26 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY August 1 - 20 , 2017
This national nonworking holiday is celebrated annually on 21 August . In Filipino , it is known as ‘ Araw ng Kabayanihan ni Ninoy Aquino ’.
The holiday commemorates the assassination of former Senator Benigno ‘ Ninoy ’ Aquino , Jr . on 21 August 1983 .
His wife was Corazon Aquino , who later became President of the Philippines , and as a couple they are seen as two heroes of democracy in the Philippines .
History of Ninoy Aquino
Day In the early 1970 ’ s Aquino
Two poultry workers who had shown avian flu symptoms were found to be negative of the virus , Central Luzon ’ s chief government epidemiologist said yesterday .
Dr . Jessie Fantone , regional epidemiologist of the Department of Health ( DOH ), also debunked reports that the two unnamed workers were isolated and hospitalized . He said he personally met the two workers from Barangay San Carlos in San Luis .
In Manila , Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said the workers were discharged from hospital and advised to continue taking anti-viral
The Bureau of Internal Revenue ( BIR ) has started its investigation on the alleged tax evasion committed by Commission on Elections ( Comelec ) Chairman Andres Bautista .
Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II announced in a press conference yesterday that the BIR has formed a fivemember team to investigate possible violations of the National Internal Revenue Code by Bautista following charges of hidden wealth worth about P1 billion .
Aguirre revealed that apart from the Comelec chief , also covered by the BIR probe are Bautista ’ s estranged wife Patricia Paz , dean Nilo Divina and his law firm DivinaLaw , Luzon Development Bank ( LDB )
RP News and More ... August 21 is Ninoy Aquino Day
was a prominent critic of the President of the Philippines at that time - Ferdinand Marcos . Martial law was declared in September 1972 and Aquino was imprisoned . While in prison , Aquino continued to campaign for democracy and even stood for election .
In 1908 , he suffered two heart attacks and rather than treat him and have something go wrong and get accused of intentionally treating him badly , the Filipino authorities allowed him to leave to go to the United States for medical treatment , where he remained in exile for about three years .
His intention was to return to the Philippines
drugs .
“ There are three types of influenza ( virus ): A , B , C . A is for birds , B is for humans , C is for pigs . The two had the B ,” she said .
Fantone said he received last Tuesday from the Regional Institute of Tropical Medicine ( RITM ) results of its study on nasal and throat extractions from the two workers and the results indicated they did not have avian flu .
He stressed only the RITM in Alabang , Muntinlupa City , has the capability to handle human avian influenza cases .
Fantone related that last to challenge Marcos in the parliamentary elections of 1984 . On 21 August 1983 , while he was being escorted off the plane at Manila International airport , he was shot and killed .
The assassination led to major political upheaval in the Philippines and in 1986 after snap presidential election , Corazon Aquino was elected president . Did you know ? The scene of his death , Manila International Airport has since been renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honour ,
The holiday first celebrated in 2004 after the
Monday , he and his staff went to a quarantined poultry in Barangay San Carlos in San Luis to gather blood samples from 20 farm workers as standard procedure in response to reports that chickens in the poultry farm had died of avian flu .
“ We noticed that one of the workers had cough and another had some fever so we got nasal and throat samples from them , without having them confined ,” he said .
Fantone said the samples were brought to the RITM in Alabang for avian flu testing .
“ Even the regional Jose Lingad Hospital in San
Republic Act 9256 . The holiday was i n c l u d e d as part of P r e s i d e n t A r r o y o ’ s p r o g r a m of ‘ holiday economics ’, w h i c h adjusted the date of public h o l i d a y s , so that they would be taken on the nearest Monday to boost the tourism industry with long weekends . It was moved back to its original date by
2 Pampanga poultry workers negative for bird flu
and related parties .
Patricia claimed in her recent affidavit that her estranged husband had money in banks , condominiums and interest and shares in companies established overseas that the poll chief allegedly did not declare in his 2016 statement of assets , liabilities and net worth ( SALN ) with a total estimated value of almost P1 billion .
Bautista declared a P176.3-million total net worth in his 2016 SALN .
She also alleged that the poll chief had pay slips and checks received from the Divina law firm “ as commission for assisting the law firm clients with the Comelec .”
Patricia likewise claimed that Bautista had 35 passbook accounts at
LDB with a total balance of P329,220,962 .
In BIR Special Order 706-2017 , which was released to the media yesterday by the DOJ , Commissioner Caesar Dulay designated Regional Director Glen Geraldino of Revenue Region 8 ( Makati ) as head of the probe team with Regional Director Manuel Mapoy and Revenue District Officers Petronilo
Fernando ( Pampanga ) can ’ t handle such cases , although it is equipped with an isolation room ,” he pointed out .
He said patients isolated would eventually have to be moved to RITM .
“ As of this moment , there is no report of suspected avian flu in humans in our country ,” he stressed , as he scoffed at “ wrong information ” on the two workers which , he said , apparently emanated from the office of DOH chief epidemiologist Dr . Eric Tayag .
Philippine Red Cross ( PRC ) chairman Sen . Richard Gordon , for his part , has
BIR starts tax probe of Bautista , wife , others
Fernando , Bethsheba Bautista and Isabel Paulino as members .
In a letter , Dulay also sought Aguirre ’ s assistance in the BIR probe .
“ To help in the effective discharge of the team ’ s investigative authority , kindly furnish it , through Director Geraldino , with any and all affidavits , reports and documents which your office may deem pertinent to the tax investigation ,” the BIR chief asked .
Comelec Comissioner Rowena Guanzon has advised Bautista to take a leave of absence amid accusation by his wife that he had ill-gotten wealth .
“ I advised chair Bautista to take a leave immediately while he is deciding on his options to , in his own words , resign or stay and fight ,” posted Guanzon in her Twitter account @ commrguanzon .
On Monday , Bautista had reiterated he has no problem resigning from his post but Comelec employees had already become part of family and it would be difficult to part with them .
He revealed he sought guidance from Manila
President Benigno Aquino III ( Aquino ’ s son ) in 2010 . ( Philippine Holidays )
advised all PRC chapters and volunteers to keep a tight watch over possible avian flu cases in their respective areas .
“ The Philippine Red Cross is now mobilizing all staff and 143 volunteers to monitor all communities and to spread awareness campaign on what precautions should be taken in an area affected by bird flu . The volunteers are our first line of defense to report any incidents on disasters and emergencies but as well as epidemics such as bird flu ,” he said . ( D . Cervantes and S . Crisostomo , PS )
Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on how he should deal with the biggest challenge in his life .
Bautista had denied the charges , claiming that the allegations are politically motivated .
Aguirre ordered the NBI last week to probe the allegations against the Comelec chair and build criminal cases that could be pursued if Bautista is removed from his post via impeachment or once he resigns or completes his term .
He has directed the NBI to request bank records of accounts under Bautista ’ s name with the Anti-Money Laundering Council .
The bureau is expected to submit an initial report to Aguirre this week . ( E . Punay , PS )
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