TYPHOON FRANK: 118 confirmed dead in typhoon : Ferry sinks with 800 aboard; only 10 bodies found

Thursday, June 26, 2008









You guys probably know that I don't like news like this, but its really the thing that rocked this country inside out. I'm just letting others know how hard it was for us. Read on!

Excerpt from writers RIO RIBAYA, MADELYNN SABATER, ANJO PEREZ, YUL MALICSE, LEONARD POSTRADO, & J.C. RUIZ


Typhoon Frank left at least 118 dead yesterday but the toll is expected to rise dramatically when the dead from a sunken ferry boat are counted as the typhoon slowly drifted to the Pacific Ocean but not after leaving a wide swath of destruction in a two-day rampage that left the country battered and helpless.

Metro Manilans awoke to howling winds, rattling windows, flying rooftops and without power yesterday morning as Frank lashed the metropolis and several Luzon provinces from early morning till evening. The death toll from the sunken MV Princess of the Stars might reach as high as 700 as rescuers found almost no survivors from the capsized ferry which carried as many as 800 listed passengers on its manifest.

Some of the dead from the sunken ship were washed ashore by afternoon Sunday. Rescue operations were hampered by the swollen and angry sea, the fate of the passengers left at the mercy of the elements. Radio reports said at least 10 bodies had been found while three survivors pulled ashore and told tales of horror, heroism and survival. One of the survivors, Renato Lenario, told rescuers during a radio interview that they were having lunch at around 11:45 a.m. Saturday when the boat started listing and orders were barked to abandon ship.

He said he was lucky to survive after drifting aimlessly at sea in a capsized life raft. Two other companions who were in the same raft dropped away when a huge wave hit them, he said. The typhoon caught many Metro residents sleeping as the storm, which a day earlier rampaged in the Visayas and Bicol, made an unexpected -- and deadly -- turn toward the country’s capital hitting it at dawn. As day broke, transportation was paralyzed, many billboards down and nearly all domestic and international flights cancelled. Thousands of passengers were stranded. It was not until evening when international flights were allowed to leave. That the typhoon came on a Sunday probably helped reduce casualties. Residents were mostly in their homes and looking forward to a day of rest. But the rest turned to panic for many. They spent most of the day trying to protect their homes, property and lives as the typhoon pummelled the city with a force unmatched since 2006 when typhoon Millenyo ravaged the city with over 200-kph winds and brought it to its knees. Metro Manila was not the only one which bore the brunt of the typhoon’s wrath yesterday. The swath of destruction covered central Visayas and nearly the entire Luzon as the typhoon trudged slowly like a massive invading army leaving death and destruction behind. There was suffering in Romblon, Mindoro, the Bicol provinces of Camarines and Albay and also Quezon, Batangas, Laguna and Cavite.

PAGASA said the typhoon will also most likely hit the northern provinces of Northern Luzon. Authorities have estimated that millions worth of property, crops and infrastructure have been damaged. The amount of damage is expected to rise, and with it, the death toll as reports come in from various parts of the country some of which have been isolated by power outage, floods and landslides. President Arroyo, who left Sunday for a state visit to the United States as the typhoon was heading towards the country, called the National Disaster Coordinating Council yesterday morning and was surprised to learn that the sea tragedy may been caused by negligence on the part of the Coast Guard. She scolded Coast Guard Commander Wilfredo Tamayo during a conference call during which she asked why a ship was allowed to leave when they knew a typhoon was approaching. The Princess of the Stars, with 800 on board, 45 of them children, sunk on the way to Cebu hours after leaving the port of Manila. Tamayo said the order to call off all trips from the port of Manila was issued at 11 p.m. Friday. By then, the Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines was already out to sea for three hours having left at 8 p.m. Coast Guard officials said the ship developed engine trouble and as a result was practically helpless against the strong waves generated by Typhoon Frank. The Philippine Red Cross has also mobilized relief efforts. Adding to the citizens’ woes, power outage was reported in many parts of the country. In Metro Manila, power interruption was recorded in all the major cities as early as 3 a.m. Gradually, power was restored and by evening, the metropolis was alight and slowly returning to normal.

Signal No. 3, which covered the city and nearby Cavite, Laguna Batangas, Bulacan Pampanga and Tarlac, was downgraded to No. 2 by evening and should be No. 1 by Monday morning or afternoon.

PAGASA expects weather to return to normal by Wednesday although rains are still due today and tomorrow.

Classes in many cities will be suspended today.

A rescue ship battling huge waves and strong winds reached the MV Princess of Stars, one end jutting out of the water upside-down, more than 24 hours after it lost radio contact Saturday

``They haven’t seen anyone. They’re scouring the area. They’re studying the direction of the waves to determine where survivors may have drifted,’’ coast guard spokesman Lt. Senior Grade Arman Balilo said.

Villagers found four bodies _ including a man and a woman who bound themselves together _ along with children’s slippers and life jackets that washed ashore nearby.

The death toll included 59 people who drowned in the central province of Iloilo, with another 40 missing, Gov. Neil Tupaz said.

``Almost all the towns are covered by water. It’s like an ocean,’’ Tupaz said, adding thousands have been displaced in the province that is home to 1.7 million people.

