House approves return of death penalty

The House of Representatives approved the bill reviving the controversial death penalty on the third and final reading despite opposition from numerous groups.

A total of 216 voted in favor while 54 are against in and only one abstained.

From an initial list of 21 crimes that included rape, treason and plunder, the House leadership decided to limit death penalty to drug-related crimes and offenses.

After that bloody struggle, the proposed law will now be transmitted to the Senate where it is expected to face tougher opposition from senators against the bill, which erupt anger from numerous opposition groups, especially the Catholic Church.

URL: http://m.philstar.com/headlines/show/77f80b12774f64a7281c87f96fffd17d?t=02kudm7g06ol00vo507k9asc37

Let's Do The News! (March 7, 2017)

- Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay said he doubts the real motive of questioning his citizenship at the Commission on Appointments. Yasay said it is a clear ‘propaganda’ accusing him as American citizen to embarrass the government in the international community.

- A series of glitches hassled Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-3 passengers this Tuesday morning. Trains of the MRT-3 first encountered problem at the Southbound of Shaw Blvd. station past 6am, where passengers were forced to offload.

- President Rodrigo Duterte is set to sign the executive order that prohibits everyone to smoke in public places effective today.

-The third and final hearing over the reintroduction of the death penalty is expected to happen today despite opposition from numerous groups. Meanwhile, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez hinted that it is still possible for Plunder and rape to be included in the Death Penalty Bill.

- Large parts of the country, mostlyly in Leyte and Mindanao will experience rainy days as effect of the low pressure area that was last spotted 160 km southeast of Davao City, according to PAGASA.

- PSA Peugeot Citroen finalized the deal to purchase Opel/Vauxhall, with almost all of their connected properties, from General Motors. With that, PSA is expected to become Europe's second largest car company.

- Aston Martin's hypercar made in collaboration with Red Bull Racing, formerly called the AM-RB 001, has been officially named as the Aston Martin Valkyrie. It's set to debut at this week's Geneva Motor Show.

- Lamborghini unveiled the high-performance variant of the Huracan, called the Huracan Performante. Set to unveil at this week's Geneva Motor Show, it features ultra lightweight materials and an improved V10 engine.

- The Forza Horizon 3 Duracell Car Pack arrives tomorrow on the XBOX Live marketplace and it will be the last car pack to be covered on the game's Season Pass. It features cars like the new Camaro ZL1, Jaguar XE, and many others.

TTFN!!!

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: N.Korea fires 4 ballistic missiles

Sourced from NHK World:

Japan's government says North Korea fired 4 ballistic missiles from the country's west coast around 7:34 AM Japan Time on Monday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that 3 of the missiles are believed to have fallen into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Suga said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed government officials to do all they can to gather and analyze information. He said Abe has asked them to quickly and appropriately provide it to the public.

Suga said the prime minister also told them to take thorough measures to confirm the safety of aircraft and vessels and be fully prepared for unexpected events.

The chief cabinet secretary added that so far, there has been no report of damage to aircraft and vessels.

Let's Do The News! (March 6, 2017)

- A 5.9 magnitude aftershock hit Surigao De Norte on Sunday morning where 83 houses were damaged. Aside from this, one casualty was recorded after suffering a heart attack. There were also 25 reporter injuries.

- Philippine soldiers have found the remains of a German man who was beheaded by Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf militants last week. Both the head and body of Jurgen Kantner were found while the troops were conducting combat, search and retrieval operations in Indanan town in the remote southern province of Sulu, according to Colonel Cirilito Sobejana.

- A rainy Monday is expected today in Mindanao as an effect of new low pressure area that was last spotted 400 km east southeast of Hinatuan, Surigao Del Sur. Light rains will be experienced in Luzon as effect of the northeast monsoon that may last until this week only. Isolated rains or thunderstorms in the Visayas, including Caraga.

- After former National Immigration Administration Administrator Peter Laviña, President Rodrigo Duterte warned that other Cabinet members and high government officials that are involved in corruption, also face the possibility of being removed from their position. According to the president, in the next few days, there will be other officials who will be removed from their assigned posts.

