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Juan to go to Hong Kong? More than 12,000 Hong Kong seats on sale as low as P1,499

Your low fare airline Cebu Pacific (CEB) revved up the promotion of an additional Manila-Hong Kong frequency this November by offering even lower fares to passengers bound for Hong Kong.

Enjoy more flights to Hong Kong with our low seat sale fares as low as P1,499 from now until October 6, 2010 or until seats last, for travel this December 1, 2010 until January 31, 2011.

Those traveling from Manila to Hong Kong and Clark to Hong Kong can avail of P1,499 ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fares, while P1,999 ‘Go Lite’ seats are up for grabs for Cebu-Hong Kong flights.

Fly to Hong Kong, our most popular international destination, from Manila five times daily, starting November 24, 2010. We will also operate daily flights from both Clark and Cebu to Hong Kong.

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excerpt from a Facebook post:

The Bohol Experience is now the blue print of anti-poverty campaign. By implementing a a family farm concept integrated into a communal farming system, complimented by an eco-balanced environment, with a manageable population growth vis-a-vis the economic resources and an integrated private sector/civil society participatory approach in managing governance, is a new concept in third world countries and Bohol has now been a model of this system to address poverty, peace, development, stability and a well balance eco-system.

The momentum and the phase is already there, what is needed is the continuous empowerment of the farmers, to empower them technically and they be given farm materials and inputs to over supply other agricultural produce. 15 years ago, (NIA-DA) we put up a project to benefit the farmers and rebel returnees, we dispersed mangoes and livestock and gave the rebel returnees and the farmers Irrigator's Associations the technology. Now, many of them are Mango growers, but this is not enough, they must continue for the processing to set in. What is needed are Bamboos, which is in demend in Bohol by the resort owners. This can be dispersed through the farmers and the Irrigators association, it can be converted into chopsticks and other by-products later on. As well as the livestock, because Bohol is already rice sufficient (wag lang kayong pasukan ng rice cartel, like in Luzon), otherwise . . . it will become Bohol's down fall. In the Philippines always remember that RICE is a political commodity, especially that our climate is now very unpredictable.

By Sun Star

A TOP bishop yesterday explained he never threatened to excommunicate President Benigno Aquino III for his views on family planning and reproductive health.

But Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Bishop Nereo Odchimar also continued his campaign against the reproductive health (RH) bill.

“The RH bill is gaining favorable momentum,” said Bishop Odchimar in his homily at the Pontifical Mass at the Indiana Aerospace University in Basak, Lapu-Lapu City.

“Sooner or later, we may become a country that detests conception of life, a country with government officials with their contention that population growth is a hindrance to economic progress, and progress is impossible without contraceptives to control human birth,” he added.

Radio Veritas, the Manila-based official radio station of the Catholic Church, is expected to issue an advisory regarding the “misquoted” statement, said Odchimar.

In the meantime, Cebu-based canon lawyer Msgr. Esteban Binghay said more than civil disobedience, the church should focus on formation of conscience. Binghay is the Episcopal vicar of the Archiocese.

“This case is not for confrontation but dialogue,” he said.

Opponents of the RH bills started on Saturday a daily prayer session dubbed “Prayer for Life.” They said the activity will run until the president listens to their calls.

The prayer sessions, held in the Fuente Osmeña oval from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. every day except Sundays, are led by the Human International Life (HLI) and the Archdiocesan Council of Marian Devotees.

“We will hold this activity until God answers our prayers, until Malacañang gives in to our demands,” Dr. Rene Bullecer of HLI told Sun.Star Cebu.

Advocates of the reproductive health (RH) bills have expressed their support for President Aquino, who recently said the government is open to artificial means of family planning.

The Reproductive Rights Resource Group (3RG)-Cebu, an alliance of groups supporting the bills, said the couple’s right to choose should be respected through a comprehensive family planning program.

Bullecer, however, said the people behind the RH bills are misinformed, hate the church or receive funds from certain institutions abroad.

According to the United Nations, 90 percent of 350,000 women who die annually from complications during child pregnancy or childbirth are in developing countries.

Achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015 is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

But Bullecer described the MDGs, especially the ones related to reproductive health, as “anti-poor.”

The main problem in the country, he said, is not how to restrict population growth, but how to eliminate graft and corruption.

By Sun Star News

NANGANAK na og healthy baby boy ang aktres nga si Judy Ann Santos, sayo sa buntag last Saturday, October 2.

Super happy ang magtiayon nga finally nakita na ang ilang cute baby nga ginganlan og Juan Luis, may angga nga Lucho.

Mayo 29, dihang unang gi-share ni Ryan Agoncillo nga lalaki ang ilang baby.

Kumpleto na gyud ang pamilya Agoncillo, uban ang ilang first adopted baby nga si Yohan. Congratulations!

Sun Star Davao: VICE Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is all out in his support to President Benigno Aquino III's campaign on family planning, a stance that has earned the country's Chief Executive the Roman Catholic Church's ire.

In his television program "Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa" on Sunday, Duterte said even before the national issue came about, the City Government of Davao already passed its own reproductive health bill, which he signed into an ordinance last March 22, 2010.

"I am behind President Aquino on his crusade and I also support Representative Edcel Lagman on his (reproductive health) bill. In my time (as mayor), I encouraged ligation and vasectomy and spacing as family planning method," he said.

Even before the passage of the ordinance this year, the City Government, when Duterte was still mayor, was giving out incentives to mothers from poor families who already have five children, who undergo tubal ligation.

A bigger incentive was given to men who underwent vasectomy, but it was reported by the City Health Office then that very few men underwent the procedure despite the higher incentive. The rate then was P3,000 for a woman who underwent ligation, and P5,000 for a man who underwent vasectomy.

"Ang magtiayon may katungod sa ilang human rights on raising their children. We are just giving a choice. Ug uroy dili na kaya magpakaon ug magpaskwela sa kadaghan anak (Couples have the right to raise their children, we should give them a choice on how. You can just imagine if they can no longer feed and send to school their children all because they have too many)," Duterte said.

He said some church's teachings on family planning method contravene the human nature of procreation, thus making them impossible to follow.

"Naay mga relihiyon na mubangga sa biology sa tawo. Ilang i-prescribe ang puwasa. Dili man gyud na mahimo (There are some religion that go against the human biology. They prescribe sexual abstinence, which is almost impossible). The urge to procreate is the most powerful force in the entire universe. Your teachings go against the grain of biology," Duterte said.

He said couples have the right to choose which family planning method is most effective for them, and the government has the obligation to provide its constituents with all the possible choices available regardless of what is the stand of the Church.

"Tuo mo anang impyerno. Ang akong koneksyon sa Ginoo dili ang akong relihiyon kung dili ang akong pagtuo (Do not believe in hell. My connection with God is not through my religion but through my faith). There is no need for religion to go to Heaven and to talk to God. Excommunicate? Sige (Go ahead). My God understands my biological needs kay iya akong (because I am His) creation. Akong Ginoo masabtunon. Wa ko nagkinahanglan ug relihiyon para muadto sa langit or impyerno (My God is very understanding. I don't need religion to go to heaven or hell)," Duterte said.

"I maintain that the government must make available the pills but it should be given responsibly," he added. This means, contraceptives should not be readily available to the young.

City Ordinance 335-10 or the Women's Health Care Clinic Ordinance of Davao City, provides a comprehensive reproductive health service for the people.

It is part of the commitment of the local government of Davao to adopt a reproductive health care approach at all levels of health care delivery that integrates many issues not previously considered in population, such as sexuality, reproductive tract infections, gender power relations, domestic violence and is not limited to family planning and child bearing only. (BOT/Ivy C. Tejano)

Portfolio funds, or hot money, rose to US$ 6.45 billion as of Sept. 17 this year, up 51 percent from the US$ 4.27 billion a year ago.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. welcomed this flow of foreign funds that helped the BSP build its gross international reserves (GRI) of more than US$ 49 billion today.

But some analysts warned against possible complications arising from such inflows in monetary policy terms, fearing such could lead the BSP and other central banks in the region to adjust current monetary policy settings sooner than would otherwise be warranted.

An upward adjustment at this point to prevent inflationary pressures from gathering steam would only serve to heighten the foreign inflows even more as domestic interest rates shoot up.

But Tetangco ruled out the likelihood, pointing out loan demand is such that increased foreign flows of the magnitude observed in recent months “could be safely accommodated” without resorting to a monetary policy adjustment.

Hot money gross outflows increase by only about half to US$ 5.26 billion during the period from only US$ 4.82 billion last year.

This enabled portfolio funds to flow inward on net basis to US$ 1.19 billion from year to September 17, which was almost 14 times larger than year ago net inflows of just US$ 89 million. (PNA)

Leading the way to innovative and eco-friendly automobile technology, Kia Motors is set to unveil yet another battery-powered, all-electric concept car that just might bring the kick to your driving pleasure.

Visitors to the Paris Motor Show, which will be staged at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris, France, will get a rare first look at the three-seater, sub-10-foot long Kia Pop Concept.


Although no other detailed information was provided for this futuristic mini-carrier, Kia has assured that the Pop “boasts zero-emissions â€" whilst in use â€" and …brings innovative design chic and dramatic styling to the city car segment.”

The Paris Motor Show will open from September 30 up until October 17 and will feature the best, the newest, and the most innovative outputs in today and the future’s car technology. The show will be topbilled by the more than 70 car manufacturers from around the globe, which include (aside from Kia) prominent names in the car industry such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Bugatti, Chevrolet, Ford, Land Rover, Mercedes, and many others more.

Chevrolet, General Motors' vehicle brand, launched four world premieres for Orlando, new Cruze, new Aveo and Captiva SUV here on Thursday, the first day of the 2010 Paris Motor Show.

Chevrolet is General Motors' highest-selling brand, and the U.S. carmaker presented its new product and redesigns mainly targeting the European market.

The 7-seat family van Orlando, due to go on sale across Europe in early 2011, is a redesign from the concept car that debuted at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It has three choices of Chevrolet's three latest engines: one 1.8-liter gasoline engine and two 2.0- liter diesel units.

The new 5-door hatchback model of Cruze HB5, an improvement of Chevrolet's top seller, will go on sale across Europe in mid 2011.

To knock the market in summer 2011 with gasoline or diesel engines, new Aveo boasts about its quality interior with a modern audio system with USB, aux-in and Bluetooth functionality. It has 6-speed automatic transmission and 5 or 6 manual transmission.

Captiva SUV, the front-or-all-wheel drive car, is a seven- seater with new manual and automatic six-speed transmissions. It provides options of two gasoline engines (2.4L and 3.0L) and two turbo-diesel variants (2.2L), and will launch in the European market in spring 2011.

The 2010 Paris Motor Show opened to the press on Thursday in southwest Paris, and will open to the public from Oct. 2 to 17. The 2-week biennial international event, started in 1898, has become the most attractive international cars show with a record of 1.43 million visitors for the 2008 show. - Associated Press, source

Naging malaking inspirasyon para sa mga manggagawa ng Sorsogon City Water District at mga residente ng Local Government Unit ng Bulusan ang pagkakapili sa kanilang tanggapan at bayan bilang mga finalist sa isinagawang 2010 Regional Search for Outstanding National Government Agency (Non-Accredited Category) ng Civil Service Commission Region V kung saan personal na dumalo si CSC Commissioner Francisco Duque.
Tanging ang Sorsogon City Water District lang ang nakapasok bilang finalist mula sa grupo ng Government Owned and Controlled Corporation habang ang bayan naman ng Bulusan ang nakapasok mula sa grupo ng mga LGUs sa buong lalawigan ng Sorsogon.

