Pinoys in New South Wales urged to remain calm, vigilant amid Sydney hostage crisis

Flag with Arabic writing displayed by Sydney hostage-taker
Flag with Arabic writing displayed by Sydney hostage-taker. A screengrab taken from the Australian Channel Seven broadcast shows presumed hostages holding up a flag with Arabic writing inside a cafe in the central business district of Sydney on Monday, December 15. One armed man is holding an undisclosed number of hostages in a siege in Sydney, adding that it was yet to be deemed a terrorism event.AFP/Channel Seven
The Philippine government has called on Filipinos in New South Wales to be calm and vigilant after an armed man took several hostages in a café in Sydney on Monday, shocking the usually tranquil Australian city.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said the Department of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with its diplomatic posts in Canberra and Sydney in monitoring the unfolding hostage crisis.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Australia in this time of crisis and we hope that this unfortunate predicament will be resolved soon in a peaceful manner,” Jose told a press briefing.

Jose said the DFA has no available figure on the number of Philippine nationals living in Sydney, adding Manila has not received information of any Filipino involved in the incident.

The New South Wales police, he said, have yet to ascertain the nationalities of the hostages.

“We urge the members of the Filipino community in New South Wales to remain calm and vigilant as the Australian police continue to handle the situation,” Jose said.

The hostage-taker’s motivation was unknown but two of his hostages at the Lindt Chocolate Cafe were seen pressing a black flag with Arabic writing against the shop’s window. Reports said it is not an Islamic State flag. —Michaela del Callar/KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Biden said set to make push for demilitarized Palestinian state as part of new doctrine ---By LAZAR BERMAN

New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, who’s close to the US administration, says emerging doctrine would include Saudi-Israeli normalization, 2-state solution, and campaign against Iran US President Joe Biden’s administration is homing in on a new doctrine involving an unprecedented push to immediately advance the creation of a demilitarized but viable Palestinian state, The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman reported on Thursday. The plan, Friedman wrote, “would involve some form of US recognition of a demilitarized Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that would come into being only once Palestinians had developed a set of defined, credible institutions and security capabilities to ensure that this state was viable and that it could never threaten Israel.” White House officials “have been consulting experts inside and outside the US government about different forms this recognition of Palestinian statehood might take,” revealed Friedman. What he termed the new “Biden Doctrin
Read more