Magdalo soldier wants mutiny promulgation

A JUNIOR officer who participated in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny asked a Makati court to proceed on the promulgation on the mutiny charges filed against him and the rest of the Magdalo group.

In his two-page urgent motion, former Army 1Lt. Lawrence San Juan asked Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Oscar Pimentel to schedule the promulgation, saying he is not interested in applying for amnesty.

70 Korean students face deportation raps

AT LEAST 70 Koreans national, mostly minors, are likely to be expelled from the Philippines for illegally studying in the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported Thursday.

Immigration officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma said the minors will be sent back to Korea for their failure to secure proper documentations in enrolling in any Philippine school.

Fertility highest among poor

A FORMER senator said Thursday that fertility rate in the Philippines is highest among the poorest sector of society.

Former senator Vicente Paterno, chairman of the Joint Steering Committee Consensus Bill on Population, said statistics show wealthier families are smaller in numbers than their poor counterparts.

Lawmakers welcome female bus drivers

LEGISLATORS supported the plan of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) urging bus companies to employ female drivers to handle their units plying in Metro Manila.

Vizconde loses hope in bid for justice

LAURO Vizconde is not keen in getting justice for his murdered wife and two daughters despite his pending appeal at the Supreme Court (SC).

Aquino buys 'third-hand' sports car

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III confirmed Thursday that he bought a new Porsche car for himself.

Ban in Afghanistan, 3 others stay

THE Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) reiterated Thursday that the deployment ban in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq, and Lebanon remains.

Aquino visits flood-hit areas today

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III visits the victims of wide-spread flooding and landslides in Southern Tagalog, Eastern Visayas and Mindanao today, Friday.

Methane, not terrorists, caused Glorietta blast

A SPECIAL fact-finding panel of the Department of Justice rejected the theory of a terrorist’s bomb as the cause of the explosion at Glorietta Mall in 2007, which resulted to the death of 11 persons.

Enrile: 1987 Constitution keeps us poor

THE Philippines cannot prosper under the current Constitution, said Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile Thursday.

Soldier dies in drive-by gun attack

ISABELA CITY, Basilan - An army soldier was killed in a drive-by gun attack in a hinterland village of this province, police said Thursday.

The Basilan Provincial Police Office reported that the incident took place around 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Sitio Fuente, Sapa Bulag village in Sumisip municipality.

Guv seeks National Government official's help for 4 IRA-less towns

ISABELA CITY, Basilan -- Governor Jum Akbar has asked the National Government to help the four municipalities here that have yet to receive their share of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Akbar said on Thursday that she presented this concern to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo during his visit to Basilan Wednesday.

Police chief commends mayor's support to police

PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Director-General Raul Bacalzo commended Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat on Tuesday for his continued support of the local police.

Bacalzo, along with Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, graced Tuesday afternoon's turnover of 66 M-14 rifles worth of P3.9 million by Lobregat to the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO).

Bamboo seen as cash crop

STA. RITA -- Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PamCham) officials are optimistic that their grant project would ensure the sustainable propagation of bamboo in Pampanga and the development of bamboo products.

PamCham president Rene Romero and incoming president Jim Jimenez said the project -- under the Promoting Regional Opportunities for Enterprise and Livelihood (Propel) grant -- would benefit areas rural areas with idle lands.

Fernandino lanterns displayed in Beijing

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The world-famous "Parul Sampernandu," or Fernandino lanterns, crafted in this city went on display in two major Catholic churches and at the Philippine Embassy in Beijing in the People's Republic of China.

City tourism officer Ching Pangilinan said the Fernandino lanterns display was a first-ever exhibit in China's capital that gave Chinese and foreigners a glimpse of the spirit of Filipino Christmas, particularly in Pampanga.

Road-widening project in full swing

GUAGUA -- The P1-billion Jose Abad Santos Avenue (Jasa) road-widening project for the Guagua and Lubao sections is now under way with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) determined to finish the project by the second quarter of 2011.

