Typhoon Ramil (Lupit) may have weakened on Thursday, but President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo just the same called on Filipinos to pray that the calamity-stricken Philippines be spared from further devastation.  Read more... (200 words, estimated 48 secs reading time)

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MANILA (AFP) – – The Philippine military deployed boats and helicopters to the northern Philippines Monday, officials said, as Typhoon Lupit threatened more devastation after two storms claimed nearly 1,000 lives.

“We have been pre-positioning food and transportation assets in areas likely to be hit by the typhoon,” Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters.

The navy said it had sent 18 rubber boats, as well as trucks, amphibious vehicles and helicopters to areas of the nation’s main Luzon island, which is expected to start being lashed by Lupit from the middle of this week.  Read more... (193 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

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MANILA – Facebook users beware. Psychologists are now probing a new kind of addiction called Facebook Addiction Disorder (FAD).

Psychologist Dr. Michael Fenichel, who has published numerous writings on FAD online, describes it as a situation in which Facebook usage “overtakes” daily activities like waking up, getting dressed, using the telephone, or checking e-mail.

“The amazing thing is that, like cellphones, nobody seems to notice the vast amount of time and energy – at work, at home, and now while on the move – people are devoting to Facebook. It has become a given,” Fenichel writes in an online post titled “Facebook Addiction Disorder- A New Challenge?”  Read more... (190 words, estimated 46 secs reading time)

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MANILA, Philippines – The Taguig City government yesterday honored two policemen who killed one of at least seven heavily armed robbers at the Greenbelt 5 mall in Makati City Sunday.

Mayor Sigfrido Tiñga yesterday honored his two security escorts, Senior Police Officer 1 Cesar Tiglao and PO1 Efren Ceniza Jr. for their courage and presence of mind, and for risking their own lives on duty. He described them as role models of law enforcement.  Read more... (165 words, estimated 40 secs reading time)

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MANILA, Philippines – The first of two of the largest high-energy food shipments from the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) arrived in the country yesterday for victims of storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng.”

Stephen Anderson, WFP country director, said the first 100-metric-ton shipment of nutritious biscuits was loaded from Turkey and flown to the Philippines on TNT’s Boeing 747-400 extended range freighter for immediate distribution to various evacuation centers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Anderson said another 100 tons of biscuits will arrive on Oct. 24, in a continuing effort to provide food assistance to flood victims.  Read more... (218 words, estimated 52 secs reading time)

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SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga , Philippines  – Still reeling from adversities caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” and typhoon “Pepeng,” thousands of Central Luzon residents, particularly those living near the Pampanga River, were told yesterday to brace anew for an approaching “super typhoon.”

“We have not even had the time to fully lift the alert in still flooded towns, particularly in the fourth district in Pampanga, now we have to tell them we are raising full alert again because of the approaching typhoon,” Filipina Sevilla, chief of the Pampanga Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC), told The STAR.  Read more... (195 words, estimated 47 secs reading time)

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MANILA – Apl.de.ap of Grammy Award-winning group the Black Eyed Peas led an all-night hip hop party at Skydome, SM North Edsa Thursday.

Filipino hip hop artists from here and abroad gathered at the Skydome for the benefit concert.

The Filipino American international singer organized the concert to help thousands of flood victims here. Tickets were sold for P150 each. The proceeds from the concert will go to the affected communities.

“That’s why it’s important for me to go back [here]… to help out. I donated money and also we bought a couple of boxes of food, canned goods and stuff like that,” apl.de.ap said.  Read more... (150 words, estimated 36 secs reading time)

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The devastation that struck thousands of Filipinos recently did not escape the attention of Los Angeles Lakers’ superstar Kobe Bryant who urged his storm-hit fans in the country to be strong.

Bryant, who had visited basketball-crazy Philippines three times already, the latest last July 21 for his 2009 Asia Tour: Philippines for Nike, said his thoughts and prayers are with Filipinos who are trying to recover from the ill effects of tropical storm “Ondoy” (Ketsana) and “Pepeng” (Parma).

“Have a lot of strength and a lot of pride,” Bryant said in a video interview with Elie Seckbach of ESNEWS posted on YouTube.  Read more... (205 words, estimated 49 secs reading time)

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The Philippine government welcomed on Thursday a resolution filed in the United States House of Representatives urging the US federal government to support local relief efforts to help victims of two consecutive weather disturbances that hit the country in the past weeks. Malacaňang on Thursday expressed gratitude for US House Resolution 800 filed by California 12th District Rep. Jackie Speier in the US Congress, which calls on US President Barack Obama to continue assisting the Philippines in its efforts to address the deaths and damage to property caused by tropical storm “Ondoy” (Ketsana) and typhoon “Pepeng” (Parma). “We are very happy and thankful for the resolution,” deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. Fajardo said the move was also very timely since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo recently appealed to rich countries to assist the Philippines in rehabilitation and relief efforts after rains brought by Ondoy and Pepeng caused massive damage to infrastructure, agriculture and private property. She also said she hopes that Obama and the US government will “heed” Speier’s call and pass the resolution. “If it will be successful, it will be a start of a good move that will make other countries follow as well,” she said. The Department of Foreign Affairs also thanked Speier and the rest of the international community for their efforts in extending help to those affected by the twin cyclones that devastated the country. “We are grateful to Representative Speier and other friends for their support and solidarity with our people during these difficult times,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ed Malaya said in a separate interview.  Read more... (272 words, estimated 1:05 mins reading time)

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MANILA, Philippines – About half a century ago, then young fisherman Fel Santos lived in bountiful times by just fishing at the southwestern rim of Laguna de Bay.

The fishing net that he cast into the then clear and clean waters of the 90,000-hectare lake scooped such catch as dalag, hito, kanduli, biya, ayungin, and carp.

National Hero Jose Rizal who was born in Calamba in 1861, used to sit on the lake’s shore and wondered what was out there on somnolent Talim Island in the middle of the enchanted lake.  Read more... (250 words, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)

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