Tuyay to appear in court on Christmas

The Kamikaze guitarist arrested in Dubai for possessing a teaspoon full of marijuana in his luggage when entering Dubai will appear on Christmas day in court.

Led Zeppelin Tuyay, who is currently detained in Terminal Two of Dubai Airport has been in detention since December 4. He was supposed to play at the Rakrakan Festival in Dubai Festival City.

The so called Philippine Woodstuck in Dubai has attracted thousands of fans to watch four of the Philippines hottest bands performed.

The bands who played that nigh were Kamikaze, Bamboo, Pupil with frontman Ely Buendia and rock veterans The Dawn.

Estimated fans of 16,000 gathered to watched the event.

Kamikaze guitarist arrested in Dubai

Kamikaze guitarist Led Zeppelin Tuyay was arrested in Dubai for marijuana possession on his way to a sell-out show in the emirate.

Tuyay was arrested at Dubai International Airport after the band’s arrival in Dubai last week for this years "Rakrakan Fest" concert in Dubai. He was not able to play during the concert.

His band members played on without him along with other Filipino bands Bamboo, Pupil, and veteran rockers The Dawn.

If found guilty of drug possession, Tuyay could face jail and deportation from the UAE.

I guess nobody warned them that they could never enter Dubai and would be questioned, stripped and scanned if they were suspected of carrying illegal drugs.

Marky Cielo Suicide or not?

People are still wondering what was the cause of Marky Cielo's death. Did he commit suicide?

Marky Cielo was found dead in his room in their house in Antipolo City around 6 a.m. last Sunday. He was 20 years old.

Marky was a product of GMA-7's StarStruck Batch 3, where he won as the "Ultimate Sole Survivor." He was the first Igorot from Baguio City to join the popular reality-based artista search. Among his batchmates were Iwa Moto, Jackie Rice, and Gian Carlo.

After winning in StarStruck, he appeared in several GMA-7 shows which included Encantadia, Fantastikids, Bakekang, Asian Treasures, Boys Next Door, Kaputol ng Isang Awit, and Codename: Asero. But he was best known as Zaido Green in Zaido: Pulis Pangkalawakan.

He was also a mainstay of the musical-variety show SOP and in the primetime series La Lola.

Marky, who is also known for his dancing prowess, grew up in Butuan City but his family moved to the north.

His remains now lies at St. Peter's Chapel in Quezon City.

Joc Joc Bolante now in Philippines

After our dinner last night, we watched the news. And as expected, Joc-Joc Bolante's arrival was the headline news.

Joc-Joc arrived in Philippines last Tuesday. There were so many people waiting for him which includes of course reporters from different stations, photographers and militant groups who want Bolante to reveal his knowledge of the Fertilizer fund scam and face the senate hearing.

VIP treatment

But people were wondering why Bolante was sent directly to St. Luke's Hospital and was given a VIP treatment. While the poor who are convicted or were only suspects are sent directly behind bars. There is no question what justice can do for those who are rich. ( But not all of course )

There were already many investigations that the senate had in the past but I don't remember someone being put to jail. What I think about this one is another expenses for the people of the Philippines. Every investigation in the senate means another expenses and nothing will happen. Most of you are corrupt!

Joc Joc is coming to town - Arrest warrant awaits him

While most kids awaits the coming of Santa Claus in their homes for their gifts this Christmas, the senate and the office of ombudsman is also waiting for the arrival of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante. The allegedly mastermind behind the Fertilizer fund scam.

Joc-Joc who sought political asylum in United States because he claims that he has been receiving death threats was denied safe haven in US by the immigration department and is coming back home tomorrow, Tuesday.

Arrest warrant

Senator Manny Villar ordered Gen. Jose Balajadia, the Senate sergeant-at-arms to arres former Agriculture Undersecretary Joc-Joc Bolante upon his return to the Philippines from US tomorrow. The arrest warrant issued by the Senate in December 2005 against Bolante for failing to attend public hearings of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and of the Senate blue-ribbong committee on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam during the thirteenth congress is still valid in fourteenth congress.

