Philippine authorities sent the bodies of three of the victims in the Manila bus hijacking to the wrong families, Hong Kong said Thursday, in the latest of a series of missteps in the handling of the crisis. The eight bodies were shipped back last Wednesday to Hong Kong, where tearful relatives laid wreaths on the coffins of their loved ones at the airport as officials stood in attention — but three families were paying their respects to the wrong bodies.
Edwin Espejo, Chronicles from Mindanao by a Mindanao Journalist
Police authorities in Sarangani arrested a police officer who is among the policemen and militiamen being hunted by Philippine police authorities in connection with the massacre of 57 people, including 32 journalists last year.
The Aquino administration today obtained approval of a 25-year $400-million loan from the Asian Development Bank for the expansion of the much-criticized conditional cash transfer program of the previous Arroyo administration.
A judge on Wednesday postponed the trial of 197 people, including members of a politically powerful clan, accused in the massacre of 57 people traveling in an election convoy in the southern Philippines. The last November convoy in Maguindanao province included 30 journalists and other media employees, making it the deadliest single attack on media workers in the world.
President Benigno Aquino III is set to break tradition by having his first state visit outside the member-states Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and opting instead to go straight to the United States. ABS-CBN's TV Patrol reported that all post-1986 Philippine presidents, including President Aquino's mother Corazon Aquino, first visit neighboring countries in the ASEAN.
Taken inside the airport in Manila (where we took the flight to Cagayan de Oro City), this sign really made my wife and I smile. And the airline that advertised this did not have to go the extra mile.
The question in the minds of many non-Filipino Tweeps across the world is this: Why is "Merry Christmas" trending today Sept. 1, 2010? For the benefit of Twitter users worldwide, blogger Bong Ong tweeted the answer.
Tens of thousands of people have marched in Hong Kong to denounce the Philippines. Thousands of tourists canceled flight and hotel bookings. Two Chinese recipients of Asia's most prestigious award failed to show up for the Manila ceremony. After a violent hostage drama that killed eight tourists from Hong Kong, Asian powerhouse China is angry and the Philippines can do little to restore calm.
"If I had it my way, instead of adding two more years to basic education, I would focus on hiring more teachers. I would increase the salaries and benefits of the public school teachers, and improve the facilities and classrooms of the current schools. Lastly, I would put up more public schools and put up even more classrooms. Of course, this is all just wishful thinking," says "Ate M." in Filipino. This was her response to a query on what she would do if she was in charge of the DepEd.
Members of various Philippines media organizations called on the media community to evaluate their coverage of the Aug. 23 hostage crisis and to come up with a set of guidelines to be used during crisis situations.
Philippines
