the southern Philippines to mark the end of Ramadan, the military said. About 50 Abu Sayyaf gunmen opened fire on two vehicles in the remote town of Talipao on Jolo island, killing 21 people and wounding 11 others, regional military spokeswoman Marine Captain Rowena Muyuela told AFP. “These were villagers who were travelling to a designated area to celebrate Hari Raya,” she said, referring to the Muslim feast, also known as Eid al-Fitr, that ends Islam’s holy fasting month of Ramadan. A three-year-old boy and six policemen were among those killed in the attack, she said, while four other children were among the 11 wounded. Muyuela said the militants appeared to have targeted the policemen, also local Muslims, who were aboard the convoy and travelling to the festivities in their personal capacities. The shooting was the deadliest this year by the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, which was founded in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network. The Read More …

Jul 302014
 
Eighty minutes in saving the quality of a patient’s life

I would like to share the following riveting  Pulmonary Embolism story sent to my attention recently by Dr. Jep Palo , an Intensive Care Specialist, who works at the Medical City Hospital in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. One misstep and it would all be over, even doing everything right, we could still lose this day and in the days to come. When death comes knocking, few people are ready to receive Him. Tonight, my patient is a woman, young enough to be out of place in the ICU, though by far she was the one who needed our full attention. She was rushed to the ER late this morning  with blue lips, unable to breathe and within minutes her athlete’s heart  gave up on her. Resuscitation was underway when I arrived in the ER.  Our hospital staff gave the best demonstration of a coordinated life-saving effort that I have never experienced in recent memory. In our book, she was beautiful, but she kept slipping away, so we administered electric shocks, chest compressions and adrenaline injections to restart her heart.  Repeatedly, the calls rang out loudly: “Code! Start compressions,” even though our medical team never left her bedside. Whew! Watching her face, I remembered thinking, “she’s much too young to go through something like this, but I must  focus on the monitor.” During “near end” situations like these Catholic doctors like us would pray the “Hail Mary.” An ultrasound machine was brought to the ER revealing clues of the would-be killer. Our patient’s heart flitted in and out of view, in between CPR compressions, Read More …

Jul 292014
 
Jacklyn Jose talks reconciling with Andi Eigenmann

Jacklyn Jose and Andi Eigenmann (MNS Photo) ACTRESS Jacklyn Jose shared how she was able to reconcile with her daughter Andi Eigenmann. In a recent interview, Jose said she called her daughter when her sister got sick in the United States. “I called her up and umiiyak ako. Worried na worried siya sa akin and sabi niya, ‘Mommy go, go and see your sister’. Tapos nagka-ayos na kami,” she said at a pocket press conference organized by her new management team, PPL Entertainment. The misunderstanding between the mother and daughter stemmed from Jose’s comments about Eigenmann’s relationship with Jake Ejercito. Jose said she has learned her lesson and vowed not to make similar remarks about the love life of her daughter in the future. “Hindi na mauulit. Wag na makialam sa love life ng may love life. Mabuti kung 13 or 14 yan, pero 24 na e. I respect her decisions. Kung mali or tama, respetuhin ko yun,” Jose said. The actress, meanwhile, said she has noticed a big change in the young actress since Eigenmann become a mother. “Nakita ko naman yung maturity. Nakita ko yung focus in life, yung meron siyang goal, may gusto siyang patunayan at meron siyang marating,” Jose said of her daughter who is raising her two-year-old daughter, Ellie, alone. She denied rumors that Eigenmann has become hardheaded and does not follow what she says. Jose said her daughter is a responsible adult, has a mind of her own and can give sound judgment on Read More …

Jul 292014
 
Palace hopes court issue delaying Napoles transfer resolved soonest

Janet Lim Napoles arrives at the Senate for the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged P10 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, which reportedly involves her group and several legislators. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Malacañang on Saturday voiced hopes the court issue that delayed the transfer of businesswoman Janet Napoles from Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology detention facility in Taguig City will be cleared soon. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte noted Napoles’ transfer would benefit the Philippine National Police as her detention in Laguna is a big drain on police resources. “Sana ma-clarify ng Makati court. Hopefully it will be reconciled already dahil mukhang mas pabor sa PNP ang Camp Bagong Diwa dahil mas kaunti ang mababawas sa resources ng PNP,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. But in the meantime, she pointed out the PNP will continue to follow the court’s orders. “Ang PNP sumusunod lang sa atas ng korte,” she said. On Friday night, the transfer of Napoles to the BJMP facility was deferred, with PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac saying they want to clarify legal issues first. Once they get the clarification, he said they are ready to turn Napoles over to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. Sindac said they expect to get the clarification on Monday. Until then, he said Napoles will stay at Fort Sto. Domingo. Earlier Friday, Napoles was brought back to Fort Sto. Domingo from the Read More …

Jul 292014
 
PHL bans OFW deployments in 3 countries

A batch of 37 female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated from Syria, arrive at 4 p.m. Friday (March 7) via EK 332. OWWA personnel and from Office of the Vice President (center photo) assist the returning OFWs upon their arrival at the Gate 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – As conflicts in the tumultuous regions of East Africa and the Middle East continue to rage, the Philippine government has begun imposing both partial and total bans on Filipino worker deployment in Kenya, Israel as well as the Gaza Strip and West Bank in Palestine, prohibiting newly hired overseas Filipino workers to be sent there. In one of the  advisories posted on its website, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration announced it has imposed a temporary ban on worker deployment to Kenya after the Department of Foreign Affairs hoisted Crisis Alert Level 2 in the East African country beset by security concerns. “The POEA Governing Board hereby resolves to impose a temporary suspension of the processing and deployment of newly hired OFWs to Kenya,” said the POEA Governing Board resolution NO. 16-2014 posted on its website. However, the POEA said the ban on deploying newly hired workers does not include those employed by the United Nations and its affiliate agencies. Under the Alert Level 2, the POEA would still allow the deployment of vacationing workers to Kenya. “The processing and deployment of vacationing and returning workers to the said country, subject to their Read More …