PNP General on EURO scandal

The senate committee on foreign relations chaired by Senator Miriam Santiago is investigating another scandal. And this time a retired top official of the Philippine National Police is in question when he was caught by Russian airport authorities with an undeclared 6.9 million pesos or over 105,000 euros, on his way out of Moscow after attending the Interpol meeting weeks ago.

The committee recommended the criminal prosecution of the PNP delegation for graft, malversation of public funds, and violation of the anti-money laundering law and banking rules.

Obviously this is another act of graft and corruption. The senate is wasting again their time and publics money in investigating this scandal knowing that in the end nothing will happen just like the NBN ZTE deal scandal. Nobody was prosecuted. I am convinced that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the PNP will cover up the controversy. PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa and Ret. Gen. Dela Paz has their own different claims where the money was taken from.

And now with Gen. Dela Paz carrying an undeclared amount of money in Russia. Does he consider himself a General? Did he never think that carrying big sum of an undeclared money to another country is not allowed?

I wonder what will be the next scandal the senate would investigate so that this Euro scandal will stop just like the ZTE. I think it would be Joc Joc Bolante's fertilizer scam when he comes back from the United States this Tuesday. Let's see....

Philippine military pound rebel Muslim positions

ALEOSAN, Philippines (AFP) — The Philippine military pounded rebel Muslim positions in the south as fighting intensified, eyewitnesses said Monday, after the country's Supreme Court stalled a long-awaited peace deal.

The military shot off a barrage of artillery and mortar fire from a muddy mound next to a highway, while helicopter gun ships swooped low over trees firing rockets, an AFP reporter said.

It was the biggest flare up of violence between the two sides since August 4, when the Supreme Court ordered the government to drop plans to establish an extended Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines.

The decision saw a number of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels take control of mainly Christian villages and towns in North Cotabato province, a poor farming region in the southern island of Mindanao.

The military says 1,500 MILF rebels have "dug in" in remote villages in North Cotabato province, and the fighting has forced more than 22,000 people from their homes and into government refugee centres.

Despite a government ultimatum to leave, many rebels began building defencive positions in some of the villages surrounded by thick forest.

Military vice chief of staff Lieutenant General Cardozo Luna said the rebels were "well dug" in and more than 2,000 troops were involved in the operation, including artillery units and helicopter gunships.

"The MILF rebels have defied their own leadership and have refused to leave the area," he said.

He said the rebels were supposed to comply with a government deal with MILF leadership to move out of the disputed areas, but "they just re-positioned and occupied other villages."

Authorities have closed the main road linking Cotabato and Davao City in Mindanao, and set up military check points.

Luna said the military operation was not directed against MILF in general, but a group headed by MILF commander Umbra Kato, who is no longer following the orders of the main rebel leadership.

Although no casualty figures have been released, media reports have said at least three government soldiers and an unknown number of rebels were killed.

Armed MILF fighters had occupied areas around a number of Christian towns in north Cotabato last week after the Supreme Court issued an order to suspend a draft homeland accord between the government and MILF.

The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a 30-year guerrilla campaign for a separate Islamic state in the south of the largely-Christian Philippines.

The rebels signed a ceasefire with the government in 2003 to open the way for peace talks, and both sides said in July they had completed a draft agreement for recognition of MILF's "ancestral domain" in the south.

However, local officials in Mindanao opposed the agreement and filed a suit with the Supreme Court, leading to a suspension of the draft accord and raising new tensions with MILF.

The court has asked the government to submit arguments defending the agreement.

Despite the fighting, local elections in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) proceeded Monday.

Pacquiao knocks down diaz

Filipino boxing hero Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao knocked out David "Dangerous" Diaz to win the WBC lightweight title before a jampacked crowd at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino today Sunday (Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada).

During round one, Manny Pacquiao showed good form in his fight against David Diaz.

He was clearly the aggressor in the first round that he hit Diaz with one-two combinations. Diaz often had to shove Pacquiao and hardly one of his punches connected.

