Day: June 23, 2024

CAMP S.K. PENDATUN: Police authorities have launched a manhunt against companions of a Lanao del Sur village chairperson slain during an anti-illegal firearms buy-bust operation Saturday afternoon.

The village official, identified as Billy Jack Ogca, chairperson of Barangay Poblacion in Balabagan town, Lanao del Sur province, was fatally injured after he traded shots with the law enforcement officers during the 1 p.m. operation.

Lt. Col. Ariel Huesca, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said four other companions of the village chief managed to escape.

Huesca said one of the village chair’s companions earlier agreed to deal with a police undercover agent on the sale of assorted firearms.

‘At the time of the transaction, however, Ogca’s companion noticed the presence of cops nearby and opened fire, triggering a shootout that wounded the village official,’ he said.

Police rushed the critically injured Ogca to the Dr. Serapio Montañ
er Hospital in the municipality, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

CIDG operatives recovered an M14 rifle, two M16 rifles, an M4 rifle, two .45-caliber pistols, assorted magazines, and ammunition.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ROME: A girl statue symbolizing the victims of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery, euphemistically called “comfort women,” has been erected in Italy for the first time, a local activist group said Sunday.

The Statue of Peace or Comfort Women statue was opened to the public on Stintino Beach of Sardinia island on Saturday, according to the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery.

The Stintino statue was the second statue installed on public land in Europe after the first one was set up in Berlin, Germany, in 2020, the council said.

It also marked the 14th statue erected overseas. The first one was installed in Glendale, California, in 2013.

The statue’s location is on a beach about 200 meters from Stintino’s city hall, the group said, adding the area is frequented by visitors.

The council said it proposed the construction of the statue to the Italian city in December last year, and the mayor immediately welcomed the proposal.

The girl statue represents the need to
promote universal human rights of women, the council quoted Stintino Mayor Rita Vallebella as saying at a ceremony unveiling the statue.

The statue symbolizes 200,000 Asian women, mostly Koreans, who were forcibly sent to front-line brothels to work as sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II.

The sexual slavery victims are one of the many thorny issues stemming from the 1910-45 period when Korea was a Japanese colony.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Makati City 2nd District Rep. Luis Campos Jr. urged the government to set a deadline for telecommunication companies (telcos) to improve the internet speed in the country.

Campos made this call after the Philippines’ mobile internet speed slowed to an average of 32.12 megabits per second (Mbps) last month, causing the country to fall by four notches to rank No. 83 worldwide in Ookla’s May 2024 Global Speedtest Index.

‘Telecommunication companies are simply not doing enough to improve their networks,’ Campos said in a news release on Sunday.

‘This is why we want Congress to pass a new law so that the government can set compulsory deadlines for telcos to deliver faster mobile internet speeds under pain of punitive regulatory fines,’ he added.

In the same May 2024 rankings, the Philippines placed No. 6 among the 10 members the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The five ASEAN members with faster average mobile internet speeds than the Philippines were Brunei (107.40 Mbps, No. 15 worldwi
de); Singapore (99.29 Mbps, No. 21 worldwide); Malaysia (95.66 Mbps, No. 25 worldwide); Vietnam (52.15 Mbps, No. 57 worldwide); and Thailand (48.76 Mbps, No. 62 worldwide).

Campos has been batting for the passage of his House Bill No. 10215, which seeks to tag high-speed internet connection as a basic telecommunication service to which every Filipino enjoys a right of access, rather than a value-added service.

The reclassification would empower the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to impose rising minimum mobile internet speed targets that telcos must hit within prescribed deadlines.

Telcos that are unable to reach the target speeds would be subjected to severe fines of up to PHP1 million per day, or PHP365 million per year, until they achieve compliance.

‘We want accelerating mobile internet speeds to improve public access to online resources, government services, education, and new opportunities,’ Campos said.

In the April 2024 Speedtest rankings, the Philippines ranked No. 79 worldwide wit
h a mobile internet speed that averaged 32.37 Mbps.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A lone bettor from Laguna province bagged the PHP70 million jackpot during Saturday night’s Lotto 6/42 draw.

