Archive - Top Stories

By TESSA JAMANDRE
FORMER Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon was all set to sail on Friday to the disputed Scarborough Shoal to make a stand on Philippine sovereignty—until the call from the President came. Former Marine Capt. Nicanor said President Benigno Aquino III prevailed upon him to postpone his trip. He agreed, saying he “trust(s) the wisdom of the government that it will be better for current efforts to resolve the standoff there.”

Text by MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB, Photos and video by VINCENT GO
WHEN the pistol went off, three swimmers dived off the starting block and splashed into the water to best one another in the 50-meter freestyle competition.

Text by REYNARD MAGTOTO, Photos and Video by VINCENT GO
ROAD safety advocates launched on Sunday morning a websitein commemoration of the first year of the Decade of Action for Road Safety (DARS), which coincided with the first death anniversary of journalist Lourdes “Chit” Estellawho died in a road accident a year ago.

By EIMOR SANTOS
WHILE vegetables are packed with nutrients essential to the human body, not all are a hundred percent safe to eat. Environment group Bangon Kalikasan warned that urban-grown vegetables may be contaminated with heavy metals which are detrimental to people's health.

By TESSA JAMANDRE
A YEAR after he swore allegiance to the flag after being granted amnesty for joining the Oakwood mutiny in 2003, former Marine Capt. Nicanor Faeldon is back. On Friday, he will lead an armada of fishermen to make a stand in the Scarborough Shoal where a tense standoff between Chinese maritime ships and the Philippine Coast Guard continues.

By JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, Interaksyon.com
OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales said Tuesday her office may file a second impeachment case against Chief Justice Renato Corona should the magistrate be acquitted in the ongoing trial by the Senate.

By EIMOR SANTOS and REYNARD MAGTOTO
AS long as libel is a criminal offense, there remains a threat to freedom of expression,media practitioners declared as they marked Press Freedom Day.

By ARTHA KIRA PAREDES
GOVERNMENT and private groups are coming together to promote road safety on May 13, the first death anniversary of journalist Lourdes “Chit” Estella Simbulan, who died in a road accident last year.

Text by MARC CAYABYAB, Photos and video by VINCENT GO
LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—It was sweet victory for athletes who competed in the annual Palarong Pambansa special games. For the 320 or so persons with disabilities (PWDs), taking part in the Palaro meant being able to show the world that PWD athletes could be as competitive as anyone else.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
BAGUIO CITY—Midwife Robin Lim, 2011 CCN Hero of the Year, once ran into an obstetrician. They compared how many babies they had delivered that day. Both helped birth three each. Lim asked the doctor, “Do you know the mothers’ names?”

By EIMOR SANTOS
Photos and video by VINCENT GO
LIFE can be restored at the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando river system (MMORS). But it will take many, many years. At the least, 10 years. Maybe a hundred years to restore it to its pristine state, the environment activist group Greenpeace said.

By REYNARD MAGTOTO
"LISTEN, do not privatize the country’s power industry." This was the message of some 70 delegates of the Global Union Federations (GUFs) to financial executives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which it blamed for the current power crisis in Visayas and Mindanao.

By XIANNE ARCANGEL
Photos by MARIO IGNACIO IV
ALDRIN Ortiz left his house in Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon as early as 3 a.m. on Labor Day, not to attend a workers’ rally but to be among the first applicants to line up at the Labor Day Jobs and Livelihood Fair at the World Trade Center (WTC) job fair in Pasay City.

By EIMOR SANTOS AND LLOYD REYES
Photos by VINCENT GO
JENNY Tanael, 47, is a wife of a minimum wage earner and mother of a contractual worker. Her eldest son Juan Paolo keeps on hunting for a job each time his five-month contract in a fast food chain expires. Sometimes it takes him six months to find work at another branch of said restaurant. In between jobs, he relies for support on his father who earns less than P 400 per day as a security guard.

