CEBU CITY

About a third of more than 600 inmates of the Mandaue City Jail have suffered from flu-like symptoms since last week, and a health official warned the ailments could spread faster in such congested quarters. Officials from the Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas visited the jail Sunday to collect swab samples from about 177 inmates, as a precaution against influenza A (H1N1). Most of these inmates suffer from pre-existing conditions, one factor that has turned an otherwise mild flu into a potentially fatal illness.

read more from "Swine Flu A(H1N1) Hits Cebu Jail"

Tacloban City

The number of A(H1N1) positive cases in Eastern Visayas has reached the hundred mark, has affected about 19 schools in the Region and is about to drain the P1-Million funding of DOH. Department of Health Regional Director Edgardo Gonzaga informed the members of the local media during the special Tuesday episode of Harampang Ha PIA, that the number of A(H1N1) cases under observation, as of July 14, is now 256.

read more from "AH1N1 positives in Region 8 reach 103, says DOH"

GENERAL SANTOS CITY

Police authorities in Sarangani province on Thursday said the manhunt for the killers of a cousin of boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in Maasim town was continuing. Senior Superintendent Danilo Peralta, Sarangani provincial police chief, however admitted that they have yet to establish the identity of the assailants who shot dead 43-year-old Rogelio Pacquiao.
read more from "Manhunt on for killer of Pacquiao’s kin"

Its Creation

The POEA was created in 1982 by PD No. 797. The law provided for the integratio of the functions of the Overseas Employment Development Board, the National Seaman’s Board and the Bureau of Employment Services. EO No. 247 expanded its powers and functions when it was reorganized in 1987

read more from "Philippine Overseas Employment Administration"

MANILA, Philippines

Despite the massive government campaign abroad, most of the Filipinos overseas have not bothered to register for the 2010 fully automated elections due to worries that their votes won’t be counted properly anyway. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. made this statement following a recent trip to Switzerland and The Netherlands, where he met with Filipino communities.

Pimentel lamented the prevailing apathy among overseas Filipinos toward their right of suffrage. The senator was among the lawmakers that pushed for the extension of the right of suffrage to Filipinos overseas, including dual citizen Filipinos, due to their clamor.

read more from "Why only few Filipinos abroad register for 2010"

DAVAO CITY

Human rights officials have linked some members of the Davao City Police Office-Heinous Crime Investigation Section (DCPO-HCIS) to summary killings in the city. Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chief Leila de Lima said an informant, who confessed to be a former member of the so-called Davao Death Squad, told them that some members of the HCIS were responsible for the abduction and death of some victims of summary executions in the city.

read more from "Cops linked to vigilante killings in Davao City"

MANILA

Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni, who was released by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Maimbung, Sulu after holding him captive for nearly six months, arrived Sunday morning here from Zamboanga City.

The plane carrying Vagni, 62,   landed at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City past 11 a.m. Accompanied by the crisis committee that negotiated with the bandits for his release, the Italian was welcomed by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Italian ambassador Rubens Anna Fedele.

read more from "Red Cross worker Vagni arrives in Manila"

To stay always updated with Palompon-Online you can follow us @twitter now!

Everytime we publish a blogpost on our blog you will be notified on twitter about this!

LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines

A village chairman in Candelaria town, Quezon province, was shot dead Monday morning, the police said. Superintendent Renato Alba, Candelaria police chief, identified the victim as Federico Reculto of the Kinatihan II village.

Police said that at around 7:30 a.m., the victim was traveling toward the town proper aboard his motorcycle when he was gunned down by a still unidentified motorcycle-riding assailant along the municipal road of Paghinga Norte village.

read more from "Village chief shot dead in Quezon"

COTABATO CITY, Philippines
Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo has just finished reading the Sunday gospel and was about to start his homily at around 8:40 a.m. when a loud explosion ripped a roadside roasted pig store in front of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral.

The blast at the LC Omega Letchon Haus left five persons dead, including a boy, two Army troopers, an elderly woman, and a man said to be suffering from a mental disorder, Mayor Muslimin Sema said, quoting police reports relayed to him. One of the fatalities was identified as Ruby Ramirez, a lechon vendor.

Superintendent Willie Dangane, city police chief, said the explosion at the corner of Macacua Street and Quezon Avenue happened as churchgoers were filing out after an early morning mass.

read more from "Blast near cathedral kills 5, wounds 35"