Poll reveals 96.2 % of readers want abolition of pork barrel

A poll created by inquirer.net shows that majority of the Filipino readers want the abolition of pork barrel may it be for the Senators, Congressmen, or President.

As of the present, 27,885 readers or 96.19: of the readers voted “Yes” in response to the INQUIRER.net survey that asked, “Do you agree with the proposal to abolish the pork barrel?”
Only 2.78 % or 805 votes said, “No” while 1% or 300 said, “I don’t care.”

The number of participants tripled five days after President Benigno Aquino III announced the supposed abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). His statement, however, was met with criticism since it was revealed that lawmakers will still be allowed to propose itemized projects under the General Appropriations Bill.

Mitsubishi Motors PH recalls Montero Sport and Strada

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) announced to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that it will conduct a safety inspection campaign on Montero Sport and Strada, both two and four wheel drive models.
The purpose of this safety inspection is to check the following:

Weld condition of the front suspension lower arm – The welding bead dimension of the front lower arm is suspected to be insufficient that may result to breakage while vehicle is in use. The inspection procedure is estimate to take 1.7 hours at the most and when needed, replacement of both front lower arms is estimated at 6.3 hours. Coverage of this safety inspection is 11,403 Montero Sport (2WD and 4WD) and 4,050 Strada (2WD and 4WD) units sold from 2011 to 2012.

Weld condition of the front propeller shaft for four wheel drive models – The width of the welding bead between the tube and stub shaft is suspected to be insufficient in some units that may result to breakage while vehicle is in use. The inspection procedure is estimated to take 12 minutes at the most and when needed, replacement is estimated at 36 minutes. Coverage are 66 Montero Sport 4WD and 13 Strada 4WD units sold in 2012.

Power assisted reclining switch for the driver’s seat on Montero GLS SE and GT-V models – The power assisted reclining switch may get stuck during usage and may result to power seat motor overheating. Replacement of the reclining switch is estimated at 18 minutes and when needed power seat motor replacement, should require a total of 2.5 hours. Coverage of this safety inspection are 8,059 Montero Sport four wheel drive models (GLS SE and GT-V) units sold from 2009 up to present.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines mentioned that there has been no reported failures and/or incidents nationwide related to the above, yet the mandatory inspection is necessary and conform to its principal, Mitsubishi Motor Corporation’s directive to voluntarily conduct these safety inspection as a proactive commitment to quality and consumer safety.

Mr. Hikosaburo Shibata, President and CEO of MMPC sincerely apologized to all affected customers for the inconvenience caused by this safety inspection. He also said that it has already mobilized its Customer Service Operation to communicate to all the affected customers. He said that all the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines service centers nationwide have been prepared to do the necessary inspection.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines’ website www.mitsubishi-motors.com.ph is also ready to administer “quick check and verification” using the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to find out if the customer’s vehicle is included in the safety inspection campaign. In addition, affected customers will be notified via email. Our Service Centers nationwide are also capable to attend to customer’s inquiry and concerns.

For additional concerns and inquiries, customers can get in touch with MMPC Customer Care Center at telephone numbers (+632) 658-0673 Monday to Friday from 7 am to 4 pm.

14th cyclone develops near Surigao, named 'Nando'

MANILA, Philippines - The low pressure area near Surigao del Norte in Mindanao has intensified into a tropical depression and has been named "Nando," the state weather bureau said Sunday.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that as of 10 a.m., the center of the tropical cyclone was estimated at 290 kilometers east of Borongan City.

"Nando" is the 14th cyclone to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility this year and the fourth this August. The weather bureau expects at least five cyclones to hit the country this month.

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour and was moving north northwest at a speed of 13 kph.

PAGASA said the cyclone will move up to Bicol area, particularly 270 kilometers east of Virac in Catanduanes by Monday morning and move near Aurora province by Tuesday.

The estimated rainfall amount within the cyclone's 300 kilometer diameter was five to 15 millimeters per hour or moderate to heavy.
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The weather bureau has not raised any public storm warning signals in areas near the storm's location.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said it has alerted its units in the areas near the cyclone's location.

The agency added that it has advised local government units in the affected provinces to order a preemptive evacuation when necessary.

source: philstar

Heavy rains flooded Philippines, 7 dead

Floodwaters submerged houses in BF Resort Village in Las Pinas

Sucat Road in Parañaque

Manila Flood

Flood-battered residents of the Philippine capital Manila fled their homes or sat on rooftops Tuesday as relentless monsoon rains, which have killed seven people, submerged more than half of Manila.

Streets turned into rivers with water above two metres (7 feet) in some parts of the metro of 12 million people, displacing more than 130,000 people and forcing countless others to wait out the storm in or on their flooded homes.

