Recent Stories – Page 18

Hong Kong warns travel to Philippines

News

Aug 122013

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 2:43 pm | Monday, August 12th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – Hong Kong has updated its travel advisory against the Philippines, citing the car bomb explosion in Cotabato last week and the United States’ warning of possible kidnapping threats in Mindanao. “Serious hostage-taking incident happened in Manila on 23 August 2010. Residents should avoid all travel to the country. Those who are already there should attend to personal safety and exercise caution,” the advisory said. The Outbound Travel Alert, issued by the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), was revised on their website August 9, 2013. Last August 23, 2010, some 20 Hong Kong tourists on a bus were held hostage at gun point by Rolando Mendoza, a relieved police officer who wanted to get his job back. Mendoza and the eight hostages were killed when negotiations broke down and a gun fight ensued between him and authorities. “On early August 2013, a car bomb explosion occurred in southern city of Cotabato, resulting in serious casualties,” it said. Around nine people were killed in the incident, two of whom were siblings aged five and seven. “On 29 May 2013, the US Embassy in Manila issued a message to US citizens in the Philippines warning against a credible kidnap threat against foreigners in the Zamboanga area on the island of Mindanao,” it added. It further cited travel advisories issued by China, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom that all specified Mindanao as an area that Read More …

Filipino victories in basketball and math

News

Aug 122013

Filipino victories in basketball and math

By Benjamin Pimentel 2:20 pm | Monday, August 12th, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO – Gilas Pilipinas just wrapped up an incredible run at the Asian championship. They deserve all the praise they’ve received, despite not winning the gold. The last time the Philippines won the Asian championship was in 1986. Before that, the Philippines last won in 1973 when the country was still indisputably a dominant force in Asian basketball. I remember the ’70s when the only teams we had to worry about were Japan and South Korea. But then other countries caught up and got stronger, led by China. That put an end to those years of Filipino basketball dominance. But this year’s victories show that the country can steadily rebuild and adapt to a more competitive world of basketball. And that’s probably true in another arena: math. Filipinos know about the exploits of Jason Castro and Jimm Alapag, but have probably not heard of Jan Kendrick Ong and Naomi Anne King. They’re among the Filipino kids who won gold medals at the recent Singapore International Mathematics Contest. Gilas Pilipinas grabbed the silver at FIBA Asia. These Filipino children reaped 23 golds, 45 silvers and 93 bronze medals. And they beat the country that has long dominated this competition, China. It’s an inspiring victory, one that the country can build on to improve math education in the country and most important of all, to get young people excited about math, and even science and technology, in general. Getting people excited Read More …

Laments on the Filipino Diaspora

News

Aug 102013

By Ricardo B. RamosPhilippine Daily Inquirer 11:47 pm | Saturday, August 10th, 2013 MAPPING of overseas Filipinos (SOURCE: Commission on Filipinos Overseas, cfo.gov.ph) My older sister, a retired doctor, recently passed away unexpectedly in Cardiff, Wales, in the United Kingdom where she had resided for the past 25 years. She was 67 years old. Her sudden demise happened two weeks after our youngest sister, a registered nurse, was run over by a car whose driver was texting in Sydney, Australia. The saying must really be true that “when it rains, it pours.” Our family was devastated by the tragedy. Fortunately, our “baby” sister survived the auto accident, although she was badly injured. It will take months before her spine heals. In the meantime, she cannot work and will therefore not receive any compensation from her employer. My older brother, who petitioned my sister’s migration “Down Under” more than two decades ago, took two weeks off from work to take care of her. She is a widow. The tragedy that struck our family in a span of two weeks reminded me of what happened 40 years ago in the early 1970s. Our eldest sister, who was working in Manhattan and at the same time taking her master’s degree in Columbia University, nearly died when she was run over by a car in New York City. While she received some compensation from the insurance of the driver who nearly killed her, she was never the same again. Now at almost 70 years Read More …

Is the US immigration reform bill dead?

