Oks! News from the Philippines

Eighty-one Filipinos have been arrested in Malaysia for illegal entry. The illegal migrants from the Philippines were arrested during the raid on two squatter houses at the Kampung Forest in Sandakan, the Daily Express report said.

Arrested along with the 81 were a 45-year-old man and his 59-year-old wife, who were accused of forging and selling documents to illegal migrants.

Sabah Marine Operations Force (MOF) commanding officer Muhammad Sallam Spawi was quoted in the report as saying the couple supplied fake documents to Filipinos who were illegally entering Malaysia through Sandakan.

The bout between Filipino boxing champ Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao and British fighter Ricky Hatton will be shown free on big screens in three Iloilo gymnasiums on Sunday.

City Mayor Jerry Treñas said the fight will be shown free, with viewers needing only to bring their snacks. The three gymnasiums will be open to the public as early as 7 a.m., the report said.

Treñas said the free live showing of the boxing match would be a big help as most people could not afford the charges from pay-per-view television.

The World Health Organization warned a global swine flu pandemic was imminent, as more nations confirmed cases of a deadly disease that has spread round the world in a matter of days.

Nations from Asia to Europe to the Americas announced new confirmed and suspected cases of the flu, believed to be a new strain of virus that has combined existing varieties of bird, swine and common human influenza.

Margaret Chan, the head of the WHO, said the warning level was being raised to phase five on a 1-6 scale–meaning the threat of a pandemic was imminent and that time was “short” for nations to put emergency plans into action.

“All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans,” Chan said. “The biggest question right now is how severe the pandemic might be.”

Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada was arrested yesterday, April 29, 2009, for perjury and went through “normal processing” at the Manila Police District headquarters along UN Avenue in Manila.

Lozada peacefully gave himself up to the arresting officers after lawyer Jose Manuel Diokno arrived and made sure that the arresting procedure was followed correctly.

Lozada admitted that he was tired and sad following his arrest but said he was accepting his arrest with an open mind and was ready to face the music.

Two days into their search and rescue efforts, police authorities on Tuesday evening recovered the bodies of the two fishermen who went missing in Bay town in Laguna province over the weekend.

The bodies of Erwin Sapiandante and Elias Caballes were found in San Antonio village in Bay about 7 p.m. Tuesday. The remains were taken to the Senerez Funeral Parlor in Calamba City for “autopsy and safekeeping.

The boat of the two fishermen capsized off San Antonio village on Sunday night due to stormy weather. Sapiandante and Caballes, along with four other companions, were on their way to Calamba City from Victoria town.

The four other passengers were rescued by police and local fishermen but Sapiandante and Caballes did not make it alive.

The arrest warrant against Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. is now in the hands of the Manila police, according to the religious workers coddling the NBN-ZTE broadband mess whistleblower.

Lozada insisted that he would not resist arrest just so he can make a statement against what he called the unfairness of the Philippine justice system. And he also said that the government tried to prevent him from testifying before the Senate on the allegedly anomalous multi-million national broadband network (NBN) deal the government entered with China’s ZTE firm.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has identified the Tagapuan National High School (TNHS) and other 16 public schools in the country as pilot areas for the inclusion of Spanish in their curriculum beggining this June.

Rockefeller Sanchez (TNHS principal) said that the school might have been chosen because of its performance in last year’s National Achievement Test (NAT). The TNHS topped the NAT among high school in Eastern Visayas.

The opening of bids for the supply of Precinct Counting Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to be used in the country’s first fully automated elections in 2010 has been reset to May 04, Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo said last Saturday, April 25, 2009.

The bids opening for the supply of some 80,000 machines was moved due to a technicality.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap ordered a ban of pork imports from the United States and Mexico as a precaution to Swine flu. Swine flu is caused by virus that is endemic to pig.

The following information was provided by the Mexican Ministry of Health.

SYMPTOMS: Sudden fever above 38 degrees (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit), cough, headache, aching joints, nasal congestion and general fatigue.

DIAGNOSIS: Clinical examination of secretions from the nose and mouth in the first 24-72 hours after presenting symptoms, and a study of blood samples to detect existence of influenza virus.

TREATMENT: In confirmed cases, Mexican authorities have provided patients with flu drugs Seltamivir or Zanamivir under strict medical supervision, and warn against side effects in misuse.

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES: Wear a mask. Do not greet someone with a kiss or handshake; do not share food, cutlery or glasses. Ventilate homes and offices, keep clean common items such as telephones.