EMONG'S JOURNALS

In support of the national government’s call to implement a firecracker ban, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has ordered the strict enforcement of an ordinance prohibiting the use of firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices in all public places during festivities. In an advisory, Belmonte directed the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), the Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) and other members of the city’s Peace and Order Cluster to strictly implement Ordinance No. SP 2618, S-2017. “The strict implementation of the Firecracker Ordinance, will, aside from reducing firecracker injuries, discourage gatherings for fireworks display and aid in compliance with COVID-19 health protocols,” Belmonte said. “The reduction in firecracker injuries will also ease the burden on medical resources, which are already overstrained by the ongoing pandemic,” she added. Belmonte issued the order in support of the Metro Manila Council MMDA Resolution N...

Get documented or else! The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will start apprehending colorum Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) drivers on July 26, 2017, the regulatory board announced on Friday, July 14. This after the LTFRB learned during the show-cause order hearing on July 11 that about 80% of Grab/Uber drivers are driving without either a provisional authority (PA) permits or a certificate of public convenience (CPC) franchise. Currently, there are more than 20,000 TNVS drivers with half of them (about 10,000 drivers) rejected to get PA permits, and a third (about 7,000 drivers) who are still in the process of acquiring them. The LTFRB stopped releasing PAs since July 21, 2016 to limit the inflow of new TNVS drivers even as the government tries to craft better guidelines for TNCs. The LTFRB show-cause order demands the following from Uber and Grab: Pay P5 million for their negligence to oversee colorum drivers Include in the appli...

There might be a bit of a caveat here. The bill seeking to establish a national identification (ID) system for all Filipinos here and abroad recently passed the first reading at the House of Representatives, making it a few steps nearer into becoming a law. Once passed into law, the National ID System will require all Filipinos residing anywhere in the world to register their personal information into the central system to be managed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The system, in effect, shall streamline all government transactions and unify all basic needs of the citizens. To date, the Philippines is one of only 9 countries in the world without a national ID system. There are 196 countries in the world. How the National ID System works A registered Filipino will be issued a non-transferable national ID card with a number that shall be valid for life. Filipinos residing or working overseas are to register for their IDs at the nearest Philippine embassy o...

UPDATED January 2020 A "provisional" License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) will now be available for all gun holders who need to renew their firearms. The provisional LTOPF is exclusive only to gun holders with existing firearms and will no longer require a drug/neuro test. It will be valid for six months. The LTOPF for first-time gun purchases, however, still require the drug/neuro tests. The process of obtaining a gun can sometimes be difficult and confusing, but with the right information, one can pass through the process with very little difficulty. Here's what all gun enthusiasts need to know to get a License to Own and Possess Firearm (LTOPF); and how to renew/register their pistols, according to the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 10591 or " The Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.” READ: LTOPF, gun registration is now online! 9 easy steps to do it  1 Check that you meet the requirements.  There...

There's a lot to this place other than tennis courts, jacuzzis and bags of shabu. Here's the ten most amazing facts about the Bilibid penitentiary that you probably haven't heard of. 1. The word Bilibid is a Filipino noun which literally means "twine, cord, string, etc. wound around something." 2. The original Bilibid prison was formerly situated in Manila and was then known as "Carcel y Presidio Correccional" established by the Spanish colonial government on 25 June 1865. Back then, it could only accommodate a little over a thousand inmates. 3. When population grew, the Bilibid was transferred to a 551-hectare piece of land in Muntinlupa City, at that time considered to be "remote." It was built in 1936 with a budget of just one million pesos. 4. Throughout the Japanese Occupation during World War 2, the Bilibid was transformed into a Prisoner of War (POW) camp and housed more than 13,000 POWs, the great majority of them Americans....

UPDATED January 2020 A "provisional" License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) will now be available for all gun holders who need to renew their firearms. The provisional LTOPF is exclusive only to gun holders with existing firearms and will no longer require a drug/neuro test. It will be valid for six months. The LTOPF for first-time gun purchases, however, still require the drug/neuro tests. As of January, 2020, the online processing is considered the easiest and hassle-free way of applying for both LTOPF and gun renewals. Below are a few observations shared by our team, gun applicants and others who tried getting their LTOPFs prior to the implementation of the PNP online program . UPDATE as of August 8, 2016 Just this morning, the EJ admin team went to visit the Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) at Camp Crame to see how the application for a License to Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) goes. We found out that the 4 documentary requirements for LTOPF...

It can get a tad confusing. South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and the name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea (Mar da China); later needs to differentiate it from nearby bodies of water led to calling it the South China Sea. In September 2012, then Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No. 29, mandating that all government agencies use the name "West Philippine Sea" to refer to the parts of the South China Sea within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, and tasked the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) to use the name in official maps. This leaves us one question. When do we use the names West Philippine Sea and South China Sea? Condo Vibes In a media interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) , Supreme ...

