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The Flea Trap / Elderly survivor found after Typhoon Pablo kills 332

December 07, 2012, 08:21:51 PM

NEW BATAAN - Rescue workers found a 77-year-old man alive on Thursday who had survived on coconuts for two days after a powerful typhoon ravaged the south of the Philippines killing 332 people, with hundreds missing.

A group of rescue volunteers lifted Carlos Agang to safety after they found him, in a tattered shirt with a fractured leg and bruises, clinging to a boulder by a river in New Bataan town in Compostela Valley, the province worst hit by Typhoon Pablo (Bopha).

"I can't believe it. I didn't expect to see people survive two days after they were swept by flood and mud," fire volunteer Mark Roman Jumilla told Reuters.

"For two days, he survived on coconut and water. He lost his family when floodwaters swept a temporary shelter area where he and his family sought refuge," Jumilla said.

Rescuers also found a pregnant woman on the other side of the river with her one-year-old son after escaping floods that swamped their house after typhoon Bopha hit land on Tuesday.

"It happened so fast. Water came rushing to us while we were leaving our house to move to safer grounds," Lenlen Medrano, 23, told Reuters as she was being carried by soldiers in a stretcher.

"I prayed hard over and over until we found ourselves on the riverbank," she added.

A Reuters photographer saw four bodies near the spot where Agang was rescued. The river's current was strong, making it hard for rescue teams to reach other survivors.

Typhoon Pablo, with central winds of up to 115 kph (71 mph) and gusts of up to 145 kph (90 mph), was moving west-northwest of the central Philippines and was expected to be over the South China Sea on Friday.

Hundreds missing

The head of the national disaster agency said 332 people were killed and 379 were missing after Pablo triggered landslides and floods along the coast and in farming and mining towns inland in the southern Mindanao region.

The death toll could rise further, with local government officials reporting higher numbers of missing and dead.

About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year, often causing death and destruction. Almost exactly a year ago, Tropical Storm Sendong (Washi) killed 1,500 people in Mindanao.

Arturo "Arthur" Uy, governor of Compostela Valley, said the latest estimates show 200 died and almost 600 remained missing in his province. Official tally by the disaster agency earlier on Thursday show 184 died and 356 missing in Compostela Valley.

Uy said search and rescue operations were continuing, particularly in far-flung areas in New Bataan town, where a three-year-old child was plucked from under a crumpled house on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the typhoon made landfall. The child's mother and a sibling are missing.

"I believe we can rescue more people," Uy told Reuters.

"This is the first time a typhoon with signal number 3 crossed our province. We evacuated people from riverbanks and shorelines. But the floods and strong winds battered not just the riverbanks but also places where residents where supposed to be safe."

Uy said a village hall, health center and covered court in New Bataan, where residents took shelter ahead of the typhoon, were completely washed away by floods and mud.

The Flea Trap / Re: Anti-cybercrime law stressed anew

November 06, 2012, 07:02:42 AM

Thanks madam Shen Li.

The Flea Trap / Philippine Hero Dog

November 06, 2012, 06:59:37 AM

Kabang the Hero Dog Loses Snout, Steals Our Hearts

Heros often come in small packages. Although Kabang the dog didn't jump from space like extreme skydiver Felix Baumgartner, her small, courageous Earth-bound leap has clenched an orbit around our hearts.

It began a few months ago, when Nine year old Dina Bunggal was charged, as usual, to keep her cousin, little 3-year old Princess Diansing safe, as they crossed the very busy intersection in Zamboanga City, Philippines. An inattentive motorcyclist bore down on them as they stepped onto the street, but it wasn't Dina who protected the young pair. It was the family dog, Kabang, who threw herself between them, at a devastatingly painful price.

Dina's father Rudy, who works at a nearby shop, saw the tragedy unfold before him. The german shepherd mix that Rudy and his wife Christina took in as a stray puppy bolted onto the road, launching herself head on into the rapidly spinning front wheel of the motorcycle, throwing the rider off balance and toppling the machine.

The driver got up with only minor injuries. Dina and Princess were left untouched but shaken. Kabang, however, did not get off so lucky for her heroic efforts, losing her entire snout and upper jaw as the motorcycle flipped with her nose stuck in the wheel.

Jovito Urpiano, an onlooker who saw the accident unfold right before his eyes, states that he believes Kabang knew the dangers, never hesitating in her action to save the girls. As onlookers ran to the scene and freed what was left of Kabang, improbably, the little dog got up and bolted, leaving behind her bloody, ruined nose and upper jaw. And what many thought was the only chance to save her.

Two weeks later, Kabang returned home, with a face difficult to look upon without heart-ripping emotion. She had suffered through incredible pain in silence far from those who loved her, who wanted no more than to throw their arms around Kabang and thank her for making, without thought or hesitation, such a sacrifice.

Local authorities wanted to round up the injured dog and euthanize her, to put her out of misery. The Bunggal family, however, would have none of it. Animal Welfare officials treated Kabang with antibiotics, to prevent infection, and Kabang soon learned to hold down her food with her front paws, in order to chew with what is left of her mouth.

Kabang's plight was covered in the Philippine media, and her story moved across the world, where Karen Kenngott, a critical-care nurse from Buffalo, N.Y., heard about the poor animal. Kengott orchestrated an online campaign, and the donations poured in.

Although veterinarians in the Philippines were unable to help Kabang, after $20,000 was raised, the little german shepherd mix was flown to UC Davis last week on a donated flight via Philippine Airlines, customs and care provided courtesy of Global Animal Transport of Canyon Country, California and a free hotel room from the Hallmark Inn of Davis, California. Although Kabang won't have a prosthetic device installed, reconstructive surgeons at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital are determining how best to proceed over the next six weeks with procedures to stop the possibility of any future infection.

Just like Baumgartner's dive from space, Kabang has landed on her feet after this ordeal, her life moving on like normal. She gave birth to a litter of puppies last April, and will begin her first round of surgeries on her teeth and face soon.

UPDATE: Kabang's surgery team has discovered that she is suffering from an aggressive form of Cancer and heartworm. Her surgery has been postponed until they have a chance to provide chemotherapy and treatments as necessary. Please keep Kabang in your prayers. The UC Davis team has given an initial positive prognosis for treatment.

The Flea Trap / Anti-cybercrime law stressed anew

October 23, 2012, 06:20:40 AM

Manila, Philippines – President Benigno S. Aquino III stands by the need for a cybercrime prevention law.

Aquino assured that the Executive branch is open to amending the controversial law on Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) by the Supreme Court (SC).

"Our law enforcement agencies were saying that there is difficulty when they arrest people engaged in (cyber) fraud, in particular. We've been deporting hundreds of people engaged in cybercrime, especially in the Internet," Aquino said in the annual question and answer forum with the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FoCAP) yesterday.

Citing the Anti-Wiretapping Law or Republic Act (RA) No. 4200 of 1965, he said some methods are no longer existing. He said the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 addresses criminal offenses done in cyberspace.

"As Chief Executive of this land, when the proposed measure was brought before me, I had basically two options: Under the Constitution, if I agree, I sign it into law; if I disagree with the same, I veto everything," Aquino said.

"If I fail to sign the law then on the provisions of identity fraud, porn, and other aspects to be penalized by this law would have been left again in limbo," Aquino added.

The President however said the Executive branch is "open to having amendments to it," adding that he is even in favor of decriminalizing libel.

"I fully subscribe to the idea of decriminalizing it but not lessening the atmosphere that would encourage irresponsibility in certain quarters," Aquino said. (Madel R. Sabater)