BAGUIO City, Philippines—Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Ricardo A. David Jr. ordered an investigation Thursday on the circumstances surrounding the recent interception of 82 Filipino women bound for Malaysia. David gave BI-Zamboanga alien control officer Sitti Rubaina Lutian five days to probe and submit a follow-up report on the incident, adding that “those responsible for recruiting [...]
LOS ANGELES—A judge guaranteed the founder of the Asian Boyz gang will spend the rest of his life in prison, slamming him Wednesday with eight consecutive life sentences for a mid-1990s crime spree that included eight murders in a quest to make his gang the most feared in Los Angeles. Superior Court Judge Robert J. [...]
JAKARTA, Indonesia – An alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people has been arrested in Pakistan, an Indonesian counter-terrorism official said Wednesday. “Umar Patek was arrested in Pakistan,” the official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity, without giving details about where or how Tuesday’s arrest was made. [...]
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE 4) Three Filipinos convicted of drug smuggling were executed in China Wednesday, triggering condemnation in the Catholic Philippines and despair for family members who shared their final moments. “It is a sad day for all of us,” Vice President Jejomar Binay said as he confirmed that the three were put to death by [...]
MANILA, Philippines—Small amounts of radiation from Japan’s leaking nuclear power plant have spread across Asia, authorities said Tuesday, deepening concerns for millions of people already wary of eating Japanese food. The governments of China, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam reported that radiation had drifted over their territories, although they emphasized the levels were so [...]
MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay is traveling to Saudi Arabia after authorities there effectively banned Filipinos from being hired as domestic helpers in a dispute over contracts. Earlier this month, the Saudi government told Philippine officials to stop verifying whether the contracts of maids working in the kingdom conform with Philippine labor laws. The contracts [...]
MANILA, Philippines—The Catholic Church is “storming the heavens” with prayers to save the three Filipinos sentenced to be executed Wednesday in China for drug trafficking, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said Tuesday. Fr. Edwin Corros, executive director of the CBCP Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, [...]
MANILA – Prayer vigils in the Catholic Philippines were to be held Tuesday in the hope of a “miracle” to save three Filipinos scheduled to be executed in China, a support group for their families said. Convicted drug traffickers Ramon Credo, 42, Sally Villanueva, 32, and Elizabeth Batin, 38, are due to be put to [...]
MANILA, Philippines—China has turned down the Philippine government’s final plea for another—perhaps permanent—stay of execution for convicted Filipino drug mules Sally Ordinario-Villanueva, Elizabeth Batain and Ramon Credo. Ethan Y. Sun, spokesman of the Chinese Embassy in Makati City, on Monday told the Inquirer that Beijing’s position on the issue had been “made clear” as early [...]
MANILA, Philippines—The ordeal of Filipinos on death row in China and other parts of the world “should be a serious government concern even before they are scheduled for execution,” critics of the Aquino administration said. Militant and Filipino migrant workers’ groups have observed that “by the time our nationals reach death row, more often than [...]
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – (UPDATE) The authorities here claimed Friday to have foiled a large-scale attempt to traffic humans to Malaysia after 82 women were held at the airport before they could board a chartered aircraft on Thursday evening. Senior Superintendent Edwin De Ocampo, acting Zamboanga police chief, said they received an emergency call from [...]
THE REASON Willie Revillame is famous is clear. He gives away stacks of money. So many people want to be on his show. To dance, sing, laugh, and yes, even to be laughed at, and made fun of. To many, that’s okay. It’s a fair trade-off. You get a prize, after all. You just have [...]