News

Aug 102013

IMFO By Lourdes Santos TancincoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 11:45 pm | Saturday, August 10th, 2013 It is hard to say exactly how many of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States are Filipinos. Perhaps we will never know— not until a legalization law is enacted. There are many factors that justify the passage of an immigration reform. A recent poll shows that 74 percent of registered voters favor legalization and eventual US citizenship for undocumented migrants. The Congressional Budget Office said immigration reform, as designed in Senate Bill No. 744, will grow the United States economy, and reduce the federal deficit by $158 billion over the next 10 years and $685 billion more over the following decade. The members of the US House of Representatives will go on summer recess this month of August. While the Senate passed their version of the comprehensive immigration reform bill last June, many wonder whether the bill was dead on arrival at the House of Representatives. A companion bill to SB 744 has yet to be introduced. Immigrants in limbo “Lucia” is one of the undocumented Filipinos who, most probably, will benefit from a legalization program. She arrived in the United States when she was 8 years old and was educated in US schools. Lucia now works as a special education teacher at her local district school. She has been teaching children with disabilities. Lucia has no legal documents. After several years working without proper legal documents, Lucia applied for an Read More …

No one can contain China, scholar says amid territory rows

News

Aug 062013

No one can contain China, scholar says amid territory rows

Agence France-Presse 7:49 pm | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 BEIJING — No one can contain China’s rise, a leading Beijing foreign policy thinker said Tuesday, warning Manila and Tokyo that they had been mistakenly emboldened by Washington in territorial disputes with his country. China is embroiled in a bitter row with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea, and also claims almost the whole of the South China Sea, where it has engaged in standoffs with Philippine forces. At the same time the Obama administration is engaged in a “pivot” to Asia. But Ruan Zongze, vice president and senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said: “No one in this world will try to contain China and no one in this world is capable of containing China. “Since the United States has adopted this new strategy of returning to the Asia-Pacific region, some countries have made the wrong judgement that the US will encourage them to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China,” he added. “This is a misjudgement on their part.” Ruan, who has served as a diplomat in the United States and Britain, was speaking at an event organized by the All-China Journalists’ Association, a state organization. The US has defense treaties with both Japan and the Philippines, and Ruan blamed Washington for emboldening them. It had sold weaponry to the Philippines following tensions between Beijing and Manila over a disputed shoal in the South China Sea, he said. “This has intentionally or Read More …

Menchu Sanchez leads TOFA-NY awardees in 2013

News

Aug 062013

Menchu Sanchez leads TOFA-NY awardees in 2013

By Cristina DC PastorINQUIRER.net US Bureau 5:23 pm | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 From top left clockwise: Menchu De Luna Sanchez, Judge Nina Elgo and Dindi Gallardo Mills This year’s TOFA-NY, the third in a row, is proud to announce the New York Tri-State’s outstanding Filipino Americans, led by a nurse who saved infants in critical condition when Hurricane Sandy caused a power outage, a former actress who is suing for racial discrimination, and a judge who is the first FilAm to serve in Connecticut. The Outstanding Filipino Americans in the New York Tri-State is an annual search for role models in the region with a population of more than 300,000 FilAms. The awards program coincides with the celebration of Filipino American History Month in October. Menchu De Luna Sanchez, the NYU Langone nurse who sprang into action to save at least 20 babies in ICU units when the hospital lost power during Hurricane Sandy, was nominated for the Health Care category. Actress Dindi Gallardo Mills, who brought charges of racial discrimination against her employer — a powerful writer in Hollywood – is a finalist for the category Courage of Conviction. Judge Nina Elgo won a nomination for the category Public Service & Politics for being Connecticut’s first Filipino and first Asian judge. They were among the 39 individuals who comprise this year’s crop of TOFA-NY nominees. The winners will be selected based on Facebook votes (Likes) collected. Last day for voting is September 30, 2013. They will be awarded Read More …

Philippines detains 18 Chinese for illegal mining

News

Aug 062013

Philippines detains 18 Chinese for illegal mining

Agence France-Presse 5:19 pm | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 BLACK SAND mining by Chinese operators in Cagayan. MELVIN GASCON/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON FILE PHOTO MANILA – The Philippines has detained 18 Chinese men on suspicion of illegal black sand mining in the northern coastal town of Aparri, the justice department said Tuesday. Authorities say there has been a rise in the illegal extraction of magnetite – also known as black sand – which is an iron ore in huge demand by China’s steel mills. Justice department investigators raided two mine sites run by Chinese firm Hua Xia Mining and Trading Corp. last Thursday and detained 18 of its employees, department spokesman Alex Lactao told AFP. The company had a permit to dredge magnetite from a nearby river but not from the coast, he said. It is illegal to extract any minerals within 200 meters (656 feet) of a beach under Philippine law. “Nine Chinese nationals were burrowing and processing magnetite sand within the prohibited zone,” said Lactao. The other nine were arrested at a nearby beach where they were building a magnetite processing plant, he added. Environmental groups say illegal magnetite mining has been stripping Philippine coasts through erosion. They have blamed small-scale mining firms, most of them allegedly Chinese and often operating in collusion with shady local government officials, for the devastation. The men detained in Aparri lacked permits required to work in the Philippines and could face further criminal charges, said Lactao, adding they have now been handed over Read More …