- Japan remains cautious about taking part in talks at the United Nations to draw up a legally binding treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida suggested willingness to participate, saying Japan should assert its stance towards "a world without nuclear weapons." But he said the decision will be made by the government.

- The White House says the administration has asked Congress to examine whether former president Barack Obama abused his power to wiretap President Donald Trump's phones during the 2016 election campaign. Trump on Saturday claimed on Twitter, that the Obama administration tapped his telephones at his campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in New York. Obama's spokesperson denies everything, of course.

- Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip have flown kites and offered prayers for the restoration of the areas in northeastern Japan hit by a major earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011. About 1,000 children gathered in a square to take part in the event, which has been held in March every year since 2012. They are from an area where houses and other buildings were constructed with Japanese aid.

- Porsche tuner RUF will unveil an all-original supercar at this week's Geneva Motor Show.

TTFN!

Maymay Entrata wins PBB Lucky 7

At last night's Pinoy Big Brother Lucky 7 Big Night, held at the Alonte Sports Arena, Maymay Entrata from Cagayan De Oro is named as this season's Big Winner.

Known as the Ms. Wacky Go Lucky of CDO, Maymay got 42.71% of the votes, defeating the likes of Kisses Delavin from Masbate (who got 31.27% of the votes), Yong Muhajil from Zamboanga (who got 21.51% of the votes), and Edward Barber from Germany (who got 4.49% of votes).

Last Saturday, Cora Waddell was the Seventh Big Placer, two-in-one housemates Hashtags Mccoy De Leon, Nikko Natividad was declared as the Sixth Big Placer, and Tanner Mata got the Fifth Big Place.

After surviving the challenges in the longest Pinoy Big Brother season ever, these big placers deserve the credit but Maymay is the Big Winner we have to give credit for her feats.

Congratulations to Maymay and all the big placers!

Top Gear S24E01

Spring is in the air, and so is the new season of BBC's motoring TV show Top Gear.

The 24th season starts with an epic Kazakh road trip as the boys bought some old bangers and then set off to this Central Asian country to stage a point. LeBlanc drives an old E-Class while Reid drives an old black cab and Harris drives an old Volvo. It really was one heck of a road trip out there.

Meanwhile, Chris Harris goes to Daytona to try out the monstrous track-only horseman from Ferrari, the FXX K.

Season 24 marks the debut of the "Reasonably Fast Car" segment as well as the show's new regular, the facelifted Toyota 86. For its maiden voyage, celebrity James McAvoy is the first to try it out.

What a way to start a new season of this hit motoring show, albeit a decent one.

San Miguel Beermen snagged the PBA Perpetual Trophy after defeating Brgy. Ginebra

The fifth game of the PBA All-Filipino Conference finals is a do-or-die match between two of the most formidable teams in history; the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra. 

The former wanted to end the battle just to snag the coveted Perpetual Trophy while the latter wanted to stage a comeback by any means necessary. With SMB leads at 3-1, looks like the fight for the title is a narrow difference between a win and a loss.

At last, in the eyes of thousands of spectators gathered at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the San Miguel Beermen made history after defeating the Barangay Ginebra at the score of 91-85. The team's MVP, Arwind Santos, scored 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, despite performing less than what Brgy. Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar did.

This is the second time the Perpetual Trophy is handed to the winning team since the Talk N Txters.

Congratulations for the Beermen's historical win!

2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup - Daytona 500

The 26th of February, 2017 - The 2017 NASCAR season kicks off with a new set of rules to add some twist to the latest season and a new sponsorship courtesy of Monster Energy.

The 59th Daytona 500, held at the Daytona International

Speedway on that day, signalled the start of a new season and in this Great American Race, which was watched by millions of Americans everywhere, Kurt Busch and his #41 Stewart-Haas Fusion made history after winning the season opener, making it his 29th NASCAR win and his first Daytona 500 win.

Although the new points system and format delivered some mixed reactions from fans everywhere, looks like the Chase for the Monster Cup is just getting started and the race continues at Atlanta Motor Speedway on the 5th of March.

Results: http://www.nascar.com/en_us/monster-energy-nascar-cup-series/standings/results/2017/daytona-500.html

Photo: Fox Sports

PriPara: Mi～nna De Kagayake! Kirarin Star Live!

