Tropical Storm Linfa to Bring Flood Risk to Philippines

By Courtney Spamer, Meteorologist

July 3, 2015; 7:05 PM ET

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While the Philippines will escape Tropical Storm Chan-hom, which will eventually make a run at super typhoon status, the same cannot be said for Tropical Storm Linfa.

Tropical Storm Linfa formed early Friday morning local time in the southern Philippine Sea and remains on track to target Luzon Island of the Philippines with heavy rain this weekend.

Linfa will move into northern Luzon later this weekend as a strong tropical storm, but impacts to the inland will start sooner. Outer bands of heavy rain will reach Luzon's northeastern coast on Saturday before spreading westward through Sunday. Drenching rain will persist in northwestern Luzon on Monday.

"The biggest threat is flooding," stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Rob Richards. "Rainfall amounts will generally be on the order of 75 to 150 mm (3 to 6 inches)."

There will be locally higher amounts with some communities being inundated with 300 mm (12 inches).

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English Students Flock to Philippines For Low Cost and Sunshine

By: MINORU SATAKE, Nikkei staff writer

Maria Dobroskokina, left, studies English at a school on Cebu.

MANILA -- The Philippines is becoming a popular destination for the study of English. It offers good teachers, inexpensive lessons, and lots of beaches that students can enjoy when they are not in class. As more companies in Asia and elsewhere see English as vital to their globalization strategies, the island nation is likely to keep pulling in students.

     South Korean and Japanese school operators were some of the first to discover what the Philippines offers as a place of study: low costs and a high standard of English among Filipinos, thanks to the status of English as an official language. These companies opened language schools in the Philippines to accommodate their own nationals. Today, low fees for private lessons attract students from a variety of countries, including Russia and China. 

Warm environment

Maria Dobroskokina, 25, from Volgograd in southern Russia, enrolled in QQEnglish school on the island of Cebu in January. Back home, she worked for a newspaper, but she wanted to study abroad to improve her English. The U.K. and Malta are popular destinations for Russians to study abroad, but they are not cheap. A little research online led her to the school on Cebu.

     "On Cebu, the total cost, including accommodation and daily expenses, is about a half that of Malta. I was able to afford one-on-one lessons.  I feel I made big progress with my English in four months here," said Dobroskokina. The country's easy visa application  and warm weather are also a plus for Russian students.

     According to the QQEnglish, which is operated by a Japanese company, the number of non-Japanese students began to rise several years ago. In 2014, students from China, Taiwan and Russia accounted for 20% of its students. Staff from those countries help to bring in more students, along with Internet advertising and word of mouth.

Natural advantages

The Philippines began catching on as a destination for would-be English speakers more than a decade ago, when a South Korean company launched a foreign language school in the country. Since then, studying in the Philippines has become common in South Korea, where English fluency is a must for many job seekers. In Japan, too, there is concern that the English taught in the regular school curriculum is inadequate.  Now more Japanese-owned schools are sprouting up in the Philippines. The number of Japanese who studied in the country reached 30,000 in 2014, an eightfold jump in four years, according to the Philippine Department of Tourism.  

   In Japan, many universities recognize academic credits from Cebu schools, while big companies are sending employees to schools in the Philippines to hone their English skills.

   In the Philippines, high school education is almost entirely in English, and most official documents are written in that language. The country, which turns out more than 500,000 college and vocational school graduates a year, has a large pool of inexpensive, well-qualified teachers.

FHM Philippines Sexiest 2015: Jennylyn Mercado

By Gelo Gonzales

A- A A+

Jennylyn Mercado is the sexiest woman in the Philippines today!

Let that sink in for a moment, FHM bros. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and telepathically send your congratulations to the woman who topped the polls for FHM Philippines' 100 Sexiest Women In The World 2015.

After consistently making it in the Top 10 of the 100 Sexiest in recent years, the three-time cover girl (January 2008, November 2009, and June 2013) makes the jump from the fourth spot and ascends the throne, succeeding Marian Rivera in the process.

