5 survivors of Bohol quake among 30 to have lunch with Pope Francis

 News
Dec 032014
 
5 survivors of Bohol quake among 30 to have lunch with Pope Francis

Pope Francis. AP FILE PHOTO CEBU CITY, Philippines—A young man lost four of his kin. A woman almost died when her house collapsed. Two women lost an arm each. Another woman was mourning the death of a son. These five individuals suffered greatly when the earth shook for 33 seconds at 8:12 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2013, in Bohol at a magnitude of 7.2. The earthquake was the strongest to hit the province in recent years. Next year, the five will be among those to be comforted by Pope Francis during his visit to Palo town in Leyte province. They are among the 30 lucky people who have been given the privilege of joining Pope Francis for lunch at the Archbishop’s Residence in Palo on Jan. 17, 2015. Five will come from northern Cebu while the 20 others will be from Eastern Visayas, all survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” that devastated the region on Nov. 8, 2013. Fr. Victor Warli Salise Jr., director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the five earthquake survivors came from the hardest-hit towns in Bohol. In a list furnished to the Inquirer, the five were identified as Saturnino Barace from the Our Lady of Light Parish in Antequera, Veneranda Gentallan from the St. Vincent Ferrer Shrine-Parish in Maribojoc, Shiela Bongay from the Our Lady of Light Parish in Loon, Salome Israel from the St. Isidore the Farmer Parish in Tubigon, and Niza Flores from the St. Read More …

Search mounted for missing Taiwanese in El Nido

 News
Dec 032014
 
Search mounted for missing Taiwanese in El Nido

popular Problems with balikbayan boxes? Fret no more as BOC’s online tracker kicks in Ayala Land submits new offer for Puerto Azul Alabang West: Residents to get the best of glamorous Beverly Hills living in the South Mercado has more ‘goods’ on Binay COA asks Cayetano wife to account for P317.4M Bringing PNR back to life to cost P300B Pagasa: Cyclone headed toward PH Bong Revilla disappointed but undeterred by denied bail videos PNP honors 24 peacekeepers First international marathon held in Quezon City Good mix of cineastes turns up at Indie Bravo! festival in Fully Booked Sharapova and Mladenovic have fun in Manila International tennis stars discuss rules and their difficulties on first day games in the IPTL El Nido FILE PHOTO PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines – El Nido police are searching for a missing Taiwanese national believed to have been lost on Tuesday afternoon while swimming across the public beach near the town proper. Police identified the missing person as Yen-Ting Chang, a 43-year-old female tourist, said El Nido municipal environmental officer Joel Gomez, in a phone interview Wednesday. Chang was reported missing by her companion, also a Taiwanese and a tourist, while they were swimming in an area near Sitio Calitang, Barangay (village) Bucana at 4 p.m. The report indicated that the two foreign nationals were swimming just off the beach near the shore when the victim got lost. Gomez said municipal authorities have begun a “search and rescue” operation for the missing Taiwanese national. Gomez said Read More …

DILG orders evacuation in coastal areas in preparation for Hagupit

 News
Dec 032014
 
DILG orders evacuation in coastal areas in preparation for Hagupit

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Wednesday ordered local leaders in the Visayas and Mindanao to immediately evacuate residents leaving in coastal communities in preparation for Typhoon Hagupit. The order was contained in an alert bulletin issued by the department to local government units in Regions 5, 7, 8 and 13 (CARAGA Region) on Wednesday afternoon. In a press statement, DILG Secretary Mar Roxas said he issued the directive after PAGASA said there is a 75 percent chance that Typhoon Hagupit would make its landfall in Eastern Visayas on Saturday noon or early evening. The typhoon is forecast to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Thursday, at which point it will be given the local storm designation “Ruby.” “Sa panahong ganito dapat lahat ay palaging listo. Ang alalahanin natin nasa dulo ang pagsisisi,” Roxas said. Roxas also ordered Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Councils (LDRRMCs) in areas expected to be affected by Typhoon Hagupit to immediately convene to discuss disaster mitigation and response measures. “I have ordered all local chief executives to make the necessary preparations. They have to convene their local disaster risk reduction management councils to operationalize disaster preparedness measures,” he said. Roxas also cancelled any leave of absence filed by officials and personnel of disaster frontline agencies in regions expected to be affected by the typhoon. These agencies include the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), DILG and LGUs. Roxas also issued a reminder Read More …

