DOH: No toxic substance found in milk tea sample

 Entertainment
Apr 152015
 
DOH: No toxic substance found in milk tea sample

Health Secretary Janette Garin (right) talks to the media along with toxicologists from government hospitals, Dr. Visitacion Antonio (center) and Dr. Benjamin Yson, on Monday. The officials assured the public on the safety of milk teas and that the poisoning incident is an isolated case. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday that it did not find any toxic substance in the milk tea that killed two persons in Manila last Thursday, according to the preliminary findings of the tests it conducted. “Preliminary results were negative for suspected toxic substances,” Health Secretary Janette Garin said in a press conference. Garin said that they are looking at the case as a possible poisoning incident. “The situation appears to be an isolated event, pointing to a possible case of poisoning. Let me emphasize that this is isolated. In fact, this is the third time the couple bought milk tea in the same food establishment. No untoward incident happened during the previous intake,” she said. Garin said that they will expand their tests to include blood, gastric and tissue samples obtained from the victims to determine the cause of death. Meanwhile, Manila Police District (MPD) spokesperson Marissa Bruno said that they did not tamper the milk tea samples forwarded to the DOH and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). The findings of the DOH countered the results of the autopsy conducted by the MPD on Suzaine Dagohoy, one of the victims who took a sip of the Read More …

UNA slams Trillanes for ‘baseless’ allegations vs justices

 Entertainment
Apr 152015
 
UNA slams Trillanes for ‘baseless’ allegations vs justices

The Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee, chaired by Sen. Koko Pimentel, resumes its inquiry on the alleged overpricing of the 11-storey new Makati City II Parking Building, the 22-storey Makati City Hall Building and related anomalies. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) interim president Toby Tiangco slammed Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for throwing “baseless and malicious allegations,” this time against justices. In a statement, Tiangco said Trillanes’ alleged “lust for power has pushed him to lose his mind. Now he wants the Senate to investigate the courts which is a co-equal branch without offering any credible evidence but merely on the word of ‘sources.’” Tiangco said Trillanes is once again hiding behind parliamentary immunity. “He is prosecutor, judge and executioner and those he has maligned cannot defend themselves because he will bully them into silence,” Tiangco said. He said Trillanes should just file bribery raps in court if he indeed has evidence. “But this is not about evidence. This is all about perception and painting a negative picture of Vice President Jejomar Binay through lies and innuendoes,” Tiangco said. Citing sources, Trillanes alleged on Monday morning that Court of Appeals Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Francisco Acosta received P25 million each in exchange for issuing a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction in the suspension case of Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay. Atty. Pancho Villaraza of the Villaraza and Angangco Law Office allegedly facilitated the deed. These allegations are part of a four-page resolution filed by Read More …

PHL accuses China of damaging reefs

 Entertainment
Apr 152015
 
PHL accuses China of damaging reefs

Photographed through the window of a closed aircraft, an aerial view shows Pagasa Island, part of the disputed Spratly group of islands, in the South China Sea located off the coast of western Philippines Wednesday July 20, 2011. China protested a trip made by Filipino lawmakers to disputed areas in the South China Sea to assert the claim of the Philippines. Ethan Sun, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Manila, said the trip scheduled was ‘against the spirit’ of a code of conduct signed by claimants to the areas in 2002. The Spratlys, believed to be rich in oil, mineral and marine resources, are also claimed in whole or partly by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan. (AP Photo/Roley Dela Pena, Pool) Manila, Philippines, AFP – The construction works have destroyed 300 acres of coral reefs, resulting in an estimated $100 million in annual economic losses to coastal states, Philippine foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said. Three hundred acres is roughly three times the size of Vatican City. “China’s massive reclamation activities are causing irreversible and widespread damage to the biodiversity and ecological balance of the South China Sea/West Philippine Sea,” Jose said. He also accused China of tolerating environmentally harmful methods among its fishermen in Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground that it has controlled since 2012, following a tense maritime standoff with the Philippines. Satellite photos from the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released last week also showed a flotilla of Chinese vessels dredging sand onto Read More …

Drilon wary of new wave of black propaganda vs Senate

 General
Apr 152015
 
Drilon wary of new wave of black propaganda vs Senate

Senate President Franklin Drilon delivering his eulogy for former Senator Flavier. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – While “elated” and “humbled” by a recent survey showing rising public satisfaction with his work, Senate President Franklin Drilon said he was bracing for a new wave of negative propaganda against him and the chamber. From a moderate +28 percent in December, 2014, Drilon’s net satisfaction rating rose to a good +35 percent in the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from March 20 to 23, 2015. Based on the survey, it is the rise is the highest among the country’s top officials. “I am elated and humbled by the results of the latest SWS survey showing a renewed people’s trust and confidence to my office in the past months,” the Senate leader said in a statement on Monday. “I know that there is no better and more apt way to show to the Filipino people that I value and deserve their trust, than by working even harder, and fulfilling my duties to the Senate with greater zeal,” he said. Drilon said that he would continue “to listen to the voice and will of the people,” which have always guided him in every decision he makes as a senator, and as a public servant. The Senate President also topped the recent Pulse Asia survey, which gave him a near majority public approval rating of 49%, higher than his 47% approval rating last November 2014. However, Drilon said, public appreciation with his work might not Read More …

