MANILA: The European Union said on Thursday it would help fund a project to encourage families of millions of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to save money and use it to develop their home towns. While Filipinos remitted close to 1.03trn pesos ($23.8bn) home last year, only a trickle went into savings accounts, according to officials at the project launch. Rebeca Grynspan, Associate Administrator for the UN Development Programme, said the Philippines was one of eight countries supplying labour overseas that would get funding over three years under a $10m global “migration and development initiative”. The programme, expected to cost about $900,000, will be funded by the EU and Switzerland and run by the Philippine government’s Commission on Filipinos Overseas.
Woman faces court over tax
MANILA: A woman who drew outrage after posting pictures online of her lavish lifestyle, including one showing her bathing in money, is to be charged with tax evasion, officials said on Thursday. Jeane Napoles, whose mother is being investigated over one of the biggest corruption scandals, earned derision for her social media posts featuring flashy cars and a swanky condominium in the US. “We read newspapers. We follow the Internet. That is where we heard about her,” said Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares. Investigators allege Napoles’ mother Janet, a businesswoman, helped members of parliament embezzle 10bn pesos ($230m) of government funds.
Six dead in epidemic
MANILA: A bacterial epidemic caused by water contaminated with rat urine hit a flood-ravaged region in the northern Philippines, killing six people, a health official said. At least 132 people were infected with leptospirosis in and around the northern city of Olongapo, following deadly flash floods last month, health department epidemiologist Jessie Fantone said. “This is a bacterial infection caused by exposure to rat urine in flooded urban areas. Hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed. We have dispatched more personnel, beds and medicine.”
Heavy fishing nets ban soon
MANILA: The Philippines is banning heavy-weighted fishing nets that drag along the ocean floor inflicting damage to seabed communities and coral reefs. The ban on “Danish seine” nets will take effect in mid-March, giving fishing boats time to switch their equipment, said Asis Perez, head of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. “This is because of their adverse effect on the environment. The nets have weights attached to them, they drag on the ocean floor, hit the corals and damage the marine life.”
Grenade blast suspect nabbed
MANILA: A suspect in the grenade-throwing incident in the city’s Barangay North Signal, which left five people, including a 10-year old boy injured, was arrested, police said yesterday. Lester Daga, 31, a janitor, was identified by a witness as one of two men seen fleeing the scene after the grenade exploded in front of a house. Agencies
