Palparan: No military involvement in case of missing UP students

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
Palparan: No military involvement in case of missing UP students

Retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan is presented to the media after he was arrested by National Bureau of Investigation agents at a house in Sta. Mesa, Manila before dawn Tuesday, August 12. A Bulacan court issued in 2011 an arrest warrant against Palparan, who is charged with two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Retired general and kidnapping suspect Jovito Palparan on Tuesday denied any involvement in the abduction of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in June 2006. “Never akong nagkaroon ng feeling ng guilt. Gusto kong harapin ang kaso, at kung patas lang ang judge, I will win that case,” Palparan said. Palparan stressed that he did not go into hiding due to guilt, but rather because he feared for his safety once arrested. “Hindi ako nagtatago dahil sa guilt, pero dahil sa security,” he added. “Alam niyo naman sa kulungan, maraming insidente, not that I’m doubting the agencies.” He added that the military has no involvement in the alleged abduction. “Wala namang na-involve o nag-move na military at that time,” he said. “Marami rin silang kalaban, nakasagasaan… Basta, I’m sure walang na-involve na mga tao ko dun.” Palparan also claimed that the two victims who went missing were not really students, but rather members of the communist New People’s Army. “Ang sinasabing mga estudyante, two to three years na silang wala sa UP… Sa verification ko, Read More …

The meaning of winning in UP Diliman

 News
Aug 132014
 
The meaning of winning in UP Diliman

I was there when when UP last won the UAAP championship in 1986 and I even joined the pandemonium on the court at the ULTRA to celebrate my alma mater’s first basketball championship in more than 25 years. How I wish I could have also joined last week’s bonfire on the Diliman campus to celebrate the Maroons’ first win in two years. In a way, that would have been more fun I think. It was more UP. That is, more symbolic of the grit that many associate with my alma mater. The bonfire was the UP.community’s way of declaring: “Sure, we’ve been losing game after game after game. But watch how we fight back. In fact, watch how we enjoy and celebrate the process of fighting back.” Most UP alums have long lived with the fact that the country’s most respected university also has a lousy record when it comes to basketball. But that’s never really bothered us too much. For we’ve long been used to focusing more attention, and at times even celebrating, events or people others would probably associate with losers, defeat or even tragedy. We’re big on martyrs, or young people who showed brilliant promise but, in the eyes of many, “lost” because they were cut down before reaching their prime or opted not to cash in on that potential. Take the story one alumnus. Wenceslao Vinzons was a promising student leader who was the youngest delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention. The path was clear for him to build a prominent and prosperous Read More …

US coach freezes out rebel Azkal players

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
US coach freezes out rebel Azkal players

Azkals midfielder Stephan Schrock and fellow mainstay Dennis Cagara declared on Twitter and Facebook that they had played their last match under American coach Thomas Dooley, amid speculation they were unhappy over a policy perceived to favour younger players. (Photo from Azkals Facebook page) MANILA (AFP) – American coach Thomas Dooley on Thursday kicked out a European-based mainstay of the Philippines’ national football team and left the future of two other players in doubt following a highly public social media spat. Midfielder Stephan Schrock and fellow mainstay Dennis Cagara declared on Twitter and Facebook this week they had played their last match under Dooley, amid speculation they were unhappy over a policy perceived to favour younger players. Schrock got the boot, while the international careers of goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and left-back Cagara are in limbo after Dooley revealed neither was invited to the Azkals’ training camp for an invitational Peace Cup tournament in Manila next month. Dooley accused them of being “selfish and putting themselves in front of everything”. “If somebody does this it’s the worst thing that could happen to a team…. Even if the best player does something like this it kind of poisons the team, so we have to go against that,” Dooley told a news conference. But the German-born coach reserved most of his venom for Schrock. “You cannot have a player like this in the team. It makes a mess everywhere to me. So it’s clear to me: He’s not playing for me anymore.” The Read More …

Older people should get high dose flu shot: study

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
Older people should get high dose flu shot: study