The word is clear, "We're out to get y'all!" At least four drug-related personalities are killed everyday, according to the latest data of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Just last week, from June 27 to July 3, a total of 31 drug suspects were killed nationwide. From May 10 up to July 3, a total of 103 were killed during police operations, with Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4-A), and MIMAROPA (Region 4-B) recording the highest number of fatalities. Police authorities had earlier said those who were killed in these operations resisted arrest and fought back. They, however, assured the public that the police is equally protective of the human rights of the suspects and is conducting an investigation for every casualty. Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) had already launched "Oplan Double Barrel" - a scheme to arrest big time drug lords and dismantling syndicates. Oplan Double Barrel will deploy ten t...

Can you spot Ferdinand Marcos among the caricatures of people in this book spread? A Facebook post from the Pictoric media page showed a spread from the book, "Así es la dictadura (This is the Dictatorship)". The spread reveals a caricature of the former president along with other notorious figures like Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein. The book, says the FB page, was featured in the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy sometime April this year. Meantime, a quick search from Google revealed that "Así es la dictadura (This is the Dictatorship)" is from Spain and is "one of four books originally published in the 1970s and republished by Media Vaca in 2015 with new illustrations. This brilliant series won the 2016 Bologna Ragazzi Non-Fiction Award." The book "focused on dictators of a specific ideology (which) included both right-wing and left-wing dictators." "Así es la dictadura (This is the Dictatorship)" is written b...

More legit cash for cops makes them less prone to corruption. Incoming Philippine National Police head Chief Superintendent Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa confirmed President-elect Rodrigo Duterte's earlier pronouncements to double the salaries of the PNP's uniformed personnel. In the "Yes or No" interview with ABS-CBN's Bandila , news anchor Julius Babao, on the video's 13:27 mark, asked Dela Rosa, "Tataas ba ang suweldo ng mga pulis sa ilalim ng Duterte administration?" (Will the policemen receive a salary increase under the Duterte administration?) Without batting an eyelash, the next PNP chief replied, "Times two, yes!" At present, the entry level of Police Officer 1 gets a monthly paycheck of P14,834 plus allowances of about P6,000 (a total of around P20,834) while an average senior police officer with a rank of SPO1 earns P21,711 plus allowances of about P10,000 (a total of around P31,711). Their basic salary doubled, a...

She was true to her words, the last man standing in the vice presidential race is indeed a woman. On Friday, Leni Robredo finished with 14,418,817 votes beating her closest rival, Senator Bongbong Marcos who had 14,155,344. Robredo led Marcos by only 263,473 votes. According to GMA News , Marcos had a lead of 83,480 votes going into Friday's canvassing but this was immediately wiped out when the votes from Antique and Iloilo City were tallied. Robredo had a combined lead of more than 170,000 votes in the said areas. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, won the presidential race with 16,601,997 votes. "The last man standing is a woman" It was in April, during the televised HARAPAN vice presidential debate held at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City, when Robredo strongly articulated herself that she would win over her male VP rivals. It was here that she first said her famous line, "The last man standing is a woman" Watch the three-minu...

Are you ready for Federalism? One of Rody Duterte's platforms during his presidential campaign was to invigorate the financial capabilities of regions outside Metro Manila. To be able to do this, he said the country needs to shift into the federal type of government. Federalism is a method of government that allows two or more entities to share control over the same geographic region. Each person is subject to the laws of that city, region, state and the federal government. In a federalist government, the power is divided between the national government and other governmental units. In the U.S., this means the power is divided between the federal government and the state and local governments. This is different from a unitary government where one unit holds the power. Watch the video below. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

The numbers keep on coming in favor of the "presumptive president-elect" Rody Duterte. And knowing how keen the good mayor of Davao City is with regards to peace and order, here's a list of things that you may have to keep in mind once Duterte takes his oath of office as the 16th president of the Philippines. 1. No more late night videoke singing sprees. You have to end your concert at exactly 11:00 p.m. 2. Liquor ban will be at 1:00 a.m. sharp. If you want to get really drunk, start early. 3. Smoking can never be done indoors, public spaces, cafeterias, bars and restaurants, etc. Light up only in designated smoking areas. 4. No littering and no spitting anywhere at any time. 5. Follow traffic rules to the letter. Be respectful of road signs and don't try those sneaky maneuvers just to get ahead of the others. 6. If you're a motorcycle rider, never attempt to put on open exhaust pipes or any modified mufflers to make your bike louder. 7. Definite...

Two more days to go before the 2016 Presidential Elections on May 9 -- here's a step-by-step guide to help navigate yourself on what and what not to do when you vote. DO make sure that you are at the right place by looking for your name in the voters list posted near the precinct. DO come early. Voting starts at 6:00am and ends at 5:00pm. DO bring a list of your candidates to guide you, but DON'T bring in any campaign materials. DO protect your ballot by using the Comelec ballot secrecy folder. DON'T take photos or make copies of your ballot. These are election offenses and can send you to jail. DON'T use your cellphone while inside the precinct. Taking photos is an election offense. This is to prevent vote-buying and selling. DO shade properly using the Comelec marking pen and fully shade the circles next to candidate of your choice. DON'T use any kinds of pens other than the Comelec's. DON'T write anything else on the ballot so that the ma...

