VOL. XXIX NO. 265 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 WEDNESDay : NOVEMBER 4, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph
CHR hit for report on killings of lumad
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UN advises staff to MiNd lUGGaGe By Joyce pangco pañares, Vito Barcelo and rio n. Araja
THE United Nations has advised all its personnel who have to use airports in the Philippines to secure their luggage amid fears of a scam in which bullets are planted in travelers’ bags as part of an extortion racket.
Controversial airport. A traveler retrieves her luggage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport where workers of the Office of Transportation
Security face investigation as a result of a bullet scam that has victimized many travelers and given the country a bad press abroad. EriC Apolonio
Mar: Grace is the bet to beat in 2016 polls
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The advisory was first reported by Floyd Whaley, a senior correspondent of The New York Times, in his Twitter account. “United Nations advises staff using Manila airport to ‘keep your luggage with you, lock your luggage, and consider wrapping your luggage,’” Whaley said in his tweet. Whaley eventually posted a copy of the internal memo from the UN Department of Safety and Security (undss.radioroom@undp.org) with the subject “SECURITY ADVISORY: Naia-Bullets in luggage.” “Officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport [Naia] are allegedly slipping bullets into passengers’ bags and then trying to extort money from them when bullets are ‘found’ by security. Surveillance at the airport has been stepped up since the complaints began and an investigation has been launched into the personnel accused of involvement. Staff members are advised to keep your luggage with you, lock your luggage, and consider wrapping your luggage in plastic as an extra security measure,” the memo reads. Teresa Debuque, national information officer of the UN Information Center Manila, confirmed receiving an internal note from the UNDSS Tuesday morning. Next page
50,000 candles to line Tacloban’s roads By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Maricel V. Cruz TWO years after Typhoon “Yolanda” flattened large areas of Central and Eastern Visayas, survivors will light 50,000 candles along the roads of Tacloban City to remember the thousands who died because of the storm. Parish priest Alex Opiniano said
churches in Palo, Tanauan, and Tolosa in Tacloban City are set to light the candles to commemorate the second anniversary of the typhoon’s destructive visit on Nov. 8, 2013. “This is a solemn spiritual expression of the people, continuing what was done last year,” Opiniano said. Opiniano will lead a committee of representatives from civic and reli-
gious organizations in Tacloban City, which was ground zero for Yolanda. Opiniano said priests from respective parishes will walk through the roads of Palo, Tanauan, and Tolosa, and bless all 50,000 candles, the participants and survivors. Jude Acidre of Tingog Sinirangan said the event is open to anyone who Next page