LOOK: Senate and House leaders meet on Wednesday to discuss charter change. Courtesy: House Majority Leader Fariñas

Duterte, umapela sa Kuwait at MidEast countries na tratuhing tao ang mga Pinoy

Published January 24, 2018 3:16pm 

Umapela si Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte sa Kuwait at iba pang bansa sa Gitnang Silangan na tratuhing tao ang mga Filipino na nagtatrabaho sa kanilang bansa.

"Can I ask you now just to treat my countrymen as human beings," saad ni Duterte sa kaniyang talumpati sa Ninoy Aquino International Airport bago umalis patungong New Delhi nitong Miyerkoles upang dumalo sa ASEAN-India Special Commemorative Summit.

"We are poor, we may need your help, but we will not do it at the expense of the dignity of the Filipino," sabi pa ng pangulo.

Tinatayang nasa 10 milyong Filipinos ang nagtatrabaho sa iba't ibang bansa, na karamihan ay nasa Gitnang Silangan.

Ayon kay Duterte, malaking tulong ang ipinapadalang remittances ng mga OFWs sa pagpapalago ng ekonomiya ng bansa.

Tinatayang 260,000 ang mga Pinoy na nagtatrabaho sa Kuwait, na halos kahati ay nagsisilbing mga household service worker (HSW), na mas lantad sa mga pang-aabuso.

Nitong nakaraang linggo, ipinatigil ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) ang pagpapadala ng mga bagong OFW sa Kuwait habang hinihintay ang resulta ng imbestigasyon sa pagkamatay ng pitong OFW.

Ayon kay Duterte, hindi niya hahayaan na magkaroon na naman ng insidente na may OFW na hahalayin at magpapakamatay.

"I hope that you'd listen to me because I mean well, but I will never never again tolerate another incident of rape to the point of committing of suicide, jumping out the window. That is something the Filipino cannot stomach," anang pangulo.

"If I can't do something about it  then there's no reason for me to stay in this position any minute longer," dagdag ni Duterte.

Kamakailan lang, nagpulong sina Sami Abdulaiz Al Hamad, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consulate Affairs Ambassador ng Kuwait, at si Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Renato Pedro Villa Jr.

Sa naturang pulong, hiniling ni Hamad na alisin na ang suspensyon sa pagpapadala ng OFW sa kanilang bansa.— FRJ, GMA News

LOOK: The town of Guinobatan in Albay is all dark and gray in this aerial photo right after Mayon Volcano ejected more volcanic ash today. Only the wet ricefields have remained green in this drone picture.

Text and photos: Raffy Tima/GMA News

EU invites Duterte to attend Asia-Europe Meeting in Brussels

Published January 24, 2018 7:33pm 

By TED CORDERO, GMA News

The European Union (EU) has invited President Rodrigo Duterte to attend the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to be held in October, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen said on Wednesday.

The invitation came amid the Philippine government's rejection of the €6.1 million or P380-million aid from the EU.

"We have sent the invitation to the Palace yesterday it was for the ASEAM in October," Jessen said in a phone interview.

"We haven't received a reply yet, I think they received it just today," he added.

The 12th ASEM Summit will be held on October 18 to 19 in Brussels, Belgium.

The ASEAM is an intergovernmental process established in 1996 "to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe. "It is comprised of 53 partners - 30 European and 21 Asian countries.

President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly lambasted the EU for criticizing his war on drugs after thousands of killings have been blamed on the campaign. —NB, GMA News

Mocha Uson Sinauli ang Award. Alamin ang dahilan kung bakit!

SALAMAT UST ALUMNI ASSOCIATION INC. 

Sa kabila ng desisyon ng UST Alumni Association Inc. na hindi bawiin ang award na iginawad sa akin nagdesisyon po akong ibalik ang award dahil pilit na nililihis ng ibang tao ang mas mahahalagang usapin tulad ng Dengvaxia at iba pang pangyayari sa ating bayan. Sobra na rin ang pambu-bully ng ilang Thomasian sa Presidente ng UST Alumni Association Inc. na si Sir Henry Tenedero. Gusto ko lang din sabihin na hindi lahat ng Tomasino ay mapanghusga ng kapwa. Hindi yan ang tinuro sa amin. Sana sa aking pagsoli nito ay tigilan na nila ang pang bubully nila sa UST AAI. Salamat po

10-taong-gulang na ospital dahil sa pinaghihinalaang dengue ay binigyan ng Dengvaxia dosis noong Agosto

A 10-year-old boy has been admitted to a hospital in Cebu due to suspected dengue, months after he received a first dose of controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

According to a report by Sandra Aguinaldo on 24 Oras on Thursday, Jujen Ababon was brought to Talisay City District Hospital on Wednesday after experiencing nosebleed and on-and-off fever.

Jujen had his first shot of Dengvaxia in August. Dengvaxia is administered in three doses, each six months apart.

His mother, Jenny Ababon, said their family was not able to bring Jujen immediately to the hospital due to financial problems.

"Pina-check-up namin doon sa semi-private na doctor para madali raw ang results sa platelets. Okay lang daw at makakaya sa gamot," Ababon said, adding that this was the first time that her son had dengue.

Because of a lack of beds, Jujen was transferred from the district hospital to a private hospital. The Department of Health (DOH) Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit is currently monitoring his condition as a "suspected case of dengue."

Last week, the DOH suspended the use of Dengvaxia after French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine's manufacturer, issued a statement warning against using the vaccine on patients who have never been sick with dengue.

Sanofi said results of a recent study had showed it can actually put at risk people who have not been previously exposed to the virus.

The Philippines was the first Asian country to allow the sale of the world's dengue vaccine. The government's dengue vaccination program began in April 2016 under the term of former DOH chief Janette Garin.

More than 733,000 children aged nine years old and above from public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon have been given doses of Dengvaxia.

The Blue Ribbon and health committees are scheduled to conduct a joint hearing on December 11 on the issue. Garin, other former DOH officials, and representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Sanofi have been invited to attend.

Senator JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate health committee, earlier said that former President Benigno Aquino III's meetings with Sanofi is also "something to look into."

He was referring to Aquino's meeting with officials of Sanofi on November 9, 2014 in Beijing and on December 1, 2015 in Paris.

Aquino has not been invited to the hearing next week.

"Maganda sana kung marinig 'yung side niya because 'yung dalawang chance or meetings with Sanofi Pasteur officials, siyempre iba 'yung naiisip mo eh. Bakit nagkaroon ng meeting with the President prior to the acquisition of a big amount, a big quantity of dengvaxia vaccine," Ejercito said.

Meanwhile, the minority bloc of the House of Representatives has filed a resolution, calling for an investigation on the said vaccine.

"Ang minority po ay nag-file ng House resolution to investigate, in aid of legislation plus we're going to file a case against the people involved, both government and private entity po," said ACTS OFW party-list Representative John Bertiz.

The DOH's dengue vaccination program has been suspended pending recommendation from experts from the WHO.

The DOH is also conducting probe into the death of Christine May de Guzman, a Grade 5 student in Bataan who received a shot of dengvaxia months before she died. — Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News

President Duterte at the 5th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-US Commemorative Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City

President Duterte at the 5th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-US Commemorative Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on November 13, 2017.

Credits to Presidential Photos