Baby girl with two heads born in Manila

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 07/29/2009 8:49 AM

A tricycle driver's wife gave birth to a two-headed baby girl at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Manila, Tuesday night.

Salvador Arganda, tricycle driver and resident of Mutinlupa City, said his wife, Chaterian, gave birth to "Baby Girl Arciaga" around 8:45 p.m. He said he last saw their baby around midnight at the hospital's neo-natal intensive care unit.

Arganda said they had suspicions that Chaterian was carrying two babies because both sides of their families have twin members.

He said their suspicion was erased after being told that there was only one baby inside Chaterian’s womb, based on her initial ultrasound.

On Saturday, Chaterian went back to the hospital for another ultrasound session and they were told that the baby would come out of her womb head first and that she would have to give birth by caesarean section.

Arganda said they were surprised when doctors told them that Chaterian gave birth to a baby with two heads.

The tricycle driver said he and his wife are praying for the baby to live.

"Sana mabuhay ang bata. Kakayanin naming mag-asawa iyon," he said when asked how will they take care of the child with his meager pay as a tricycle driver.

Dr. Ruben Flores, Fabella hospital's director, said the baby's case is called dicephaly monozygotic conjoined twins, which, he said, is a very rare occurrence.

Flores said they will use the hospital's resources to sustain the baby's life.

Dr. Melissa Juico of the hospital's newborn unit, meanwhile, said they will subject the baby to 2-D (two-dimensional) echocardiogram to determine if the child has only one heart.

Juico said the "twins" would not be able to live long enough with only one heart or if they are sharing vital organs.

A radio dzMM report said the baby was crying a lot and was very responsive.

The baby's grandmother, Celestina, told radio dzMM that their family would need financial assistance for the baby's medical expenses.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has pledged to help the baby's family and Bantay Bata 163, ABS-CBN Foundation's child welfare program has started extending assistance to the baby's family.

For those who would want to help Baby Girl Arciaga dial 163 or phone number 415-2272 local 5674.
as of 07/29/2009 3:11 PM

QTV: NTC: No validity extension for cellphone loads brought before July 19

MANILA, Philippines - Prepaid credits of mobile phones – popularly known as “load" – will now have longer expiration dates after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued new rules on Friday.

Under Memorandum Circular No. 03-07-2009, loads with higher values will have longer expiration or validity periods, the NTC said.

Credits worth P10 or lower will be valid for three days from the previous one-day expiration. Loads more than P10 up to P50 can be used for 15 days while credits worth more than P50 up to P100 will remain valid for 30 days.

Loads more than P100 to P150 will expire at the end of 45 days while credits of more than P150 to P250 will last for 60 days. More than P250 to P300 will remain valid for 75 days while credits worth more than P300 will last for 120 days.

These new rules will take effect 15 days after publication in newspapers.

Currently, a P10 load is only valid for a day while a P30 load can be used within three days. A P200 load will last for 30 days and P300 worth of credits can last for 60 days.

The credits’ validity will start upon confirmation receipt of prepaid load purchased, the NTC said.

Newly-purchased credits will be added to unused loads, thereby extending the validity of the total loads, the NTC added.

If a subscriber with an unused load of P20 buys P10 worth of new credits, the new validity period is 15 days, the NTC explained.

Accessing balance inquiry services through text messaging should be free of charge, the NTC said.

Nine years ago, the same agency issued Memorandum Circular 13-06-2000, which indicated that the expiry period of prepaid cards should not be less than two years.

The same memorandum also provides for the adoption of pulse charging – which are reportedly cheaper for subscribers – and the registration of each mobile phone’s SIM (subscriber identification module) card.

However, telecommunications companies have opposed the move and were successfully able to seek a court order that temporarily prevented its enforcement.

The case remains pending in a Quezon City court.

Also issued during the same day was a circular that tightened rules on disconnected call – or dropped call – rates to further protect consumers.

Under Memorandum Order 03-06-2009, only 2 dropped calls are allowed for every 100 calls from the previously allowed five dropped calls.