Ayon kay Arpon Lucero, CEO VI at Director II ng Civil Service Commission Sorsogon Field Office, ginagawa ang nasabing regional search taon-taon upang bigyang parangal at pagkilala ang mga manggagawa at ahensyang patuloy na nagtatrabaho ng matuwid upang mas mapataas pa ang kalidad ng serbisyo sibil.
Bahagi din aniya ito ng 110th taong selebrasyon ng Philippine Civil Service na may temang "In a RACE to serve: Advancing Responsive, Accessible, Couteous and Effective Public Service".

Matatandaang noong 2004, kinilala na ang Sorsogon Water District bilang Outstanding National Government Agency ng Civil Service Commission at ginawaran din ito ng Service Excellence Award (Hall of Fame) noong 2003 bilang Outstanding Local Water District in the field of Personnel Management and Administration sa rehiyon ng Bicol dahilan sa tatlong sunud-sunod na taong kagalingan nito sa pamamalakad mula taong 2001 hanggang taong 2003. (PIA Sorsogon) [top]

As three barangays in Cebu City out of the total six barangays in the region have been declared with dengue epidemic outbreak, the Department of Health (DOH-7) is trying to fast track the purchase of chemically treated mosquito nets that is hopefully seen to combat the rising incidence of dengue cases.
DOH-7 Regional Director Dr. Susana Madarieta said a budget of P2.4M has been allocated by their office for the purchase of the treated nets which will benefit the three declared'outbreak' barangays --- Guadalupe, Labangon and Tisa.

Guadalupe and Labangon as well as Tisa in Cebu City have the highest number of dengue cases in Cebu City which prompted the DOH-7 to declare these areas with "dengue outbreak."
"We are declaring a dengue outbreak in the barangays of Guadalupe, Labangon and Tisa in Cebu City as cases in these areas have reached more than the epidemic threshold level," Madarieta claimed.
Data taken from the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit's (RESU-7) as of Sept. 25 on dengue updates, Barangay Guadalupe recorded 154 dengue cases followed by Barangay Labangon with 84 cases and Tisa with 102 cases placing these areas under the outbreak category.

Madarieta bared six other barangays in the city are also on the possible list to be declared under the outbreak category namely Lahug, Hipodromo, Talamban, Mabolo, Apas, and Mambaling.

Currently, 8,706 dengue cases have been recorded in Central Visayas with 63 deaths although the case fatality rate is.7 percent which is quite low compared to last year's number of deaths which was recorded at 1.4 percent, Madarieta said.

The other three barangays that were declared under the outbreak category are Barangays Cogon and Dao in Tagbilaran City, Bohol and Barangay Daro in Dumaguete City, Ngeors Oriental.

Out of the total figure of dengue cases, Cebu City had the highest number with 2,369 dengue cases with 16 deaths followed by Tagbilaran City with 503 cases and six deaths and third, Dumaguete City with 347 cases with two reported fatalities.

Madarieta said the money is ready and that they are just waiting for the bidding to be finish as she added that she will asked the Awards Committee to fast track the bidding process.

Madarieta said the treated nets which are effective for five years will be placed in the windows and doors of public elementary schools in the three city baranagys. The nets not only ward off the mosquitoes but onc these mosquitoes come in contact with the net, they will die so it has a double-purpose.

The DOH-7 regional director admitted that they do not have sufficient funds to provide other affected dengue barangays with the treated nets as she recommended the other barangays to use their calamity funds to acquire the medicated curtains. -source: PIA

by Agence France Presse

A Florida couple pleaded guilty to conspiring to hold 39 Filipino employees against their will working in country clubs and hotels, the US Justice Department said Friday.

Sophia Manuel, 41, and Alfonso Baldonado Jr., 45, were owners of a labor contracting service based in the Florida city of Boca Raton.

Manuel and Baldonado "conspired to obtain a cheap, compliant and readily available labor pool, by making false promises to entice the victims to incur debts," read a Department of Justice statement, quoting court documents.

"The defendants then compelled the victims' labor and services through threats to have the workers arrested and deported, knowing the workers faced serious economic harm and possible incarceration for nonpayment of debts in the Philippines."

Once the workers arrived at Manuel and Baldonado's Florida residence, the couple confiscated their passports, then "housed them in overcrowded, substandard conditions without adequate food or drinking water; put them to work at area country clubs and hotels for little or no pay; required them to remain in the defendants' service, unpaid when there was insufficient work."

They ordered them not to leave the premises without permission and "threatened to have the workers arrested and deported for complaining about these terms and conditions," the statement said.

Manuel also pleaded guilty to lying in an application filed with the US Labor Department to obtain foreign labor certifications and visas under the federal H2B guest worker program.

"These defendants victimized vulnerable individuals for profit," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.

Agencies involved in investigating the case include Immigration and Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the US Department of Labor.

By Manila Bulletin

As part of its intensified fight against dengue, Bohol is scheduling a simultaneous clean-up drive later this week in an effort to better protect the province against the mosquito-borne disease. During the joint League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) and the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines - Bohol Chapters meeting, local officials led by Governor Edgar M.

Chatto said a simultaneous clean up drive aimed at ridding mosquitoes their breeding places in communities all over the province will be launched on Friday. Under the supervision of the mayors, people from communities in the towns and city all over Bohol will be seen going out of their workplaces in the afternoon of September 17 to do one thing, that is, spill out the contents of all water-filled containers that could serve as a breeding place for the aedes egypti mosquito in the province. Health authorities all over Central Visayas who noted an increase of 1,229 cases of dengue monitored between January to September this year, have raised an alarm, for fear of an eventual outbreak of dengue, if measures to stop the disease continue to be unimplemented.

With the disease already claiming eight deaths at least, and countless other patients suspected or confirmed to be afflicted with dengue in hospitals from January to August, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Reymoses Cabagnot said neglecting the threat of the disease can be disastrous. Bohol dengue cases, most of these seen in Tagbilaran City, has declared the province to be the second highest in the region in terms of monitored dengue cases. Health authorities all over Bohol have long been urging people to be very cautious about contracting the disease, but despite these warnings, many patients have been appearing in the province's hospitals.

The Bohol governor has emphasized that cleaning up surroundings and destroying mosquito-breeding grounds like receptacles collecting water remain the most effective way communities can help in dengue prevention.

from Health Day News

Out-of-shape men who work long hours more than double their risk of dying from heart disease compared to non-fit men working fewer hours, researchers report.

The study also found that when men are fit, working long hours doesn't boost heart risk at all.

The new study included 5,000 Danish men, aged 40 to 59 years, who worked at 14 different companies. Their fitness levels were assessed at the start of the study and they were followed-up for more than 30 years. During that time, 587 (about 12 percent) of the men died as result of narrowed and hardened arteries (also known as ischemic heart disease).

The study, released online Sept. 6 in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Heart, also found the following:
Compared with men who worked less than 40 hours per week, unfit men who worked 41 to 45 hours a week were 59 percent more likely to die of heart disease, although they were not more likely to die of other causes.
Compared with unfit men, those who were physically fit and worked longer hours were 45 percent less likely to die of heart disease and 38 percent less likely to die of other causes.
Being both unfit and working more than 45 hours per week more than doubled a man's risk of dying of heart disease compared with those who worked less than 40 hours per week.


"The finding that working more than 45 hours a week is associated with more than a doubled risk of [death from heart disease] among men with low physical fitness, and not among men with moderate or high physical fitness, is a new observation," Andreas Holtermann, of the National Research Centre for the Working Environment in Copenhagen, and colleagues said in a news release from the journal's publisher.

Bohol Chronicle

A young Boholano engineer was killed in a Qatar landslide, his death a virtual test to the resurrection of the widely-praised program OFW Action Line which endeared Gov. Edgar Chatto to the migrant workers during his Congress days.

The corpse of 32-year-old geodetic engineer Hilario Cellero Fudalan had been in the hospital morgue since his death in a jobsite landslide in Doha, Qatar last August 29, but not until the governor's line for OFWs moved.

Grieving and seemingly hopeless for the immediate return of his son's dead body to Tangnan, Panglao, the OFW's father, Victor, turned to Chatto's OFW Action Line program.

The program, which already assisted countless OFWs in distress and critical conditions during Chatto's nine-year congressional stint, has a component OFW desk which he has now institutionalized in the provincial government under the Bohol Employment and Placement Office (BEPO).

The governor revived the other OFW Action Line component, its slots on DYRD and DYTR which retain the title of the program itself and are heard worldwide via Internet on their new Wednesday airtime.
         

As soon as the program resumed on air, Fudalan's father sought the governor's help thru the OFW desk at capitol for the repatriation of his son's remains.

The loved ones of the unfortunate OFW also asked assistance to facilitate the compensation and benefits due the dead overseas worker.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), thru the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), just released the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10022 or the amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

The law requires the recruitment agencies to pay the premium of the insurance coverage for the OFW which amounts to $15,000 for accidental death.

Fudalan's violent death by landslide was not reported by his employer to the Philippine Consulate in Qatar until his cousin, Bernadeth Ranario who has married an Arabian, informed his family back home.

Chatto's OFW desk officer, Reinerio Augusto Real, swiftly networked with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for the dead worker's transport home as earliest possible.

The cold, lifeless OFW was finally repatriated and scheduled to arrive in Bohol last Wednesday, September 8.

In another case testing the revival of the OFW Action Line, the governor himself personally asked Australian Ambassador Rod Smith for the speedy process of the papers for the travel abroad of the loved ones of Boholana Lorenza Rabuya Jabines who succumbed to a fatal stroke in Brisbane, Australia.

In one more but distinct case, Chatto's OFW affairs unit assisted an OFW who wished for the scholarship or study assistance to his dependents thru the OWWA.

Reaching out to and gaining feedbacks from more Boholano migrant workers worldwide, the Chatto administration launched the ofwaline_bohol@yahoo.com. at the time it revived the OFW Action Line broadcast.

From Saudi Arabia, OFW Elias Bonite e-mailed his commendation of the governor's concern for the Boholano migrant workers. Experience prodded him to suggest additional approaches that could be done or facilitated by the provincial for the welfare of the migrant workers, their families and dependents.

OFW DESKS IN TOWNS

Chatto urged in his joint meeting with he leagues of mayors and vice mayors at People's Mansion for the establishment of OFW desks in their respective towns.

These desks can facilitate the concerns of the OFWs and their families in their respective localities for action by the provincial government or intercession by the latter for response by concerned national agencies.

A report to the governor on a regional forum on migration and development said that most of the LGUs have weak, if no existent at all---migration data gathering system.

The creation of OFW desk in each municipality will pursue the intents of an agreement which will soon be inked between the province and OWWA, which will also present OFW medical and educational assistance packages on the occasion.

Government welfare programs for the dependents of the OFWs have been made more responsive as cases of migrant workers in forced suffering and critical conditions, apart from more perilous dangers by the nature of their jobs, have kept piling up.

Another case raised to the governor's OFW Action Line involves a mariner from Maribojoc who has been hostaged, together with 19 other Filipino crewmen, by the pirates in the notorious seas off Somali.

Chatto has his OFW desk also maintaining lines with the DFA and OWWA for the urgent return of a Loonanon woman working as a beautician of a cruel employer in Doha, Qatar, exactly the Arab land where OFW Fudalan died. (Ven rebo Arigo)

Bahay Kubo 2
Half-Australian Baby Sings Bahay Kubo, a Traditional Pinoy Song
Her name is Bridget.

by Jenniffer B. Austria
Manila Standard Today

The Securities and Exchange Commission approved Thursday the P32.2-billion initial public offering of Cebu Pacific Air Inc., the budget airline of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc.