The winning combination 40-11-25-07-27-30 carried a jackpot prize of PHP70,440,258.20, hit by a bettor who bought a ticket in Cabuyao City, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said in an advisory on Sunday.

The check can be claimed at the PCSO main office in Mandaluyong City upon presentation of the winning ticket and two identification cards. The bettor has one year to claim the prize.

Lotto winnings of more than PHP10,000 are subject to a 20 percent tax under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

Meanwhile, 82 others won PHP24,000 each for guessing five of the six winning digits; 3,607 will get PHP800 each for four correct digits; and 49,146 will settle for PHP20 each for three correct digits.

The 6/42 Lotto is drawn every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The PCSO urges the public to patronize the games as most revenues go to the government’s charity programs.

S
ource: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: As part of the administration’s bid to revitalize Pasig River and make it a prime hub for recreation and tourism, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. inaugurated Phase 1C of the Pasig River Urban Development Showcase Area at Plaza Mexico, Magallanes Drive in Intramuros, Manila on Sunday.

Accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, the President introduced to the public the new attraction in the 25-kilometer development project, which is part of the ongoing ‘Pasig Bigyang Buhay Muli’ project.

Phase 1C introduced a one-story structure with a roof deck along the Pasig River, featuring a three-meter wide walkway flanked by leasable commercial spaces at the ground level and a combination of a walkway, bike lane and viewing area on the roof deck.

It will encompass over 30 commercial stalls equipped with modern amenities, including sewage treatment, individual electric and water meters, fire protection and public restrooms.

The structures will use renewable energy and promote other ecological practices
aligned with the environmental protection and conservation strategies of the government.

Marcos said he envisions the famed waterway to become among the world’s famous places for rest and recreation and the pride of Filipinos.

‘After decades of neglect, let us witness the revitalization of our beloved Pasig River. A river that will look and feel like the famous waterways across the world, and that we see the Seine in Paris, the [River] Thames in London, the Chao Phraya in Bangkok,’ Marcos said.

Pasig River, according to the President, ‘reflects the unyielding resolve and bayanihan (cooperation) spirit of the Filipinos.’

‘Bringing the Pasig River back to life mirrors our ongoing journey towards a brighter future for our country. How well we do here will reflect our efforts in other areas of the country and how successful we are at improving and leaving the country a better place than we found it,’ Marcos said.

Phase 1C followed the launch of the first phases earlier this year.

‘Rest assured that apart fr
om our enthusiasm and optimism, the First Lady and I will provide our all-out support and commitment to the completion of this project, hopefully in three years’ time. That will be our goal,’ Marcos said.

The President thanked those involved in the project, including members of the Inter-Agency Council and the local government of Manila.

He also called on the project implementers and stakeholders to ‘sustain the cleanliness, beauty, and security of the esplanade’ even as he urged the public to join the advocacy and contribute, in whatever way possible, to bring back the old glory of Pasig River.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SEOUL: Two major hospitals run by the Seoul city government are forecast to suffer losses of nearly 100 billion won (US$71.89 million) this year due to the prolonged walkout by trainee doctors, officials said Sunday.

The two municipal hospitals, Seoul Medical Center and Boramae Medical Center, are projected to suffer 89.7 billion won in combined losses this year if striking trainee doctors do not return to work and their operation disruptions continue through the year-end, according to the city government.

Trainee doctors nationwide have walked off the job since late February in protest of the government’s increase of the medical school admission quota that aims to address the shortage of doctors.

Of the 203 doctors at Seoul Medical Center, 22 percent were trainee doctors, and the proportion at the Boramae hospital came to 33.9 percent.

The walkout caused the operation of their hospital beds to drop by more than 20 percent each, and the number of outpatients in the Boraemae hospital fell more than 10 perc
ent.

The city government said it plans to inject 45.6 billion won to support them in an effort to prevent the medical service vacuum from worsening.

The hospitals activated an emergency management mode and have implemented cost-cutting measures.

“The decision to inject the city budget was inevitable to ensure that they provide necessary medical services for citizens. We will work hard to persuade trainee doctors to end their strike,” an official said.

Despite strong opposition from doctors, the government late last month finalized an admissions quota hike of some 1,500 students for medical schools, marking the first such increase in 27 years.

Source: Philippines News Agency