By Kerry Sheridan Scientists say that the flu shot could also help protect your heart. ©F.C.G./Shutterstock.com WASHINGTON, August 13, 2014 (AFP) – Older people are likely to benefit from a high-dose flu vaccine to ward off the seasonal malaise, which can be particularly dangerous to those over 65, researchers said Wednesday. The findings in the New England Journal of Medicine are from the first randomized, controlled trial to compare high and standard doses of flu vaccine in older people. “Until this trial came out we didn’t know if it was going to be clinically better or not, and now we know it is better,” said lead author Keipp Talbot, assistant professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University. The study was funded by Sanofi Pasteur and compared the company’s Fluzone High-Dose inactivated influenza vaccine to the standard-dose Fluzone vaccine. The high-dose contains four times the amount of antigen as the standard dose. The high-dose flu vaccine was 24 percent more effective than the standard-dose vaccine in protecting those over 65 against influenza and its complications, which can include pneumonia and heart failure. It was also found to be safe and induced “significantly higher antibody responses” than the standard dose did. Side effects included greater arm soreness following the injection. The study involved nearly 32,000 people at 126 research centers in the United States and Canada. The flu causes tens of thousands of deaths each year and more than 200,000 hospitalizations, according to background information in the article. “These new data are important Read More …

Drilon urges govt, MILF to submit draft Bangsamoro Law before August ends

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
Drilon urges govt, MILF to submit draft Bangsamoro Law before August ends

CELEBRATING THE SENATE’S 97th ANNIVERSARY. Senate President Franklin M. Drilon addresses Senate officials and employees during the Senate’s flag raising ceremony Monday, October 21. Drilon took the opportunity to thank everyone for what he calls a “selfless act” in deciding to forego plans to celebrate the annual Christmas Party in favor of donating the funds to the victims of recent calamities that struck Visayas and Mindanao. The Senate, which is also celebrating its 97th Anniversary, has also decided to allocate the budget for the anniversary to the victims of the recent 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Bohol and Cebu. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Senate President Franklin Drilon on Monday urged the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to submit to Congress the final draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) before the end of the month. Drilon said the sooner the draft is sent to the Senate and House of Representatives, the better as they will be able to discuss, deliberate and approve it before the year ends or in the first quarter of 2015. “Sana po maibigay sa Kongreso at Senado yung proposed Basic Law by the end of the August para magkaroon kami ng sapat na panahon para talakayin at bago po matapos ang taon o first quarter of next year, amin na pong matapos itong panukalang batas,” he said during a news forum in Manila. The government and MILF peace panels, however, have yet to come up with an agreed version of the BBL even Read More …

Mommy D fights for her ‘honey’

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
Mommy D fights for her ‘honey’

Dionisia Pacquiao (MNS Photo) Mommy Dionisia Pacquiao has no qualms if her son, boxing icon and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacman Pacquiao, does not approve of having a romantic relationship with a 40-year-old man. “Isa lang ang humahadlang, si Manny lang. Sabi niya sa akin ‘Ayoko sana (mag-boyfriend ka)’. Wala siyang magagawa (kasi) gustong-gusto ko ‘to,” she said. She met her boyfriend named Michael at a videoke party, saying, “Nakita niya lang akong (kumakanta noon).” Michael,whom Mommy D calls “honey,” was her escort during her 65th birthday party last May. The boxing champ’s mom said that Michael plans to work abroad to prove that he is not after her wealth. Mommy D even recalled him telling her, “Sa ngayon tiisin mo lang muna, ’di ako umaasa palagi sayo kasi babae ka.” The Pacmom said that they’re not ready to take the plunge just yet. “Wala kaming plano pa (magpa-kasal). Ang importante, nag-enjoy kaming dalawa – mahal niya ako, mahal ko din siya,” she maintained. Referring to Michael, she said, “I love you honey. Magpaka-strong ka jan ingat ka. Mwah!” (MNS)

