Korean hiphop artist Psy who populrized “Oppa Gangnam Style” will have a concert here in Manila on December 21 at the at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

Psy’s Gangnam song currently holds the record as the most viewed video in Youtube.

He was also invited by Ellen Degeneres to teach Britney Spears how to the dance the horse inspired song.

By the way, Gangnam is a name of a place in South Korea.

Who’s going to see Psy and be part of the Gangnam fever?

The motorist is Robert Blair Carabuena, while the poor guy is  Sonny Fabros.

The incident happened in Capitol Hills Drive corner Tandang Sora in Quezon City.

Incident like this is a usual occurrence in the streets of Metro Manila.

Credits to the owners of the photos Simon, pastor Craig Burrows and Rica Espiritu.

Waist deep water at SM City in Quezon City. (S)

Rescue team at the Payatas, Bagong Silangan, Quezon City. (CB)

Bagong Silangan, Quezon City. (CB)

Bagong Silangan, Quezon City. (CB)

Bagong Silangan, Quezon City. (CB)

San Perfecto, San Juan City. (RE)

Rescuing those trapped at the roof, in Montalban Rizal. (CB)

It became a city in February 16, 1962 through a poll according to R.A. 3728.

Formerly called “Aromahan” or “Libis Espina”. “Libis” is a Spanish word which means “lowland” in English. Because of its innermost location, it was called “kasulok-sulokan” by the early folks, which probably evolved into what is now Caloocan.

Caloocan City dubbed itself as a historic city because of its rich history. It was in this location where Andres Bonifacio met with the rest of Katipuneros prior to the Philippine Revolution.

CALOOCAN CITY FACTS:
Districts: 2, first and second
Total land area: 53.33 square kms.
Population (2010): 1,474,040
Population density: 27,640 people per square km.
Zip code: 1400
Area code: 02
Barangays: 188 barangays

Caloocan City map.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Alan Purisima tasked the 38 station and 173 precinct commanders to deal with the problem.

“It’s now up to the station and precinct commanders on how they will address the crime situation as they are aware of the peculiarities of the problem in their areas,” said Purisima during a staff meeting yesterday at the NCRPO headquarters in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The rise in crime rates has prompted Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo to order Purisima to carry out “drastic” anti-crime strategies.

“All concerned Philippine National Police officers in Metro Manila had been required to submit their local anti-crime campaign such as mapping of crime-prone areas in their areas of responsibility, types and time of crimes being committed, appropriate police action to be taken, and accurate crime reporting, among others,” he said.

Robredo said the NCRPO will initiate community-based crime prevention activities, which include increased police visibility, deployment of motorcycle-riding police officers, having police officers walk the beat, setting up checkpoints or chokepoints, deployment of secret marshals, and night watch operations in coordination with barangay officials in crime-prone areas.

Of the 15,257 crimes reported from April to June, 9,259 are index crimes, with thefts at 36.7 percent; robberies, including those by motorcycle-riding perpetrators, at 27.5 percent and physical injury at 24.4 percent.

Of the 13,974 crime incidents in the first quarter of the year, 9,259 are index crimes while 4,715 are non-index crimes.
The Manila Police District recorded the most number of crimes with 4,073, closely followed by the Southern Police District at 4,047 cases.

The Quezon City Police District came in third with 3,692 crimes, the Northern Police District with 2,077 and the Eastern Police District (EPD) with the fewest at 1,368 cases.

– By Non Alquitran and Cecille Suerte Felipe (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) will be internet provider for the city’s proposed project.

Philippines is slightly behind by its Southeast Asian neighbor, with Vietnam’s Hoi An took the mantle as Asia’s first city to give free wifi to its residents last February.

Yes, you read it right! The phenomenal Jessica Sanchez the runner-up to Philip Phillips in the recently concluded American Idol.

Sanchez will join with the rest of former American Idol contestants for American Idol Live Tour 2012. It will be on September 21, 2012, 8:00pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ticket Prices:
P10,000
P9,500
P7,500
P5,500
P3,500
P2,000
P800

Ticketnet and its partners will sell the tickets which will be announced soon.

Get a chance to win one of these three (3) prizes:
1st PRIZE: Nikon D3100, Php 5000, SM Gift Check
2nd PRIZE: Samsung WB150f, Php 3000, SM Gift Check
3rd PRIZE: Canon Ixus115, Php 2000, SM Gift Check

Read the mechanics of the photo contest in the image below:

The full news item below:

Philippine universities among world’s best English-teaching schools

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) – Three Philippine Universities are among the top 50 universities in the world when it comes to teaching English according to a new survey by the London-based research and ratings firm Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

In a statement sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, QS said the country’s specialist strength in the English language was affirmed in results of its latest World University Rankings by Subject, an index that rates universities across 29 disciplines.

Ateneo de Manila University posted the highest rating of all Philippine schools, ranking 24th in English language and literature. University of the Philippines ranked 32 while De La Salle University ranked 44th.

World-renowned universities in the United Kingdom and the United States took the top five spots (in this order): Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, Yale and University of California Berkeley.

The specialist strengths of Philippine universities in English language and literature are clearly shown in these rankings. The country should be proud of their achievements,” Ben Sowter, QS research chief, said in the statement sent to the Inquirer.

The Philippines rated in only one other discipline, with UP placing within the 101-150 bracket in Geography.

QS ranked schools on 29 subjects based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and citations per paper,” QS said.

Amid strong showing in English, Philippine universities have been slipping in world rankings in the past few years.

Source: Yahoo! News

It’s time to bring out the “bayongs” for some Makati residents.

This, as the country’s financial district ordered the implementation of a partial ban on plastic packaging starting next week.

Mayor Jejomar Binay Jr. has issued the executive order amending an earlier plastic bag ban. The new ban aims to “strengthen our citywide advocacy for the use of environment-friendly packaging.”

“We have amended the guidelines previously issued to include a clear definition of primary and secondary packaging materials. We have also identified products packaged in plastic material that need to be exempted from the ban for the time being, since an acceptable alternative packaging is not yet available,” Binay said in a press statement.

Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, Taguig, and Quezon City have earlier ordered plastic ban.

In Makati, exempted from the ban are plastic bottles used for “water, iced tea, cooking oil, alcohol, mayonnaise, jelly, peanut butter, coco jam, and the like.” Plastic sachets for shampoos, conditioners, soap, noodles, and cigarettes are also exempted from the ban, as are plastic bags used as primary packaging for wet goods.

Under Binay’s executive order, “first-level product packaging that contains the item sold” fall under primary packaging.

Secondary packaging includes plastic bags used to hold wet goods that already have primary packaging, “usually for the convenience of the handler or customer.”

The ban on plastic packaging will be implemented in supermarkets, public markets, shopping malls, department stores, restaurants, fast food chains, and convenience stores in Makati.

Under the ban, establishments are prohibited from selling, using, and distributing plastic bags as packaging for dry goods and as secondary packaging for wet goods. The use of styrofoam containers is also banned. Instead, establishments are expected to use paper, cloth, or woven bags which they can provide to customers either free or for a fee.

The city order requires establishments and barangay halls to place plastic bag recovery bins where people can leave plastic bags for recycling or disposal.

“Through these policies, we aim to encourage the use of biodegradable or recyclable plastic bags among business establishments and consumers alike,” Binay said.

People who violate the ban will be fined P1,000 or imprisoned for from five days to 30 days while the establishment will be fined P5,000 or imprisonment for a month to a year. They could also lose their business permit.

Establishments have a year from next week to dispose of all remaining stocks of plastic bags and styrofoam packaging and must report how many they still have left each quarter.