June 24, 2009 Major News Stories

Cebu fisherman dies in rough seas

A fisherman died after strong waves, caused by typhoon "Feria" caused his boat to slam into rocks in Bantayan Island on Tuesday morning, an official said.

'Feria' on track to hit MM, W. Luzon

Binabayo na ngayon ng bagyong Feria ang ilang bahagi ng Visayas at Timog Katagalugan habang tinatahak nito ang direksyon ng Metro Manila at Kanlurang Luzon. Itinaas na ang signal number two sa Metro Manila at ilang probinsya. 

Hailstorm, tornado hit Batangas towns

A hailstorm was reported to have hit parts of  Batangas province Tuesday afternoon as Tropical Storm "Feria" (international codename Nangka) lashed Visayas and pushed northwards toward Luzon.

Senator, party OK after emergency landing

Senator Francis Pangilinan and his companions were safe after their helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in Daet town, Camarines Norte province on Tuesday due to bad weather.

Hailstones rain on Parañaque villages

Hailstones the size of corn kernels, rained briefly across two villages in Parañaque City on Tuesday afternoon, residents said.

RP's A (H1N1) cases swell to 473

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said 28 more Filipinos have tested positive for influenza A (H1N1) infection, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines to 473.

3 students, toddler test positive

THREE more students at the University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM) campus tested positive for Influenza A (H1N1).  Aside from the three students, a two-year-old Japanese boy, newly arrived from Japan, also tested positive for the virus—this brings the total number of H1N1 flu cases in Central Visayas to 16.

Dead woman with A1H1 House staff--solon

The woman who died with H1N1 virus was an employee of the House of Representatives, and two or three more employees of the chamber have been tested positive for the deadly flu, said South Cotabato Representative Arthur Pingoy, chairman of the committee on heath.

Nograles shuts down House due to H1N1

House Speaker Prospero Nograles suspended work at the House of Representatives from Tuesday noon until Sunday after receiving a report that the Philippines' first reported influenza A (H1N1) death was an employee of the lower House.

Speaker doubts jet set solons spread H1N1

Speaker Prospero Nograles said it would be "stretching it too far" to speculate if jet-setting lawmakers were behind the spread of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus in the House of Representatives.

Iloilo solon on self-quarantine

A lawmaker went on self-imposed quarantine on Tuesday following confirmation that a House of Representatives employee who died of a heart attack was infected with the A(H1N1) virus.

7-month-old baby has H1N1, on tight watch

The Department of Health (DoH) is giving special attention to a seven-month-old Filipino infant, who is so far the country's youngest Influenza A(H1N1) patient.

More Metro schools suspend classes

Five more schools in Metro Manila suspended classes after its students or employees were confirmed to have the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, school officials said.

Ateneo school class under quarantine

An entire class in the Ateneo Grade School has been placed on quarantine after one of its students tested positive for the Influenza A(H1N1) virus late last week.

QC 5th grader has H1N1 – city official

A male fifth grade student in Quezon City's Lagro district tested positive for the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, forcing the suspension of classes in his school on Tuesday, a health official said.

'Low-level' H1N1 outbreak in Metro – DoH

The Department of Health declared a "low-level" community outbreak of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus in Metro Manila, where roughly 70 percent of the 473 confirmed cases of the disease are located.

DepEd plans for missed school days

Plano ng DepEd na magdaos ng make-up classes o kaya ay habaan pa ang school year oras na magkulang ang araw ng pasok ng mga naapektuhan ng A (H1N1) flu.

Lahat ng paaralan isara muna!

Upang hindi na madag  dagan ang mga estudyan teng nagkakasakit ng AH1N1, iginiit kahapon ni Senator Richard Gordon na isara na lamang muna lahat ng eskuwelahan sa bansa at i-adjust na lamang ang school calendar.

Rich countries battle for flu vaccine supply

The race for the still unavailable vaccine against Influenza A(H1N1) virus is on. Affluent countries have made advanced orders for the sought-after vaccine, but the Philippines appears to be dilly-dallying, even after the death of a 49-year-old Filipina who became the first A(H1N1)-related fatality in Asia.

DOH lists risk groups, self-medication

In the wake of the first A(H1N1)-related death, the Department of Health (DOH) said it will give out a list of people at high risk for A(H1N1) and cautioned anew the public against self-medication.

SONA: Arroyo's swine song?

The A(H1N1) pandemic and government"s response to it will be a key part of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo"s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27.

Countdown to end of Arroyo term set

Leftist and religious groups have set a Manila-wide protest rally on June 30 to start the countdown to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's last year in office.

Palace unfazed by probe on Glo trips

Malacañang welcomed Tuesday the prospect of a Senate investigation into the expenses incurred in President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo"s foreign trips.

Estrada urged to drop 2010 bid

Efforts are underway to convince deposed President Joseph Estrada to drop his bid to reclaim his post and instead help unite the opposition, Bayan Muna partylist Representative Teodoro Casiño said here Tuesday.

Why Glo can run without resigning

And how the Supreme Court may be convinced to stop it MANILA - Is it fair for President Arroyo to run for a congressional seat without quitting her post? Fair or not, what matters is that there is nothing in the law that requires her to quit, legal experts say—at least, not at the moment.