By REYNARD MAGTOTO
AS a motorist, are you tired of being caught in the day-to-day traffic and continuous oil price hike? Then why not try biking --- an eco-friendly, cheap and efficient alternative mode of transportation.

Text and photos by ELIZABETH LOLARGA
THE bangus (milkfish), touted as the national fish and the best of its kind in the world, is a given in the life and history of Dagupan City, Pangasinan. What is hardly known is the city has more to offer than traditional bokayo (sticky candy made of coconut strips) and bagoong (shrimp paste).

By HOMER TEODORO
SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD Felix Nacpil Sr. jumped in joy when he heard the news about last week’s final ruling of the Supreme Court awarding the Hacienda Luisita sugar estate owned by the family of President Benigno Cojuangco Aquino III to their 6,296 farm workers.

Text by XIANNE ARCANGEL Photos by MARIO IGNACIO IV
THE Commission on Elections has promised to make voting precincts more accessible to persons with disabilities, even if Congress fails to pass the proposed the Polling Center Accessibility Act in time for the May 2013 midterm elections.

BY HOMER TEODORO
SUMMER vacation in the Philippines is something young boys look forward to --- some of them with excitement, while others with fear and anxiety.

Text, photos and video by VINCENT GO
GENETICALLY modified organism walked the streets of Malate yesterday to dramatize the dangers of GMOs in food and the ecology, as environmentalists asked the Supreme Court to stop field trials of genetically modified eggplant.

By WALTER BALANE
MindaNews
MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon—Only seven out of at least 200 persons with disability in this city were able to register as voters during the special registration held earlier this month, illustrating the obstacles PWDs face just to be able to exercise their right to suffrage.

By XIANNE S. ARCANGEL
THE disposable bedroom slippers of a five-star hotel in Manila may be going straight to the black garbage bag after being worn by guests, but they are not headed for the dumpsite just yet.

By ELLEN TORDESILLAS
Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento is urging President Aquino to make history by appointing state solicitor Jessica S. Magbanua, a person with disability, to the Commission on Elections, replacing Augusto C. Lagman who was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.

Text by XIANNE S. ARCANGEL, Photos by MARIO IGNACIO IV
RESTORING the Pasig River back to life might be a daunting task, but the Sagip Ilog Pilipinas Movement (SIPM) believes young and old boy scouts and fraternity members are up for the challenge.

Text and Photos by KARLOS MANLUPIG
DAVAO CITY – The special registration for persons with disabilities held here Wednesday may have been more accessible compared to last year, but the condition of public schools used as voting precincts still remain a concern, the president of a PWD organization here said.

By GIAN C. GERONIMO AND VINCENT GO
THE Department of Interior and Local Government is encouraging the passage of local laws that will put a premium on the welfare and rights of persons with disabilities, Secretary Jesse Robredo said Wednesday.

By MYLAH REYES-ROQUE
TWO of seven Manila cops implicated in the torture of a theft suspect through a video leaked online have surrendered and are detained at the Manila City jail. Senior Police Officer 1 Rodolfo Ong Jr. and Police Officer 1 Rex Binayug pleaded not guilty on April 18 before Manila Judge Tita Bughao Alisuag. Their co-accused, including Senior Inspector Joselito Binayug, the principal accused, are at large.

By PATRICK KING PASCUAL
“BUKAS ISIP, BUKAS PUSO,” the new campaign slogan of Ladlad partylist, envisions a society or country that has an open mind and open heart.

By GIAN C. GERONIMO
LEARNING from the special registration of persons with disabilities (PWD) last year, the Commission on Election in Davao’s first district and in Kadilingan town in Bukidnon said they are more prepared this time than they were in 2011. The month-long special Comelec registration of PWDs in Mindanao will officially kick off in Davao on Wednesday, April 18, although registrations have been ongoing since April 1.

By VINCENT GO AND REYNARD MAGTOTO
THE family of a volunteer fireman who was mistakenly shot and killed by the Makati police said his killers, and even the media, have tainted the meaning of volunteerism.