Now, open your eyes, and have one long look at her:

Catch Jennylyn and the rest of the 99 beauties in the July issue of FHM Philippines, which includes the 100 Sexiest Women In The World 2015 supplement!

European Commission Lifts Ban on all Philippine Airlines

Rappler.com

Published 8:09 PM, June 25, 2015

Updated 9:41 PM, June 25, 2015

BAN LIFTED. The European Commission will now allow Philippine carriers to fly in European airspace. File photo by Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – All local airlines can now enter the European airspace, joining national flag carrierPhilippine Airlines (PAL) and budget carrier Cebu Pacific. (READ: PH carriers to know by July if they can fly to Europe)

The European Commission (EC) announced on Thursday, June 25, that all airlines certified in the Philippines have been taken out from the European Union Air Safety List due the tight oversight being conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

Removed from the list were PAL Express (formerly Air Philippines Corporation), Cebu Pacific’s Cebgo (formerly Tiger Airways Philippines and Southeast Asian Airlines);Air Asia Incorporated; Air Asia Zest; Island Aviation Incorporated; Magnum Air Incorporated (Skyjet); and South East Asian Airlines International Incorporated (Seair-I).

“After 5 years of hard work, we are finally able to release the airlines certified in the Philippines from the European Air Safety List. The Philippines is an important country with a sizeable and rapidly growing aviation sector,” said Violeta Bulc, European Union commissioner for transport.

“Today’s result can serve as an example for other countries which have difficulty to match their safety oversight capabilities with the growth of their industry,” she said.

Opportunities

The lifting of the ban would allow and encourage Europeans to tap the services of the Philippine carriers when travelling to the Philippines or to other countries, said CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio.

The decision comes after a 5-man EU safety assessment team gave a positive review of the airlines following a series of inspections in April.

This led to the suspension of the operations of Skyjet and Seair last May 15 due to safety issues.

The suspension of Skyjet and Seair was lifted last June 7.

While the 7 carriers largely service only domestic and Asian routes, Apolonio said the EU decision will still benefit them.

Previously, European insurance companies would not cover people who flew on airlines on the EU Air Safety List, he said.

"European tourists will be encouraged to use low-cost carriers in the Philippines now," boosting the number of visitors who will want to fly around the archipelago, Apolonio told Agence France-Presse.

PAL now flies to London and is planning to add more European destinations, while Cebu Pacific is applying to fly to Italy.

Lubomir Frebort, EU chargè d’ affaires, congratulated CAAP for overseeing the operations of airlines operating in the Philippines.

“Within this period of time, the Philippines was able to get full lifting from the ban due to CAAP’s openness to improve its oversight functions, complemented by readiness of Philippine air carriers to enhance their own safety and operation standards,” Frebort said. – Rappler.com, with a report from Agence France-Presse

Philippine Vice President Binay Quits Cabinet Amid Graft Probes

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is running for president next year, has resigned from the cabinet in a break with President Benigno Aquino as he is investigated for corruption.

Binay is being probed by the Ombudsman's office for alleged corrupt practices while serving as mayor of the financial district of Makati in the capital Manila.

He was mayor for two decades and his approval and trust ratings remain the highest among the country's top five national officials, beating Aquino, according to a survey by independent pollster Pulse Asia released on Monday.

But his ranking in surveys for possible candidates in the 2016 presidential election fell to second place for the first time this month, according to Pulse Asia and another pollster, Social Weather Stations.

"This is voluntary and there is nothing that can change his mind," Mar-Len Abigail Binay, Jejomar Binay's daughter and a member of the House of Representatives, said in a radio interview, adding her father was "very tired" of not being able to fight the accusations.

Allies of Aquino in the Senate have been steering months-long probes into allegations of kickbacks, ill-gotten wealth, bid rigging and money laundering against Binay, his son who is the current Makati City mayor, and his business associates.