Pope Francis due to arrive in South Korea Thursday

 News
Aug 132014
 
Pope Francis due to arrive in South Korea Thursday

Pope Francis waves as he boards a plane on his way to South Korea, at Rome’s Fiumicino international airport, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2014. AP SEOUL–Pope Francis arrives in Seoul on Thursday looking to fuel a new era of Catholic growth in Asia–a mission fraught with complex political challenges but huge potential rewards. His five-day visit to South Korea is recognition for one of Asia’s fastest-growing, most devoted and most influential Roman Catholic communities, and will feature a special “reconciliation” Mass with a message for isolated North Korea. But the real goal is longer-term and much wider-ranging. The pope will bring a message about the “future of Asia” and will use his trip to “speak to all the countries on the continent,” the Vatican’s No. 2, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said in a television interview. Early in his pontificate, Francis made it clear that Asia, which his predecessor Benedict never visited, would be a priority. The last papal visit to Asia was by John Paul II to India in 1999, a glaring 15-year gap for a region where the Church is making some spectacular gains but where Catholics still only account for 3.2 percent of the population. The pope’s flight to South Korea takes him over China–potentially the greatest prize of all but also the hardest to claim. Beijing maintains a state-controlled Catholic Church, which rejects the Vatican’s authority. China ‘very great’ challenge  China “is a great cultural challenge, very great,” Francis said in a recent interview with the Italian Read More …

Bistek could face raps for slapping drug suspect

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
Bistek could face raps for slapping drug suspect

Mayor Herbert Bautista (photo courtesy of www.iloveqc.com) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista could face charges for slapping a drug suspect who was caught red-handed with P15 worth of shabu during a buy-bust operation last Friday. Bautista has apologized to the public for the incident, saying that he reacted on impulse when the suspect, identified as Zhen Xu, became disrespectful. “Bawal talaga ang pikon kaya I apologized to the public especially the youth. Leaders should not act that way,” he said. The mayor, however, said he will not apologize to the suspect. He said he is prepared to face any investigation on the incident. “Hindi nya rin nirerespeto ang batas natin. Hindi ko napigilan yung sarili ko. Nag-apologize ako kasi hindi naman magandang halimbawa rin sa kabataan yung ginawa ko,” he said. Commission on Human Rights chairwoman Etta Rosales, however, is not pleased with Bautista’s behavior. Rosales said Bautista’s act was clearly physical abuse and a violation of the human rights of the drug suspect. “Even with the Revised Penal Code, that’s maltreatment. Even without physical injuries. I think when Mayor Herbert was trying to explain what the whole thing was all about, that it was impulse, na nababastusan siya because the Chinese suspect did not cooperate, pretended he could not understand, perhaps he couldn’t understand the mayor. We don’t know. He was probably exercising his right to remain silent. That is the Miranda doctrine,” she said. She said the CHR can pursue a case against the Quezon Read More …

4th impeachment complaint against Aquino filed

 Entertainment
Aug 132014
 
4th impeachment complaint against Aquino filed

President Benigno S. Aquino III arrives for the oath taking of newly appointed generals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), led by AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang, Jr., at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Monday (August 11). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – ACT-Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio on Monday led several teachers in submitting the fourth impeachment complaint against President Benigno Aquino III over what they claimed as the continuation of the pork barrel system in Congress. The 40-page complaint was submitted to the office of House Secretary-General Marilyn Yap Monday morning, a few hours before the start of the plenary session during which three impeachment complaints filed against Aquino last July will reportedly be referred to the House Justice Committee. Yap, however, was not present to receive the complaint. The petitioners accused Aquino of committing culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust by allowing lawmakers to have access to lump sum funds in 2014 despite a Supreme Court ruling abolishing the pork barrel system. Among the “incontrovertible evidence” that Tinio and the 16 other complainants attached to the complaint were audio recordings and the public admissions of high-ranking officials of at least three agencies implementing the projects endorsed by lawmakers. Audio recordings, documents The audio recordings presented by the complainants include those of an “executive session” recently conducted by the House Appropriations Committee with Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairperson Patricia Licuanan to discuss the agency’s scholarship program, Read More …

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