The death toll from floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in past weeks rose to 75 Thursday, with the latest fatalities from Cebu and Agusan del Sur. The NDRRMC (National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) said the causes of death of the 75 fatalities included drowning, landslide, electrocution and hypothermia. At least 21 remain missing while 13 were reported injured, it added. A total of 1,365 families or 6,135 people are still being served in 48 evacuation centers. At least 745 houses were destroyed while 4,550 were damaged. Damage to property was estimated at P2.025 billion, including P659.533 million in agriculture; and P1.345 billion in infrastructure.
State of calamity eyed in Mandaue City
Meanwhile, Mandaue City in Cebu province is considering declaring a state of calamity due to flash floods that hit parts of Metro Cebu this week. Affected by Tuesday's flash floods in Mandaue City were Tipolo, Subang-daku and Guizo villages where floodwaters were neck-deep.
The silted Mahiga Creek and Tipolo Creek overflowed, affecting the low-lying areas of Subang-daku, Panagdait, Palace of Justice in Mandaue and nearby Parkmall. Classes in Guizo Elementary School and A.S. Fortuna Elementary School were also suspended. In Cebu City, the vicinity of SM Mall, White Gold Department Store and Radison Hotel at Sitio Pinagdait were flooded. Some 254 passengers in the area near SM Macro were stranded and transported by the 51st Marine Reserve Battalion of the Cebu City disaster risk reduction and management council.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
4 killed, 14 others injured in Manila bus explosion
Friday, January 07, 2011
Study German Language in Cebu
 |
| German Language Class |
The next exam for German A1 – the exam needed for visa – will held in Cebu in April.
A good opportunity to prepare successful for this exam is a one-on-one class with a German teacher. Those who wants to be ready until the exam in April in Cebu should apply soon. The available time slots for one-on-one tutorials are limited.
More Informations and Registration at Study German in Cebu
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Study English in a tropical island paradise
Cebu Languages have a standard package inclusive of indoor & outdoor courses, accommodation, meals and transportation. Cebu Languages offer a special package for students during their summer and winter vacations, and a family vacation and study package for families travelling on a holiday and want to learn English. However, you can customize your own package at Cebu Languages.
More info about Cebu Languages
Friday, October 26, 2007
Philippines' Estrada given pardon
Disgraced former Philippine President Joseph Estrada has been granted an official pardon by his successor, a government spokesman has confirmed.
President Gloria Arroyo's office said the decision was reached after Estrada agreed not to pursue political office.
Estrada was given a life sentence last month after being convicted of corruption following a six-year trial.
The 70-year-old ex-film star was found to have embezzled $80m (£42m) before being forced from office in 2001.
'Demeaning' decision
Ms Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said Estrada's age and the fact he had spent six years under house arrest were taken into account when awarding the pardon.
The former president, who analysts say retains huge popularity among poor Filipinos, will officially be freed on Friday.
He had been serving his sentence at his sprawling country estate near the capital, Manila, rather than a jail cell.
Estrada's son, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, said he thanked Ms Arroyo from the bottom of his heart for releasing his father.
But political opponents of Estrada were highly critical of the move.
"If we are going to show the world that we are for the rule of law, then there should be no pardon for Estrada," said Senator Richard Gordon.
Prosecutors involved in the Estrada case said the president had no right to pardon him, and claimed the move had "totally demeaned" their efforts to combat corruption.
After his conviction for plunder in September, Estrada denounced the verdict as a "political move" and said he had been tried in a "kangaroo court".
A successful movie star with populist appeal, Estrada was elected president in 1998 by the biggest margin ever.
He was seen as a refreshing change from the wealthy elite that had previously dominated political life.
But it was not long before his presidency ran into trouble amid allegations of corruption.
He was ousted three years after coming to power in a revolt backed by the army and the church. Mrs Arroyo - who was his vice-president at the time - took over.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Philippines hit by two quakes
Two earthquakes rocked the southern Philippines in the past two days, but no casualties or damage were reported, the government said on Wednesday.
A magnitude 5.5 quake struck before dawn on Wednesday in Tawi-Tawi province, 1080 kilometres south of Manila, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
The tremor's epicentre was located north-west of Tawi-Tawi. It was felt at intensity four, the institute said.
