FRENCH LIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES

RESTER ... LE PLUS LONGTEMPS POSSIBLE ? There is now an unfolding saga in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. With the Supreme Court issuing a temporary restraining order or TRO, the implementation of the newly concocted law, RA 10153, synchronizing the ARMM elections with the national mid-term election on the 2nd Monday of May 2013 is now put hold. It is not the first time that the ARMM elections were postponed. They were about eight cases of postponement in the past. But in previous cases, no one questioned the wisdom or the legality of postponing the elections. This time, the postponement of the ARMM elections right from the beginning spawned great debates between the pro elections side and the pro postponement side. On the one hand, the premise of the pro election is the fact that election in the ARMM is at the very core of autonomy and self-determination. The national government for whatever motive or reason cannot override the people’s highest expression of the popu...

Typhoon Pedring might have left the country but its effects remain felt even inside the four corners of the makeshift courtroom where the Maguindanao massacre trial is being held in Taguig City. On Wednesday, the cross-examinations of witnesses Norodin Mauyag and Cpl. Zaldy Raymundo did not push through after one of the defense lawyers failed to show up at the scheduled hearing inside Camp Bagong Diwa. Through his associate, defense lawyer Andres Manuel informed Quezon City Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221 that he could not attend the hearing because his community was hit by floods spawned by Pedring's heavy downpour. "The house of Atty. Manuel has been affected by floods," said Manuel's associate, lawyer Michael Uy. Court records show that Manuel's law office is located in Ortigas in Pasig City, but his residence is reportedly in Bulacan, one of the provinces heavily affected by massive floodings spawned by Pedring, which c...

Les ingrédients pour 1/2 litre et méthode de préparation pour le  "Laguna de Bay Cocktail" : Quarante centilitres de la soupe du lac, ajouter trois cuillerées de plombs, 1/2 cuillerée d'autres métaux lourds, parfumez avec les rejets des porcheries, poulaillers, usines et déjections humaines, ajoutez une pincée de cyanure, une portion de poisson mort et en décomposition, saupoudrez avec plastique, caoutchouc, polyéthylène et autres papiers, plus quelques gouttes d'huile de vidange pour faire descendre, mixez et buvez sans modération. A toxic, biochemical soup seasoned with more than a few pinches of heavy metals and enriched with aromatic flavors of wastewater from piggeries, poultry farms, homes and some factories. For texture, the sludge may have some chunks of common, non-biodegradeable solid waste like plastic and rubber. The Laguna Lake Development Authority’s (LLDA's) latest analyses of water samples from the lake and the rivers and streams flowing in...

Tourism is the world's biggest and most exciting industry. Last year, more than a billion tourists spent over US$1 trillion gallivanting around the planet. The top 10 destinations, according to the United Nations-affiliated World Tourism Organization, are (1) France, (2) the United States, (3) Spain, (4) China, (5) Italy, (6) Great Britain, (7) Turkey, (8) Germany, (9) Malaysia and (10) Mexico. Bottom dweller. Note that among the 10 topnotchers are two of our Asian neighbors. China had 51 million visitors who poured in $39.7 billion into the Chinese economy, and Malaysia had 23.6 million visitors who spent $30 billion -much more the remittance of $18.7 billion of all our OFWs last year. I am not surprised by the Chinese performance but the big wow is Malaysia. Des photos de plages ... vides ! Among the bottom-dwellers was the Philippines with 3.5 million visitors who spent $2.49 billion. The tourist attractions of Malaysia are similar to ours. But it received almost 10 times ...

Wonder no more if the galunggong (scad) or the sardines you see on your table seem to be getting smaller every day. The country's most affordable and popular fish is getting fewer and smaller as major marine grounds have become heavily exploited over the years, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said on Monday. The BFAR said the population and size of small pelagic fish species-such as sardines, matambaka (ox-eye scad) and galunggong-were dwindling due to overfishing. According to the national stock assessment program of BFAR, of 13 fishing grounds that had been mapped, 10 areas are "very heavily exploited." These areas have over 70 fishermen per square kilometer. "The findings are indicative that we should reduce fishing activities in certain areas," Benjamin Tabios, BFAR assistant director, told to the media.  The heavily exploited waters are located in the Lingayen Gulf, northern Zambales, Visayan S...

LE PLUS GRAND A monster 21-foot (6.4-metre) saltwater crocodile, believed to be the biggest ever captured, has been trapped in the southern Philippines after a spate of fatal attacks, officials said Tuesday. The 1,075-kilogramme (2,370-pound) male is suspected of eating a farmer who went missing in July in the town of Bunawan, and of killing a 12-year-old girl whose head was bitten off two years ago, crocodile hunter Rollie Sumiller said. The hunter examined the crocodile's stomach contents by forcing it to vomit after it was captured Saturday, but there was no trace of human remains or of several water buffaloes also reported missing by locals. "The community was relieved," Sumiller said of the capture, but added: "We're not really sure if this is the man-eater, because there have been other sightings of other crocodiles in the area." The local government of the impoverished town of 30,000 people has decided against putting down the reptile, and w...

Police in the Philippines filed a plunder complaint Friday against the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for allegedly conspiring to sell to police two helicopters he owned but passed off as new. Along with Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, police also filed charges against former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, former national police chief Jesus Verzosa and 17 other retired and active duty officers and civilians while Arroyo was still in office two years ago. The government ombudsman, who prosecutes alleged wrongdoing by state officials and their associates, will determine if there is enough evidence for an indictment. Samuel Pagdilao, head of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group that filed the complaint, said documents and testimony from a Senate investigation showed that the former president's husband owned the helicopters when they were sold to police. Arroyo's husband said the police had no documents to support allegations he ...