The same rules also indicate that an attempted call that is dropped before six seconds after the called party answers is not considered a call.

Blocked and dropped calls were caused by network congestion and system failure, the NTC said.

The regulator will also issue an order that will disallow “push" messages, which can be “commercial offerings, promotions, advertisements and surveys."

“Subscriptions or requests for contents and/or information shall be initiated by the subscribers," the NTC said, citing a draft circular.

Messages should be allowed only with prior consent from subscribers, it added.

Under the proposed circular, mobile phone companies will be required to keep records of all requests for contents and information from subscribers and should be forwarded to the commission upon request.

Since this year, 33 complaints regarding spam text messages have been filed against Globe Telecom Inc. while 69 were filed against Smart Communications Inc., data from the NTC indicated. All complaints were resolved.

Ten complaints of vanishing credits were submitted against Globe and six against Smart.

Last year, 136 complaints were filed against Smart, 77 for Globe, all of which were resolved.

During the same year, a dozen complaints against vanishing loads were submitted against Globe while 19 were filed against Smart.

The NTC will also issue a separate circular that will cut call rates.

Instead of charging calls by the minute, the circular will require mobile phone firms to charge on a per-second basis, an arrangement that will prevent consumers from paying for poor service and network congestion. - GMANews.TV

Maid assaulted for serving half-cooked meal

A FILIPINO maid was grabbed by the hair, had her head pushed to the floor and was ordered to bow 100 times for serving up a partly cooked meal, the Tsuen Wan Magistrates Court was told yesterday.

Her employer Henry Kwok Wai- keung, 42, was fined HK$5,000 and ordered to pay his maid Julieta Binggas Selga HK$3,000 as compensation after he admitted one count of common assault.

But deputy magistrate Li Chi-ho adjourned the sentencing of Kwok’s wife, Wan Sau-yee, to July 16 pending probation and community service reports, but warned she could face a stiffer penalty as her part in the maid’s punishment was more serious.

Kwok, a salesman, and Wan, 37, a secretary, have a seven-year-old son.

Wan admitted two counts of assault causing bodily harm and was allowed bail.

The court was told that on March 23, as a result of the half-cooked meal, Wan grabbed Selga’s shirt and slapped her three times on the head and face. When her husband returned at 7 p.m., he rolled up a newspaper and used it to hit the maid’s neck and head.

An hour later, the wife ordered the maid to bow repeatedly and then grabbed her hair and pushed her head against the floor.

The couple was arrested after the maid made a report to police the next day.

In mitigation, the defense claimed the assault happened on the night the couple planned to celebrate their wedding anniversary with a meal.

Wan became angry when she found the maid preparing to feed her son with food that was not thoroughly cooked.

The defense said it was the second time the maid had made the same mistake.

Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association chairman Joseph Law said it was the first time he had heard of employers punishing domestic helpers in such a way.

“Our association is strongly against employers using illegal means to express their dissatisfaction with a maid’s performance, especially the humiliating use of kowtows,” Law said.

He stressed if employers were not happy with a domestic helper, they should clearly state what they expected and that if the maid failed to comply, they should give her a written letter before sacking her. In no way should they use physical force.

Law said new employers uncertain about how to instruct their maids could seek the association’s advice. –Manila Standard Today

source

Comelec's recipe for disaster

A call for vigilance

(Following is the transcript of the segment "Analysis by Winnie Monsod," which aired on News on Q on June 29, 2009. Prof. Winnie Monsod is the resident analyst of News on Q, which airs weeknights at 9:30 p.m. on Q Channel 11.)

Now that the winning bidder in the election automation project has been announced, there is a tendency for the public to sit back, and maybe heave a sigh of relief that the Philippines has entered the modern era as far as elections are concerned.

Come election day, all we have to do is vote, and the dagdag-bawas will be a thing of the past.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead of sitting back, the public has to be ever more vigilant, to make sure that we don't find ourselves facing total chaos on election day and - the worst scenario of all - a failure of elections.

