Seven prison officers accused of gang rape and sleazy acts
A correctional services officer and Mirador Mansion in Tsim Sha Tsui. Previous NextSeven prison officers have been arrested for allegedly gang-raping a 31-year-old woman who got drunk at a party in Tsim Sha Tsui. One of the suspects is a CSD officer while another a first assistant officer and the rest second assistant officers. They went to Mirador Mansion, where they drank alcohol and played card games with the seven suspects. A preliminary investigation report accused three second assistant officers, Wong, 23, Mak, 31, and Chung, 27, of gang-raping the woman when she was unconscious, while officer Lam, 28, first assistant officer Tam, 38, and second assistant officers Yuen, 28, and Hui, 30, are accused of watching the acts and masturbating.
Source:The Standard
July 13, 2023 02:48 UTC
COA flags OCD over P60.8 million delayed projects
COA flags OCD over P60.8 million delayed projectsThe photo of the Commission on Audit's office in Quezon City taken on Aug. 17, 2021. MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has called out the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) over the delayed implementation of various disaster mitigation projects amounting to P60.838 million. In its 2022 annual audit report on the OCD, the COA said eight projects remained incomplete or unliquidated as of Dec. 31, 2022 even if the funds were downloaded to the implementing agencies from 2017 to 2021. Audit records show that funds were downloaded to the implementing agencies on June 8, 2021, but the facilities remained uncompleted, with fund balances of P29.861 million and P12.458 million for the Libacao and Pagadian projects, respectively. The COA said the OCD agreed to the audit recommendation to coordinate with the implementing agencies for the immediate completion of the projects and reversion of unused funds to the Bureau of the Treasury.
Source:Philippine Star
July 12, 2023 23:47 UTC
SC identifies 14 local testing centers for 2023 Bar exams
THE Supreme Court on Wednesday has announced the 14 local testing centers (LTCs) for the 2023 Bar examinations. San beda College-Manila,6. San Beda College-Alabang;7. In the Bar bulletin 4 series of 2023 released by the Supreme Court, San Beda College-Alabang was selected to be the national headquarters of the Bar exams. The RQN will be sent to the BARISTA account and registered email address of the examinee on July 20, 2023.
Source:Manila Times
July 12, 2023 21:25 UTC
SONA gun ban to be imposed in Luzon
A 24-HOUR gun ban will be imposed in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), Central Luzon, and the National Capital Region (NCR) on July 24, the day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Wednesday. Around 22,000 security personnel will be deployed to secure not only the Batasang Pambansa complex where President Marcos will deliver his SONA but other areas in Metro Manila as well. The PNP said that so far, it had not received any intelligence reports on possible threats to security during the SONA. The PNP said protesters should not go beyond the designated areas to avoid problems with the flow of traffic. It added that it was open to assigning police personnel to the protesters so that the overall holding of the President's SONA would be peaceful.
Source:Manila Times
July 12, 2023 17:27 UTC
Hello, Glow
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Source:Philippine Star
July 12, 2023 16:05 UTC
Philippines allows Barbie film but wants 'child-like' map lines blurred
The film distributor has been asked to blur the controversial dash lines in the film starring Australian actress Margot Robbie as Barbie. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, despite rival claims from other Southeast Asian countries including the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam. But after "meticulous" scrutiny of the film, Philippine censors were convinced that the "cartoonish map" did not depict the nine-dash line. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it appreciated the opportunity to watch "Barbie" to "ascertain if the depiction of the imaginary world map is inimical to the national interest". The Philippines' approval of "Barbie" coincided with the seventh anniversary of an international ruling that China's historical claims to the South China Sea have no legal basis.
Source:The Standard
July 12, 2023 15:16 UTC
4 Cordillera activists tagged as ‘terrorists’
BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — Three activists, who asked the Supreme Court to protect them from state-led harassment last month, have been designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) on June 7 along with another Baguio-based colleague. A fourth CPA member, researcher Jennifer Awingan, was also tagged as a terrorist. Members of the CPA learned about the resolution from an ATC statement published in the July 10 issue of the Manila Times. The Supreme Court petition said many of the activists were subjected to false criminal charges and were exonerated. He and Molintas were included in the Department of Justice proscription case which would have designated them and 600 others as terrorists.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 12, 2023 11:34 UTC
Free plane tickets come with a price
Hongkongers hoping to grab any of the 21,626 free HK Express flight tickets to 19 Asian destinations went through a "never-ending" wait yesterday. A total of 80,000 free flight tickets are being given away through different channels of HK Express, Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines. Both Cathay and Hong Kong Airlines had earlier given most of the free tickets to overseas visitors. The HK Express campaign began at 10.30am, with its website already experiencing heavy traffic hours before the launch. HK Express replied to the post, saying the queue arrangement was to ensure the stability of the server.