The airline said in a filing with the SEC it planned to list its shares under the first board of the Philippine Stock Exchange on Oct. 25 under the trading symbol “CEBU.”

Cebu Air, which operates Cebu Pacific, will offer 214.632 million shares, consisting of 30.66 million in primary shares, 155.97 million in secondary stocks and up to 27.99 million in optional securities to cover overallotment. It will sell the shares at a maximum price of P150 apiece.

Cebu Air tapped Citigroup Global Markets Ltd., Deutsche Bank AG (Hong Kong Branch) and J.P. Morgan Securities Ltd. as joint global coordinators and international lead managers and ATR Kim Eng Capital Partners Inc. as the local underwriter for the offering.

“The company intends to use the majority of net proceeds from the offer for pre-delivery payments for aircraft,” the airline said.

The company plans to spend P4.46 billion for pre-delivery payment of aircraft between 2011 and 2012.

Cebu Air in May increased its Airbus A320 orders by seven in a bid to double its seat capacity over the next five years and increase the fleet to 51 by 2014.

Twenty-two Airbus A320 orders, including the additional seven, will require an investment of some $1.4 billion.

The 22 brand new aircraft are set to be delivered from 2010 until 2014, with the first 180-seat aircraft arriving next month.

The additional orders will enable the company to achieve its target of flying 10 million passengers by 2010, 13 million by 2012 and 15.1 million by 2015.

The airline deferred the planned IPO twice due to the extreme volatility in the global equities market in 2007 and the uncertainty that prevailed during the May elections this year.

Cebu Air registered a net profit of P3.09 billion in the first half of the year, up 56 on the back of a 30.9-percent growth in revenues. The increased number of passengers and additional flight frequencies also boosted first-half revenues to P14.91 billion from P11.39 billion year-on-year.

The airline operates a young fleet of 29 aircraft with an average age of 2.5 years as of end-December 2009. It runs an extensive network serving 50 domestic routes and 21 international destinations with a total of 1,710 weekly flights.

by Christine Herrera
Manila Standard Today

Lawmakers on Thursday urged President Aquino to fire Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo who is a foreigner and barred by the Constitution from holding national position especially the one that has to do with national security even in an “acting capacity.”

Robredo, who is facing a deportation case before the Bureau of Immigration, has falsified documents, perjured himself and fraudulently misrepresented himself as a Filipino, when he is actually a Chinese citizen, according to Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Robredo Villafuerte.

“Robredo sought to justify fraudulent misrepresentations. He falsely registered as a voter by pretending to be a Filipino, voted fraudulently in spite of being an alien, became a candidate by misrepresenting his qualification, unlawfully participating in the political exercise of the nation, all under false pretenses,” Villafuerte said, citing the ruling of the Commission on Elections.

In 2007, the Comelec found Robredo a non-Filipino citizen, and the ruling was made as basis for the deportation case against him.

“We have to look into the Chinese citizenship of Robredo. President Aquino may have violated the Constitution for appointing him as DILG chief,” House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said. Lagman demanded that Robredo relinquish his post for failing to take control of the hostage-taking situation that ended in eight Hong Kong nationals getting killed.

Villafuerte said Robredo’s father, Jose, could not even show proof that he was a naturalized or natural-born Filipino. Robredo also failed to do that, he said.

“Both father and son applied for passports and fabricated documents, including papers that would show Robredo’ grandfather died in the Philippines and the friendly parish produced documents that the grandfather was interred in 1972 when he died in China in 1933,” Villafuerte said, citing court documents.

Comelec, Immigration and Supreme Court records show that Robredo’s grandparents were born and died in China, his father was born in China and used the Robredo family name by passing himself off as a relative of Villafuerte, who was orphaned at the age of 5.

“His father named his children after the brothers’ and sisters’ of my late mother and they bore my mother’s maiden name without the courts allowing him to do so,” Villafuerte told Manila Standard in an interview.

“President Aquino should fire Robredo, whose position as DILG chief, allows him to have access to all national security plans and state secrets, when all along, he did not elect to be a Filipino when he reached the legal age of 21,” Villafuerte said. Robredo is 42.

Villafuerte said Robredo’s father also resided with them and did not acquire a domicile as required by law to acquire Filipino citizenship. He also failed to show proof of birth in the Philippines.

Robredo admitted being a Chinese citizen by asserting that he had acquired the Filipino citizenship through “implied election” for being voted into office for 19 years. He also voted as a Filipino, and took the oath of office when he was elected as Mayor of Naga City and thus committing perjury, Villafuerte said.

In 2007, the Comelec ruled: “Having been cornered into a very untenable situation that respondents Chinese ancestry has been clearly demonstrated, and that the principle on the essence of transmissiveness of citizenship indubitably leads to the conclusion that respondents are not Filipino citizens.

“Respondent Jesse M. Robredo, in particular, in a desperate move pleaded that even if he was not able to formally elect Filipino citizenship at the age of majority according to the strictures of the law, still, he should be accorded the privilege of “IMPLIED ELECTION” of citizenship because he registered as a voter, ran for public office as a Mayor and is a multi-awarded local executive.

“In invoking the alleged “implied election” of citizenship, respondent Jesse M. Robredo, conveniently forgot that nobody and absolutely nobody can invoke an “implied election” of citizenship, without admitting that indeed, he was and still is, a foreigner, i.e. Chinese citizen,” the Comelec ruled.

“These pretenders (of Filipino citizenship) would even go to the extent of employing fraudulent schemes and committing perjury through declarations of lies and falsehoods under oath, just so they can pursue their deceitful claim of Filipino citizenship. Said contention of “implied election” therefore should not be given credence by the Bureau of Immigration,” Immigration records show.

Switzerland on Wednesday said that it will continue to work closely with the Counter- Terrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF), a UN body that works to help member states address terrorist threats.

"An effective global counter-terrorism program must focus on non-military tools," said the UN ambassador of Switzerland, Jurg Lindenmann, at a General Assembly meeting to review the UN strategy to fight terrorism. The ambassador is the Swiss coordinator of the fight against terrorism.

Lindenmann noted that all four pillars of the Strategy, a plan adopted by the CTITF in 2006 to help member states address terrorist threats which include capacity-building, law enforcement cooperation and dealing with the underlying societal and political conditions that are conducive to the spread of terrorism, needed to be implemented.

"The Strategy remains the foundation of the UN Counter- Terrorism Program," the ambassador said.

Lindenmann recommended that the CTITF needed to be " continuously provided with an appropriate level of resources, in particular through the regular budget."

Switzerland has supported several activities of the CTITF and its working groups during the last four years. - pna

The largest solar power station in the Czech Republic opened on Wednesday in the village of Veprek, some 20 kilometers north of Prague.

The station covers an area equivalent to a hundred soccer fields, and has the designed capacity to generate 35 megawatts of electricity.

The key equipment of the power station was manufactured in China's Jiangsu Province.

The opening ceremony was attended by Ren Hongbin, chairman of SINOMACH, a state-owned company in China that guaranteed the project.

Ren said in his speech that this power station, one of the biggest in Europe, will help fulfill the goals of the UN Copenhagen climate change conference to reduce pollution and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

The Czech Republic hopes to increase the share of electricity produced by solar power stations to 13 percent by 2020. (PNA/Xinhua)

Toys R Us plans to invade the mall this holiday season, opening 600 temporary "Express" stores in malls and other shopping centers around the country, more than six times last year's count, and hiring 10,000 seasonal workers.

The move is the latest in Toys R Us' attempt to capture more holiday dollars amid tough competition from online retailers and mass merchants such as Walmart and Target. It also fills a gap in shopping malls created when KB Toys, which had been the largest mall-based toy seller, went out of business in 2008.

"We've been very aggressive during the economic downturn, and this is another aggressive action," CEO Jerry Storch said. "During the holiday season, mall traffic ramps up, and this will allow customers to purchase fill-in toys," when they are at the mall already, he said.

Toys R Us opened 90 standalone pop-up stores last holiday season. The company has been working on the plan since last year. - PNA

Top United Nations officials on Wednesday called for more funding and advocacy to improve literacy rates among the world's women, who comprise two out of every three adults who cannot read or write.

In a message marking International Literacy Day, which is observed on Wednesday, UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon stressed the transformative effect on both a family and the wider community when a woman is literate.

"Literate women are more likely to send their children, especially their girls, to school," he said. "By acquiring literacy, women become more economically self-reliant and more actively engaged in their country's social, political and cultural life. All evidence shows that investment in literacy for women yields high development dividends."

Sept. 8 was proclaimed the International Literacy Day by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Nov. 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On the International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world.

Literacy is a cause for celebration since there are now close to four billion literate people in the world. However, literacy for all -- children, youth and adults -- is still an unaccomplished goal and an ever moving target.

The secretary-general urged governments, donors, non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups to do more to make literacy accessible to women everywhere, particularly those living in vulnerable or isolated communities. - PNA

International cooperation is fundamental to respond properly to terrorism because terrorism is a "thread that is transnational by nature," a European Union ( EU) official said at a UN meeting on counter-terrorism here on Wednesday.

"The EU considers terrorism to be a crime which should be prevented, prosecuted and punished according to the rules and procedures of criminal law," Jan Grauls, permanent representative of Belgium to the UN, said on behalf of the EU at a meeting of the UN General Assembly to review the current UN strategy to counter- terrorism.

The EU has been hit by terror attacks in the past for several times, and still is considered a potential target for terrorist organizations.

According to Grauls, the EU therefore currently works to internally develop cooperation policies on the operational level.

"The EU will remain the strongest supporter of international standards on human rights and the rule of law. We remain convinced that effective counter-terrorism and the promotion and protection of human rights are mutually reinforcing, not competing, goals," said Grauls.

A UN body tasked with countering terrorism on Tuesday launched a new plan to improve current initiatives to battle terrorism in Central Asia.

Meanwhile, Grauls called for "a speedy conclusion of the negotiations on the comprehensive convention on international terrorism, which would be an important step forward in the UN's counter-terrorism efforts."

"The EU is committed to supporting multilateral approaches, working with regional organizations, but most significantly with the UN system: the General Assembly, the Security Council and the specialized agencies," Grauls said.

A three-day event to review the current UN strategy to counter terrorism started on Wednesday, with some 150 participants discussing the global efforts to fight terrorism. (PNA/Xinhua)

(PNA/Xinhua) -- Early on Wednesday morning, the Malta-flagged Merchant Vessel OLIB G was pirated in the east part of the Gulf of Aden, European Union naval force confirmed on Wednesday.

Naval Force spokesman John Harbour said after report from a merchant vessel that a skiff was approaching MV OLIB G, and after several unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the vessel, the USS Princeton warship of Task Force 151 launched its helicopter. The helicopter was able to identify two pirates on board MV OLIB G.

"The MV OLIB G, deadweight 6,375 tons, has a crew of 18, among which are 15 Georgian and three Turkish," Harbour said.

He also said the MV OLIB G was sailing West in the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor through the Gulf of Aden with a cargo of ballast, adding that the EU anti-piracy mission was monitoring the situation.

The Horn of Africa nation's coastline is considered one of the world's most dangerous stretches of water because of piracy.

Somalia is at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden, which leads to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping channels.

The country has been plagued by factional fighting between warlords and hasn't had a functioning central administration since the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.

British journalist Piers Morgan will take over much coveted prime-time slot vacated by Larry King in about four months' time, Cable News Network (CNN) announced on Wednesday.

Morgan's show will air live on CNN-US at 9 p.m. ET and will also air worldwide on CNN-International in more than 200 countries, the network said. However, the show has not been named in the CNN news release.

