Typhoon Hagupit, Purisima suspended, ATM scam | The wRap

• Typhoon Ruby – international name Hagupit – is expected to hit land Saturday afternoon.
• The Ombudsman suspends police chief Alan Purisima and 11 other officials.
• A local bank says Eastern 77Europeans could be behind the skimming activities on ATMs in Metro Manila.

HAGUPIT: BIG CHANCE HITTING PH VISAYAS REGION BY SATURDAY

Typhoon Ruby – international name Hagupit – strengthens as it moves west northwest towards Eastern Visayas.
State weather bureau PAGASA says the typhoon is expected to hit land in the Eastern Samar-Northern Samar area, Saturday afternoon.

The typhoon is estimated at 720 kilometers east of Surigao City, with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour near the center, and gusts of up to 240 kilometers per hour.

Storm signal number 2 is up over Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte, Dinagat Island and Siargao Island.

Signal number 1 is up over Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate including Ticao Island, Northern Cebu including Bantayan Island and Camotes Island, Bohol, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Camiguin Island and Agusan del Norte.

Storm surges of 3.5 to 4 meters are expected in parts of Eastern Visayas.

Authorities say the typhoon will likely hit or pass near areas yet to recover from Super Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 7,350 people in November last year.

OMBUDSMAN SUSPENDS PHILIPPINE POLICE CHIEF ALAN PURISIMA

The Ombudsman suspends Philippine National Police chief Director General Alan Purisima and 11 other officials.

The order stems from the graft complaint filed last October against Purisima and at least 11 others over complaints the PNP entered into an anomalous contract involving gun owners’ courier fees.

Purisima and the 11 officials will not be paid for the duration of the 6-month suspension.

POLICE TORTURE ‘RIFE, ROUTINE’ IN PH – AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Amnesty International says the tolerance of human rights abuses among Philippine police persists despite the country’s image as a human rights champion.

In its 2014 study, the group says “torture is still rife, and the overwhelming majority of torture involves police officers.”

Amnesty International secretary general Salil Shetty says torture is still accepted because people think they can get away with it.

Shetty adds, the goal is to turn political rhetoric into action.

PROTESTS AFTER NO CHARGES IN NYC POLICE DEATH OF BLACK MAN

Protests break out in New York City after a white police officer is not indicted in the choking death of a black man.

Eric Garner died in July after being placed in a chokehold by New York police Officer Daniel Pantaleo while being arrested on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island.

The ruling comes just days after protests in Ferguson sparked by a grand jury decision not to indict a white policeman in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

EASTERN EUROPEANS COULD BE BEHIND ATM FRAUD – PH BANK

The Bank of the Philippine Islands or BPI says Eastern Europeans could be behind the skimming activities on its automated teller machines or ATMs.

On Tuesday night, photos circulated online of a tampered BPI ATM in Taguig City.

The bank says this kind of ATM scam is similar to the tactics used by recently apprehended Bulgarians.

In two separate incidents, police arrested several Bulgarians caught using card skimming devices.

In 2013, the Philippine central bank received 1,972 reports of ATM fraud from banks involving a combined amount of P220 million.

– Rappler.com

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