On Tuesday, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit nearby General Santos City and Davao City, but there were also no casualties or damage.
The tremor was felt at intensities three and two. Its epicentre was located south-east of General Santos City.
The Philippines, which lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is hit by about 10 earthquakes everyday but only a few are actually felt.
The worst earthquake that struck the country was in 1990 when a magnitude 7.7 tremor killed nearly 2000 people in the northern island of Luzon.
A magnitude 5.5 quake struck before dawn on Wednesday in Tawi-Tawi province, 1080 kilometres south of Manila, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
The tremor's epicentre was located north-west of Tawi-Tawi. It was felt at intensity four, the institute said.
On Tuesday, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit nearby General Santos City and Davao City, but there were also no casualties or damage.
The tremor was felt at intensities three and two. Its epicentre was located south-east of General Santos City.
The Philippines, which lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire," is hit by about 10 earthquakes everyday but only a few are actually felt.
The worst earthquake that struck the country was in 1990 when a magnitude 7.7 tremor killed nearly 2000 people in the northern island of Luzon.
Don’t rush - Terrorist Attack or Accident?
We do not know who was the first to raise the possibility that a liquefied petroleum gas tank 
caused the explosion at the Glorietta 2 mall. Perhaps it was an eyewitness or perhaps it was a radio commentator speculating on air. But a few hours after the explosion, this theory was firmly set aside, and by responsible officers of the country’s armed services.
The blast was most likely caused by a “hard explosive,” Chief Insp. Reynold Rosero of the Philippine Bomb Data Center told reporters. (He also described the event as “most likely a deliberate attack.”) Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Avelino Razon echoed the line later in the day.
The day after the blast, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon issued a categorical statement. “It is a terrorist attack,” he said.
That same day, the PNP Crime Laboratory and the Bomb Data Center told the National Security Council meeting in Camp Crame that they had found traces of RDX, an ingredient used in such explosives as C4, which is used by the military.
But the following day, Sunday, the wind began to change direction. The police director for Metro Manila, Geary Barias, soft-pedaled the previous day’s assertion that RDX was found, saying its presence would have to be verified by “additional testing.”
This change came on the heels of the rather odd announcement, late on Saturday, that the blast originated from the basement of the mall.
“The explosion came from the underground, that’s why there was a crater-like structure in the stairs going to the basement,” Rosero of the Bomb Data Center told reporters. Aside from the curious construction of that statement (did the police officer say a crater in the stairs?), there is also the inconvenient fact that Makati City Councilor Jun-Jun Binay had already told the media, on the day of the blast, that the explosion left an eight-meter-wide crater on the ground floor.
Even without that conflict in testimony, however, Rosero’s unqualified assertion that the blast started in the basement was rather premature. Why? Because on the day he said that, the basement in question was still heavily flooded. (There were mentions of the flooding in the early stories.)
Where did the water come from? From two tanks in the area, one containing water for firefighting purposes, the other water for ordinary use. Thus, in the first few days after the blast, not a single person entered the basement, because the water was filthy and deep.
How can anyone say on Saturday, and categorically, that the blast emanated from the basement?
By late Monday, the authorities had changed their principal theory. Without dismissing the possibility that the Glorietta tragedy was a terrorist bombing, the investigators said the blast could have been the result of an industrial accident.
Fire Supt. Fenniore Jaudian told police reporters an “accumulation of methane” in the basement could have caught fire and, in the process, caused the diesel tank in the basement (used to run emergency power generators) to explode.
Chemical engineers from the University of the Philippines have come forward to make their skepticism about the “methane + diesel” theory public. To be sure, they have not visited the site, and they have prefaced their remarks with qualifying statements. And yet in principle, their reservations about the theory should give any reasonable person pause. Diesel is famously non-volatile; methane build-up requires a confined space and a stagnant supply of solid waste.
It seems to us that for the new theory to work, the threshold of conditions assumed to exist is rather high.
We recognize, of course, that theories change as more facts emerge. We understand that, aside from that stray remark about RDX traces being found, not much else points to a bomb. But we also realize that in some high-profile terrorist acts, it took government investigators some time to prove that bombs were in fact used.
