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Former Philippine President Fidel Valdez Ramos, who died on Sunday, was a fighter during wars in Korea and Vietnam and a survivor in the political arena, emerging from a high-ranking security role during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr to win the vote for the nation's highest office. He was 94. Ramos became a hero to many for defecting from Marcos' government, where he led the national police force, spurring the dictator's downfall during the 1986 popular uprising against his rule. Others, though, would not forgive or forget his role in enforcing martial law under the Marcos regime. Ramos, famous...

Pact between Marcos, Duterte families shaped the vote Bongbong' Marcos didn't just win the presidential election in the Philippines this week. He won it by a two-to-one landslide, despite the fact that he is the extremely entitled son of a former president who stole at least ten billion dollars and a mother who spent the loot partly on the world's most extensive collection of designer shoes (3,000 pairs). Moreover, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to give him his real name, has virtually no accomplishments other than that name. Yet his name and his inherited wealth, originally stolen from the parents of the...

FBI Intelligence Analyst Arrested, Accused of Passing Classified Information; Former Philippines National Police Official Also Charged NEWARK - An FBI intelligence analyst at Fort Monmouth and a former official with the Philippines National Police were arrested Saturday morning, charged in a federal criminal complaint with acting as unregistered agents of a foreign official and passing classified information to that official and others in the Republic of the Philippines, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie and FBI Special Agent in Charge Leslie Wiser, Jr. announced.Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested by Special Agents of the FBI at his home...

Aragoncillo admits spying for Arroyo foes Estrada, Lacson named co-plotters vs President NEWARK, New Jersey—A Filipino-American intelligence analyst admitted Thursday that for five years he passed top secret information gleaned from White House and Federal Bureau of Investigation computers to conspirators he said were trying to overthrow President Macapagal-Arroyo. Leandro Aragoncillo, 47, a naturalized US citizen who was born in the Philippines, pleaded guilty to a four-count indictment. The conspirators used code words to refer to various people, including calling Ms Arroyo "The Penguin," Aragoncillo admitted. Aragoncillo, shackled at the feet and wearing green jail garb, himself did not...

Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Monday said he would do his best to prevent the family of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos from returning to power. Aquino, whose father and namesake Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was detained and then killed by Marcos forces, made the remark as the dictator's son is vying for the vice presidency. While Aquino is stepping down after his single six-year term this year, Marcos's son, Ferdinand Marcos Jnr., is leading in the race for the vice presidency in the May 9 elections. Marcos's flamboyant widow, Imelda, has openly said she wants her son to become president and...

Philippine military and commercial aircraft will keep flying over disputed areas in the South China Sea despite Chinese warnings over the airspace, President Benigno Aquino said on Monday. "We will still fly the routes that we fly based on the international law from the various conventions we entered into," Aquino told reporters when asked whether the Philippines accepted China's position. The Chinese military last week ordered a US Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance plane away from airspace above the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea.

MANILA: Philippine President Benigno Aquino has called on lawmakers to pass a bill endorsing a pact aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion, warning them they would otherwise start counting “body bags.” Aquino had wanted the bill, which would give autonomy to the majority Catholic nation’s Muslim minority in the south, passed this month. But Congress suspended debates on the proposed law in the face of public outrage over the killings of 44 police commandoes by guerrillas in a botched anti-terror raid in January. “This is the crossroads we face: we take pains to forge peace today, or we...

Philippine President Benigno Aquino has signed a law making it harder for private individuals to own firearms following a series of high-profile deaths this year, a government spokeswoman said Sunday. Under the law signed last week, those seeking to buy firearms will have to undergo drug and psychological tests and should not have a criminal record or pending court cases. They will also have to show proof of income as well as a valid tax return and secure clearance from their respective city or municipal police offices. "The new law, coupled with strict enforcement and a more aggressive campaign against...

<p>The protests have now spread to other cities, with violence reported in parts of Birmingham, Liverpool and Bristol.</p> <p>Great Britain and other parts of the world are experiencing unrest at a time of global economic uncertainty and stock market volatility.</p>

Philippine President Benigno Aquino pledged on Sunday to push for the passage of a reproductive health bill in Congress as a tool to fight poverty even at the risk of excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Efforts to enact a law that would promote access to sex education and contraception have been blocked since the 1990s by powerful Roman Catholic bishops. Around 80 percent of the country's 94 million people are Catholic. "I remain committed to push the passage of a law for responsible parenthood," Aquino told graduates of the country's premier state university. "I know there are those who...