"I have watched 'Larry King Live' for much of the last 25 years, and dreamed of one day filling the legendary suspenders of the man I consider to be the greatest TV interviewer of them all," Morgan said.

CNN chose Morgan because he is able to "look at all aspects of the news with style and humor with an occasional good laugh in the process," CNN-US President Jon Klein said.

Morgan, 45, has worked as reporter and editor for "The Wimbledon News" in England before he was editor-in-chief on "Daily Mirror." He left the newspaper in 2004 and became a television personality, hosting interviews on the BBC and ITV. He also judges on the well-received "Britain's Got Talent."

Morgan, who is best known to American viewers as a judge on NBC 's "America's Got Talent," has most recently hosted "Piers Morgan' s Life Stories" on television in Britain.

King announced this summer that he was stepping aside from CNN' s "Larry King Live," a show he began hosting in 1985.

The 76-year-old, whose nightly CNN talk show was long a required stomping ground for striving politicians and contrite celebrities, will not be leaving CNN altogether: He signed a new contract to host quarterly specials on the cable news channel.

In a nod to how much the medium has changed since King began broadcasting in 1957, he broke the news himself on Twitter, writing: "Announcing tonight: I'm ending my nightly show this fall but continuing at CNN." He said he had asked his network to let him "hang up his suspenders."

Aside from Morgan, CBS anchor Katie Couric's name has been frequently floated as a possible successor, and King himself has volunteered that he thinks "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest would be a worthy contender.

The "Larry King Live" talk show, which has been on air on CNN for 25 years, has seen a sharp fall-off in audience this year.

According to Nielsen, an average of 677,000 viewers tuned in during the second quarter of 2010, down 37 percent from the same period last year. (PNA/Xinhua)

(PNA/Xinhua) -- A former government official in Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve Wednesday after being convicted of corruption.

Fan Zhongqian, former mayoral assistant of Guiyang, was convicted Wednesday at the Intermediate People's Court in Guiyang City of accepting bribes and failing to account for his cash and assets.

The sentence included the confiscation of all Fan's personal property and the lifetime deprivation of his political rights.

The verdict was approved by the Higher People's Court of Guizhou Province.

The Guiyang Intermediate People's Court issued a verdict in the first trial on July 29, saying Fan took bribes totaling more than 10 million yuan (1.47 million U.S. dollars) and had an additional 2.46 million yuan, 250,000 U.S.dollars, 120,000 Euros, and 360,000 Hong Kong dollars, received from unidentified sources when he was in office from 1988 to 2008.

Fan had planned to appeal the ruling verbally, though he later submitted a written document withdrawing his appeal.

The U.S. dollar remained at the upper 83 yen level early Wednesday in Tokyo.

At 9 a.m., the dollar traded at 83.76-80 against 83.80-90 yen in New York and 83.89-90 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The euro fetched 1.2694-2695 dollars and 106.35-36 yen versus 1. 2677-2687 dollars and 106.27-37 yen in New York and 1.2792-2794 dollars and 107.31-35 yen in Tokyo late Tuesday. (PNA/Xinhua)

Twenty illegal immigrants trying to enter the United States illegally by boat were arrested off a California beach on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The U.S. Border Patrol said the 17 men and three women, all from Mexico, were rounded up after they came ashore at Calafia State Beach in San Clemente, Southern California.

When the small craft the immigrants were riding in landed, the occupants attempted to flee, the patrol said.

A 36-year-old woman broke her leg after jumping from the boat and was taken to a hospital for treatment. The rest of the group were taken to a Border Patrol station for processing, according to a statement from the U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego. - pna

(PNA/Xinhua) -- Doctors' negligence was blamed for the failure to prevent eight infants in the U.S. State of California from dying from whooping cough this year, it was reported on Tuesday.

Doctors typically failed to make a swift and accurate diagnosis despite patients' multiple visits to clinics and hospitals, the Los Angeles Times said, citing an analysis of the cases.

"In several cases ... the infants were treated only for nasal congestion or mild upper respiratory infection," Dr. John Talarico, an immunization official with the California Department of Public Health, wrote in a recent letter to healthcare providers statewide, the paper said.

"By the time these infants developed severe respiratory distress, it was usually too late for any intervention to prevent their tragic deaths," Talarico wrote.

Because whooping cough, also known as pertussis, can be hard to diagnose, health officials urged physicians to suspect the bacterial disease in any infant under six months of age who is having trouble breathing, the paper said.

A quick diagnosis can lead to treatment with antibiotics, which can keep the patient from becoming gravely ill.

With children returning to classrooms this week, whooping cough is showing no sign of letting up in California.

"It's still on the upswing, and I think it's going to be accentuated with schools opening," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director for the Department of Public Health for Los Angeles County. "There is going to be increased opportunity for infection. "

He urged parents to keep sick children at home, and teachers to be alert about the spread of illness in the classroom.

California is in its worst year of whooping cough since 1958, with 3,600 cases reported so far this year -- a seven-fold increase from the same period last year.

Of the eight infants who have died, all were younger than three months old. Four of them died in Los Angeles County.

PNA/Xinhua) -- Findings of a UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) study published in two reports launched here on Tuesday revealed that replacing conventional methods of aid distribution with efforts targeting the hardest places to reach and the poorest communities will help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) involving children.

"The results of our study we believe will make a big difference in what UNICEF will do and a still bigger difference in the lives of the children that we serve," Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, said at a press conference here. "What we've found can change how they will live."

"Our findings challenge the traditional thinking that focusing on the poorest and most disadvantaged children is cost-effective," Lake said. "An equity-focused strategy will yield not only a moral victory -- right in principle -- but an even more exciting one: right in practice."

Lake joined Carolyn Miles, executive vice president and chief operating officer of non-profit group Save the Children, to launch UNICEF's flagship reports, "Narrowing the Gaps to Meet the Goals" and "Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity," which explain UNICEF's support for this equity-based approach to development.

The MDGs are a set of eight international development goals, several of them involving children, that are due to be completed by 2015. Lake said that his team at UNICEF had become "alarmed" by the fact that even as progress is made in some countries toward the MDGs, the conditions of the poorest of the poor in these countries are staying the same or getting worse.

"Poor children in developing countries are two to three times more likely to be underweight, less likely to attend school and more likely to die than children in the richest quintile, and this is just wrong," said Lake.

The UNICEF study involved intensive examination of development results in a variety of countries and concluded that the equity approach is more cost-effective and helps accelerate progress toward the MDGs more than traditional methods.

Results of the study showed that an investment of one million U. S. dollars in MDG 4, which is the goal that requires reducing the deaths of children under age five, prevented 60 percent more deaths when it was directed toward marginalized populations than when it was directed using traditional methods.

Lake said that results like this prove the equity approach is " not only right in principle, it is right in practice as well. It doesn't suggest change, we believe, it compels it."

Miles said that her organization's own report titled "A Fair Chance at Life: Why Equity Matters for Children" corroborates the conclusion of the UNICEF reports about focusing on the most marginalized populations. Save the Children has focused on reaching MDG 4 through equitable measures.

"Reaching all members of society regardless of wealth, status or gender is very doable when equity is seen as important," she said. "And our research shows that priority on the poorest is one of the surest ways to make progress towards MDG 4."

UNICEF is on the ground in more than 150 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. (PNA/Xinhua)

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday that an Emergency Humanitarian Action Plan has been prepared to cover the needs of more than 100,000 people affected by flooding in Burkina Faso, a UN spokesman said here.

The plan seeks slightly more than 14 million U.S. dollars over six months for life-saving activities, as well as to help affected populations regain their dignity and livelihoods, the UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, told reporters here.

Since early July, the Sahel region has been successively hit by heavy rains and severe flooding, resulting in casualties and significant damage. Residents in flooded areas have lost their homes, livestock and belongings, and infrastructure has suffered significant damage. Some villages are still inaccessible by land, reports said.

Flooding, which occurred on the night of Aug. 31, is estimated to have affected more than 150,000 people in the capital of Ouagadougou.

People living in the capital have been particularly affected by the floods, and 110,000 people are now sheltering in schools and other public buildings, reports said. A further 40,000 are staying with relatives or neighbors. - pna

(PNA/Xinhua) -- Patients with colon cancer who used multivitamins during and after being treated with post-surgical chemotherapy did not reduce the risk of the cancer returning or their dying from it, according to researchers at Maryland-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

In a study of patients with stage III colon cancer -- characterized as cancer in the large bowel area with some cancer cells in a few nearby lymph nodes -- the researchers found that while multivitamin use had no beneficial effect on patients' outcomes, it also did not have a detrimental effect.

The findings were reported online on Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and later will be published in a print edition.

Kimmie Ng, the paper's first author and a gastrointestinal oncologist at Dana-Farber, said that despite conflicting evidence on the efficacy of multivitamins to reduce cancer risk and death, studies suggest that approximately 30 percent of Americans take multivitamins to prevent and treat chronic diseases such as cancer. Among cancer survivors, between 26 and 77 percent report using multivitamins.

"With such a high proportion of cancer patients utilizing multivitamin supplements in the belief that it will help them fight their cancer, we felt it was important to really examine the data to see what impact multivitamins had on cancer recurrence and survival," said Ng.

The researchers used two questionnaires to track multivitamin use during and after chemotherapy. Of the 1,038 patients who completed the first survey, nearly half (518) responded they used multivitamins while receiving chemotherapy. Of the 810 cancer-free patients who completed the second survey six months after chemotherapy, more than half (416) reported multivitamin use.

(PNA/Xinhua) -- China will unswervingly promote the policy of reform and opening up, while creating sound environment for foreign companies operating in China, Vice Premier Wang Qishan told senior U.S. officials Monday.

Wang exchanged views on China-U.S. ties and economic and trade cooperation with Lawrence Summers, head of U.S. President Barack Obama's National Economic Council, and Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, in a meeting in Beijing.

Wang said the two countries should bolster cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, investment, finance, new energy and infrastructure upgrading, as their economies are interdependent and complimentary to each other.

China is ready to work with the United States to well implement consensus reached by state leaders of the two countries, for sustainable, healthy and steady development of bilateral ties, he said.

Wang said the international community should enhance cooperation because the world economy, though on the way to recovery, still encounters twists and turns.

He said China is focusing on the change of the growth pattern for more balanced development of the economy.

PNA/Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao called for more innovation and increased use of clean energy during a recent tour of Shenzhen, before he attended a celebratory rally marking the 30th anniversary of the country's first special economic zone.

A major focus of Hu's two-day tour that ended Monday is Shenzhen's efforts in accelerating the transformation of economic growth pattern.

At Tencent Inc., one China's largest Internet portals, Hu learned the company's 12,000 staff have an average age of only 27 years and that 85 percent of them have college degrees.

Hu encouraged young people to innovate and contribute to the nation's Internet industry.

At the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, which is part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hu learned about the recent technological breakthroughs of high-tech enterprises like car maker BYD and telecommunications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE.

After observing intelligent robots and super computers, Hu said he could "feel Shenzhen's creativity and vitality." (PNA/Xinhua)

published by the Bohol Chronicle

3 mayors head coastal enforcement

The Coastal Law Enforcement Council (CLEC) elected its officers in the province's three districts who would man its operations for coastal and marine life protection.

For CLEC 1, Mayor Lloyd Peter Lopez of Loon and Vice-Mayor Fructuoso Redulla Jr. of Maribojoc were elected as chair and vice-chair, respectively; Mayor Roberto Cajes of Trinidad and Vice-Mayor Nestor Abad of CPG town for chair and vice-chair, respectively for CLEC 2; and for CLEC 3, Mayor Sergio Amora Jr. of Candijay and Vice-Mayor Paulino Tejano of Loay as chair and vice-chair, respectively.

