Bobby Parks death

Bobby Ray Parks Sr. 51, the legendary PBA import and father of reigning UAAP MVP Bobby Ray Parks Jr., passed away early Saturday afternoon following complications stemming from a long battle with laryngeal cancer.

The 51-year-old died with his family by his side at the San Juan de Dios Hospital.

Parks was selected in the third round of the 1984 NBA draft by the Atlanta Hawks but he never got to play in that league. Instead, he later found success as an import in the PBA where he won a record seven Best Import awards and was later inducted into the local professional league's Hall of Fame for his accomplishments, last September 2009.

The 6'5" product of Memphis State University debuted in the PBA for the San Miguel Beermen in 1987, and also played for the Shell Turbo Chargers.

Together with his family, Parks moved back to the Philippines in 2010. He accepted an offer to be the assistant athletic director of a retooled National University squad as his son also signed up to be the anchor of the school's basketball team.

Parks also had a stint as an assistant coach of the Petron Blaze Boosters, and coached the San Miguel Beermen in the Asean Basketball League, piloting them to the Finals in the squad's maiden season. However, he was unable to continue the latter role, handing the reigns over to Leo Austria, as his health deteriorated.

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. on Saturday tweeted his condolences over the death of legendary Philippine basketball player and coach Bobby Ray Parks Sr.

In a post on his Twitter account, Thomas lauded Parks as one of the greatest players of the Philippine Basketball Association - and a good person.

"Rest in Peace Bobby Parks Sr, one of the greatest PBA players ever, and a good person," he said.

Thomas also posted a photo of Parks wearing a uniform of the Rockford Lightning in the Continental Basketball Association, where he played guard in 1989-1990.

Local court gag order on Kris Aquino, James Yap on custody fight

MANILA, Philippines — A Makati court has issued a gag order against actress-host Kris Aquino and ex-husband James Yap, refraining them from making further public pronouncements about their ongoing family problem.

Judge Liza Marie Picardal-Tecson of the Makati regional trial court Branch 144 issued the ruling Friday during its hearing on the hold departure order filed by Yap against Aquino and their son Bimby who were scheduled to leave the country for a vacation.

The gag order was issued in connection with the basketball star's plea for the issuance of a hold departure order against Kris, who earlier asked for the issuance of a temporary protection order seeking to bar Yap from getting near their son.

Above is a clip of Kris Aquino together with her sisters aired her side in an interview with Ted Failon in TV Patrol calling it  foul about  the accusation  of ex-husband James Yap that she used the power of her brother in threatening the star cager in an argument. Another clip is James Yap emotional interview against Kris Aquino interview.

Tension in Imus town hall as ousted mayor refuses to yield post

MANILA, Philippines – Imus, Cavite Mayor Emmanuel Maliksi refused Monday to vacate his post despite the order from the Supreme Court (SC) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) that he make way for Homer Saquilayan to assume office.

Maliksi, along with his supporters, had not accepted the writ of execution served on Monday and was refusing to leave the municipal hall, radio reports said.

Tensions rose when supporters of Saquilayan also gathered so that he can assume office, reports said.

The writ of execution directed the provincial election supervisor and the provincial local government operations officer to implement the order for “Emmanuel Maliksi … to cease and desist from discharging the powers and functions of the office of the mayor … and to relinquish and vacate the same in favor of … Homer Saquilayan to cause the peaceful and smooth turn-over of office.”

Fire hits Savory in Makati; 2 hurt

MANILA, Philippines - An explosion of an LPG (liquified petrolium gas) tank struck Savory restaurant along Makati Avenue in Makati City at about 4:30 p.m., Monday, hurting two people and caused a fire.

Journalists saw a security guard fighting fire at the restraurant's kitchen with a water hose until firemen arrived in the area and put out the blaze in just over 20 minutes.

Arnel Pagulayan, an employee of Savory, was one of the two hurt in the incident.

The 32-year-old victim from the city's Molino Street in Barangay Poblacion, who suffered laceration and minor wounds, was assisted by a quick response team and treated by a medic. 