We acknowledge the investigators’ readiness to continue considering the bombing angle -- they were, after all, the first to consider it. We recognize their testing of new theories as consistent with the emergence of new facts. We believe, however, that their main duty, at this time, is to ascertain all the necessary facts. Unless these are established, any theory offered to the public is a rush to judgment.
caused the explosion at the Glorietta 2 mall. Perhaps it was an eyewitness or perhaps it was a radio commentator speculating on air. But a few hours after the explosion, this theory was firmly set aside, and by responsible officers of the country’s armed services.The blast was most likely caused by a “hard explosive,” Chief Insp. Reynold Rosero of the Philippine Bomb Data Center told reporters. (He also described the event as “most likely a deliberate attack.”) Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Avelino Razon echoed the line later in the day.
The day after the blast, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon issued a categorical statement. “It is a terrorist attack,” he said.
That same day, the PNP Crime Laboratory and the Bomb Data Center told the National Security Council meeting in Camp Crame that they had found traces of RDX, an ingredient used in such explosives as C4, which is used by the military.
But the following day, Sunday, the wind began to change direction. The police director for Metro Manila, Geary Barias, soft-pedaled the previous day’s assertion that RDX was found, saying its presence would have to be verified by “additional testing.”
This change came on the heels of the rather odd announcement, late on Saturday, that the blast originated from the basement of the mall.
“The explosion came from the underground, that’s why there was a crater-like structure in the stairs going to the basement,” Rosero of the Bomb Data Center told reporters. Aside from the curious construction of that statement (did the police officer say a crater in the stairs?), there is also the inconvenient fact that Makati City Councilor Jun-Jun Binay had already told the media, on the day of the blast, that the explosion left an eight-meter-wide crater on the ground floor.
Even without that conflict in testimony, however, Rosero’s unqualified assertion that the blast started in the basement was rather premature. Why? Because on the day he said that, the basement in question was still heavily flooded. (There were mentions of the flooding in the early stories.)
Where did the water come from? From two tanks in the area, one containing water for firefighting purposes, the other water for ordinary use. Thus, in the first few days after the blast, not a single person entered the basement, because the water was filthy and deep.
How can anyone say on Saturday, and categorically, that the blast emanated from the basement?
By late Monday, the authorities had changed their principal theory. Without dismissing the possibility that the Glorietta tragedy was a terrorist bombing, the investigators said the blast could have been the result of an industrial accident.
Fire Supt. Fenniore Jaudian told police reporters an “accumulation of methane” in the basement could have caught fire and, in the process, caused the diesel tank in the basement (used to run emergency power generators) to explode.
Chemical engineers from the University of the Philippines have come forward to make their skepticism about the “methane + diesel” theory public. To be sure, they have not visited the site, and they have prefaced their remarks with qualifying statements. And yet in principle, their reservations about the theory should give any reasonable person pause. Diesel is famously non-volatile; methane build-up requires a confined space and a stagnant supply of solid waste.
It seems to us that for the new theory to work, the threshold of conditions assumed to exist is rather high.
We recognize, of course, that theories change as more facts emerge. We understand that, aside from that stray remark about RDX traces being found, not much else points to a bomb. But we also realize that in some high-profile terrorist acts, it took government investigators some time to prove that bombs were in fact used.
We acknowledge the investigators’ readiness to continue considering the bombing angle -- they were, after all, the first to consider it. We recognize their testing of new theories as consistent with the emergence of new facts. We believe, however, that their main duty, at this time, is to ascertain all the necessary facts. Unless these are established, any theory offered to the public is a rush to judgment.
Mall Blast in Philippine Not a Bomb
The Philippine police announced, on Tuesday, that the mall explosion that killed 11 people and wounded more than 100 is probably an accident, and not cause of a bomb.
The blast in the Glorietta shopping center centre, in the financial district of Makati City, occurred last Friday, could have been caused by gas that was build-up in the mall’s basement, chief of Manila police forces, Geary Barias, reported.
He said that the anti-bomb investigators did not found any clues at the scene, such as an improvised explosive device component or a crater, which would indicate a bomb explosion.
"What I can say is it's very difficult to support the theory of bombing in the absence of the two critical things," he said.
In addition, he reported that the physical effects of the incident, like the upward direction of the blast, fortify the gas explosion theory.
"The petrochemical experts also examined the layout of the fuel tank and their finding is that it did not follow the standard cylindrical structure that would cause an even distribution of the pressure," Barias said. "Their tank is rectangular and that might have contributed to the explosion."