CLEC is a project of the Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) instituted by the province to safeguard its marine resources from destructive fishing and promote environmental awareness and protection among those living in coastal areas.

Illegal fishing and several other threats to our marine life is a recurring problem which CLEC has long been trying to stop with the help of our local executives. And now that the new roster of officers has been elected into office, Gov. Edgar Chatto is quite positive that province-wide CLEC operations would become more comprehensive and effective.

It has been noted that Chatto has already gotten the support of all sectors, especially the military and the judiciary, in the implementation of CLEC programs in apprehending and putting away of criminals.

Chatto thanked the local executives for their "passion to support CLEC" despite the imaginary boundaries of our coastal communities and egged them on to "work together in harmony and in tandem with each other."

"I know that we are looking at the same picture in the same perspective," the governor said, "and that we are all dedicated and with the same cause," he added.

However, Chatto also urged CLEC members to look at the problem of our coastal and marine life preservation in a holistic way and consider the human side and livelihood component of this dilemma which could greatly help in formulating more effective rules and regulations that could help our local and national authorities.

"I have visions in my mind and I know everyone else has the same vision," Chatto said. (jlvEDCom)

Bohol Chronicle

Police operatives in Gingoog City, through a warrant of arrest, apprehended the prime suspect in the 2007 highway robbery that victimized foreign nationals along the highway in a remote barangay in Sierra Bollunes town.

The suspect was identified as certain Matias Bactasa Jr., 22 years old and a resident of barangay Aurora, Pilar town.       

It may be recalled that a group of teachers and students were then having their educational tour in the province on that year, and upon reaching Brgy Nan-od of the said town, their coaster was stopped by robbery group and who then declared a hold-up.

Bactasa, upon learning that a pending arrest warrant was to be issued against him, migrated to Mindanao.
         
According to the primary investigation of the Intelligence Section based in Camp Dagohoy, Bactasa was temporarily residing in barangay Talisay, Gingoog City where he was arrested. He unwittingly gave himself away.

PO2 Max Macua of Intel Section revealed to the Chronicle that Bactasa reportedly narrated to some residents in the barangay that he killed a police officer in Bohol. The bystanders reported it to the Gingoog police and the operatives verified Bactasa's status in Bohol in coordination with the Intelligence and Investigation section at Camp Dagohoy.

PO2 Macua further revealed that Bactasa has already been in the watch list some three years ago.

Bactasa was positively identified by SPO2 Jorgie Sarabosing, the police
escort of the Japanese nationals. According to SPO2 Sarabosing, it was only Bactasa, among the suspects who was not wearing a bonnet

The suspect is now detained at the Sierra Bullones locked up jail. Bailbond is placed at P100,000.

Meanwhile, cases on carnapping, robbery, illegal possession of fire arms and illegal use of drugs were filed by the police against the five suspects who were captured by SWAT operatives in barangay Catagbacan, Loon town last week.

The accused are Ryme Eyo, Tiboy Montesino, Ruben Lange, Carlito Agot Jr, Victoriano Castrojo.

Torregosa and Nuez were included in the charge sheet.

The five are detained at the Camp Dagohoy stockade. (Anthony Aniscal)

A mass grave from the end of World War II has been discovered in Slovenia.

The 20m-long pit near the town of Prevalje is believed to contain the remains of up to 700 men and women, said government official Marko Strovs.

Some of the people buried in the grave appear to have been shot, others seem to have been hacked to death, he added.

Researchers believe the victims might have been suspected Nazi collaborators killed by communist-backed anti-fascists.

The victims' shoes show that at least some of them were civilians, said Mr Strovs, who works for the government commission for exhuming mass graves.

Initial findings indicate that their hands were tied behind their backs.

"Based on what we've heard from local people and what we've seen so far, there could be about 700 bodies buried inside," Mr Strovs said. - BBC

Astronomers have spotted the tell-tale signs of so-called dwarf galaxies being digested by bigger spiral galaxies.

Spiral galaxies are known to grow by swallowing their diminutive neighbours; as this process occurs, the dwarf galaxies become severely distorted.

An international team have now observed the characteristic signs of this process occurring in distant galaxies, beyond our cosmic neighbourhood.

The findings are published in the Astronomical Journal.
Stellar stream - Jon Lomberg The observations could shed further light on galaxy evolution

The researchers say the findings could shed further light on the evolution of galaxies.

As dwarf galaxies are digested by spirals, they form tendril-like structures and so-called stellar streams - long filaments of stars produced by the stretching action of tidal forces.

Astronomers have been observing such events in our immediate cosmic neighbourhood, known as the "Local Group" of galaxies, for more than a decade.

But the Local Group, with its three spiral galaxies, is much too small a sample to determine how common this process might be in the rest of the Universe. - BBC

Scientists say they've carried out the first rigorous analysis of dance moves that make men attractive to women.

The researchers say that movements associated with good dancing may be indicative of good health and reproductive potential.

Their findings are published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

"When you go out to clubs people have an intuitive understanding of what makes a good and bad dancer," said co-author Dr Nick Neave, an evolutionary psychologist at Northumbria University, UK.

"What we've done for the very first time is put those things together with a biometric analysis so we can actually calculate very precisely the kinds of movements people focus on and associate them with women's ratings of male dancers."

Dr Neave asked young men who were not professional dancers, to dance in a laboratory to a very basic drum rhythm and their movements with 12 cameras. - BBC

Nearly three quarters of people believe retirement as we currently understand it will not be possible in the future, a BBC Newsnight poll has suggested.

Some 70% of the 1,000 asked thought it would not be feasible for people to stop work then live on a pension for up to 30 years, the ComRes survey found.

Some 72% of those in work were also worried about not having the funds to live as they would like in retirement.

More than three quarters (77%) thought younger people would get a worse deal.

And more than half (54%) thought it was unfair that younger generations would be worse off than those currently approaching retirement age.

Pension changes

The poll of a cross section of adults this month follows a number of changes to retirement announced by the previous and current governments against a backdrop of an ageing population and public spending cuts. - BBC

More than one million French workers have taken to the streets to protest against austerity measures planned by President Nicolas Sarkozy's government.

The rallies came as a 24-hour national strike disrupted flight and rail services, and closed schools.

Activists are angry at government plans to overhaul pensions and raise the retirement age from 60 to 62.

Union leaders say more strikes and protests are possible if the government fails to give an adequate response.

"If they don't respond and they don't pay heed, there'll be a follow up, and nothing is ruled out at this stage," Bernard Thibault, leader of the large CGT union, told a rally in Paris.

France's retirement age is lower than many countries in Europe, but analysts say the issue is polarising politics in the country. - BBC

The government in Japan says suicides and depression cost its economy almost 2.7tn yen ($32bn; £21bn) last year.

The figures refer to lost incomes and the cost of treatment. It is the first time Japan has released such figures.

Japan has one of the world's highest suicide rates, with more than 32,000 people killing themselves last year. PM Naoto Kan sees it as proof of an economic and emotional downturn.

The government is setting up a task force to try to reduce the rate.

From Friday, it will run a video clip of a footballer from the J-league on its website, urging people to be more aware of the problem. - BBC

A girl thought to be Britain's youngest female double murderer has been jailed for life.

Lorraine Thorpe, now 16, of Clapgate Lane in Ipswich, was found guilty in August of murdering her father Desmond Thorpe and a woman called Rosalyn Hunt.

Thorpe, 15 when the murders took place in 2009, was told at the Old Bailey she would serve at least 14 years.

Paul Clarke, 41, also convicted of two murders at Ipswich Crown Court, was sentenced at an earlier hearing.
'Appalling case'

Clarke, of Mountbatten Court, was also jailed for life and told he must serve a minimum of 27 years.

Mr Justice Saunders said Thorpe could be "manipulative" and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control, adding: "She found violence funny and entertaining." - BBC News

Agence France-Presse

Wall Street stocks closed low on Tuesday as traders returning from a long weekend holiday cashed in on last week's robust gains amid concerns over the European banking system.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 107.24 points (1.03 percent) to 10,340.69 at the closing bell, while the broader S&P 500 index shed 12.67 points (1.15 percent) to 1,091.84 points.

The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index lost 24.86 points (1.11 percent) to 2,208.89.

"Relatively light economic and equity news may be prompting traders to harvest some of last week's gains in equities," analysts at Charles Schwab said in a note.

Last week, Wall Street closed its strongest week in two months after a much anticipated jobs report lifted hopes that the US economic recovery was on the right track.

this is true. ang segurado lang nga gituli sa Asia ang mga Filipino. The rest (Japanese, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, Thais, et) mga pisot.

Jews - required ang tuli
Muslims- required ang tuli

Christians - most naay tuli following the Biblical mandate.

Most Europeans walay tuli na sila, according to statistics.

Edward Nino Hernandez

Edward Nino Hernandez sits with his mother Nohemi in their home in Bogota September 6, 2010. Edward, 24, who is 70.21 cm (2 ft 3.46 inches), has been recognised as the world's shortest man in the upcoming Guinness World Records 2011 book

Reuters: Starting Sept. 8, travelers flying to the states from certain countries will be required to pay a $14 "operational and travel promotion" fee if they do not possess a U.S. visa.

Dubbed the "tourist tax," the new fee has been criticized by the European Union as "inconsistent with the commitment of the U.S. to facilitate transatlantic mobility." The fee affects air and sea travelers from: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Since January 2009, travelers from these nations have been required to complete an online form and receive prior approval of entry under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) program. Run by the Department of Homeland Security, the ESTA program is designed to give U.S. authorities extra time and resources to check a traveler's name against "no fly" lists and other terrorist databases. Until now, that registration process was free. To participate in the program, travelers must also have Internet access and a credit card, The New York Times reported.

Travelers are urged to register at the denied, the traveler must apply for a more expensive nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate. The reason for the denial will not be provided.

(Reuters) â€" Long-term weight loss may release into the blood industrial pollutants linked to illnesses like diabetes, hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis, researchers said on Tuesday.

These compounds are normally stored in fatty tissues, but when fat breaks down during weight loss, they get into the blood stream, said lead researcher Duk-Hee Lee at the Kyungpook National University in Daegu in South Korea.

"We are living under the strong dogma that weight loss is always beneficial, but weight gain is always harmful...but we think that increased (pollutant) levels (in the blood) due to weight loss can affect human health in a variety of ways," she wrote in an email to Reuters.

Lee and an international team of colleagues studied 1,099 participants in the United States and concentrations of seven such compounds in their blood, they said in a paper published in the International Journal of Obesity.

"Once released into the bloodstream, these pollutants are able to reach vital organs," the researchers said in a statement.

Those who lost most weight over 10 years had the highest concentrations of the compounds, called persistent organic pollutants (POPs), compared to those who gained or maintained a steady weight.

"There is emerging evidence that POPs ... are not safe. POPs (are) linked to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, periodontal disease," Lee said.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) â€" Lost the car keys? Forgot someone's name? Many elderly people suffer slight cognitive problems but men are more likely than women to suffer momentary memory lapse or senior moments, according to a U.S. study.

Researchers from the Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Rochester, Minnesota, found 19 percent of men aged 70 to 89 years had so-called mild cognitive impairment, compared to only 14 percent of women.

People with mild cognitive impairment have problems with memory but can carry out everyday activities and generally realize that they're forgetful. The National Institutes of Health says "mild cognitive impairment" falls in between normal forgetfulness and dementia.

Researcher Dr. Ronald Petersn said the findings were surprising because Alzheimer's disease, which is preceded by this type of mental decline, affects more women than men.

Even after accounting for differences in education, age, and diseases like diabetes and hypertension, men had about 50 percent higher odds than women of having mild cognitive impairment.