Before getting ready for the climax of the current PriPara series as well as the arrival of the upcoming "Idol Time Pripara" TV series, the fourth and final film of the current PriPara series boldly goes where no idol has gone before; outer space!

The PriPara films got the little girls through different places from Prism Tours to PriParis and now, for their fourth outing, it's the solar system our idols will be heading as Kirarin Star Live pushes the limit to our favorite idols; Laala, Mirei, Sophy, Sion, Dorothy, Reona, and many others, to the edge of heaven above while delivering the same PriPara fun as seen on the TV series.

While fans are going to miss this classic PriPara fun they've experienced when the show began in 2014, Kirarin Star Live's going to be the PriPara film to end all PriPara films because with outer space is the main theme of the flick, it's going to be the send-off for PriPara fans elsewhere in anticipation to next month's new PriPara series, Idol Time PriPara, and things will never be the same. How sad for us to miss Laala and the gang's quest for fame but this film will remind us the good days of how Laala and the other idols pushed their idol stardom beyond limits up to the very end.

Seems that after watching this film, it won't be long before we miss the SoLaMi Smile trio as well as the rivalry with Dressing Pafe and the other idol groups far and wide to become the best idols in the fantasy world of PriPara and that makes us very sad.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Before I Fall

What if one day will be the only day you'll be living for the rest of your life? This terrifying film based on a best-selling novel will answer everything with horrifying results.

Based on the bestselling novel, Before I Fall is about a teenage girl who got involved in a car accident and repeating this tragic moment seven times. While reliving the tragic moment, she tries to change the outcome to make up from her rude behavior towards others. But changing the lives of others she harmed does come with a hefty price and she has to accept her tragic fate.

This film is as terrifying as a horror movie, yet life-changing as an inspirational movie because while it scares the moviegoers elsewhere, it's about correcting all the mistakes that you've committed in your lives. If you were given the chance to correct mistakes, what will you undo to make it right? This film explains everything from start to finish and you will find that it's going to happen to you the moment you are in a tragedy that will change your life.

While this film is definitely scary, Before I Fall is a life-changing experience and you will find that after seeing this film, it could happen to you one day and how will you undo life's harshest mistakes to others is up to your decisions.

My rating: 3.8 out of 5.

The Shack (2017 film)

God has different forms and He has many ways to surround ourselves not by spiritually but by either fate or destiny. This film adaptation of the best-selling novel will change the way how far will you go to rise yourself from a life-changing tragedy and change the way you live forever.

Starring Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and Tim McGraw, The Shack centers on a man named Mack, played by Worthington, whose life changed after a tragedy struck his family. Questioning his beliefs, Mack ventures to an abandoned shack in the Oregon wilderness to find the answer while encountering three different strangers that will change his life forever.

This is a life-changing film that inspires us to find the answer to all our problems after facing life's harshest trials and that is what this film's all about, touching the hearts of those who felt like they lost something and inspire them to go looking for the truth they've been longing for their lives.

Don't be afraid to see this film for yourself because you will be amazed on what happens next to you after seeing this film.

My rating: 3.8 out of 5

Logan (2017 film)

Previously, X-MEN fans got their minds blown away in the most colossal battle in history, X-MEN Apocalypse. Now, the tone has set from thrilling to a much somber, yet sadder take on the prime of the man who used to be the feared mutant Wolverine.

Set after the events of "The Wolverine", Logan brings back actor Hugh Jackman as the man formerly known as the Wolverine, this time as the caretaker of the ailing Professor X. While spending the prime of their lives hiding from the rest of the world, Logan's life spiraled out of control when he encountered a little girl who has the same powers as his. Now pursued by enemies, Logan will risk everything and use whatever means necessary to protect the only ones he trusted.

Although a thrilling action film to watch, even for superhero fans alike, this film won't shake off from its sad theme and no matter how many fight sequences this film had, its somberness can't be ignored and that makes us very sad to see him spending the prime of his lives hiding in plain sight with no reason. 

Still, despite its sad theme, witnessing the final moments of the man who used to be the Wolverine is worth becoming the coolest send-off ever done and it won't give up until it finish what it really started.

My rating: 3.6 out of 5.