If everything's still unclear to you on how the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's "No Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy" really works, we suggest you hit on the following FAQ's below. 1. What is the No Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy? The No Contact Traffic Apprehension is a policy that utilizes CCTV, digital cameras and/or other gadget or technology to capture videos and images to apprehend vehicles violating traffic laws, rules and regulations. 2. What is its coverage? The No Physical Contact Apprehension covers the apprehension of violators in areas within Metro Manila that are covered by MMDA CCTV cameras. 3.   Will the policy rid Metro Manila roads of MMDA Traffic Enforcers? No. It was conceptualized to supplement the presence of MMDA Traffic Enforcers. Aside from the fact that there are still places not covered by CCTVs, the No Contact Traffic Apprehension was designed to catch moving violations, thus leaving the apprehension of...

Watch those dirty looks, Quezon City is now a No Catcall Zone! The Quezon City government has outlawed catcalling and other forms of sexual harassment in public spaces against women with the passage of the Gender and Development ordinance. With the new law, people caught making all those creepy catcalls and other sexual overtones can get up to one year of jail term and/or fined as much as P5,000. So, to guide all testosterone fueled guys out there, here are the ten things prohibited in Quezon City. 1. Catcalling - acts of making a whistle, shout, or comment of a sexual nature to a woman passing by. Examples: 'Hi, Miss Beautiful', ‘Pa-kiss nga‘, 'you are sexy’, 'Hi, Ate', etcetera. 2. Wolf-whistling - a whistle with a rising and falling pitch, directed toward someone to express sexual attraction or admiration. 3. Cursing - an offensive word or phrase. 4. Repeatedly asking for the woman’s number or for dates. 5. Calling a woman in public with words h...

All men are not created equal. Sometimes, your destiny depends on where you were born. According to a recent updated survey from Henley & Partners, a London-based consulting firm that specializes in citizenship services, Philippines ranked a low 69th among the countries with visa-free privileges - way below with that of our neighboring countries Singapore's 6th and Malaysia's 9th ranking. A Philippine passport can only take you to about 58 countries as compared to Singapore's 167 and Malaysia's 163. Holders of Finnish, Swedish and UK passports are the luckiest blokes who can enjoy sight-seeing adventures in 173 countries. Afghans, however, are the least favored as their passports - ranked last at 93rd - can only take them to 28 countries. You can see the complete ranking list  HERE . Only 25 countries, or maybe even lesser When you go and Google-search which countries offer visa-free travel for Filipinos, you'd notice that results vary from one web...

Whether or not you were there along EDSA thirty years ago, you're probably familiar with the story of the People Power Revolution. Social media has not been imagined yet - so people were relying solely on the newspapers and radio to keep up with the pace of events unraveling everyday. The People Power Revolution was a series of popular demonstrations that began after the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino in 1983 and culminated in 1986 - a few months after the country's fraudulent "1985 snap elections."  Fidel Ramos, who was then Vice Chief of Staff for the Armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) and then defense secretary Juan Ponce Enrile made the official announcement of their withdrawal of support of the Marcos administration. Former Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin goes on air and says "Leave your homes now ...I ask you to support Mr. Enrile and Gen. Ramos, give them food if you like, they are our friends." After Cardinal S...

We so definitely saw this coming. Just last Christmas, every list of top gifts ranked the two-wheeled scooter, or the "hoverboard," as one of the most coveted items in Santa's bag. Kids won't stop yelling to their parents, "Get us our hoverboards!" But the slew of stories about hoverboards catching on fire, airlines banning them on board and causing plenty of injury has persuaded the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to impose stricter rules on the use of these self-balancing boards. Among the new rules is the prohibition of children below 14 years old to use hoverboards, and its use on the streets. According to DTI, effective immediately, the following labels must appear on every hoverboard box sold in the market: 1. This is not a toy. 2. This should only be used by children 14 years old and up. 3. For indoor use only. 4. The battery must pass the standards set by IEC (International Electrical Committee) or ISO (International Standards ...

Nowadays, even criminals are preferring digital over analog. While the Philippine National Police (PNP) has curbed down the number of street crimes in the country, statistics from its Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) say a total of 847 cases of cybercrime were reported from Jan to Nov 2015, or up by 56% as compared to 544 cases reported for the entire 2014. In a report from GMA news , Director General Ricardo Marquez said that the PNP has "more or less reduced or extinguished the existence of armed bank robberies," but it has "seen the emergence of computer crimes, ATM fraud, skimming," with several of the cases involving foreigners. Breakdown of the reported cybercrimes listed below: online scam or estafa: 292 (up from 154 last year) online libel: 188 (up from 112) online threat: 84 (up from 56) identity theft: 71 (up from 61) photo and video voyeurism: 52 (up from 43) hacking: 51 (up from 41) robbery/extortion: 27 (up from 11) unjust vexation: 26 (up...