"The gender differences were somewhat surprising to us because most people believe that women are at higher risk than men," Petersen told Reuters Health.

He said not everyone with mild cognitive impairment develops dementia but some people do which makes it a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

An estimated 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment end up with full-blown dementia each year. In the general population, that number is between one and two percent.

By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer

NEW YORK â€" Now, the names opposite Roger Federer's in the bracket will start looking more familiar.

Maybe uncomfortably so.

The five-time U.S. Open winner grinded down No. 13 Jurgen Melzer, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3, for yet another straight-set victory at Flushing Meadows on Monday night. Next up â€" a meeting with one of the few players who has enjoyed success against both Federer and Rafael Nadal on the sport's biggest stages.

That would be No. 5 Robin Soderling, who defeated No. 21 Albert Montanes 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the U.S. Open quarterfinals for the second straight year.

The runs at the U.S. Open are nice, but where Soderling has really made his name is against Nadal and Federer at recent French Opens.

He beat Federer at this year's French to end Fed's string of 23 straight Grand Slam semifinal appearances. Last year, Soderling notched a fourth-round victory over Nadal at Roland Garros that, coincidentally, simplified Federer's path to finally complete the career Grand Slam. With Nadal out of the way, Federer's opponent in last year's French final: Soderling.

The Swede, ranked a career-high fifth at this year's U.S. Open, is one of only two players (Juan Martin del Potro is the other) with Grand Slam victories over both of the world's top two players.

"I think it's always a very nice feeling to play against the world's best," Soderling said. "It's matches like that that you train for. It's matches like that I've been dreaming of playing since I started playing tennis. You know, playing at the big courts in the big tournaments. It's very fun."

So far, Federer has been enjoying his stay at Flushing Meadows, where he has won 44 of his last 45 matches â€" the only loss coming to del Potro in last year's final. The second set of the Melzer match offered some perspective into how difficult it can be to break through against the player with a record 16 major titles.

By SHINO YUASA, Associated Press Writer

TOKYO â€" Japan has confirmed the nation's first case of a new gene in bacteria that allows the microorganisms to become drug-resistant superbugs, detected in a man who had medical treatment in India, a Health Ministry official said Tuesday.

The gene, known as NDM-1, was found in a Japanese man in his 50s, Kensuke Nakajima said.

Researchers say the gene â€" which appears to be circulating widely in India â€" alters bacteria, making them resistant to nearly all known antibiotics.

Drug-resistant bacteria are not new. Many bacteria are resistant to the world's first antibiotic, penicillin, as well as successive generations of drugs. Excessive use and improper use of antibiotics have exacerbated the problem and led to the emergence of superbugs.

"The potential of NDM-1 to be a worldwide public health problem is great, and coordinated international surveillance is needed," according to a widely publicized report in the British medical journal Lancet in August.

By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer

TEHRAN, Iran â€" The European Union on Tuesday condemned the stoning to death sentence passed against an Iranian woman convicted for adultery, saying it was "barbaric."

In his first State of the Union address to the European parliament in Strasbourg, France, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he was "appalled" by the news of the sentencing, and called it "barbaric beyond words."

The sentence against Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was put on hold in July after an international outcry over the brutality of the punishment, and it is now being reviewed by Iran's supreme court.

Ashtiani's lawyer has said there are still worries the delayed execution could be carried out soon with the end of a moratorium on death sentences for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Ashtiani's case points to larger divides between the West and Iran, which staunchly defends its legal codes and human rights standards as fully developed and in keeping with its traditions and values.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly bristled at Western criticism â€" including U.S. State Department rights reports â€" saying foreign governments overlook shortcomings in their own systems and fail to hold Western ally Israel accountable for its treatment of Palestinians.

By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press Writer

MARINA, Egypt â€" Today, it's a sprawl of luxury vacation homes where Egypt's wealthy play on the white beaches of the Mediterranean coast. But 2,000 years ago, this was a thriving Greco-Roman port city, boasting villas of merchants grown rich on the wheat and olive trade.

The ancient city, known as Leukaspis or Antiphrae, was hidden for centuries after it was nearly wiped out by a fourth century tsunami that devastated the region.

More recently, it was nearly buried under the modern resort of Marina in a development craze that turned this coast into the summer playground for Egypt's elite.

Nearly 25 years after its discovery, Egyptian authorities are preparing to open ancient Leukaspis' tombs, villas and city streets to visitors â€" a rare example of a Classical era city in a country better known for its pyramids and Pharaonic temples.

"Visitors can go to understand how people lived back then, how they built their graves, lived in villas or traded in the main agora (square)," said Ahmed Amin, the local inspector for the antiquities department. "Everyone's heard of the resort Marina, now they will know the historic Marina."

By KIMBERLY DOZIER, Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan â€" The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned Tuesday an American church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops in the country and Americans worldwide.

Meanwhile, NATO reported the death of an American service member in an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The comments from Gen. David Petraeus followed a protest Monday by hundreds of Afghans over the plans by Gainesville, Florida-based Dove World Outreach Center â€" a small, evangelical Christian church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy â€" to burn copies of the Quran on church grounds to mark the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States that provoked the Afghan war.

"Images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan â€" and around the world â€" to inflame public opinion and incite violence," Petraeus said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

Muslims consider the Quran to be the word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect, along with any printed material containing its verses or the name of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Any intentional damage or show of disrespect to the Quran is deeply offensive.

HONG KONG â€" A leading virus expert urged health authorities around the world Sunday to stay vigilant even though the recent swine flu pandemic was less deadly than expected, warning that bird flu could spark the next global outbreak.

A World Health Organization official also defended the U.N.'s health body against accusations that it wasted governments' money and enriched pharmaceutical companies with its strong warnings during the swine flu outbreak's early days last year.

WHO declared the swine flu pandemic over last month. The latest death toll is just over 18,600 â€" far below the millions that were once predicted. The head of the global health body has credited good preparation and luck, since the H1N1 swine flu virus didn't mutate as some had feared.

But speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an influenza conference in Hong Kong, researcher Robert Webster warned against complacency.

"We may think we can relax and influenza is no longer a problem. I want to assure you that that is not the case," said Webster, chairman of the virology and molecular biology department at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. - associated press

By LYLE MORAN, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON â€" Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank's retort was an Internet sensation.

Questioned at a town hall last year about the "Nazi policy" of health care reform, Frank told the speaker who made the comment that talking to her was "like arguing with a dining room table." Fast forward to this year, the questioner, Rachel Brown, is challenging the 15-term Democrat's re-election bid.

Brown said her exchange with Frank inspired her to run against him in the Democratic primary in the state's 4th Congressional District.

"I didn't realize at the time that if you had a better idea, you should take their seat," said 29-year-old Brown, a devotee of economist Lyndon LaRouche.

Frank, not surprisingly, has an alternate - and sharp-tongued - view.

"I regard her as an example of the price you pay for free speech," Frank said. "I don't think she is very rational."

By DAN ELLIOTT and P. SOLOMON BANDA, Associated Press Writer

DENVER â€" A wind-whipped wildfire sent flames roaring through a rugged canyon in the Colorado foothills, forcing hundreds of people to flee and destroying dozens of homes â€" some that belonged to the firefighters themselves, authorities said early Tuesday.

Firefighters were waiting until sunrise to count the exact number of houses that have burned, said Brett Haberstick of the Sunshine Fire Protection District.

The blaze broke out Monday morning in Four Mile Canyon northwest of Boulder and rapidly spread across 5 1/2 square miles or 3,500 acres. Erratic 45-mph gusts sometimes sent the fire in two directions at once.

Crews managed to save the historic town of Gold Hill, including an old West grocery store and structures once used for stagecoach stops. But firefighters in the area had to relocate their engines and equipment several times to avoid the flames.

 By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

NEW YORK â€" ABC News President David Westin, the longest-reigning network news division chief, with more than 13 tumultuous years on the job, told his staff Monday that he is resigning and will leave by the end of the year.

Westin has presided over anchor changes at three of ABC's top news programs over the past year. Under pressure from his corporate bosses to save money during a dispiriting time in the news business, he also oversaw a cut of 25 percent in ABC News' staff in the past few years.

Westin, who just turned 58, said he wanted to pursue other opportunities but agreed to stay on through a transition to a successor.

"I've always admired those few who know when it's time to move on," Westin wrote in a staff memo that was given to The Associated Press by a staffer. "This is the right time for me."

Westin's successor will be appointed soon, Disney-ABC Media Networks co-chairwoman Anne Sweeney said.

By MIKE SCHNEIDER and MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP

Americans' economic struggles persisted in July, largely unchanged from the previous month, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of conditions around the country.

Nationally, unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates didn't budge from June. Yet the economic pain varied among localities, depending on their economic bases. Stress eased in counties whose work forces lean toward areas like agriculture, mining, wholesale trade and finance.

By contrast, counties with many employees in the retail and real estate industries suffered higher distress in July, according to a statistical analysis by AP.

Economic stress declined month to month in July in about 54 percent of the nation's 3,141 counties and in 24 of the 50 states, the AP's Economic Stress Index shows.

By JULIE PACE, Associated Press Writer Julie Pace, Associated Press Writer   â€" 14 mins ago

WASHINGTON â€" President Barack Obama will call on Congress to pass new tax breaks that would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of their new capital investments through 2011, the latest in a series of proposals the White House is rolling out in hopes of showing action on the economy ahead of the November elections.

An administration official said the tax breaks would save businesses $200 billion over two years, allowing companies to have more cash on hand. The president will outline the proposal during a speech on the economy in Cleveland Wednesday.

Amid an uptick in unemployment to 9.6 percent, and polls showing that the November election could be dismal for Democrats, Obama has promised to propose new steps to stimulate the economy. In addition to the business investment tax breaks, he will also call for a $50 billion infrastructure investment and a permanent expansion of research and development tax credits for companies.

By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer   â€" 1 hr 47 mins ago

McALLEN, Texas â€" Tropical Storm Hermine rolled into south Texas early Tuesday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds to an area battered by Hurricane Alex earlier this summer.

Hermine made landfall in northeastern Mexico late Monday and crossed into Texas within hours, bringing with it winds of up to 65 mph (100 kph). It moved on a path similar to the one Hurricane Alex took in late June, and like that Category 1 storm, threatened to dump up to a foot of rain in some areas and cause flash flooding.

Hermine was no Alex in terms of strength. But Hermine wasn't taken lightly: Mexican emergency officials in Tamaulipas worked to evacuate 3,500 people around Matamoros, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, and schools on both sides of the border canceled classes Tuesday.

By early Tuesday, the center of the storm had crossed the Rio Grande River. The National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 15 miles (25 kilometers) south-southeast of Falfurrias, Texas, and 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Corpus Christi. It was moving north-northwest near 17 mph (28 kph).

Wonder Girls - Nobody performance

from Cebu Pacific Newsletter: Seat Sale all o-BER again! CEB lowers Hong Kong, Macau fares up to 40%

Select domestic destinations on sale as low as P499

It's Seat Sale all over again! The Philippines’ number one flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB) aims to boost traffic to Hong Kong, Macau and select domestic destinations in a seat sale from now until September 8, 2010 or until seats last, for travel this November 1 to December 15, 2010.

Guests can avail of P1,499 ‘Go Lite’ seats from Manila and Clark to Hong Kong, and from Clark to Macau. Meanwhile, P1,999 ‘Go Lite’ seats are available for Cebu-Hong Kong and Manila-Macau flights.