"We have had nothing to eat, nothing to wear. A few people went to houses on higher ground, but most of us had nowhere to go," Dinah Claire Velasco, 44, a resident of a blue-collar coastal district on the outskirts of Manila told AFP.

"My children and other people were able to seek refuge on the second floor of my house but a lot of others had to just sit on their roofs... We're waiting for rescue, for help, even just food."

At least 60 percent of Manila was flooded on Tuesday morning, with some places enduring waters climbing as high as 2.1 metres, an official with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority told the briefing.

In one part of the capital, 47.5 centimetres (18.7 inches) of rain fell in the 24 hours to Monday morning, according to Esperanza Cayanan, a meteorologist in charge of Manila for the state weather forecaster.

She said this was the same amount as which normally fell for all of August, already one of the wettest months of the year.

In a potentially serious escalation the Marikina River, a key waterway that cuts through eastern Manila, began to overflow on Tuesday afternoon, and 20,000 people close by were ordered to evacuate, the local mayor, Del de Guzman, told AFP.

These people were on top of the 131,000 people across the main island of Luzon, including Manila, that the government said were in evacuation centres or seeking shelter with relatives and friends.

Groups involved in the rescue effort said they were being overwhelmed.

"We are getting a lot of calls for rescue... we would really be hard pressed to rescue all of them," a Philippine Red Cross official told a government briefing on the floods, which was broadcast on national television.

While no one was reported killed in Manila, four more people were confirmed to have drowned in flooded farming provinces to the north, said Reynaldo Balido, a spokesman for the government's disaster management council.

This brought the confirmed death toll from two days of flooding across Luzon to seven.

The economic toll also started to grow, with the stock exchange, government offices and schools in Manila closed for a second consecutive day.

Many domestic flights at Manila's airport were cancelled, as were some international flights. Flooded roads to the airport were impassable.

The state weather agency warned the rain would continue into Tuesday evening, before easing on Wednesday.

The heavy rains were due to the seasonal monsoon being exacerbated by Tropical Storm Trami, known locally as Maring, which was hovering to the north of the Philippines.

Trami had been nearly stationary since Monday, according to the weather bureau.

The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the second half of the year and many of them deadly.

The extent of the flooding across Manila recalled memories of Tropical Storm Ketsana, which flooded 80 percent of the capital in 2009 and claimed more than 460 lives.

However Ketsana took most people in Manila by surprise, and residents as well as the government have taken many measures to be better prepared.

These include extensive social media alerts informing people about places to avoid and offering a platform to appeal for help.

One of the most important tools this week has been the #RescuePH hashtag on microblogging site Twitter.

"URGENT RESCUE: floods now reaching the second floor of houses there. #RescuePH" one post said, identifying the location of the district in Manila.

In Marikina, some 12,000 people have been housed in evacuation centers as Marikina River reached its critical level of 18 meters due to torrential rains brought by the storm-enhanced southwest monsoon.

Family of 3 murdered in Morong

MORONG, Rizal — A couple and their 12-year-old daughter were stabbed dead by still unidentified assailants who barged into their house yesterday morning, police said.

source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=509002705855357&set=a.110760245679607.25473.109765372445761&type=1&ref=nf#_=_

Homicide investigators identified the victims as Dr. Edgar R. Dalope, 49; his wife Ma. Teresa, 47; and their daughter, Zynacyn, all of 1045 Capinpin St., Barangay San Juan, here. The 12 year old daughter was found dead in the washing machine.

Relatives who went to their house at 5 a.m. discovered their deaths and reported it to police.
Probers said the victims died of knife wounds and that nothing seemed to have been taken from them or their premises, ruling out robbery as the motive in the killing.

The case is still under investigation.

Sunshine Cruz claims Cesar Montano sexually abused her

MANILA, Philippines - Sunshine Cruz charge husband Cesar Montano with physical and emotional battery at the Quezon City prosecutor’s office. An alleged sexual abuse is one of the claims Sunshine Cruz made in the complaint

Cruz filed with the city prosecutor’s office a charge of violation of Republic Act 9262 or the anti-violence against women and children’s act of 2004 against Montano, whose real name is Caesar Manhilot, claiming she has been subjected since January this year to physical and psychological abuse by Montano.

She further alleged that Montano has forcibly taken custody of their young daughters and is depriving her access to them.

In her nine-page complaint Cruz claimed, “Respondent (Montano) is very domineering, philandering husband that he demanded full submission and obedience from the complainant (Cruz) while he continually prohibits the latter from inquiring on his own affairs. Worse, respondent does not go home and he spends weekends elsewhere. In fact, he presently resides at an address different from that of the complainant and her three minor daughters.”

She alleged that Montano reacts violently through “harsh verbal abuse” to her queries on his activities and that his manner had caused their 13-year marriage to deteriorate. The couple got married on February 2000.

