Former police officer Abner Afuang burns a replica of Taiwan's national flag as he protests against the mistreatment of Filipinos working overseas, along a main street of Manila yesterday.  TAIPEI: Taiwan’s leader yesterday called for calm and promised to protect Filipinos on the island amid widespread anger at the Philippines over the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman.

MANILA: A Chinese warship chased and tailed, in a provocative manner, the utility boat of Kalayaan island town with 147 civilian passengers, including the group of re-elected Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon, while sailing back to Palawan from Pag-Asa Island in the hotly-contested Spratly region. Bito-onon said the Chinese warship coming from the east side area of Ayungin Reef, used its powerful flo

MANILA: The Department of Education yesterday announced that 60,000 new teaching positions will be opened this year. DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) also approved the funding of teachers being redeployed from schools with excess teacher items to areas with shortages. Luistro said the DBM has made available 61,510 new teacher items for th

  KORONADAL CITY:  The Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC) has intensified efforts to address human rights issues especially for internally displaced people  in the region. In a press briefing, RHRC Chairperson Atty Laisa M Alamia said their office is not only focused on monitoring cases but is also collaborating with other agencies for potential solutions. The RH

MANILA: Agents of the Bureau of Customs yesterday seized $1bn worth of allegedly smuggled cigarettes and condiments during a raid on a warehouse in Tondo. In a press release, Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon said the seized items were believed to have been illegally imported from China. He said the owners or representatives of the storage facility failed to present proof of pa

MANILA: Thirteen projects that will help enhance the health of Filipino families under the US-Philippines bilateral health agreement were launched. Health Secretary Enrique Ona and US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr launched the P7.96bn  projects to be implemented over a five-year period in 48 provinces nationwide. Thomas said the projects, to be implemented by the US embassy Manila&rsq

  MANILA: Vice President Jejomar Binay became richer by almost P2m in 2012, as shown in his latest statement of assets, liabilities and net worth submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman recently. The increase in his wealth is reflected mostly in the amount of cash he has on hand and in banks, which went up from P21.3m in 2011 to P22.5m last year. Binay’s receivables also inc

Philippine Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr (third left) with Francis Escudero (left), Grace Poe (second left), Loren Legarda (third right), Alan Peter Cayetano (second right), and Sonny Angara, declared senators-elect by the panel as some of the winners of the May 13 poll for 12 posts in the 24-seat Senate, in Manila yesterday.

TAIPEI: Taiwan recalled its representative to the Philippines, froze applications for work permits and ordered military exercises in waters between the two sides, saying Manila’s earlier response to the shooting death of a Taiwanese fisherman was “informal and insincere.” Premier Jiang Yi-huah said the government was displeased with the apology delivered last week by Manil

Filipino firefighters work as smoke rises from a burning shopping mall in Manila, yesterday. The fire at the Divisoria Mall could take days to put out, according to authorities.

MANILA: Senator Ralph Recto lauded the signing into law of the measure institutionalising the “K+12” education that would align the country with the global standards in education. Recto said a longer learning period would keep the country at par with other countries and effectively improve the country’s quality of education. “Our graduates would no longer be disc

MANILA:  A group of women who served as “comfort women” to the Japanese Imperial Army in the Philippines during the second world war demanded an apology from the Japanese government over the statement of the mayor of Osaka justifying their ordeal. The Malaya Lolas, a group of about 70 comfort women from Candaba, Pampanga, protested the pronouncement of Osaka Mayor Toru Hash

  MANILA: Saudi Arabia has released the guidelines for irregular workers to correct their status or leave the country without obtaining a “No Objection Certificate.” The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urged overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) with status problems in Saudi Arabia to correct their residency and labour status. Irregular OFWs have the following option

MANILA: The election liquor ban has been lifted, but the gun ban will remain in effect until June. Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr said the permits to carry licensed gun are suspended from January 13 to June 12. “Our policemen will continue to be on alert until the election process is over,” he said. “All prohibitions under

MANILA: Filipino voters in 26 countries have snubbed this year’s mid-term elections by not voting during the month-long Overseas Absentee Voting (OAV), the Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), disclosed. During the canvassing, Comelec Commissioner Elias Yusoph had announced “there were no voters” in 26 countries.  OAV

Philippine special envoy Amadeo R Perez (centre) and Philippine envoy in Taipei Antonio Basilio (right) meet the media during a visit to Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry in Taipei yesterday. TAIPEI: Taiwan yesterday slapped sanctions on the Philippines, including a ban on the hiring of new workers, rejecting an apology by President Benigno Aquino for the killing of a Taiwanese fis

    MANILA: A total of 51 people were killed and 65 others wounded in 81 poll-related incidents since the start of the election period, police said yesterday. The number of fatalities was slightly lower than the 56 recorded in the same period in 2007 and 54 in 2010, police data showed. The number of wounded persons also went down slightly from 69 in 2007 and 74 in 2010

MANILA: Former President Joseph Estrada is the new mayor of Manila, defeating incumbent Mayor Alfredo Lim by a slim margin in one of the country’s hottest political contests. Estrada and his running mate, incumbent Vice-Mayor Isko Moreno, were proclaimed winners yesterday by the local board of canvassers after 97.5 percent of the votes were counted. The Commission on Elections (Co

MANILA: Justice Secretary Leila de Lima ordered an investigation into the arrest of six National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents over the election gun ban violation amid tension in the house of Senator Ramon Revilla Jr in Bacoor City in Cavite hours before the polls on Monday. De Lima told reporters yesterday that she “immediately gave verbal instructions to NBI Director (Nonnatu

    MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino signed a law yesterday giving children three extra years of schooling, one of his key reforms aimed at lifting the country out of poverty. The law makes enrolment in kindergarten compulsory before children can begin the traditional six years of primary school. State-run high schools, which currently only have a four-year