Domestic seats are also up for grabs. Those going from Manila to Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Catarman, and Kalibo can avail of P499 ‘Go Lite’ seats. We're also offering P599 ‘Go Lite’ seats from Manila to Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Roxas and P699 ‘Go Lite’ seats from Manila and Cebu to Puerto Princesa.

Leisure routes such as Manila-Dumaguete and Manila and Cebu to Boracay (Caticlan) are available for the ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare of P899.

Thank you in advance for your feedback here in this thread. I'm just testing it.

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net

Budget woes continue to hound the judiciary and Malacanang’s proposed appropriation for its co-equal branch for 2011 appear not to offer any solution.

Appearing before the hearing of the committee on appropriations, Court Administrator and Supreme Court spokesman Midas Marquez said Malacanang’s proposed budget for the judiciary is only P14.3 billion, as against the P27.1 billion it is asking.

The budget cuts will now deprive local courts of the renovation of their respective halls of justice such as the one in Cagayan de Oro.

In 2007, the judiciary for 0.76 percent of the national budget; it received 0.88 percent in 2008; and 0.94 percent in 2009.

“The judiciary has not been given even one percent of the national budget in the last four years and worse, there is a high probability in 2011 of a decreased budget,” Marquez said.

Getting support from the minority bloc in the House of Representatives, Minority leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman said the judiciary should be given the budget it is asking, and asked Malacanang to increase the P1.65-trillion proposed budget for 2011 to accommodate the request.

“In behalf of the minority, we have agreed to support the proposed 2011 budget for the Supreme Court and the judiciary as submitted to the Department of Budget and Management. If the majority cannot accommodate the entire proposal, then we are supporting adequate increases to the budget,” Lagman said.

According to Marquez, Malacanang’s cuts in the proposed budget of the judiciary will affect big ticket items that would remain without funds such as the P10.3 billion allocated for personnel services; the P416 million fund for retirees; P1.3 million health allowances for workers; and, the P1.875 billion proposed budget for capital outlay, including the building of a Manila City hall of justice.

Marquez also rued that the needed computers and other equipment of local courts will not have funds if their proposed budget is not granted.

For instance, he said, most local courts have only two computers per court, while the ideal number of computer should be at least six units. He said this results in backlog of cases to as much as 4,000 cases, when the ideal number of backlog should be only about 500 cases.

The cuts in budget would also thwart the judiciary’s plan to hire more court personnel and judges to improve speed of disposal of cases.

He said the ratio of judge to inhabitants right now is 1:50,000, when the ideal ratio is 1:10,000.

Sorsogon Representative Salvador Escudero said the judiciary should be given the budget it is requesting.

“Indeed, justice delayed is justice denied. I commiserate with the judiciary,” he said.

Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez lamented that while the judiciary is one of the three equal branches of government, it only gets less than one percent of the national budget. He said the budget should be overhauled to give adequate fund to the judiciary.

The judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and the lower courts.

The budget cuts will not deprived local courts of the renovation of their respective halls of justice such as the one in Cagayan de Oro.

"The walls in the Cagayan de Oro Hall of Justice are only up because of the termites," Marquez said.

He added the renovation for this particular building needs about P100 million.

Ka-sweet nimo, Manay. May your tribe increase!

A drug for type two diabetes is still being prescribed in the UK despite being recommended for withdrawal two months ago, BBC Panorama has found.

Avandia has been linked to a raised risk of heart attacks and heart failure and is under a Europe-wide review.

An expert panel of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said its use should be suspended but it is still available on the NHS.

Manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said it was safe if properly monitored.

published by The Bohol Chronicle

Former OIC governor, Atty. Victor dela Serna expressed dismay and disgust over the overly "apologetic and subservient" response to appease Hong Kong on chaotic Aug. 23 bus hostage fiasco across Quirino grandstand at the Luneta.

"It is not a through and through embarrassment to the Philippine government. Although there are lessons to be learned, we should not be apologetic because we are not a guarantor or issuer of absolute safety to all tourists coming to our country" said Dela Serna during an hour-long interview last Monday over the top-rated "Inyong Alagad" program of dyRD.

"We did not ask them to come here. We should not over-apologize because it can happen anywhere in the world".

He cited that other such incidents with even bigger magnitude happened in the 2002 Bali terror attack in Indonesia that killed 202, the 2002 Moscow Dubrovka Theatre hostage seige that claimed 170 lives, 129 hostages including 9 foreigners and the numerous massacre of innocent people including children by disgruntled gunmen in the United States, among others.
         
"We have our tourism program but we can be gracious up to a certain limit only. As an assurance to our future tourists, instead of an apology, we should seek assistance for better equipment and training for our SWAT and SAF teams," the former governor stressed even as said that "all countries have their share of the dregs of society."

Mincing no words, the feisty former governor lambasted Hongkong Chief Executive Donald Chang for "castigating Filipinos as if we are an inferior people. It is not proper to vent their ire on the 130,000 Filipinas working as domestic helpers" in the former Crown Colony. He described their reaction as "racist".

Dela Serna sadly observed that "just because they come here appearing as masters, Filipinos should lay down their lives because they look down on us as slaves".

Dela Serna did not spare DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman for providing 2.4M worth of bubble top caskets for the eight Hongkong victims when minimal financial assistance was extended to casualties of the recent bus accidents and numerous fire and flood victims.

"The job of the DSWD is to help the poor. They should have just put them in a crate and send them back to their country" fumed Dela Serna.

Dela Serna further said that Hongkong's anger towards the ineptness of our police is justified. But " it is unjustified if directed to Filipinos here and in Hongkong because we did not condone nor were we part of Mendoza's plan to massacre innocent people. The entire Filipino nation should not be condemned for the act of one man".

Dela Serna chided top government officials including President Nonoy for being 'too apologetic and subservient.' But he took exception to talks aimed at smearing the President as an inexperienced hostage negotiator.

"We did not elect Noynoy because he is a good hostage negotiator. We elected him as president because he promised us a new form of government without corruption, lies and cheating. Let's give him a chance," he concluded.

sunlight. clouds. photo by fotomassimo of flickr.com

the only exception. photo by zhewen of flickr.com

photo by ananda serne of flickr.com

photo by Kevin Fuhrmann of flickr.com

cute doll. image by super busy of flickr.com

photo by ash imagery of flickr.com

perfect shot by code poet of flickr.com

bohol by dr. mario of flickr.com

bohol's solitude. photo by fongetz of flickr.com

chocolate hills by jon.noj of flickr.com

bohol beach club, panglao island, bohol. photo by i travel east of flickr.com

Armed robbers in Barbados have set fire to a clothing shop in the capital, Bridgetown, killing six people who were inside.

Police said two men with machetes burst into the shop and demanded money before starting a blaze.

Three staff and three customers were trapped inside the burning building after apparently fleeing to the back of the shop to escape the flames.

A police spokesman described the incident as a national tragedy.

Violent crime is relatively rare in Barbados. - BBC

a pinay's smile. photo by akumach of flickr.com

Konsentidor pud ning inahan sa suspek. Kinsa man diay ang but-an? ang 28 anyos o ang siete anyos? kataw-an sa court kung kana mao ang ipangatarungan sa inahan sa suspek.

from Cebu Pacific Newsletter: Cebu Pacific Offers 50% Off Systemwide Sale

We continue to be number 1 in the Philippines for 1st half of 2010

Cebu Pacific has every reason to celebrate as we maintain our significant lead over other airlines when it comes to number of guests carried within the Philippines in the 1st half of 2010.

Because of this, we are announcing a 50% off seat sale to all our destinations - that's half the price in 16 international destinations and 33 destinations within the Philippines.  Seat sale starts now up to September 5, 2010, or until seats last, for travel from October 1 to November 30, 2010.

Thanks Ben.
Other sites worthy of consideration are www.freelancer.com, www.elance.com, www.guru.com, and www.limeexchange.com

Samtang nagsud-ong ako ning maong linalang, nagkapandol-pandol ang pinitik sa akong dughan. Still, I would prefer Amanda Seyfried.

SILVER SPRING, Marylandâ€"A man who railed against the Discovery Channel’s environmental programming for years burst into the company’s headquarters with at least one explosive device strapped to his body on Wednesday and took three people hostage at gunpoint before police gunned him down.

The hostagesâ€"two Discovery Communications employees and a security guardâ€"were unharmed.

The four-hour ordeal was the second hostage-taking drama to grab world attention in recent days, occurring a little over a week after eight Hong Kong tourists were killed on a hijacked bus in Manila following a botched police rescue operation. The Manila gunman was also killed.

In the Discovery Channel standoff, the police negotiated by phone throughout the afternoon with the gunman, an Asian-American, who was on the first floor, as the rest of the 1,900 employees and the children in the day-care center were leaving the building near the US capital Washington.

SWAT officers watching the hostage drama on a building security camera crept in, while police negotiated with the emotional gunman.

Police shot the gunman when he pointed his pistol at one of his hostages.

“A hostage moved, he pulled his gun, and a shot was taken,” Montgomery County police chief Tom Manger told reporters.

Acting alone

An explosive device on the gunman’s body detonated in a cloud of smoke when police shot him, Manger said. Police were trying to determine whether two boxes and two backpacks the gunman had carried into the building also contained explosives.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing, said authorities had identified James J. Lee as the likely gunman.

Police and firefighters on Wednesday night looked at a laptop screen that showed an image of a body lying face up, surrounded by blood. Authorities also sent in a robot to disarm the explosive on the gunman’s body.

Police said the man had fired his gun at least once. They believed the gunman was acting alone but were investigating all possibilities.

Area sealed off

Police sealed off the area around the building and SWAT teams deployed shortly after the gunman entered the building carrying a handgun at about 1 p.m. County and state police, FBI and Homeland Security agents joined the operation.

The hostage saga brought one of Washington’s largest and busiest suburbs to a standstill for hours.

Lee, a radical environmentalist, was convicted of disorderly conduct for a protest he organized outside the Discovery Channel’s offices in February 2008.

According to court records, he paid homeless people to carry signs and set off a scramble when he threw $20,000 into the air, calling it “just trash.”

Lee served two weeks in jail after his arrest. He was also ordered to stay 150 meters (500 feet) away from Discovery headquarters as part of his probation, and to pay a small fine.

‘I have bombs’

NBC News reported that after its producers called Discovery’s general number, a man identifying himself as James J. Lee got on the phone and said he had a gun and several bombs.

“I have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. I have a device that if I drop it, if I drop it, it will … explode,” the man told NBC.

He said he built the bombs in about three weeks. “I did a lot of research. I had to experiment,” he said.

Police kept the gunman talking by telephone almost the whole time. “He went from being agitated to being calm,” Manger said.

The hostages just happened to have been in the lobby and were kept lying on the floor by the gunman, he said.

180 countries

More than an hour after the gunman was shot, streets and alleyways around the sprawling glass and silver Discovery building were clogged with dozens of police vehicles, bomb disposal trucks and canine units.

Pedestrians stared silently as sweating snipers unloaded their rifles and stripped out of bulletproof vests.

Discovery Communications says it reaches 1.5 billion subscribers in more than 180 countries with the Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel and Planet Green networks.

Lee, who had his own Save The Planet protest site, admitted on a webpage attributed to him he had a gripe with the Discovery Channel, which is known for its wildlife documentaries as well as military and survivalist programs.

He had protested outside their offices in the past, and his list of demands included that the cable station “broadcast to the world their commitment to save the planet.”

Lee’s demands

Lee insisted that the Discovery Channel cease promoting war and weapons of mass destruction through its technology programming, and promote an end to all immigration.

In court and online, he faulted the Discovery Channel for shows as varied as “Future Weapons,” “It Takes a Thief” and “Planet Green.”