(Reporting by Rosemarie Francisco; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Filipinos Fear Armed Conflict With China

Philippines peace index down

By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) 

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File - Protesters display placards during a rally at the Chinese Consulate at the financial district of Makati city east of Manila, Philippines Friday, April 17, 2015 to protest against Beijing's land reclamation activities on disputed territory in the South China Sea. The protesters led by Congressman Nery Colmenares urge China to "stop its reclamation activities in the Mischief Reef" which they claim to be still within the Philippines' EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone). AP/Bullit Marquez

Eight in 10 Filipinos fear possible armed conflict between the Philippines and China over the disputed Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a latest survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

The level of “worry about armed conflict with China in the disputed islands of Scarborough Shoal” remained high at 84 percent in March, with 49 percent saying that they “worried a great deal” and 35 percent saying they were “somewhat worried,” the SWS said.

The survey was conducted from March 20 to 23, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents nationwide.

The finding was consistent with that of previous polls in September 2012, September 2013, and June 2014, the SWS noted.

Panatag or Scarborough Shoal, locally called Bajo de Masinloc, is located some 125 nautical miles off Zambales.

Fewer Filipinos support the government’s actions on the Scarborough Shoal standoff, according to results of the survey, which were published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday.

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In response to the dispute, Manila filed an arbitration case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

The SWS poll found 49 percent of respondents saying they strongly or somewhat approve of the steps taken by the government.

This was lower than the 62 percent and 65 percent recorded in the SWS polls in June 2014 and September 2013.

Public approval of the government’s actions declined in all areas of the country, except in the Visayas, where those who expressed support outnumbered those who didn’t (55 percent versus 37 percent).

But the numbers were generally tied for Metro Manila (48 percent-48 percent), balance Luzon (48 percent-49 percent) and Mindanao (45 percent-47 percent), the SWS said.

The March 2015 survey has sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages.

The standoff started in April 2012 when the Philippine Navy’s BRP Gregorio del Pilar apprehended Chinese poachers in the area.

Since then, China has maintained its presence through its coast guard, barring local fishermen’s access to the uninhabited shoal.

Philippines drops in global peace ranking

The Philippines has dropped seven places in a global peace ranking to 141 out of 162 countries because of the potential for conflict in the South China Sea and the Masasapano tragedy in January in which 44 national police commandos were killed in fighting with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.

In the Global Peace Index 2015 report issued on Wednesday by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the Philippines was in last place in the ASEAN rankings and in penultimate place in the Asia-Pacific rankings, just ahead of North Korea.

The South China Sea remains a potential area for conflict, with countries involved in the dispute (China, Vietnam and the Philippines) all showing a worsening of their scores in the 2015 index, the report said.

Although the likelihood of further military skirmishes in the disputed waters is high, a large-scale military engagement remains unlikely, the report said.

“The Philippines suffered from an escalation of internal conflicts between the government and rebel groups occurring late in the measurement period,” the report added.

It noted Indonesia was the most improved country in the Asia-Pacific region, rising 12 places to 46th in the overall rankings in 2015 due to a curb in the level of violent crime and a reduced impact of terrorism.

The Global Peace Index measures the state of peace in 162 countries according to 23 indicators in three main categories – ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security and militarization – that gauge the absence of violence or the fear of violence.

According to the index, since last year 81 countries have become more peaceful while 78 have deteriorated.

The Philippines scored 2.462 in the index and was among the countries with “low” state of peace. The report used a scale of one to five, with one being the highest in terms of state of peace.

Last year, the Philippines was in 134th place with a score of 2.456.

The Philippines’ 2015 global ranking paled in comparison with its ASEAN neighbors Singapore which was in 24th place, Malaysia (28), Laos (41), Indonesia (46), Vietnam (56), Cambodia (111), Thailand (126) and Myanmar (130). – With Jose Katigbak