The DPWH said the project is now 70 percent complete, with sections in San Matias, Guagua and Lubao having been completed by the agency just before January.

Philippine-Korean Friendship Monument unveiled

CANDABA -- The newly constructed Philippine-Korean Friendship Monument in this town was formally unveiled Thursday.

'Big Brown Filipino' remembered

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Fernandinos commemorated Thursday the 116th birth anniversary of the city's local hero and the nation's first Socialist Mayor, Vivencio Baron Cuyugan.

Sentiments rise over relic stopover at old academy site

BACOLOR -- Goose bumps, tears and memories of old happy school days rose high on Wednesday as the tour of the relic of St. John Bosco made a stopover at the former Don Bosco Academy (DBA) campus in Cabalantian, this town.

Former city exec seeks post in homeowners association

ANGELES CITY -- A former Angeles City Councilor is running for director in one of the city's plush subdivisions in Barangay Balibago here.

Police get training for security

SAN LUIS -- The chief of police here said Thursday that members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Teams (BPATs) in various villages are undergoing constant training in line with the local government unit's peace and order program.

Aquino asked not to appoint Macalintal as election chief

WOMEN Reproductive Health (RH) advocates in Iloilo City asked President Benigno Aquino III not to accept, or consider lawyer Romulo Macalintal as the next chairman of the poll body.

Dr. Betty Polido, president of the Iloilo chapter of the Family Planning Organization of the Philippines (FPOP), said they support the opposition made by the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) against Macalintal's possible appointment.

Mayor warns vs counterfeit money during festival

ILOILO City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog has warned the Ilonggo community against the proliferation of counterfeit money during the weeklong Dinagyang Festival.

Police ban on backpacks gets mayor's support

ILOILO City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog supports the police initiative to ban backpacks, bags and bayongs (woven buri bags) carried by some individuals while watching the Dinagyang Festival on January 22-23.

Mabilog said he is also amenable to implementing a total gun ban as proposed by police authorities at Camp Delgado in Iloilo City during the festival highlights.

Ilonggo dishes on focus during the Dinagyang Festival

ILOILO City's world-famous Dinagyang Festival will turn the spotlight on Ilonggo cuisine this year.

New Cebu archbishop: Thank you for the love

CEBU CITY (2nd Update, 12:15 p.m.) -- Archbishop Jose Palma thanked the Lord and all the people who became part of his life, as well as those who witnessed his canonical installation Thursday, for the love they have shown him.

Palma was installed as the new Cebu archbishop in a canonical rite held at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. The ceremony was attended by Archbishop Emeritus of Cebu Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, members of the Cebu clergy, lay workers, cooperators of the ministry, and hundreds of Catholic faithful.

Floods kill 2 in Negros

FLOODS brought about by heavy rains killed two people in Negros Occidental, affected around 9,000 families and damaged 14 houses.

Three cities and a municipality in northern Negros were heavily affected.

Teachers expose 'scam' at government agency

AROUND 29 teachers of Bacolod City National High School on Wednesday exposed another alleged scam in the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) involving pre-need life and educational plans.

Yolly Vingno, president of the Bacolod City National High School Faculty Club, said they only found out the alleged scam recently when the mother of their co-teacher died. The teacher was supposed to use her plan to shoulder the burial expenses of her mother.

Guv plans dredging of 3 creeks to solve floods

NEGROS Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. is planning to dredge three rivers in northern Negros to address the flooding problem, said Provincial Administrator Enrique Pinonggan.

The three rivers are Malugo in Victorias City, Matagoy in Silay City and Minulu-an in Talisay City.

Release of jailed Bacolena sought

THE Bacolod City Council passed Wednesday a resolution requesting assistance from Vice President Jejomar Binay, the Presidential Adviser for Overseas Filipino Workers Concerns and the Department of Foreign Affairs for the release of a Bacoleña who was reportedly meted an imprisonment for life sentence in Thailand.