Pagulayan told authorities that he was near to the door of the restaurant when an explosion shattered the glass windows of the establishment.

Authorities cordoned the area and cut the restraurant's electrical wires to prevent the fire from spreading. Iinvestigators are determining the cause of the blaze.

Philippines Up by 12 in tourism competitiveness index rankings

The Philippines climbed by 12 and  now ranked 82 in tourism competitiveness index rankings according to a report released Thursday by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Switzerland was ranked first in terms of the travel and tourism industry competitiveness, followed by Germany, Austria, Spain and Britain.

The Philippines is the most improved country in the region, ranking 16th regionally and 82nd overall, up
12 places since the last edition. Among the country’s comparative strengths are its natural resources (44th), its price competitiveness (24th), and a very strong—and improving—prioritization of the Travel & Tourism industry (this indicator ranks 15th, as government spending on the sector as a percentage of GDP is now 1st in the world, and tourism marketing and branding campaigns are seen to be increasingly effective).

In addition, the country has been ensuring that several aspects of its policy rules and regulations regime are conducive to the development of the T&T sector. Among these are better protection of property rights, more openness toward foreign investments, and few visa requirements for foreign visitors (ranked 7th). However, other areas—such as the difficulty of starting a business in the country, in both cost and length of the process (ranked 94th and 117th, respectively)—remain a challenge. Moreover, safety and security concerns (ranked 103rd); inadequate health and hygiene (94th); and underdeveloped ground transport, tourism, and ICT infrastructure are all holding back the potential of the economy’s T&T competitiveness.

Tourism competitiveness is an important economic indicator. It is a major element in economic stimulation packages. Tourism is among the largest employers in most countries and also a fast-lane vehicle into the workforce for young people and women. Encouraging travel boosts consumer and business confidence, it strengthens two-way trade and promotes export income.

source weforum.org

Arno “Fuchs” Morales and Ex Girlfriend Video Scandal

Arno Morales or Arno Fuchs, a former Star Magic talent and used to work at ABS-CBN TV Network has been arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly uploading a sex video of him and his former girlfriend on the internet after their relationship ended last year.

Arrested was Arno Udo Fermin Fuch, popularly known as Arno Morales, 20, of Quezon City.

Arno starred as the younger brother of Sarah Geronimo in the Philippine blockbuster movies You Change and A Very Special Love.

"Apparently Mr. Morales has a pending warrant of arrest issued by the Pasig Regional Trial Court for uploading a sex video on the internet," NBI - Technical Intelligence Division chief Atty. Palmer Mallari told reporters in an interview.

He said that the actor was arrested inside his residence in Quezon City at around 8:00 a.m., today.

The investigation conducted by the NBI showed Morales was charged with Violation of Republic Act (RA) 9262 or Violence Against Women and their Children before the sala of Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 162  Presiding Judge Cesar Pabel Sulit last year due to the complaint of his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend.

The girl, according to Palmer, alleged that Morales was responsible for illegally circulating their sex video after she and the actor broke up.

Last February 21, Judge Sulit ordered the arrest of Morales but the police failed to find the actor since the accused had already left its residence at Blueridge, Quezon City.

According to Palmer, the NBI received a tip from an informant that the actor is now residing at Project 6, Quezon City and this prompted them to place the house, in question located in Quezon City, under surveillance for two weeks.

They were also able to trace the origin of the video by looking at its IP address, according to the NBI official.

"Syempre artista kaya medyo mailap siyang makita, so tinrace namin yung location kung saan i-nupload yung sex video using the IP address ," according to Palmer.

Upon confirmation that the actor was residing in the house, Palmer said they applied for a search warrant before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court which was granted by Judge Eleuterio Bathan of Branch 92.

The NBI, armed with a search warrant, quickly swooped down the house of Morales and arrested the actor. Palmer said they were able to seize the laptop and other devices which contained the sex video and nude photos of the 17-year-old girl.

Sought for comment, Wilhelmina Fuchs, mother of Morales, denied that her son was responsible for uploading the sex video of the actor since the BlackBerry phone and iPod Touch of the accused, which contains the controversial sex video, was lost in a party two months ago.