A lengthy posting that could be seen on Wednesday on a website registered to Lee said Discovery and its affiliates should stop “encouraging the birth of any more parasitic human infants,” a possible reference to shows like “Kate Plus 8” and “19 Kids and Counting.”

“Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed,” he said in one rant.

“Broadcast this message until the pollution in the planet is reversed and the human population goes down! This is your obligation. If you think it isn’t, then get the hell off the planet!”

No more babies

Unchecked population growth was a theme attacked time and time again in Lee’s postings.

“Saving the Planet means saving what’s left of the nonhuman Wildlife by decreasing the Human population,” he said. “That means stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies!”

Discovery Channel spokesperson David Leavy said the station’s security teams were familiar with Lee but had not considered him a threat because his views were so outrageous.-Reports from Associated Press, New York Times News Service, Reuters and Agence France-Presse

I read an article in Time magazine which revealed that in India, many call center workers had quit the job after 3 to 5 years of working, citing health and family issues as reasons for leaving the job.

Call center companies must introduce double or triple shiftings at night. Full-time night-shift will eventually tax the body. Health is always supreme over financial income. A 3- to 4-hour work a night may not be so damaging to the body.

You're welcome, Ate Lee. Truly God works in mysterious ways.

Originally published by the Reader's Digest in 1954

The Gold and Ivory Tablecloth
by Howard C. Schade

At Christmas time men and women everywhere gather in their churches to wonder anew at the greatest miracle the world has ever known. But the story I like best to recall was not a miracle -- not exactly.

It happened to a pastor who was very young. His church was very old. Once, long ago, it had flourished. Famous men had preached from its pulpit, prayed before its altar. Rich and poor alike had worshipped there and built it beautifully. Now the good days had passed from the section of town where it stood. But the pastor and his young wife believed in their run-down church. They felt that with paint, hammer, and faith they could get it in shape. Together they went to work.

But late in December a severe storm whipped through the river valley, and the worst blow fell on the little church -- a huge chunk of rain-soaked plaster fell out of the inside wall just behind the altar. Sorrowfully the pastor and his wife swept away the mess, but they couldn't hide the ragged hole.

The pastor looked at it and had to remind himself quickly, "Thy will be done!" But his wife wept, "Christmas is only two days away!"

That afternoon the dispirited couple attended the auction held for the benefit of a youth group. The auctioneer opened a box and shook out of its folds a handsome gold and ivory lace tablecloth. It was a magnificent item, nearly 15 feet long. but it, too, dated from a long vanished era. Who, today, had any use for such a thing? There were a few halfhearted bids. Then the pastor was seized with what he thought was a great idea.

He bid it in for $6.50.

He carried the cloth back to the church and tacked it up on the wall behind the altar. It completely hid the hole! And the extraordinary beauty of its shimmering handwork cast a fine, holiday glow over the chancel. It was a great triumph. Happily he went back to preparing his Christmas sermon.

Just before noon on the day of Christmas Eve, as the pastor was opening the church, he noticed a woman standing in the cold at the bus stop. "The bus won't be here for 40 minutes!" he called, and invited her into the church to get warm.

She told him that she had come from the city that morning to be interviewed for a job as governess to the children of one of the wealthy families in town but she had been turned down. A war refugee, her English was imperfect.

The woman sat down in a pew and chafed her hands and rested. After a while she dropped her head and prayed. She looked up as the pastor began to adjust the great gold and ivory cloth across the hole. She rose suddenly and walked up the steps of the chancel. She looked at the tablecloth. The pastor smiled and started to tell her about the storm damage, but she didn't seem to listen. She took up a fold of the cloth and rubbed it between her fingers.

"It is mine!" she said. "It is my banquet cloth!" She lifted up a corner and showed the surprised pastor that there were initials monogrammed on it. "My husband had the cloth made especially for me in Brussels! There could not be another like it."

For the next few minutes the woman and the pastor talked excitedly together. She explained that she was Viennese; that she and her husband had opposed the Nazis and decided to leave the country. They were advised to go separately. Her husband put her on a train for Switzerland. They planned that he would join her as soon as he could arrange to ship their household goods across the border. She never saw him again. Later she heard that he had died in a concentration camp.

"I have always felt that it was my fault -- to leave without him," she said. "Perhaps these years of wandering have been my punishment!" The pastor tried to comfort her and urged her to take the cloth with her. She refused. Then she went away.

As the church began to fill on Christmas Eve, it was clear that the cloth was going to be a great success. It had been skillfully designed to look its best by candlelight.

After the service, the pastor stood at the doorway. Many people told him that the church looked beautiful. One gentle-faced middle-aged man -- he was the local clock-and-watch repairman -- looked rather puzzled.

"It is strange," he said in his soft accent. "Many years ago my wife - God rest her -- and I owned such a cloth. In our home in Vienna, my wife put it on the table" -- and here he smiled -- "only when the bishop came to dinner."

The pastor suddenly became very excited. He told the jeweler about the woman who had been in church earlier that day. The startled jeweler clutched the pastor's arm. "Can it be? Does she live?"

Together the two got in touch with the family who had interviewed her. Then, in the pastor's car they started for the city. And as Christmas Day was born, this man and his wife, who had been separated through so many saddened Yule tides, were reunited.

To all who hear this story, the joyful purpose of the storm that had knocked a hole in the wall of the church was now quite clear. Of course, people said it was a miracle, but I think you will agree it was the season for it!

True love seems to find a way.

A sale you should avail! P499 seats to select bus and ferry routes!

Here's a sale you should avail! Grab the special P499 ‘Go Lite’ seat sale to select traditional bus and ferry routes from now until September 2, 2010 or until seats last, for travel this October 1 to November 30, 2010.

Guests traveling on the following routes can avail of P499 ‘Go Lite’ seats: Manila-Iloilo, Cebu-Boracay (Caticlan), Cebu-Clark, Cebu-Dumaguete, Cebu-Dipolog, Cebu-General Santos, Cebu-Iloilo, Cebu-Ozamiz, Cebu Pagadian, Davao-Cagayan de Oro, and Davao-Iloilo.

Thank you, Chicogon, for posting this article. My eyes become teary as I read the article. Truly this is an unknown portion of Philippine history. I wish to get hold of a copy of Frank Ephraim's book.

Major, Major Low Fares! CEB gears for Beijing launch with China and Hong Kong seat sale as low as P599!

The Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (CEB) is set to launch its 16th international destination this September 5, 2010, with its maiden Manila-Beijing-Manila flights!

We are excited to begin our Beijing operations and so we are slashing up to 82% off the lowest year-round ‘Go Lite’ fares in a China and Hong Kong seat sale from now until August 31, 2010 or until seats last!

For travel from October 1 to November 30, 2010, you can travel from Clark to Hong Kong on P599 ‘Go Lite’ seats. From Manila to Hong Kong, fly on P799 ‘Go Lite’ seats, while those from Cebu traveling to Hong Kong can avail of P999 ‘Go Lite’ seats.

Guests traveling from Manila to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou can avail of P888 ‘Go Lite’ seats for travel from December 1 to 31, 2010!

Sa pagkatinuod lang, kanang mga taga-Manila are some of the worst English speakers. They pronounce uncle as "ang-kel." Ang eagle as "e-gel". And they think they sound "social" when they rape the English language. Listen Robin Padilla's tv ad, he pronounced muscle as "ma-sel." Even kanang mga hosts sa abs-cbn ug gma7 utro sab. Kulang nalang nila ang Google, they would pronounce it as "go-gel."

British, American, and Australian English speakers would surely laugh them.

Nice to see you Bran and Manay Tess in this candid photo. Hope to see both of you one day. God bless you both.

Looking for an Apartment or House for Rent in Davao City - please text this number: 0920-494-0649 if you know of any. Thank you very much.

Happy Birthday VRLGuapo. God bless you always and may peace and grace of Christ abound in your life now and forever.

Janina San Miguel - Bb Pilipinas 2008 (Q&A)
another major, major mistake in pinay beauty pageants
"my pameley is the most important persons in my life"

Confident
Janina San Miguel - Bb Pilipinas 2008 (Q&A)

By Malu Cadeliña Manar
Sun Star

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- The environment officials in North Cotabato are readying charges against owner of some 2,500 cubic meters logs reportedly cut in a village declared as protected area in Makilala town.

The protected area is part of the Mt. Apo foothills and the ancestral domain of the Manuvu tribe.

Walter Ruizo, municipal environment and natural resources officer (Menro) of Makilala, North Cotabato, said logging in areas near Mount Apo is strictly prohibited under the existing environment laws.

Major Leo Diaz of the 57th Infantry Battalion said the cutting of logs was monitored at Barangay Buhay, one of the villages in Makilala town.

Diaz led the apprehension of a Fuso truck loaded with logs of Binuwang and Red Lawaan species.

"It was so easy for the Army to monitor the cutting of trees in those areas because we have troops there. Also, we have the community support," Diaz said.

He said during the time they held the truck, the owner of the logs, Beting Lahid, could not present documents to prove that the cutting of trees was authorized.

Lahid told Diaz the trees were sliced in a lot owned by Madib Palawan, chairman of Barangay Buhay, Makilala.

Thanks Scarb for the info. Here's the full details of the news.

By Justin K. Vestil
Sun Star

LOURDES Libres-Rosaroso, medical doctor, lawyer, educator and Cebuano radio broadcaster, died of breast cancer last Friday. She was 75 years old.

Rosaroso, known to the public for her medical and legal advice through her daily radio program “Kini ang Akong Suliran,” died early morning of Friday after a six-month fight with breast cancer.

Hours before she died, Rosaroso was admitted to the Cebu South General Hospital after she was reported to have difficulty breathing.

The seven adopted children of the twice-widowed Rosaroso couldn’t believe their beloved “mommy” has passed away.

Dr. Ligia Libres, one of the adopted children of Rosaroso, said in an interview her mother’s death was sudden and devastating for their family.

Last February, Rosaroso was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. A biopsy found a lump in one of her breasts.

While she had the lump surgically removed, this didn’t stop the cancer from spreading, said Libres.

After she was diagnosed with cancer, she arranged for chemotherapy sessions to remove the remaining cancer cells in her body.

While she had only one chemotherapy session, Rosaroso’s body took much of the toll, as the procedure weakened her.

Libres said that after chemotherapy, Rosaroso went in and out of the hospital.

After that, Rosaroso kept herself inside her room at the St. Paul College main campus in Barangay Bulacao, where a nurse monitored her condition.

Although she was not completely bedridden, Rosaroso’s condition slowly deteriorated. Her diet consisted mainly of milk and pureed food.

Rosaroso’s condition also affected her job as radio broadcaster. She asked one of her adopted sons, Randolph, to handle her daily radio program.

Ligia Libres said that her mother, a known workaholic, was a compassionate person.

Rosaroso hosted her radio program that helped the poor people with their medical and legal problems.

The program, which ran for almost 35 years, was aired in many Cebu-based radio stations. It was aired longest in radio DyHP under the Radio Mindanao Network (RMN).

Libres said their family lost the person that united them. Born on Feb. 11, 1935, Rosaroso was the eldest of five children of two public school teachers from Alicia, Bohol.

Libres, along with her six other siblings, were children from Rosaroso’s four brothers, who died early. As she had no children of her own, Rosaroso adopted her nephews and nieces.

Aside from Libres and Randolph, Rosaroso’s family was composed of Herbert, Bernard, Regine Libres-Conrado, Imelda Libres-Borbon, and Mark.

Libres, Randolph and Herbert followed in their adoptive mother’s footsteps and became doctors.

Aside from being a broadcaster, Rosaroso also established herself as an educator, through her St. Paul College Foundation Inc. which she formed on 1985.