MANILA, Philippines—Standing amid an array of foreign assault rifles and local shotguns at one of the Philippines' largest shopping malls, firearms aficionados celebrated the rise of the nation's new president. Benigno Aquino, who took office on June 30, is an avid sports shooter and clips on YouTube show him using a semi-automatic pistol with great skill at a target shooting competition. "The feeling is that he is one of us. He also inhales gunpowder," said Johnmuel Mendoza, head of PRO-Gun, the country's largest firearms-rights group, at the twice-yearly gun show in Manila's vast "Megamall." Indeed Aquino, the Supreme Court chief...

A study has found that passive smoking is not only bad for lungs and heart but also has a negative impact on mental health. It is already known that passive smoking can lead to problems like respiratory illnesses and heart trouble. Now a close link between passive smoking and mental health has been found by the researchers. Researchers analyzed 5,560 non-smoking and 2,595 smoking adults from Scotland aged between 50 and 45 years. All the people did not suffer from any mental health problems. These people were queried about psychological distress and admissions to psychiatric hospitals and these people were...

(RTTNews) - Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III has been declared winner of the Philippines presidential election, almost a month after the polls. A Congressional Committee concluded Tuesday its official tally of votes count from the May 10 election. The final count showed that Aquino secured more than 15 million votes, five-and-a-half million more than his nearest rival, former President Joseph Estrada. However, his running mate Mar Roxas lost in a close fight to Estrada's Vice-President candidate Jejomar Binay. Binay garnered 14.6 million votes against the Aquino ally, who managed to win only 13.9 million votes. The Committee will present its report...

As vote counting continues in the Philippines, all indications are that Liberal Party candidate Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino will become the next president. With more than half the votes counted by mid-day Tuesday, Aquino holds an almost unassailable lead over his nearest rivals. Former President Joseph Estrada trails a distant second while businessman Manny Villar has conceded defeat in Monday's election. An Aquino victory is in line with expectations. The son of former President Cory Aquino, who died last year, led the opinion polls throughout the campaign. Pete Troilo is director of business intelligence for risk consultancy Pacific Strategies and Assessments....

Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino has a sizeable lead over rival Joseph Estrada in the Philippine presidential election, early results indicate. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said Mr Aquino, son of former President Corazon Aquino, had about 40% of the vote with 38% of ballots counted. Millions of Filipinos have been voting for a president, vice-president and more than 17,000 other official posts. Voting was marred by the deaths of at least six people in political violence. Mr Estrada had about 25.76% of the vote, said Comelec chair Jose Melo, and property tycoon Manny Villar was trailing in third with just...

Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III is seen here surrounded by supporters a... People stop outside the house of the late Philippines president Corazon Aqu... File photo of Corazon Aquino, the wife of slain Philippines opposition lead... Benigno Aquino called Wednesday for another round of Philippines people power as he announced he would run for president to continue the work of his famed mother who overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Vowing to fight against corruption that pervades the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, Aquino said he would be a leader for all sectors of society and not just the rich. "I will be...

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino has passed away. She was 76. Her son Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III confirmed that she died of cardio-respiratory arrest at exactly 3:18 a.m. Saturday at the Makati Medical Center. Mrs. Aquino has been diagnosed with colon cancer early in 2008 and has been confined at the Makati Medical Center for more than a month. Mrs. Aquino, widow of Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., will be remembered as an icon of democracy, having led a military-backed popular revolt in 1986 that ousted a dictator who ruled the country for 20 years. At about...

Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino, whose "People Power" movement pushed out longtime strongman Ferdinand Marcos less than three years after her husband's assassination, has died at age 76, her family announced Saturday. Aquino, the first woman to lead the Philippines, had been battling colon cancer since March 2008 and died of cardio-respiratory arrest at 3:18 a.m. Saturday (3:18 p.m. Friday ET), said Mai Mislang, a spokeswoman for her son, Philippine Sen. Benigno Aquino III. Funeral arrangments were being set up, Mislang said. And Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has announced a 10-day mourning period for the former president, said Ray...

Former Philippines President Corazon Aquino has died at the age of 76, her family has said. She had been suffering from colon cancer for more than a year and recently announced she was refusing further treatment. Her family had said she was leaving her fate to God, prompting church services offering prayers for her health. Mrs Aquino became president when the 1986 "people power" uprising deposed former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. "Our mother peacefully passed away at 0318 [1918 GMT Friday] of cardio-respiratory arrest," Mrs Aquino's son, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr, told the media. "She would have wanted us to thank...

The online free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, informs that noted Philippine publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer was murdered on November 24, 2000 by members of the police force. According to Wikipedia, “Bubby Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito, were abducted in Makati, the business district of Manila. They were later killed, and their vehicle dumped. In 2001, a number of arrests were made. One of the accused, police colonel Glenn Dumlao, named Cesar Mancao and Michael Ray Aquino as the organisers of the murders. Mancao and Aquino both fled the country. Dumlao later disappeared.” “The ultimate reasons for Dacer’s murder remain a...