What are the reasons for this call for vigilance? Only consider: if you Google the winning bidder, Smartmatic, you will find that whereas it is presented to us as a Netherlands-based company, in other words you get the impression it's doing business in the Netherlands and operates from there, the truth is that it merely was incorporated there, and most of its principals are Venezuelans.


For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

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07/04/2009 | 05:33 PM

Home > Pinoy Abroad > Top Stories

How overseas Pinoys can register to vote in 2010

07/04/2009 | 05:33 PM



The Overseas Absentee Voting mechanism was implemented in the Philippines in 2003 to provide an opportunity for Filipinos abroad to exercise their right in electing the President, Vice President, Senators and one Party-list Representative.

GMANews.TV prepared this short interactive primer as a guide for the estimated eight million Filipinos living and working abroad on the voting registration process for the 2010 national elections.

The OAV registration process opened in February 2009. The government has set a goal of 1 million OAV registrants by August 31, the last day of the registration period. Only 115,650 overseas Filipinos had signed up as of end-June.

This OAV primer is the first in a series of information materials that the Pinoy Abroad team is producing so that the voice of overseas Filipinos may be heard in the polls. - The Pinoy Abroad Team, GMANews.TV

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Telcos ordered: Triple ‘load’ life

By Daxim Lucas, Riza T. Olchondra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:42:00 07/03/2009

MANILA, Philippines — Bowing to pressure from lawmakers, telecommunications regulators are set to compel mobile phone firms to treble the shelf life of prepaid credits amid persistent complaints of “vanishing load” from the public.

The rules, expected to be approved by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Friday, will also require telecommunications companies (telcos) to maintain a record of phone call details for prepaid users and make these available to them for free, upon request.

Industry watchers expect the new policy to have slightly adverse financial effects on the service providers which rely on the rapid turnover of their prepaid load business for a steady cash flow.

The NTC’s new policy came after the regulator and telecommunications firms endured a storm of criticism at the hands of senators and consumer rights advocates in recent weeks, caused by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s complaints of “vanishing load” in his prepaid account.

Class suit

A nonprofit group called COUP (Cellphone Owners and Users of the Philippines) has filed a class suit in the NTC against network operators with “anomalous” charging practices that lead to so-called “vanishing load.”

The Senate committee on trade and industry, chaired by Sen. Manuel A. Roxas II, spearheaded the probe of the consumer complaints, prompting the regulator to prepare a set of other rules that will clamp down on the activities of third-party “value-added-service” firms that send unsolicited text messages to mobile phones.

Under the new NTC rules, a prepaid load of P10 or less will have a three-day validity period, compared with the present policy of both Smart Communications and Globe Telecom of having credits in this bracket expire after only 24 hours.

At the highest end of the range, credits of P600 to P1,000 will have a validity of 180 days from the time they are loaded into a prepaid user’s account.

This represents a 200-percent increase in load shelf life from the present policy of Smart and Globe to have a maximum validity of only 60 days.

All load brackets

All load brackets in between these amounts will also experience increased shelf life, depending on the size of the credits.

“The expiration or validity of prepaid loads shall correspond to the amount of loads purchased,” said the NTC draft circular. “The higher the prepaid loads, the longer is the expiration or validity period.”

Under the new scheme, credits of P10 to P20 will be valid for 7 days; over P20 to P30 for 10 days; over P30 to P40 for 14 days; over P40 to P50 for 17 days; over P50 to P60 for 20 days; over P60 to P70 for 24 days; over P70 to P80 for 21 days; over P80 to P100 for 30 days; over P100 to P150 for 45 days; over P150 to P200 for 60 days; over P200 to P300 for 90 days; and over P300 to P600 for 150 days.

“The validity period starts upon receipt of confirmation of the prepaid loads purchased,” said the draft circular. “Call data records shall be made available to the prepaid users upon request free of charge.”

It also mandates that access to balance inquiry service through text messages shall be at no cost to the consumer.

“Violation of any of the provisions of this circular shall be a ground for the imposition of fines in accordance with law,” it stated.

Representatives of mobile phone firms have yet to reply to requests for comment on the new policy as of press time.