Cruz said that last February, she and daughters, aged 7, 8 and 11, were compelled to leave their home causing the children to be deprived by Montano of support, shelter and means of transportation to school. When she decided to leave with her children, the actress claimed, Montano hit her.

She also alleged that in May, the actor barged into her new home and physically and sexually abused her.

“Respondent (Montano) continued and still continues to harass complainant by threatening her with physical harm, obscene accusations and grave defamation,” Cruz alleged, citing a series of angry text messages that Montano allegedly sent her on June 10.

On July 29, the actress said, Montano fetched their three daughters from school without telling her and brought the children to his home. When she asked him to return the kids to her, she claimed Montano “deliberately and forcibly refused.”

Cruz claimed that her husband’s continued custody of their daughters would be prejudicial to their normal growth and development citing Montano’s alleged extra-marital relationship with another woman.

The actress asked the city prosecutor’s office to consider the filing in court of her complaint against Montano.

De Lima: Raps vs. lawmakers in pork barrel scam to be filed in a few weeks

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was able to confirm the involvement of several lawmakers in the alleged “pork barrel scam,” and charges are forthcoming, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Tuesday.

"We were able to confirm the involvement of some lawmakers—members of the Senate and the House—but we don't know yet whether the list that we have now is complete, so we are verifying it,” De Lima said in a chance interview at the House of Representatives following her attendance to an event there.

Without giving names, De Lima said the charges will be filed “in a few weeks’ time.”

“We will file cases only by evidence, whether testimonial or from documents,” she said.

The supposed scam refers to the P10 billion in pork barrel — or the multi-million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) given to lawmakers every year — that went to bogus non-government organizations (NGOs). Businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles has been accused of masterminding the scam.

Non-partisan

Meanwhile, De Lima, who as justice secretary has direct supervision of the NBI, assures the public of the non-partisanship of the team that investigated the scam.

“There is no such standard in segregating,” she said. “The NBI is not partisan in any investigation and it will not be affected or damaged by partisanship or color.”

She, however, stressed that “right now I can’t tell you if we’re filing cases against the opposition or the administration solons.”

De Lima did not also say if the NBI, through the Department of Justice (DOJ), is moving to freeze Napoles’ assets. She said the agency would like to hold some secrecy in its investigation.

“It’s not advisable that we announce in advance such moves,” she said, adding that she has instructed the NBI not to discuss the investigation with the media.

Bigger team

De Lima also noted that the team conducting the investigation has  grown significantly, due in part to the request of Napoles, who did not want the same team that took custody of supposed whistleblower Benhur Luy to handle the investigation for fear of conflict of interest.

“It’s a bigger and more enhanced team now. We already assigned additional men particularly from the anti-fraud and legal departments. Malaking team, under (my) supervision,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Justice secretary distanced herself from any possible congressional probe on the matter, leaving the decision in the hands of lawmakers.

"We leave it to them when they would want to start their own investigation, although the leaderships of the Senate and the House have announced that they want to wait for the NBI investigation first so as not to muddle things," De Lima said. — KBK, GMA News

Taiwan, Philippines end dispute

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan and the Philippines restored relations this week after working for three months to ease anger over a fishing boat shooting incident that gutted normally friendly ties between two Pacific Rim allies.

Taiwan has lift the sanctions against the Philippines following a Philippine apology over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman three months ago in disputed waters between the Philippines and Taiwan, Malacañang on Friday expressed confidence that relations between the two countries would normalize soon.

“We did get word that they are lifting sanctions, the ones that they levied because of the incident. But then, you know, hopefully this recent development will contribute to the resolution of the issue and then will return relations to normal,”  Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

“We have heard from some OFWs that they have been told by their co-workers waiting in Manila that they have been advised to prepare to be deployed,” MECO permanent representative Antonio Basilio said.

Taiwanese Foreign Minister David Lin announced the lifting of all sanctions Thursday night following the visit by MECO officials during which chair Amadeo Perez offered a verbal apology to Hung’s family.
This came a day after the National Bureau of Investigation announced its recommendation to file homicide charges against eight members of the Philippine Coast Guard for the death of Hung, who was killed when the Coast Guard men fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat allegedly poaching in Philippine waters last May 9. Taiwanese prosecutors also filed homicide charges in Taiwan against the eight coast guards.

Chito Miranda - Neri Naig Sex Video

Chito Miranda issued an apology for the "private video" of him and his girlfriend Neri Naig having intimate moments that is already uploaded online.

In his Instagram account "chitomirandajr", early morning August 3 he issued this statement:

"We are truly saddened by the fact na may nag-leak na private video of me and my girlfriend, Neri Naig"

"Humihingi po ako ng paumanhin sa mga pamilya namin for this unfortunate incident."

"Thank you for your prayers."

While in his twitter account, @chitomirandajr he said:

"Thanks for all your prayers and encouraging messages. Our hard drive was stolen from our room in our house along with several other stuff..."

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