DOJ denies request to replace prosecutor in Pemberton case

 News
Dec 032014
 
DOJ denies request to replace prosecutor in Pemberton case

popular Problems with balikbayan boxes? Fret no more as BOC’s online tracker kicks in Ayala Land submits new offer for Puerto Azul Alabang West: Residents to get the best of glamorous Beverly Hills living in the South Mercado has more ‘goods’ on Binay COA asks Cayetano wife to account for P317.4M Bringing PNR back to life to cost P300B Pagasa: Cyclone headed toward PH Bong Revilla disappointed but undeterred by denied bail videos PNP honors 24 peacekeepers First international marathon held in Quezon City Good mix of cineastes turns up at Indie Bravo! festival in Fully Booked Sharapova and Mladenovic have fun in Manila International tennis stars discuss rules and their difficulties on first day games in the IPTL MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Justice denied the request of the relatives of slain Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude to replace Olongapo City Prosecutor Emilie Fe Delos Santos as panel head handling the case of suspect Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton. “There is no ground for inhibition. The claim of bias is a mere allegation,” Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said in a text message Wednesday. Atty. Harry Roque, counsel of the Laude family accused Delos Santos of siding with the US government and being antagonistic to their camp since the start of the preliminary investigation. Photo of US Marine Joseph Scott PembertonPHOTO FROM PEMBERTON FACEBOOK ACCOUNT Delos Santos already denied the accusation saying she does not talk to the US government and was only coursing through the Department of Foreign Affairs Read More …

Drilon says Mejorada a dud, misinformed about ICC

 News
Dec 032014
 
Drilon says Mejorada a dud, misinformed about ICC

A dud.  This was how Senate President Franklin Drilon described on Wednesday described his accuser, former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada, claiming the latter was misinformed about the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center. “Gagamitin ko po yung sinabi ng aming kasamang si Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, ‘he’s a dud’. He’s a dud, because the P200 million is the contribution of TIEZA (Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority) in the building, and in fact, the P200 million has not been used,” Drilon told Senate reporters.  He said the P200 million will be used for the second phase of the construction of the ICC. He said the Department of Public Works and Highways is set to bid out the second phase. “That is not the total cost of the building. Nothing in the Deed of Donation says that that is the total cost of the building. Iyon ba ay bibigyan pa natin ng pansin? He’s a dud,” Drilon reiterated. Earlier in the day, Mejorada submitted documents, including the deed of donation, to the Senate blue ribbon committee, to supposedly prove his claim that the construction of the ICC was overpriced. A part of the document states that the Department of Tourism accepts the donation of Megaworld Corporation and it should “earmark, raise, and/or appropriate through the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) and/or available government funding, and in accordance with applicable Philippine laws, P200 million for the construction and development of the Iloilo Convention Center within two years from the Read More …

11 more bodies recovered near sunken South Korean ship

 General
Dec 032014
 
11 more bodies recovered near sunken South Korean ship

SEOUL, South Korea— Fishermen recovered 11 more bodies from the western Bering Sea Wednesday near where a South Korean fishing ship sank earlier this week. The bodies appear to be from the ship lost Monday in the waters near Russia, according to an official from the foreign ministry who didn’t want to be named citing office rules. One fisherman’s body was recovered Monday and seven fishermen were rescued. More than 50 went missing when the ship sank on Monday. The bodies were found by fishing vessels searching the debris of the sunken Oryong 501, said the ministry official. Furious relatives have blamed the company and the ship’s captain for not doing enough to save their family members. Rough seas and bad weather mean there is little hope that anyone will be found alive. Coast guard helicopters from Russia and the United States and at least five fishing ships were searching for the missing, according to an official from Seoul’s foreign ministry, who didn’t want to be named citing office rules. The US rescue ship Munro should arrive Thursday to help the search effort. The crew included 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector, according to the South Korean government. It’s believed the ship began to list after stormy weather caused seawater to flood its storage areas, according to officials from the government and the company that owns the ship. The ship left South Korea on July 10 to catch pollock, a winter delicacy in South Korea, Read More …

Transport department plans to offer ‘bundled’ airport O&M deals this month

 Economy
Dec 022014
 

THE TRANSPORTATION department said it will offer six airport concession contracts in bundled form under the public-private partnership (PPP) program, with bid invitations expected within the month, though the exact combination of airports to be included in the two potential bundles will be determined after consultations.

Track your ‘balikbayan’ boxes

 News
Dec 022014
 
Track your ‘balikbayan’ boxes

Customs Commissioner John Philip Sevilla. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Here’s good news for Filipinos expecting balikbayan boxes filled with goodies from their overseas relatives this Christmas. They may now track the progress of their packages on their way to the Philippines via an online tracking system launched recently by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), a Department of Finance-attached agency. Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla on Tuesday said it was the BOC’s “way of helping our kababayan find their balikbayan boxes when they encounter problems.” “We have received several complaints from families of overseas Filipino workers blaming the bureau for their lost boxes,” he said. But with the tracker, Sevilla said, “The public will no longer be given the runaround by the people responsible for delivering their balikbayan boxes.” Sevilla said the tracker “contains the list of all balikbayan box shipments lodged by local cargo forwarders with the Bureau of Customs, their countries of origin, ports of entry in the Philippines and their bills of lading with the number of the shipment.” “To access the balikbayan box tracker, go to the Bureau of Customs website—www.customs.gov.ph —and click on the Balikbayan Box Tracker banner,” he said. The tracker “contains the names of the foreign forwarder and the local forwarder or broker, entry date, clearance date and current status (of the shipment).” “People expecting balikbayan boxes should know the name of the forwarder and bill of lading number to be able to track the shipment that includes their box,” Sevilla said. Balikbayan boxes Read More …

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