Pacquiao, Chiongbian clash in Sarangani 

The influential Chiongbian family in Sarangani has chosen a top honcho of a shipping firm to be their bet to knock down boxing champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao in the upcoming congressional fight in the pro vince in 2010.  Former Sarangani Gov. Priscilla Chiongbian said the family has chosen Roy Chiongbian, a top executive of Eastern Shipping Lines and said to be the "gatekeeper" of the vast Chiongbian business empire involved in shipping, real estate, agri-business and others, as their official candidate for Congress come 2010 in the province.

Poll automation on hold 

Posibleng maatraso ang pirmahan ng kontrata para sa election automation! Kahit kasi ilang beses nang tinitiyak ng Comelec na magiging maayos ang automation, may duda pa rin ang ilang senador.

P5-milyon reward sa loose firearms

Karagdagang P5M reward ang inilabas ng pama halaan para sa sinumang makapagbibigay ng impor masyon para masamsam ang mga cache o imbakan ng mga armas.

Murder vs. suspects in killing of Osorio

THE Department of Justice has resolved to file a murder case against the two men earlier charged for killing a government prosecutor.

Cops in Failon case protest suspension

One of six police officials found guilty of grave misconduct decried as "unacceptable" their suspension and relief from their posts over their alleged mishandling of the case of broadcaster Ted Failon's wife, who died in a suicide.

Failon camp receiving death threats

The family of broadcaster Ted Failon has been receiving death threats days before the National Police Commission suspended and replaced several police officers for mishandling their investigation into the death of Failon's wife, his lawyers said on Tuesday.

RP to deploy 336 UN peacekeepers to Syria

The Philippines will be sending 336 troops to join the United Nations peacekeepers in the Golan Heights in Syria in what is going to be its biggest overseas deployment in almost a decade, the Philippine mission to the UN in New York said on Tuesday.

Thousands stranded in Thai train strike

Train worker strikes in Thailand halted services nationwide and stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers for a second day Tuesday, the state railway said.

Iran braces for more protests

Iran was bracing for pro-government student protests against the British embassy in Tehran on Tuesday as the world voiced increasing alarm at the violent crackdown on opposition demonstrators.

Arum: Pacquiao vs Cotto over Mosley

Top Rank Promotions chief Bob Arum thinks it's much more practical for Manny Pacquiao to pick Miguel Cotto over Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao wants 65/35 vs Cotto

Manny Pacquiao will give Miguel Cotto 35 percent of everything if the welterweight champion from Puerto Rico agrees to go lower than 144 lb.

Quarantined RP football team to go home

The Singapore Ministry of Health denied Tuesday the request of the Philippine Sports Commission to shorten the mandatory quarantine period of the Philippine football team to the First Asian Youth Games in the city.

Top-rating 'May Bukas Pa' to run until 2010

Pumalo sa pinakamataas na ratings sa primetime ang "May Bukas Pa." Pasasamalat naman ang alay ng cast kay "Bro" lalo't extended ang serye hanggang sa susunod pang taon!

Farrah Fawcett to marry

Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal are set to marry. The actor has proposed to the former "Charlie's Angels" star - whose anal cancer has spread to her liver - and the pair are keen to tie the knot as soon as possible.

Diploma in poverty reduction, anyone?

Students in state universities can pursue a degree in reducing poverty if a proposal of government scientists and educators materializes.  Speaking at a recent roundtable discussion organized by the Department of Science and Technology's National Academy of Science and Technology, Chancellor Grace Alfonso of the University of the Philippines Open University based in Los Baños, Laguna said the course is "timely, necessary and addressed by many programs of the UP system."

However, Alfonso said a Bachelor of Poverty Reduction in Agricultural Management might not be popular among students.

"It is difficult to sell such a program," she said. "Only UP can be interested in it."

Alfonso said she hopes in a few years, the course will become very popular.

"Politicians should take this program," she said.

UPOU is mandated to offer programs such as poverty reduction.

UP-Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao welcomed the idea and called on colleagues in academe to offer the program in their universities.

UP-Diliman can offer such a program because it is "serious in undertaking poverty reduction initiatives," he added.

National Scientist Gelia Castillo said if UP offers the program, it should be placed under the College of Science.

UP-Marine Science Institute professor Rhodora Azanza also volunteered MSI to handle the program "as the Philippines is more water than soil in terms of territory."

The offering of a Bachelor of Poverty Reduction was inspired by the success of the multi-agency initiative, Poverty Reduction in Agricultural Management program, implemented in Laos under the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).

Nick Innes-Taylor of AIT's Wetlands Alliance Program said the program's 25-unit core courses include agricultural communication, health and sanitation, agro-ecology, agricultural management, natural food security, poverty mitigation, and PRAM seminars, among other things. The program also has 18-unit orientation courses and 35-unit electives, he added.

Peter Haddawy, AIT's vice president for academic affairs, said education in agriculture plays an important role in preparing farmers, researchers, educators, extension staff, members of agri-businesses and others to make productive contributions.

"Agricultural education therefore has to undergo some changes and adaptations to contribute more effectively in improving food security, sustainable agricultural production and rural development," he said.