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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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.

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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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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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National Passing (55.51%)
Institute Passing (68.00%)

Top Notcher:

UDAN, Christopher C.
87.00% 9th Placer
OIC-Engineering Watch

Second Marine Engineer:

1. DELAGANAR, Dionesio Jr. N. (Batch 1984)
2. BASTE, Reynaldo C. (Batch 1984)

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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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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.

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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.

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