"Hindi gagawin ng anak ko yun kasi magiging kahihiyan din yun ng anak ko lalo na at artista siya. At hindi pa nakatakip yung mukha so makikilala siya kung gagawin niya yun," she said.

Morales, for his part, appealed to the members of the media to not make a big deal out of the sex video scandal.

"Away lang ng mag-girlfriend/boyfriend yun so dont't make a big deal out of it," the actor said.

But Palmer said the evidence gathered by the NBI against Morales will just speak for itself.

"Nasa laptop pa rin niya yung sex video nila nung biktima," Palmer said.

Meanwhile, the NBI is set to file a fresh charge of violation of RA 9995 or Anti-Voyeurism Act against Morales, aside from returning the warrant of arrest of the actor to the Pasig RTC. He is now temporarily detained at the NBI headquarters.

After being cast in two movies, recent sightings of him is that he frequents Eastwood Mall of late. He was paired with Laureen Young before. A lot of people are now searching for it and possibly looking for torrent or finding way how to download sex video scandal.

Bodies of shot Sulu gunmen found

LAHAD DATU (March 6, 2013): Security forces recovered firearms and nine of the 12 bodies of Sulu gunmen who were killed in a clash with police commandos - two of whom were killed on Friday, in a shallow grave in Kampung Tanduo today.

A second gunman was also shot and killed by security forces at 4.15pm today when he tried to shoot a forensics police personnel who was at work.

Earlier, at 6.45am, an armed Sulu intruder was gunned down after he opened fire at soldiers carrying out a mopping exercise nearby.

Armed Forces chief Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said at a press conference at 6pm that personnel carrying out mopping and search are looking for the remaining 3 bodies of the enemy and their weapons.

In the second case of gunmen opening fire at security forces today, he said the intruders fled into Kampung Tanjung Batu about 4 km from Kampung Tanduo but one of them was shot dead.

Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said 10 officers from the police forensics department have been sent into the search operations centre to assist in the exercise. He said police are searching Kampung Tanjung Batu as several gunman are believed to have gone into hiding at the village.

He said there were shootouts in three locations at the operations area and there were no casualties among the police and army personnel today.

The recovered bodies today were those gunned down by VAT 69 police commandos on Friday where a police inspector and his subordinate were shot dead and three other were injured.

Sources also said that police arrested eight men who were in civilian clothing but are suspected to be Sulu intruders.

One of them who was in a small boat at sea was caught by navy commandos and brought to shore opposite the media centre at Felda Sahabat Residence Resort while the rest were arrested at villages here and Semporna.

Earlier in a press conference at 4pm, by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein at the media centre in Felda Sahabat, five photos captured at the affected areas in Kampung Tanduo and of the dead Sulu men's bloated and mud-stained bodies lined up on the ground, a tomb the intruders had created for their dead colleagues, their assault rifles and the gunmen who were killed this morning, was shown to reporters by the ministers.

Hishamuddin said the photos are proof that the incident was not an act or a lie as rumoured but a reality. Ahmad Zahid said security forces have secured Kampung Tanduo following the mopping exercise.

Even though it has been more than a day since the massive air and ground strike pounded Kampung Tanduo, not a single body of a dead intruder has been found.

http://www.thesundaily.my/news/630048

Malaysia standoff with armed Filipinos ends in violence

MANILA, Philippines–The standoff in sabah is over, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In a press conference Friday, DFA Spokesman Raul Hernandez said Malaysian Ambassador Mohammad Zamri bin Mohammad Kassim met with foreign affairs secretary Albert Del Rosario at the DFA to inform him that Malaysian authorities had attacked the town of Lahad Datu where 180 men of Sultan Jamalul Kiram has been encamped since February 12.

Quoting the report of the Malaysian Ambassador, Hernandez said 10 of the Sultan’s men had surrendered.

He also said that three people were killed–two members of the Malaysian police and the owner of the house where the Sultan’s brother, Rajah Muda, stayed.

Hernandez said the DFA was confirming the Sultan’s claim in Manila that 10 of his men died in the clash.