wepulada's Datingish

Ex-Marine private nabbed for snatching womans bag

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:00:14 GMT

A former Marine was arrested by policemen for snatching a woman's bag in Cubao district, Quezon City, Thursday night.

Nabbed was Jerome Lapida Cabdula, a former Marine private who now wrorks as a security guard at the embassy of Iran. He was nabbed by policemen after grabbing a woman's bag at the Araneta Center in Cubao district around 11 p.m.

Joy Mercado told Cubao policemen that she was walking when Cabdula approached her and forcibly took her shoulder bag, which contained cash worth P2,500 and a cellular phone.

He took the money and threatened to hurt me, Mercado told police.

Policemen said Araneta Center security guards called their attention. They arrested Cabdula after a brief chase.

Robbery charges will be filed against the ex-Marine private. With a report from Doland Castro, ABS-CBN News

Cory doing very well after initial chemo session

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:16:41 GMT

Former president Corazon Aquino is "doing very well" after undergoing the first series of chemotherapy sessions in her battle against colon cancer, family members said Sunday.

During the "Mass for Truth" in Tondo, Manila led by Senate witness Rodolfo Noel "Jun" Lozada Sunday, Jiggy Aquino-Cruz, the former president's eldest grandson, told the media about her present condition.

"She is improving. Her blood cell counts are improving as well, plus her appetite is coming back," Cruz said.

Even if his grandmother is not with them during the Mass, Aquino's grandson said her words of wisdom serves as their guide.

"I won't fail her in her expectations of me. I'll continue the campaign even without her," Aquino's grandson said.

Cruz and another Aquino grandson, Eldon, served as the former president's representatives in the event.

Lozada, whose main supporters include Mrs. Aquino, also said that he misses her presence.

Black propaganda mars Mass

The Mass Sunday, led by the ZTE-NBN scandal whistleblower, was not spared from black propaganda, since the church was full of people.

A paper circulated among the churchgoers, which contained an article about an alleged multi-million-peso corruption issue involving Lozada, and criticisms about the priests and nuns supporting him.

The article, however, neither had an author nor indications of any group behind it.

On Saturday, hundreds of prisoners from a Cebu prison also ciricized Lozada with a dance.

Interviewed Sunda, Lozada, however, said the people criticizing him are only exercising their rights.

"It's OK. It's their right. Let them be, because if I get jailed, I'll dance for them too," he said, referring to the prisoners.

Lozada ended his day with a meeting with residents of Payatas, Quezon City around 4 p.m., where he talked with them about corruption.

Kris reveals Cory's condition

It was the former president's actress-television host daughter, Kris, who revealed about her mother's condition last week.

Kris said her mother underwent several tests after being hospitalized for high blood pressure last December.

"Our mom wanted to know what was wrong with her, and with her family by her side, she submitted herself to a check-up and several tests. The results showed that our mother is suffering from cancer of the colon," Kris told ABS-CBN chief correspondent Korina Sanchez.

Kris said the former president started losing her appetite last December despite being a healthy eater. "She likes to eat fruits and vegetables. We just want to emphasize that throughout our lives, she's never been sick. The time we brought her to the hospital last Christmas was the first time," she said.

"She lost 10 pounds in a span of about two weeks," she added.

Kris also revealed that her maternal grandmother was diagnosed with the same condition and had to undergo treatment in Boston.

According to Dr. Armand Crisostomo, a colorectal surgeon and president of the Philippine College of Surgeons, colon and rectal cancer are the 3rd and 4th leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the country.

Aquino, widow of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino, Jr., became president of the Philippines after the ouster of President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. She was selected Time Magazine's Woman of the Year in 1986 and is a recipient of the 1998 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding.

She is recognized as one of the World's Elite Women Who Make a Difference by the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame of 2005. With a report from Ron Gagalac, ABS-CBN News

DFA to appeal Espino slay case

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:02:12 GMT

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said it will assist Bienvenido "Benjie" Espino Jr., the Filipino worker who was sentenced to death for stabbing to death a Filipina, up to the highest court in Kuwait.

"The embassy has given an instruction to Espino's lawyer to appeal his case," DFA spokesman Claro Cristobal told ABS-CBN's morning show, "Umagang Kay Ganda."

Kuwait's Court of First Instance sentenced Espino to death for killing Jhias Gumapac, who was working as a barista in a coffee shop in Salmiya, Kuwait on Oct. 30, 2007.

Reports said Espino stabbed Gumapac 33 times over a laptop computer. The laptop was allegedly given by Espino to Gumapac as collateral for his debt.