Pacquaio sent a battered Diaz down the canvas with a left hook with 26 seconds remaining in the ninth round.

Frank' leaves Pangasinan, moves toward South China Sea

MANILA, Philippines - After wreaking havoc on many parts of the country, typhoon "Frank" (Fengshen) left the coast of Pangasinan and started moving toward the South China Sea.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 10 p.m., "Frank" was 70 kilometers west-northwest of Dagupan City.

It packed maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph, and was moving northwest at 15 kph.

Pagasa's 11 p.m. advisory indicated that by Monday evening, "Frank" was due 260 km west-northwest of Laoag City. By Tuesday evening it is due 350 km west-northwest of Basco, Batanes.

By Wednesday evening, it said "Frank" is expected to be 490 km north-northwest of Basco, Batanes or 80 km west of Taipei, Taiwan.

Under Storm Signal 3 are Northern Zambales, Western Pangasinan and La Union in Luzon.

Placed under Storm Signal 2 were the rest of Zambales, Tarlac, the rest of Pangasinan, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, and Abra.

Under Signal 1 were Apayao, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, and Metro Manila.

Pagasa warned residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes under typhoon signals to take all the necessary precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides.

It also warned those living in coastal areas under signals 2 and 3 against big waves or storm surges generated by "Frank."

Also, Pagasa said "Frank" will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and bring rains over the Western sections of Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, which may trigger flashfloods and landslides. - GMANews.TV

Typhoon Frank causes chaos

Tyhpoon Frank left at least 19 people dead and 800 missing in a ferry disaster while an overflowing dam stranded tens of thousands on rooftops. At least 30,000 people living in Iloilo in the central Philippines had scrambled onto rooftops fleeing the rushing water after the man-made dam overflowed.

The worst flooding that hit Iloilo, rescuers have reported that many could be missing or killed, although this could not be independently confirmed, said the city’s acting mayor Jed Mabilog.
“I have received a lot of text messages appealing for helicopters, there are many people trapped on the rooftops,” Iloilo congressman Serg Biron said.

Over 800 missing in Philippine ferry disaster

CEBU, Philippines (Reuters) - More than 800 people were missing on Monday after a Philippine ferry capsized in a typhoon that has killed scores and left a trail of destruction across the archipelago.

Sulpicio Lines, the owner of the MV Princess of Stars, revised up the number of people missing to 845 after discovering an extra 100 passengers on the ship's manifest. Only four people are so far known to have survived the ferry disaster and they said many did not make it off the ship in time.

Crowded life-rafts sank in cold, storm-tossed seas.

"Many of us jumped, the waves were so huge, and the rains were heavy," a survivor identified only as Jesse told local radio.

"There was just one announcement over the megaphone, about 30 minutes before the ship tilted to its side." "Immediately after I jumped, the ship tilted, the older people were left on the ship."

Four people have been confirmed dead. Children's slippers and life jackets have washed ashore.

There were 724 passengers and 121 crew on board, including at least 20 children and 33 infants.

In the central city of Cebu, where Princess of Stars was meant to dock, dozens of relatives maintained a vigil at a small passenger terminal, waiting for news.

"The last time I heard from my son was on Friday evening when the ship left Manila. He texted to say he was coming home," said Celecia Tudtud, a mother of four.

"I really hope he's ok," she said, wiping away tears.

A spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who flew to the United States on Saturday night, said she would not cut short her eight-day state visit, which includes meeting U.S. President George W. Bush in the White House on Tuesday.

HUGE SWELLS

A coastguard vessel was trawling the waters around the 23,824 gross tonne ferry, which is upside down with only its bow above the waves, trying to confirm reports some passengers had made it to a small island.

"We are hoping more people will have reached the shoreline," Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, the head of the coastguard, told Reuters.

Princess of Stars ran aground on Saturday but the coastguard was unable to reach it because of huge swells and bad weather caused by Typhoon Fengshen, which crashed into the central Philippines on Friday.

