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President Aquino swore into office on Wednesday the latest batch of newly appointed officials led by Acting National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan, Special Envoys to China Domingo Lee and Cesar Zalamea.
Philippine Coast Guard officials Vice Adm. Edmund Tan, Rear Adm. Cecil Chen, Rear Adm. Lino Dabi and Rear Adm. Luis Tuason Jr. also took their oath that day.
The others are Elmar Ingles, the representative of the Consumer Organizations to the Optical Media Board; and Ferdinand Tolentino, deputy director of the Public-Private Partnership Center.
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) -- For the fifth season in a row, a white guy with guitar has won "American Idol," after rocker Phillip Phillips was crowned the latest winner of the popular US talent search on Wednesday night (Thursday morning in Manila).
Phillips bested 16-year-old Filipino-Mexican-American contestant Jessica Sanchez after more than 130 million votes – a record -- were cast during the four-hour period after Wednesday's final two performance show.
An obviously overwhelmed Phillips didn't finish his coronation song "Home" as confetti fell on the "Idol" stage, as he joined his family in the audience area.
Filipino-American voters proved to be no match against the lovestruck teenaged girls who, "Idol" observers believe, have voted for guitar-playing male contestants for five years in a row, starting with David Cook in Season 7, followed by Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and last year's winner Scotty McCreery.
THE National Police said on Wednesday that its local units are making final preparations for their assumption of law enforcement and public safety duties as components of the inter-agency task force of Oplan Balik Eskwela (OBE) of the Department of Education (DepEd) for the school year.
The DepEd has enlisted the support of eight government agencies to form the backbone of the OBE task force that will be activated on May 28, ahead of the opening of classes on June 4.
CHINA continues with its position of "committing to diplomatic consultations" with the Philippines over the disputed Scarborough Shoal and asked that Manila "send a clear and consistent message" along that tack, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said at a recent news conference in Beijing.
The text of Hong’s statement was relayed to Philippine media by the Chinese Embassy in Manila, through its political officer and spokesman, Zhang Hua.
Banana industry in explosive situation over China market as production peaksWed, 23 May 2012 11:58:09 +0000
DAVAO CITY—The banana industry is faced with an explosive situation on how to dispose 1.2 million boxes of bananas weekly, the volume that China used to get before it closed its doors to Philippine Cavendish banana this month.
So far, none of the importers in China has sent word about renewing their regular trade on Philippine bananas, said Stephen A. Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA).
INVESTORS hoping for a quick gain off Calata Corp.’s trading debut came out disappointed as the stock struggled to stay above its offer price, finally closing only 2.67 percent higher to P7.70 per share amid weak market conditions. Its shares sank as much as 11.2 percent as selling intensified after Calata, the country’s biggest distributor of farming inputs like feeds and fertilizers, opened below its P7.50 offer price, traders said on Wednesday. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index closed 0.6-percent lower.
Investors were hoping for a "pop" in the share price, as the offer was 1.7 times overbooked while following successful opening days of GT Capital Holdings Inc. and East West Banking Corp. earlier this year, one trader said.
Mindanao tribe enjoys own electricity even as power-crisis debate rages onWed, 23 May 2012 11:32:50 +0000
MALAYBALAY CITY—Despite the looming power crisis in Mindanao, a tribal community in Bukidnon has been enjoying a continuous supply of both electricity and potable water for several years now.
Sourced from a small free-flowing stream that flows directly from the mighty Pulangi River, the mini-hydropower plant installed by the Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC) is producing 10 kilowatts of electricity, enough for the basic lighting needs of the 50 Pulangiyen households in Sitio Bendum, Barangay Busdi here.
The ESSC spent about P1.5 million to have the mini-hydropower plant installed two years ago.
Greece may have only a 46-hour window of opportunity should it need to plot a route out of the euro.
That’s how much time the country’s leaders would probably have to enact any departure from the single currency while global markets are largely closed, from the end of trading in New York on a Friday to Monday’s market opening in Wellington, New Zealand, based on a synthesis of euro-exit scenarios from 21 economists, analysts and academics.
CAIRO—Determined to end decades of authoritarian rule, millions of Egyptians on Wednesday waited patiently in long lines outside polling stations across the nation to freely chose their first president since last year’s ouster of longtime ruler and close US ally Hosni Mubarak. "I can die in a matter of months, so I came for my children, so they can live," a tearful Medhat Ibrahim, who suffers from cancer, said as he waited to vote in a poor district south of Cairo.
Australia is the world’s happiest nation based on criteria including income, jobs, housing and health, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said.
Australia led Norway and the US, the Paris-based group’s Better Life Index showed, when each of 11 categories surveyed in 36 nations is given equal weight.
Life expectancy at birth in Australia is almost 82 years, two years higher than the OECD average, the survey showed. More than 72 percent of people aged 15 to 64 in Australia have a paid job, above the OECD average of 66 percent.
