FRENCH LIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES

Réplique de la maison du Pape à Bulacan ! A replica of the late Pope John Paul II’s boyhood home in Bulacan province is becoming a major attraction for pilgrims, a Catholic news site reported. The replica of the late Pope’s boyhood home in Wadowice, Poland, is getting much attention amid the run-up to his beatification this Sunday. “The house in the northern town of Marilao in Bulacan province is situated in the compound of the Parish of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy and was built in 2005 soon after the pope’s death," the   Union of Catholic Asian News reported. It added the house stands next to a chapel dedicated to Saint Faustina, the nun who started the devotion to the Divine Mercy, which was prohibited but later recognized by Pope John Paul II. Outside the house is a statue of the late pope, while inside are photographs tracing the life of the pope – whose real name is Karol Wojtyla – from his childhood to his death in 2005. Local historian Jaime Corpuz said...

MANILA - The Philippines wants to replace millions of petrol-powered tricycles with electric ones as part of efforts to clean up the nation's polluting mass transport system, President Benigno Aquino said Friday. The government will initially replace 20,000 tricycles that ply minor streets across the capital Manila and eventually expand the project throughout the country, Aquino said in a speech to government employees. It is hoped the scheme will save the impoverished country tens of millions of dollars annually. "The (project) is an ambitious multi-year plan to wean public utility vehicles from the use of gasoline and diesel and to encourage them to shift to alternatives like natural gas, electricity and hybrid engines," he said. "I would like to see the day when nearly all public utility vehicles... run on alternative fuel, freeing the public transport sector and commuters from the threat of unreasonably high oil prices and unhealthy levels of air pollutio...

April  14  2011 Activity at restive Taal Volcano in Batangas continued to intensify on Thursday, with state volcanologists recording at least 12 volcanic quakes there in the last 24 hours. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said residents felt at least two of these 12 earthquakes. "The first event occurred at 4:32 a.m. and was felt at Intensity II by residents in Barangay Calauit at the southeastern part of Taal Volcano Island with an audible rumbling sound. The second event occurred a few minutes later at 4:49 a.m., but felt only at Intensity I with faint rumbling sound in the same area," it said in its 8 a.m. bulletin. Phivolcs also noted water temperature at the Main Crater Lake remained at 30.5 degrees Celsius. Phivolcs said Alert Level 2 remains over Taal Volcano with the interpretation that magma has been intruding towards the surface. The public was reminded that the following areas are strictly off-limits because sudden ha...

Rumblings of a possible explosion of Taal Volcano in Batangas have pushed at least 17 families to voluntarily flee their homes, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council head Benito Ramos said on Sunday. In an interview on dzBB radio, Ramos said initial reports show that the said number of families, totaling 77 people in all, evacuated to their relatives’ homes after state seismologists raised the alert level and cautioned against a possible eruption in Taal. Three of these families meanwhile fled to the Venancio Trinidad Sr. Memorial School. “Magandang response ito (This is a good response)," Ramos said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Saturday raised the alert level in Taal to “2," indicating that magma has been surging toward the surface, which could later lead to an eruption. Phivolcs added that as of Sunday morning, Taal’s seismic network recorded six volcanic earthquakes in the past 24 hours. Phivolcs thus adv...