Taiwan not among 57 charter members of China's Asian Bank

 Economy
Apr 152015
 
Taiwan not among 57 charter members of China's Asian Bank

Standing in front of the national flag and a portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s Premier Mao Chi-kuo speaks to the foreign media about Taiwan’s interest in joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, April 1, 2015. AP/Wally Santana BEIJING — China on Wednesday announced the 57 charter members of the proposed Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, with longtime rival Taiwan left off the list despite expressing a desire to join. Taiwan’s exclusion means it won’t participate in drawing up the bank’s foundational documents and governance rules, although Beijing says the island is welcome to join later. Beijing on Monday indicated that issues surrounding Taiwan’s accession still need to be hammered out, especially the question of what name the island should be referred to by. Asian Infrastructure Bank membership and potential membership.Philstar.com/Ember Edison    Prospective Founding Members, or PFM, which signed the memorandum to build AIIB    Approved as PFM of AIIB    Applying to become PFM of AIIB    Application under consideration    No commitment to participate    Uncommitted Chinese pressure forces Taiwan to participate in international sporting competitions and other events as “Chinese Taipei,” the name suggested by Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou when he proposed the island’s membership in the bank. However, Beijing appeared to have rejected that suggestion. Although it has not offered an alternative, China succeeded in 1986 in having Taiwan’s name at the Asian Development Bank changed from “Chinese Taipei,” to “Taipei, China.” Read More …

Rapid Philippine growth presented to APEC key execs

 Economy
Apr 142015
 
Rapid Philippine growth presented to APEC key execs

“The Philippines will hit, in 2015, a ‘demographic sweet spot’ that will approximately last for the next 35 years,” Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio Morales said. Photo shows a street in the Philippine capital of Manila. TPSDave MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Antonio Morales recently presented facts about the Philippines and overview of the Philippine economy before 40 officials of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Singapore. In the April 8 meeting, Morales noted the rapid growth trajectory of the Philippine economy from 2010 until 2014. In his presentation, he emphasized that the country’s economy grew by 6.1 percent, making it the second fastest-growing economy in the region after China. He said various factors which contribute to the sharp growth include the country’s large but young population, the various anti-corruption measures that have been established by the current administration, as well as structural changes taking place in the economy caused by good economic fundamentals. “According to UN population projections, the Philippines will hit, in 2015, a ‘demographic sweet spot’ that will approximately last for the next 35 years. Countries in such conditions post an average yearly growth of 7.3 percent,” cited Morales. The ambassador said that the Philippines “can no longer be labeled the sick man of Asia due to the favorable economic conditions and is now savoring an unprecedented level of confidence from the international economy. “For the first time in the country’s history, the Philippines is ranked investment grade by the major credit rating outfits—Moody’s, Standard and Read More …

US stocks mostly higher after mixed earnings

 Economy
Apr 142015
 
US stocks mostly higher after mixed earnings

Trader Sal Suarino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday following mixed corporate earnings news and slightly disappointing US retail sales in March. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW NEW YORK–Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday following mixed corporate earnings news and slightly disappointing US retail sales in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.66 points (0.33 percent) to 18,036.70. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 3.41 (0.16 percent) at 2,095.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 10.96 (0.22 percent) to 4,977.29. Earnings from large banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo exceeded expectations. But analysts said a lower profit forecast from health-care giant Johnson & Johnson due to the strong dollar underscored fears that the greenback will dent multinationals’ earnings reports in the coming weeks. US retail sales rebounded in March from a three-month slump, rising 0.9 percent, slightly below the consensus estimate of 1.0 percent. Dow member JPMorgan tacked on 1.6 percent as first-quarter net income rose 12.2 percent to $5.9 billion behind strong investment banking and trading results. Johnson & Johnson, another Dow member, was flat after trimming its full-year profit forecast due to the strong dollar. First-quarter net income translated into $1.56 per share, two cents above expectations. Freight railroad Norfolk Southern dropped 4.2 percent following a warning that first-quarter earnings are expected to be 15 percent below last year’s due to lower revenues, in part from a decline in coal volumes. Google fell Read More …

Biz Buzz: Bidders or dummies?

 General
Apr 142015
 
Biz Buzz: Bidders or dummies?

While a good deal of people reflected over whether they ever subjected their household help to “yaya meals,” a quiet development occurred recently in the rebidding for the Cavite Laguna Expressway public-private partnership (PPP) deal. It appears that another entity—Gatmaitan Yap Patacsil Gutierrez & Protacio—has acquired bid documents for Calax, bringing the number of “interested” groups to four, apart from San Miguel Corp., Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and business consultancy firm Reyes Tacandong & Co. It’s quite clear that, apart from SMC and Metro Pacific, the two other companies that bought bid documents did so on behalf of other groups. The question now is, who are they? Our government insiders have their suspicions, based on clues littered about. In fact, perhaps a bit anticlimactically, they think these are either current bidders or groups that had previously joined but decided that Calax wasn’t for them. We’ll get to the why in a bit, but recall that it costs a lot more to bid for Calax compared to a year ago. After the drama that played out in round 1, a participant must now need to shell out at least P20.1 billion as a floor bid for a chance to win the toll road deal, which costs another P35.4 billion to build. With that in mind, Biz Buzz insiders were struck, for example, at how the representative of Reyes Tacandong & Co. was very “confident” in their meetings and had very few clarifications and questions. A new bidder, they Read More …

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