At least two other coastguard vessels were en route to help in rescue efforts and Tamayo said he hoped divers would be able to scour the submerged ship later on Monday.

He said there was no sign fuel was leaking from the ferry but said an oil-spill response team would arrive with one of the two coastguard ships before dawn on Monday.

Princess of Stars sank 3 km (2 miles) from Sibuyan island in the centre of the archipelago.

"WORST DISASTER"

Typhoon Fengshen, with maximum gusts of 195 kph (121 mph), has killed at least 155 people in central and southern Philippines, with the western Visayas region, famed for its sandy beaches and sugar plantations, the worst affected.

In Iloilo province, 101 people were reported dead after flood waters over two meters high engulfed communities, forcing tens of thousands to scramble onto the roofs of their homes.

"Iloilo is like an ocean. This is the worst disaster we have had in our history," Governor Neil Tupaz told local radio.

In neighboring Capiz, more than 2,000 houses were destroyed in the provincial capital and officials were struggling to make contact with communities further afield.

"We got hit real bad this time," said Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippines' Red Cross.

After battering Manila on Sunday, Fengshen spun out into the South China Sea on Monday. The storm was en route to Taiwan, where it could make landfall in the next few days, according to storm tracker website www.tropicalstormrisk.com.

More than 30,000 people were being housed in evacuation centers in the centre and south of the archipelago.

An archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines is hit by an average of 20 typhoons a year.

(Writing by Carmel Crimmins; Editing by Ralph Boulton) Source: Yahoo News

Ces Drilon kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf in Sulu

ABU Sayyaf bandits have kidnapped ABS-CBN reporter Ces Drilon and her two assistants in Sulu, demanding P20 million for their freedom.

A military intelligence report said Drilon and two colleagues, cameraman Jimmyfred Encarnacion and a driver, were taken to an area near Mt. Tumatangis in Indanan, Sulu.

Drilon’s team arrived in Jolo, Sulu, from Zamboanga City on Saturday and stayed at the SSC Hostel. They were supposed to interview the one-armed Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sahiron.

Sahiron, who carries a $200,000 bounty from the US government, planned the 2004 bombing in Jolo that killed 11 Filipino civilians and an American serviceman and wounded more than 200 others.

Known as Commander Putol because of his amputated right arm, Sahiron is also considered one of the masterminds of the April 2000 kidnapping of 21 foreign tourists in Sipadan.

At 8 a.m. Sunday, Drilon’s team met with Octavio Dinampo, a professor at the Mindanao State University-Sulu, who is affiliated with the Moro National Liberation Front.

Bandits led by Albader Parad and Gapul Jumdail blocked the yellow Tamaraw jeep that Drilon and her team were riding in Kulasi village in Maimbung, Sulu.

Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said they were surprised to learn that Drilon was in the area.

He said Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan would head any negotiations with Drilon’s captors.

Intelligence reports put the ransom sought at P20 million, but Goltiao said the bandits had made no demands as of 5 p.m.

He said Drilon arrived Saturday via SEAIR “to cover a special event” on Dinampo’s invitation.

“The following day, Sunday, they were sent a text by Dinampo from the Sulu State University hostel where he is staying. Along the way, they were flagged down by Parad’s group,” Goltiao said.

The police chief said the group that took Drilon was the same one that held Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino for a few days in Sulu before releasing him in February.

Sources in Camp Aguinaldo said the Armed Forces had offered Drilon two Marine colonels to serve as security, but she declined the offer.

Presidential Adviser on Sulu Affairs Amilbabar Amilasan confirmed that Drilon and her crew were missing, but Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgar Arevalo could not say if she had indeed been kidnapped.

A high-ranking official from the Western Mindanao Command declined to give details on the abduction, citing a request from ABS-CBN for a news blackout for the safety of Drilon and her two colleagues.

Drilon has covered skirmishes between the Muslim separatists and government troops before. She also covered the release of Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi by the Abu Sayyaf last year.