Source:The Standard
July 12, 2023 08:13 UTC
Taliban halt Swedish activities in Afghanistan after Koran burning
KABUL — The Taliban administration said on Tuesday all activities by Sweden in Afghanistan must stop after the burning of the Koran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital last month. The order was likely to affect the Swedish non-governmental organization, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, which has thousands of aid workers at work throughout the country in health, education and rural development. An Iraqi immigrant to Sweden burned the Koran outside a Stockholm mosque last month, causing outrage in the Muslim world. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Taliban order. The Taliban administration did not provide details on which organizations would be affected.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 11, 2023 17:46 UTC
At least 1 killed as elevated road collapses in Bangkok
At least one person was killed after an elevated road being built in Thailand’s capital collapsed, and two others were listed as missing, with rescue crews unable to access the site Tuesday for fear of a further collapse, authorities said. Another 12 people were injured in the accident on Monday, according to the department of disaster prevention and mitigation. It was not immediately clear what caused the collapse of the road on the west side of Bangkok, but Governor Chadchart Sittipan said it had been severely damaged and remained inaccessible. “Someone needs to be responsible for this, because this wasn’t something unpreventable.”Earlier this year, a construction worker was killed and four cars were damaged in a similar accident in Bangkok, when a slab of concrete fell from a raised road under construction. In that case, a frame being used to lift the slab snapped, causing the concrete section to fall to the ground below.
Source:The Standard
July 11, 2023 17:21 UTC
Amazing 'Rainproof Deals' from Suzuki
SUZUKI Philippines, the country's pioneer compact car distributor, is now making its beloved 7-seater models, the Ertiga Hybrid and the ever-dependable XL7, more affordable and accessible to its loyal customers and patrons with its "Rainproof Deals." The Ertiga Hybrid, the first MPV hybrid in the country, gives an impressive fuel efficiency rating of 12.54 km/L or 7.6 percent better than the regular engine Ertiga on city driving. ‘Rainproof Deals’ from Suzuki. Suzuki's Rainproof Deals is available at all 72 Suzuki dealerships nationwide and will last until July 31. For daily updates on Suzuki, please like Suzuki Auto PH's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SuzukiAutoPH, follow them on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SuzukiAutoPH and Instagram at @suzukiautoph.
Source:Manila Times
July 11, 2023 16:20 UTC
Nearly a sixth of Ecuador’s prisoners held without sentence — census
Nearly a sixth of the inmates in Ecuador’s prisons have not been sentenced, a national census showed on Monday, as President Guillermo Lasso urged the judicial system to be speedier to help ease the burden on overcrowded jails. ADVERTISEMENTThat figure is above the 30,134 prisoner capacity that prisons agency SNAI said the 36-prison system had in December 2022. Ecuador’s prison system has faced structural problems for decades, amid overcrowding and precarious living conditions for inmates, but riots have become increasingly common, killing more than 400 prisoners since late 2020. The government has attributed prison violence to fighting between criminal groups for control of prisons and drug trafficking routes. Prisoners have complained about the quality of the basic services and supply of food, the census also showed.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 11, 2023 13:52 UTC
A patient injured as physiologic monitor falls at Eastern Hospital
A bedside physiologic monitor fell and hit a patient last night, the spokesman for Eastern Hospital announced today. The patient sustained a minor abrasion on his forehead and his shoulder was also injured. A preliminary inspection showed that the dropping monitor and the supporting mount were intact, with the fixation parts functioning properly. Eastern Hospital informed the patient's family about the incident, and engineering staff were arranged to check all the bedside physiologic monitors of the same model in the ward to ensure safety. The incident has been reported in detail to Hospital Authority via Advanced Incident Reporting System, said the spokesman.
Source:The Standard
July 11, 2023 12:54 UTC
Dispute could turn SCS into 'sea of war'
(UPDATE) A CHINESE foreign ministry official believes that Beijing and Manila can resolve their maritime dispute on their own, but a "third party" could turn the South China Sea (SCS) into a "sea of war." China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in gas and oil deposits. "We have [the] ability to handle it well but have to stay high-alert that South China Sea might be turned into the sea of war by the third party," Zhou said. The US, on the other hand, has warned against China's aggressiveness in asserting its claims in the South China Sea. Zhou said China's "goal" is for the South China Sea "to become the sea of peace, friendship and cooperation."
Source:Manila Times
July 11, 2023 03:41 UTC
More fugitives may be working for Pogo firms – PNP
A raid led by the PNP “rescued” some 2,000 alleged human trafficking victims, including foreign fugitives, at the Hong Tai Compound in Las Piñas City on June 26. Gen. Sidney Hernia, director of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group, said they first learned that there were foreign fugitives in some Pogo hubs in their recent raids after coordinating with embassies who provided them with a list. In a statement, Gatchalian cited how fugitives who were rounded up in the recent raid in Las Piñas City were found to be working for Xinchuang Network Technology, a licensed Pogo firm in the country. It is clear that even legitimate Pogo firms also have involvement in crimes,” Gatchalian said. Remulla said the PNP’s supposed lack of evidence and coordination resulted in the release of the five Chinese suspects involved in human trafficking.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 11, 2023 01:24 UTC