The basement of the mall contained a generator set, empty drums of diesel, a tank of bunker fuel and the septic tank.
This comes as a relief for the government, which was accused by the opposition of having orchestrated the blast in order to divert the public attention from the corruption and bribery scandal that it is into at this moment.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Ousted Philippine president Estrada seeks pardon on plunder conviction
Ousted Philippine leader Joseph Estrada, jailed after a historic corruption conviction, dropped his appeal Monday and said he will seek a presidential pardon instead.
Estrada said he authorized his lawyers to withdraw his appeal to the special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court to reverse his Sept. 12 conviction for economic plunder.
The move takes away a key obstacle for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to grant him a pardon that could free him from more than six years of detention.
"I don’t stand a chance of being acquitted in the courts," Estrada told The Associated Press by telephone, adding he would go straight to a suburban Manila hospital to visit his ailing mother if released.
Estrada, a former action movie star still adored by many of the country’s poor, has been allowed by the court to be detained in his sprawling villa near Manila while appealing his conviction.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, a close Arroyo ally, welcomed Estrada’s move saying "it can help lower the political temperature."
Arroyo recently authorized Puno to hold talks with Estrada on a possible pardon. The talks stalled, however, after Estrada decided to appeal his corruption conviction, which legally barred Arroyo from issuing a pardon.
Estrada was ousted by a non-violent "people power" revolt that was co-led by Arroyo, then his vice-president, in 2001 over allegations of massive corruption and misrule. He was arrested and detained a few months later, angering his legions of followers.
Estrada was convicted last September after a landmark six-year trial on charges that he took bribes and kickbacks while in office. He was sentenced to life in prison.
He also was ordered to forfeit a mansion and more than US$15.5 million.
Estrada has denied the charges and accused Arroyo of masterminding his removal in a conspiracy with leaders of the Roman Catholic church and senior military officers.
A former action film star who once pulled off the biggest election victory in Philippine history, Estrada remains popular among impoverished Filipinos who adored his B-movies, where he often portrayed roles as a champion of the poor.
He served as an opposition icon, often criticizing Arroyo from behind bars.
The 70-year-old Estrada said he would not seek public office even if that right were restored by presidential pardon. He said, however, he would continue to criticize Arroyo.
"If she does good, I will support her. But I’ll go against any politics that’s not good for the country and the people," he said.
Estrada said he authorized his lawyers to withdraw his appeal to the special anti-graft Sandiganbayan court to reverse his Sept. 12 conviction for economic plunder.
The move takes away a key obstacle for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to grant him a pardon that could free him from more than six years of detention.
"I don’t stand a chance of being acquitted in the courts," Estrada told The Associated Press by telephone, adding he would go straight to a suburban Manila hospital to visit his ailing mother if released.
Estrada, a former action movie star still adored by many of the country’s poor, has been allowed by the court to be detained in his sprawling villa near Manila while appealing his conviction.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, a close Arroyo ally, welcomed Estrada’s move saying "it can help lower the political temperature."
Arroyo recently authorized Puno to hold talks with Estrada on a possible pardon. The talks stalled, however, after Estrada decided to appeal his corruption conviction, which legally barred Arroyo from issuing a pardon.
Estrada was ousted by a non-violent "people power" revolt that was co-led by Arroyo, then his vice-president, in 2001 over allegations of massive corruption and misrule. He was arrested and detained a few months later, angering his legions of followers.
Estrada was convicted last September after a landmark six-year trial on charges that he took bribes and kickbacks while in office. He was sentenced to life in prison.
He also was ordered to forfeit a mansion and more than US$15.5 million.
Estrada has denied the charges and accused Arroyo of masterminding his removal in a conspiracy with leaders of the Roman Catholic church and senior military officers.
A former action film star who once pulled off the biggest election victory in Philippine history, Estrada remains popular among impoverished Filipinos who adored his B-movies, where he often portrayed roles as a champion of the poor.
He served as an opposition icon, often criticizing Arroyo from behind bars.
The 70-year-old Estrada said he would not seek public office even if that right were restored by presidential pardon. He said, however, he would continue to criticize Arroyo.
"If she does good, I will support her. But I’ll go against any politics that’s not good for the country and the people," he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