In filing the class suit, COUP asked the NTC to order telcos to stop collecting “illegal charges” for unsolicited messages and the “anomalous” push messages, spam, interrupted or dropped calls, missed calls, failed messages and other related consumer complaints.

COUP also wants the NTC to compel telcos to open their financial books to scrutiny and to provide a mechanism for reimbursing complainants for “illegal charges.”

At the same time, COUP asked the NTC to impose penalties and sanctions on erring operators.

Rodrigo C. Domingo Jr., one of the founders of COUP, said the group would file a separate case in the Quezon City RTC against the companies with major brands such as Smart, Globe, and Sun Cellular.

“Maybe within the next two weeks we will file a case at the RTC for them to refund the vanishing load of consumers,” Domingo said.

COUP is currently composed of lawyers, according to Domingo, but it is inviting consumers to become its members.

Membership is free and may be facilitated via e-mail. More information about COUP is available at its website http://coup.ph.

source: pdi

New mobile network offers lowest call rate

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:36:00 07/03/2009

• New mobile network offers lowest call rate
• Max’s seen opening more outlets overseas
• MetroPac heats up race for SCTEx
• ADB sees poverty on the rise in Asia
• Hope for the farmers in 2010
• Camiguin gets P500-M boost
• Rise in construction materials price eases
• San Miguel eyes stake in SCTEx project
• $450-M power plant to rise in Sarangani
• BSP seeks change in charter, tax exemptions
• MacroAsia seen to complete mine exploration
• Franchising firms see 10% growth

MANILA, Philippines—Red Mobile, a new budget prepaid cellular phone network owned and powered by Smart Communications Inc., aims to make inroads into the highly competitive telecommunications industry by offering the country’s lowest metered rate of P0.50 per minute for all voice and video calls within the same network.

The new mobile network, which has about 100,000 subscribers to date, rides on Smart’s extensive infrastructure and also offers services available on the 2G network.

“This step, to make the country’s lowest call rate available to a wider consumer base via the 2G network, is our response to the clamor for more affordable call packages,” said Guido Zaballero, Red Mobile department head. “We are confident Red Mobile’s expanded services will provide the consumer with an ideal combination of product value and quality service.”

Top officials of Smart, flagship subsidiary of telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., said the group was building up this new prepaid brand as part of efforts to expand consumers’ choices in every market segment. Its target is the young segment of the population who use voice and video calls.

The service needs a minimum of P30 load, which is valid for both 2G and 3G calls. The service comes with affordable handsets priced at between P3,000 and P4,000 for the 3G-enabled units.

“By making our services available on 2G, and by utilizing the network of the country’s leading wireless services provider, we are making value-for-money services more accessible to the increasingly mobile Filipino,” Smart chief wireless advisor Orlando Vea said.

Red Mobile is operated by Connectivity Unlimited Resources Enterprise Inc., which was acquired by Smart in April.

Doris C. Dumlao

source:pdi

Seniors without pensions to get government aid

July 2, 2009

MANILA, Philippines – Senior citizens above 70 years not receiving any pension are set to get a P500 monthly stipend from the national government.

Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has submitted for President Arroyo’s approval a P7.9-billion Social Pension for Older Persons program.

“It will cover only persons who are 70 years old and above, poor and not members of any pension plan like those under the GSIS (Government Service Insurance System), SSS (Social Security System) or other retirement or pension plans,” she said.

Cabral said the DSWD has submitted to the Department of Budget and Management a proposed P25 billion budget for next year, up by 142.27 percent from this year’s P10.6 billion.

The DSWD has completed the implementation of the “Katas ng VAT: Tulong Para kay Lolo at Lola” project, benefiting nearly 400,000 senior citizens nationwide, she added.

Meanwhile, Cabral said the DSWD has prepared a package of after-care services for elderly inmates.

These include provision of transitory cash or temporary cash assistance, employment, livelihood, and educational assistance, she added.

