French Vessel Set to Boost Phil. Navy

The country may be no match when fared against the military might of China, but it can't be faulted for trying its best to stand-up against its 'bullying tactics'.

A few days after President Benigno Aquino III inaugurated the Philippine Navy ship BRP Ramon Alcaraz at the Subic Freeport Zone in Olongapo City, the government announced that it is finalizing the deal in purchasing a surplus French Navy vessel. Both acquisition is in line with efforts to strengthen the country's presence in the West Philippine Sea.

Virgin Pregnancy or Fallible Memory?

According to Fiona Keating of IB Times, there was a 31-year-old nun who gave birth to a baby boy in Rieti, Italy, after experiencing abdominal pains she thought were stomach cramps.

The reported added that after she was taken to a hospital, she gave birth to a baby and named him Francis after the current pope. The nun, originally from El Salvador, claims she had no idea she was pregnant.

Pope Still Seeks "Nun Control"

During the mad scramble to get the latest from the Boston Bombings, some media outlets failed to take stock on the latest initiative coming from the Vatican aside from the selection of a new Pope. Not enough materials can be found on the web regarding Vatican's unequivocal support to the Holy See's crackdown on the largest umbrella group of U.S. nuns.

There was already an effort last year to overhaul the Leadership Conference of Women Religious after determining the sisters took positions that undermined Catholic teaching on the priesthood and homosexuality while promoting "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith." Some investigators praised the nuns' humanitarian work, but accused them of ignoring critical issues, including fighting abortion.

Can't Fix It? Ban It!

"If you can't stop the indirect effect, ban it." This is what appears to be the basic mantra of some local government units (LGUs) who can't get their acts together to stop the crimes committed by "riding-in-tandems", motorcycle riding perpetrators.

With the rise of crimes done by mobile criminals operating in pairs, which range from robberies to murder, Metro Manila's LGUs have been tasked to implement necessary measures that would curb these incidents. Instead of addressing their ineptitude and complacency by hiring more motorized police patrols with high-tech equipment, the city of Manila seeks to ban two persons from riding the motorcycles together.

Unanswered Questions from SSS Bonuses

It seems they still are not aware of what the insurance members wanted to hear and explained properly. It seems that the simple answer to a very simple question still eludes them.

Average Filipino workers who are paying their Social Security System (SSS) insurance premium regularly wanted to know why year-end bonuses were rewarded to their executives when no improvement was seen and felt.