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.

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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.
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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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MANILA, Philippines

A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the Philippines on July 22, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Thursday.

According to the agency’s website, the partial eclipse– which means the moon will only cover part of the sun– could be seen from Metro Manila, Calayan Island, the cities of Laoag, Tuguegarao, Baguio, Angeles, Puerto Princesa, Lucena, Naga and General Santos, and the provinces of Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga, Sulu and Davao.

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The mayor of Palompon, Leyte has issued an order deputizing fish wardens, police and staff from the Human Ecological Security Group to stay in Kalanggaman Island, which the municipality has taken back from Celso delos Angeles of the Legacy Group.

Palompon Mayor Eulogio Tupa said a clean-up drive in the island is set next week. They will invite government and non-government organizations (NGOs), civic groups, academe and concerned individuals to participate in the coastal clean-up.

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COTABATO CITY, Philippines
The man who was seen leaving a backpack at the roast pig store in front of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral before the explosion that left five people dead and at least 40 wounded has been identified.

Rico Aburva, 34, was arrested inside the compound of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral right before the bomb went off, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluña, director of Central Mindanao region police. Aburva is now undergoing police interrogation to determine his involvement in the incident. Cataluña said that police will also be looking at footage from the closed circuit television camera from the nearby Central Bank office to possibly identify those responsible for the brutal attack.

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MANILA, Philippines

The committee on health of the House of Representatives will resume on Monday its hearing on the Influenza A(H1N1) virus amid continuing concern over the deadly flu that now afflicts some 1,700 Filipinos. The number of cases has made the Philippines the eighth country in the world with the most number of cases, the World Health Organization had said.

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