Cabral said the DSWD will also provide psycho-social intervention and other social services. “We have requested P30 million in our 2010 budget proposal to help an estimated 3,000 released prisoners for that year.”

Cabral said released prisoners needing immediate financial assistance for basic needs shall be provided with P1,500 per month for up to three months.

“Likewise, released prisoners who want to engage in livelihood ventures will be provided with skills training and capital assistance, not exceeding P5,000 utilizing the DSWD’s Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) program,” she said.

Cabral said released prisoners who want to return to school shall be referred to the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development. –Philippine Star

Deadly habit snares youth

July 2, 2009

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly half of Filipino students aged 13 to 15 years old have smoked cigarette, and 13.6 percent of those who never smoked are also likely to initiate smoking the following year, according to the Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) conducted in 2007.

Of the 5,919 Filipino students who participated in the survey, 46.2 percent said they have smoked cigarette. Fifty-eight percent of those who smoke are male while 34 percent are female.

In the western Pacific region, 13 percent of youth currently smoke – one out of five boys and one out of 10 girls.

Dr. Susan Mercado, regional adviser on the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) of the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office, attributes campus smoking to several factors, including social considerations and access to the product.

Mercado said 33.1 percent think boys and 19.4 percent think girls who smoke have more friends while 18.2 percent think boys and 15.1 percent think girls who smoke look more attractive.

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Japan opens careworker course to Filipino students

July 2, 2009

MANILA, Philippines – Half a year after the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) was ratified by the Philippine Senate, the supposed “benefits” of the pact to the country has started to materialize with the door being opened to Filipino college graduates for study to be “careworkers” in Japan.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED), represented by its chairman, Emmanuel Angeles, signed a memorandum of agreement with officials of the Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS) recently, paving the entry of Filipinos wanting to study a kaigofukushishi or a careworker course in Japan.

Under the agreement, it was learned that CHED will be the one to identify Filipino candidates for the “careworker” course study.

Under the program, CHED will find Filipino graduates of at least a four-year degree course who may be admitted to a public or private training facility or a Kaigofukushishi school to study the careworker course in Japan for a period of not more than four years.

For this year, CHED will reportedly nominate 50 “candidates”.

CHED, it was learned, will be the only authorized Philippine agency to select and nominate applicants to Japanese training facilities.

JICWELS, said to be a public corporation connected with Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, will be the only authorized Japanese agency to refer to CHED duly-accredited training facilities in Japan that are permitted to accept Filipino candidates to study the Kaigofukushishi course.

A Filipino who successfully completes the Kaigofukushishi course would be allowed to work in Japan as a certified careworker without undergoing a certification exam.

CHED boasted that the Philippines was the only country granted by Japan under an economic partnership agreement to allow its nationals to study a careworker course in Japan and permitted to work as a certified careworker without taking certification exams.

The program was being pursued under the JPEPA chapter on Movement of Natural Persons Article 110.1(f). — Rainier Allan Ronda, Philippine Star

Zest Air runway incident cancels 32 Caticlan flights

ABS-CBN - Thursday, June 25

ILOILO - Thirty-two flights to Caticlan Airport were cancelled after a Zest Air (formerly Asian Spirit) flight overshot a runway Thursday morning.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) suspended flights to Caticlan until 6 p.m. Thursday.

In a statement, Cebu Pacific said its 10 flights (Manila-Caticlan-Manila) were cancelled due to the airport's closure.

Cebu Pacific said it has dispatched an Airbus A319 to accommodate the affected passengers.

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Technical group created to cut fees of cellphone voice calls

GMANews.TV - Thursday, June 25

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Senate created a technical working group (TWG) that will discuss and draft a bill requiring phone companies to charge voice calls per second, instead of per minute.

The TWG, to be headed by the National Telecommunications Commission chief, will try to determine “the necessary steps in implementing a metering of phone calls," said Senator Manuel A. Roxas, who ordered the TWG’s creation.

The practice of phone companies of “charging a 30-minute call service with the price of a P1-minute call should not be allowed to continue," Roxas said, during the joint hearing of the Senate committees on trade and commerce and public services.

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