PNP chief admits crowd control by police ‘not perfect’

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine National Police (PNP) Director-General Jesus Versoza admitted that they have not fully perfected crowd control in hostage crisis situations. During the hearing of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) on the tragic hostage-taking incident last August 23, Versoza said the command center…

New CHR head assumes office

MANILA, Philippines – Former Akbayan Representative Loretta Rosales formally took over as…

Manila begins hostage crisis probe

Authorities in the Philippines have

H.K. legislature calls for justice in Philippines hostage crisis+

HONG KONG, Sept.

SLEx traffic southbound lane still slow after 8-vehicle smashup

MANILA, Philippines – Traffic volume remained moderate to heavy along the southbound direction of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), hours after an eight-vehicle smashup early morning Thursday,…

Education budget hiked to P175B

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang is proposing to increase the 2011 budget for education by P32.3 billion to P175 billion even as it ordered agencies and departments to refrain from lobbying Congress for bigger allocations.

SSS urged to recover millions of pesos from ex-officials

MANILA, Philippines – The Social Security System (SSS) has been urged by a senator to recover the millions of pesos that its former commissioners have allegedly pocketed from various private corporations.

2 impeach raps vs Ombudsman sufficient in form—House panel

MANILA, Philippines – The two impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez hurdled the first test when they were found sufficient in form by the committee on justice at the House of Representatives. The committee has yet to decide when to consolidate the…

Solon in Ombudsman impeach rap won’t inhibit from case

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) The chairman of the committee at the House of Representatives tasked to tackle the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez won’t inhibit himself from the proceedings despite a motion for him to do so out of ‘propriety.’ Davao del Sur Representative Marc…

Bishops hope to work with HK counterparts in defusing RP-Hong Kong tensions

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has floated the possibility of “making representations” with its counterpart in Hong Kong to extend its sympathies and concern in the aftermath of the bungled hostage rescue that led to the deaths of eight Chinese tourists last week. In its news website, former CBCP president Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said on Monday that the plan to write Hong Kong bishops expressing…

Taal shows increased activity but remains at lowest alert level

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has recorded increased activity in Taal Volcano in Tagaytay, Batangas in the last 24 hours, but said an eruption is not expected soon. In a bulletin issued Friday, the Phivolcs said there were 20…

Philippine fire leaves thousands homeless

MANILA, Philippines – Officials say a massive fire has left thousands homeless in two coastal villages north of the capital. Fire Officer…

Cop sacked for unauthorized presence at hostage site

MANILA, Philippines – The National Capital Region Police Office has relieved a Manila police officer for joining without proper authorization the SWAT assault team during…

Utilities discount eyed for senior citizens

MANILA, Philippines—Distribution utilities and electric cooperatives will soon be mandated to provide discounts and subsidies to senior citizens for the electricity they consume. This is in accordance with the Expanded Senior Citizens Act

ASIA: When hospitals become casualties

web BANGKOK, 26 August 2010 (IRIN) – Governments and donors have responded to increasingly frequent and more deadly disasters by boosting funding for response, but investing in preparation, especially in the health sector, is inadequate, say specialists. “Emergency preparedness is an afterthought for many hospitals,” said Jonathan Abrahams, coordinator of the World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Hospitals initiative, which helps countries reinforce medical centres to withstand disasters. The Philippines and Indonesia are two of nine countries working with the Bangkok-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) that have emergency preparedness plans in place for their health sectors.

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