Cristobal said Espino's case will be elevated by the Philippine embassy in Kuwait to the emirate's Court of Appeals.

Cristobal said if ever the appellate court will uphold the sentence, the case will be elevated to the Court of Cassation, Kuwait's high court.

The DFA spokesman admitted that the case is unusual because it involves two Filipinos. Despite this, he said the Philippine government is bound by law to assist Espino.

"Just like what we do in other cases, we will not let this go easily to save a Filipino's life... It's the government's responsibility to save the life of a Filipino," Cristobal said.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, Gumapac's father, Joel, said he has no plans to write a letter of forgiveness to save Espino from execution.

"The sentence, maximum penalty, should push through. As of now, I don't have plans to write a letter of forgiveness," Joel said.

No permanent US structure in Mindanao, says defense chief

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 02:01:15 GMT

A top government official reiterated Monday that American troops are not building any permanent structure and are not engaged in military combat in Mindanao amid reports saying otherwise.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said US troops who participate in annual military exercises and humanitarian programs stay in a Philippine facility.

Ang kinalulugaran nila ay Philippine facility kung saan dumadating sila pwede nilang gamitin at kung may itayo man sila doon na hindi naman permanent structure pwede nilang iwanan para sa atin, Teodoro said in an interview on ABS-CBNs Umagang Kay Ganda.

The defense chief said the structures put up by the US troops can easily be taken down.

He added that the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement allow the conduct of, among others, military exercises, humanitarian assistance and disaster response in the country. He said these approved activities would last a maximum of three to four months.

Teodoro also denied the claim of Mindanao State University Prof. Octavio Dinampo that American forces are helping the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its operations against rebels in the south.

Hindi sumasama sa operations yan at yan ay tinututulan ko ang sinasabi lalong lalo na ni Professor Dinampo sa isang pahayagan ngayong umaga. Tinututulan ko yan at hindi talaga sila sumasama sa operations, he said.

Quoting Dinampo, reports said a US spy plane helped Filipino soldiers on the ground in its operations against the rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Dinampo was one of those kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in June along with ABS-CBN News team led by senior correspondent Ces Drilon.

Foreign experts to check toxic chemicals in ferry

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:47:09 GMT

Agence France-Presse

PARIS -
The European Union is to send a mission of experts to investigate toxic
chemicals on board a Philippine ferry which sank carrying more than 850
people, French officials said Friday.

Interior Minister Michele
Alliot-Marie decided after discussions with the foreign and European
affairs ministries that an EU "mission of expertise and support" should
be sent immediately, a statement said. France currently holds the
presidency of the European Union.

The Princess of the Stars
remains stricken off the central Philippines after sinking in a typhoon
on June 21. The upturned wreckage is thought to contain hundreds of
dead bodies along with an illegal consignment of toxic pesticides.

While
tests showed waters have not been contaminated with the endosulfan
pesticide, there was concern containers could corrode allowing the
chemical to leach and contaminate the area.

Officials in the
Philippines said this week that the ferry would be refloated, ditching
a bid to use divers to retrieve the bodies and chemicals.

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"The
potential danger to marine life is a major factor in the decision" to
refloat the vessel, a coast guard biologist, who asked not to be named,
told AFP.

The EU mission would include experts on sea pollution and chemical risks, the French statement said.

Ateneo student wins Chinese proficiency contest

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:35:01 GMT

A Filipino student won first place in the 7th Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in Hunan China last month, beating over a hundred other college students from dozens of countries competing.

Emilio Lopue Jr., currently a senior Legal Management student at the Ateneo de Manila University , became the first Filipino to win the competition, which was sponsored by The Office of Chinese Language Council International and co-sponsored by Hunan Provincial Department of Education and Hunan TV.

He won the Philippine Primary Competition hosted by AdMU last April and represented the Philippines at the world competition in China.

The contest is open to college students from all over the world whose mother tongue is not Chinese.

With Fervor with the Olympics, Fun with Chinese as the theme for this year's competition, 110 contestants from 55 countries around the globe participated in this contest.

He successfully hurdled several elimination rounds, oral and written, until he reached the Top 24.

The jury ranked the finalists based on their over all contest ratings. The awards given were: one special category - champion, two first places, three second places and eighteen third places.

After three rounds of final competition, he bagged the First Prize. Lillian Okoye of USA got the special prize - Champion. Of the first place, Lopue got the higher rating.

Lopue was awarded a trophy, a Master's Degree scholarship of any course of his chosen university in China, free board and lodging, settlement allowance, medical insurance, a roundtrip ticket from Philippines to China vice versa, and was bestowed the title Ambassador of the Chinese Language.