DFA rejects anew China’s ‘indisputable claim’ over West Philippine Sea

News

Aug 062013

DFA rejects anew China’s ‘indisputable claim’ over West Philippine Sea

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 4:13 pm | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 DFA spokesman Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) rejects China’s “indisputable” claim over the entire West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), including parts of the country’s 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) – the “core issue” of the territorial dispute between the two countries, a spokesman for the DFA said Tuesday. “We once again redirect China to the core issue which is its claim of indisputable sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea under its ‘nine dash line’ position,” said assistant secretary Raul Hernandez. “The Philippines has asserted before the Arbitral Tribunal, to which China has been invited but has refused to participate, that the nine dash line claim is expansive, excessive and in gross violation of international law,” he told reporters. China’s nine dash line encompasses nearly the entire West Philippine Sea including the Spratly’s group of Islands near Palawan and Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal or Panatag Shoal). It also encroaches into the EEZ of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei, among other Southeast Asian countries. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed three ways to solve the territorial dispute between individual countries. First was the bilateral talks between parties directly involved, second was for the implementation of the “Declaration of the Conduct of the South China Sea” for peace and stability, and third was to look for ways of common exploitation that would economically benefit all concerned parties. China Read More …

Fil-Am artists set lumpia and martini fundraiser in San Francisco

News

Aug 062013

Fil-Am artists set lumpia and martini fundraiser in San Francisco

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 3:32 pm | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO–Local Filipino artists will hold their second annual Lumpia and Martinis gathering on Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. at the Philippine Center Gallery, 447 Sutter Street, fifth floor. The Jay Loyola Dance Project, Filipino American Arts Exposition and various local artists created the annual cocktails and arts event, to celebrate the art scene and the successes of Filipino artists in the Bay Area and all over the United States. Lumpia represents the well-known Filipino appetizer also known as “pulutan” and martini represents the years of hard work of Filipino artists in America in showcasing their ethnic and/or tribal talent in different media. Guest Artists include: Christian Cabuay Ron Quesada “Kulintronica” Parangal Dance Company Pamela Ybanez Marconi Calindas Paolo Salazar La Bamboo Vixen Juven Ayudtud Melanie Sangalang Lenny San Jose “Ukelenny” Coco Chanel Cory “CryWolffs” Calendar Listing: WHO: Jay Loyola Dance Project, Filipino American Arts Exposition, San Francisco Bay Area Local Artists WHAT: Second Annual Lumpia and Martinis 2013 WHEN: August 10, 2013, 6:00pm WHERE: Philippine Center Gallery, 447 Sutter Street, San Francisco, Califronia WHY: Organized to support SF Bay Area Local Artists Tickets: Regular Admission: $25.00 Contact: Lydia D. Neff Phone: (415) 999-8365 Email: lydia@pixelfrontstudios.com Website: www.lumpiaandmartinis.eventbrite.com Follow Us 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 Read More …

Aquino: New Navy ship boosts PH defense in sea row

News

Aug 062013

Aquino: New Navy ship boosts PH defense in sea row

By Frances Mangosing, Kristine Angeli SabilloINQUIRER.net 2:57 pm | Tuesday, August 6th, 2013 The BRP Ramon Alcaraz is the second Hamilton-class cutter that was acquired by the Philippine Navy under the Foreign Military Sales Program of the United States. US EMBASSY PHOTO RELEASE SUBIC BAY, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday said the acquisition of a second warship by the Philippines will boost the Navy’s ability to patrol and defend the country’s waters. Aquino expressed confidence that the BRP Alcaraz, the “newest and modern ship” the country has acquired, will fulfill the government’s aim to have an Armed Forces capable of defending the country and the Filipino people. “Now that the BRP Alcaraz is here, it will definitely boost our patrols around the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone and our ability to quell threats and dangerous elements, respond to search and rescue operations, and needs of our marine resources,” Aquino said in Filipino as he welcomed the arrival of the 45-year-old former US Coast Guard Hamilton-class cutter at the Alava Wharf here. Aquino recounted the ship’s “historic and symbolic” journey from the United States, passing through Pearl Harbor and Guam, and the heroes behind this journey. It is in this light that the President challenged the troops of the Philippine Navy to live up to the courage exemplified by those who lived before them. “So this is my challenge to the Philippine Navy and to the troops that will be on this ship: Live up to the courage and Read More …

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