TV footage showed rescuers using a long rope across raging floodwaters in an Iloilo village to pluck three residents to safety from atop a partly engulfed van. In a nearby village, residents pulled a body from a muddy field then laid it beside another they found earlier.

The ferry initially ran aground a few miles (kilometers) off central Sibuyan island Saturday, then capsized, said Mayor Nanette Tansingco of Sibuyan’s San Fernando.

At least three survivors were found in Sibuyan’s Mabini village and police were ordered to go there. But all the roads to the village, where many houses were washed away by huge waves, were blocked by toppled trees, Tansingco told DZBB radio.

She appealed for food, medicine and formalin to embalm bodies, apparently expecting many deaths in her town. The upturned ferry could be seen from her town, she said.

Packing sustained winds of 74 miles (120 kilometers) per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph (150 kph), the typhoon shifted course Sunday to the northwest and battered Manila at dawn.

President Arroyo directed the defense department and local governments to be on standby for relief and rescue missions before she left for the United States late Saturday.

Ferries are the main form of inter-island transportation in the sprawling Philippine archipelago, site of the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster when the ferry MV Dona Paz sank in 1987, killing more than 4,341 people.

In southern Maguindanao province, at least 14 people drowned in flash floods Saturday, including 10 swept away from riverside homes, said provincial administrator Norie Unas. Five others were missing.

A man and his 10-year-old grandson were killed when a landslide buried their hillside shanty in Cotabato city Saturday, Mayor Muslimin Sema said.

Sex and the City : The Movie

Friday, June 20, 2008


















The movie is all about the continuing adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda as they live their lives in Manhattan four years after the series ended.

I liked this movie a lot. I've been watching it in HBO at times when all we need is someone to talk straight to our brain much like Gilmore Girls on regular TV... If you prefer witty and no nonsense dialogues then this is the one for you. I watched it with my wifey, she I think enjoyed it too... Even if I didn't like the place (you know how filthy SM Cinemas sometimes are!) I enjoyed it a lot. I kinda missed the points and jerks of their New York City life bring to anyone of us. Yeap! you know how that would affect someone rural like most Pinoys are...sheesh!

Well, let me see if I remember where they were in the movie...
Kim Cattrall aka Samantha is in chemo, she has this model turned steady boyfriend all the way but she, after YEARS, seem still unsatisfied with him. She thanked that boy, and stayed single at the end. Maybe in the hopes of finding a new one. She celebrated her 50th birthday in the movie! ^_^

Cynthia Nixon, aka Miranda is still married to Steve, not having that much action though... they still are trying to get their son raised.. Since they did not have sex that much, Steve gets into trouble as he blurted out the truth that he had an affair with someone else because he has been not dealt with in 6 months. Go figure! But in the end they still loved each other and gave it another try.

Kristin Davis aka Charlotte is pregnant! After they adopted a chinese girl they named Lili, she just found out she's pregnant with their new daughter Rose. ^_^
She crapped in her pants by the way!! hahahaha

Sarah Jessica Parker aka Carrie on the other hand really was in Melon Collie,,, You will really really feel mad at BIG played by Christopher Noth because he was not able to muster enough strength to get married. On the day of her wedding, she cried a river. Louise played by Jennifer Hudson although not award type role helped her through the ordeal. The whole thing was probably because Miranda mentioned that things will just get ruined if they wed *coz she was mad at Steve at that time when she said that* but in the end... she survived that and got back her $ 525.00 Manolo Blahniks!

The movie and everything they wore was fabulous! I'm giving this 5 KUMAGS just because of witty content... I like smart movies you know! ^_^

CAST:

Sarah Jessica Parker Carrie Bradshaw
Kim Cattrall Samantha Jones
Cynthia Nixon Miranda Hobbes
Kristin Davis Charlotte York
Christopher Noth Mr. Big
Jennifer Hudson Louise
Jason Lewis Jerry 'Smith' Jerrod
Mario Cantone Anthony Marantino
David Eigenberg Steve Brady
Evan Handler Harry
Candice Bergen Enid Frick
Willie Garson Stanford Blatch
Lynn Cohen Magda
Alexandra Fong Lily


Director: Michael Patrick King

21- A nice movie! ^_^

Thursday, June 05, 2008




BLACKJACK was the name of the game. Ben Campbell is an MIT student incredibly good with numbers. He needs money so he can get into Harvard Med School. His simple geek life changed. Doing good in Linear Equations, he met Mickey Rosa played by Kevin Spacey and got invited in a group called the Black Jack Team.

With 5 members comprising of 3 spotters and 2 big players, they all went to Las Vegas and started working on casinos turning them bottoms up! Clearing them up required the team. Then one night when he lost focus because of personal reasons, he lost a lot as well. Mickey took him out of the team and got him caught, ransacked his apartment and got everything that he earned, even the money he was saving for Harvard.

With nothing to lose, he pretended to make amends with Kevin Spacey and got back on the team. Not knowing he only set him up so he can get his money back.He got Cole Williams played by Laurence Fishburne easy retirement money and got all his friends to join in and rob the casino of millions.

Now he got his revenge. All in all it was a very nice movie. I thought sometimes the scenes were predictable, but some were twisted a lot here and there.... I give this movie 4 KUMAGS!!!!