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Filipina found alive after 3 days under quake rubble
by Bernadette tamayo and Vince JacoB Visaya ManilaTimes.net
A TEAM from the Philippine Embassy in Turkey on Tuesday, February 14 visited in the hospital a Filipina earthquake survivor who was rescued after three days under the rubble from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Turkey and Syria last week.
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The Philippine Embassy, on Facebook, said its Mersin-based team checked on the condition of Juliva Benlingan, 33, a native of Lagawe, Ifugao, who was previously reported missing.
which are considered as mere cargoes,” he said. “Years ago, I have already warned and alerted these officials on the possibility of drug trafficking using private planes. Back then, I had unconfirmed reports of such activities. This might explain the abundance of supply even during the war on drugs. The accidental discovery of the latest illegal activity could be but the tip of the iceberg.”
BI backs ‘one-stop-shop’ border clearance
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) expressed support for the proposal to create a one-stop-shop processing center to harmonize border clearance procedures.
Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the recommendation was tackled during an emergency meeting called by the Office of the Transportation Security, amid reports that an unauthorized private jet was able to depart the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 on Feb. 13.
During the meeting, immigration representatives explained the role of the BI in processing departing individuals.
He added that the BI is only one of the numerous agencies that inspect departing and arriving special flights. Permits on security, health, duties, and others are handled by other government agencies.
“The entrance of other individuals in the airport premises does not fall under the jurisdiction of the BI. Our officers only process passengers, following the official General Declaration,” he said in a statement.
Immigration officers are only given ramp access during special flights together with the quarantine and Customs officers. They are also assigned in random except during presidential flights. (PNA)
According to her sister Maribel, Benlingan sustained wounds on her face, head and feet, and was dehydrated when rescued.
"As she recovers well at an Adana hospital, she thanked God for a second chance at life and the embassy for their well wishes," the embassy said.
The team provided Benlingan with financial assistance and gave her doctors and nurses "tokens of our appreciation."
Maribel said Juliva, mother to a 12-year-old girl, endured 60 hours under the rubble of a collapsed building before she was rescued.
In its continuous evaluation on the ground, the Philippine Embassy said it is "focusing on management of its resources toward the welfare, recovery and return to normalcy of Filipino
A few weeks ago, Pyongyang paraded intercontinental ballistics missiles that could theoretically reach the U.S. heartland.
It is not just North American airspace that have been violated by these strange flying objects. A large balloon similar to that one shot down off the coast of South Carolina was reported in the vicinity of Colombia. These devices apparently have the ability to circumnavigate the globe and stay aloft for long periods.
The downing of the first balloon was, no doubt, a huge embarrassment for the Chinese leadership. It marked the first strong response to whatever “near space” strategy China might be brewing. Beijing is probably scrambling for a viable explanation for the other objects shot down the past few days.
The balloon-related incidents reinstates Beijing as the true evacuees."
Displaced Filipinos continue to arrive at the shelter in Ankara, transported by the embassy and on their own volition, it added.
The embassy said its team in Mersin "is also in contact with a set of volunteers from the hospitality industry who have offered to provide food assistance to Filipino-Turkish families who chose to remain in Antakya and to [the] Philippine humanitarian contingent in Adiyaman province."
"We deeply appreciate the charity of kababayan (fellow Filipinos) and our Turkish brethren," it added.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also on Tuesday said it will repatriate the remains of one of the two Filipinas who died in the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey.
DFA acting Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said the Philippine government will also repatriate other Filipino survivors who wish to return home.
The Filipina fatality was already buried in Turkey based on the decision of her Turkish husband, de Vega said during a Laging Handa press briefing.
He, however, added that Filipinos who are already citizens of Turkey, being married to Turks, should first re-acquire their Filipino citizenship to qualify for repatriation.
Ballooning
strategic rival to the U.S..
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine merely exposed its muchballyhooed army as obsolete, badly trained and ill-equipped. It is an army that belongs to the past century, now forced to recruit convicts to man the frontlines or die in large numbers trying to achieve badly thought-out military objectives.
The Russian army is now hobbled by the fact that its most sophisticated weaponry has been shown to rely on parts made in other countries. Russian technicians are now reported to be cannibalizing refrigerators for chips to be used in assembling missiles.
By contrast, China now appears to be gearing up its military for highly technological warfare. It appears to be devising strategies only poorly understood by the U.S. and its allies. After the first balloon was
"Some of them are already Turkish citizens. They need to re-acquire [first] their [Filipino] citizenship under Republic Act 9225 to avail [of the repatriation service]," de Vega said in Filipino.
"So, madali po 'yan (So, it's easy). Kung magagawa natin (If we can do [that] within the next several days, dapat magsisiuwian na 'yan (they would be expected to come home)," he added.
De Vega noted that there are about 248 Filipinos who were affected by the earthquake, with 64 of them staying at a temporary shelter in the country's capital Ankara.
On the other hand, 70 others sought financial assistance from the embassy, he said.
De Vega added that there is no definite schedule yet on the repatriation of the distressed Filipinos and the body of the Filipina fatality. g downed by a missile, China might have gotten away with the explanation that this was a meteorological instrument that somehow flew off course. After the three subsequent shoot-downs, the original Chinese explanation can no longer hold. Beijing better come up with a more viable explanation for why these “lost” flying devices seem to be crossing into the North American airspace in a wave.
Beijing does not have to explain anything until the remnants of downed flying objects reveal them to be of Chinese origin. Depending on the quality of the debris recovered, this could happen in a few days. (Philstar. com)
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