Drilon’s group was the second from the TV network to be kidnapped in Sulu. In July 2000, reporter Maan Macapagal and her cameraman Val Cuenca were also kidnapped.

Freelance journalist Arlyn dela Cruz was similarly kidnapped in Sulu while covering the Abu Sayyaf in April 2002. Florante S. Solmerin, Rene Alviar, Joyce Pangco Pañares, Jaime Pilapil.

Poverty Increases

The Philippines’ poor are expanding by around 1.3 million people every year, as rising food prices and sluggish wage growth mean that more families cannot afford to feed themselves, government data showed.

The bleak picture of 3.8 million people, nearly double the population of Slovenia, slipping below the poverty line in 2003-2006 is an embarrassment for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has paraded her government’s anti-poverty credentials amid a growing economy.

James Wolfensohn, the former president of the World Bank who was visiting the Philippine capital, said figures showing that 33 per cent of the population were poor in 2006, deteriorating from 30 per cent in 2003, were a disappointment. “That of course for me, as a former World Banker, is a challenging statistic to place before you,” he said at a briefing on prosperity in Manila.

The Philippines, viewed by the World Bank as one of Asia’s brightest prospects in the 1950s, has failed to match its neighbours’ economic progress and is wracked by income inequality, with plush condominium complexes overlooking filthy slums in Manila. A hundred or so families control much of the archipelago’s wealth, while 28 million people in 2006, up 16 per cent from 2003, could not scrape together the 42 pesos ($1) a day deemed the bare minimum to get by.

More than 12 million people could not meet the 27.8 pesos a day threshold for food. Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said yesterday that part of the problem was due to rising costs for food and fuel, exacerbated by a hike in the national sales tax, as well as rapid population growth.

The population is currently estimated at 90 million and is growing at an average rate of 1.8 million people per year as President Arroyo, a devout Catholic, emphasises natural family planning over artificial methods of prevention. Last year, economic growth hit 7.3 percent.

Interfaith Rally

The Philippines demonstrated a great deal of political turnover when the late Ferdinad Marcos was ousted out of Malacañang during the 1986 People Power EDSA revolution. It won the world's attention through its peaceful means of non-violent and prayerful mass demonstration. It made news worldwide and the Philippines topped the headlines as "the revolution that surprised the world".

I thought yesterday's Interfaith rally would have been another world turner. I was on the phone talking to my father and he told me that there were already thousands of people gathered in Makati City and my brother is working somewhere near the rally area.


Former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada attendance made some religious groups and organizer disappointed, most of them walked out from the rally because it has been agreed upon that no politicians will be allowed to speak on stage.

“Manindigan para sa Katotohanan, Katarungan at Pagbabago” (Stand for Truth, Justice and Change) was the Interfaith rally theme. I saw in the news that the rally was attended by different sectors, youths, different religious groups, wives of those involved in the mutiny, businessmen, former cabinet members, Senator Panfilo Lacson and more.

Of course the event will not be complete without the ZTE NBN deal witness Jun Lozada. While watching him, it surprised me when he reveled that Philippines borrowed an amount of more than US$1.8 billion and Filipinos only knew about the ZTE which was only US$329 million.

The question is where did the rest of the money go? But what I am sure of is that we Filipinos will pay these debts that the Arroyo government had borrowed.

ZTE NBN Deal Cotroversy Poll

The ZTE National Broadband Network Deal or controversy which started September last year is still until now the Philippines hottest headline news. Everyday I watch Philippine news, more than half of the news is about the ZTE NBN deal controversy.

I am sure that most of us Filipinos have heard about this expose brought up by the former speaker of the house son Joey de Venecia against the former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos. The young de Venecia was said to be offered a $10 million to back off on the deal to so that the contract for the said deal will go to ZTE.

Months had passed a new whistle blower had come out and revealed everything he knew about the ZTE NBN scam in the person of Jun Lozada.

Let's see what will happen to this investigation or hearing in the senate. So who do u think is lying? Is it Lozada or Abalos?

Cast your vote now and give your comment/opinion.