Many sexually active Pinoys don't use condoms, survey says

MANILA—Most sexually active Filipinos don't always use condoms, a survey this year has found, which puts them at risk of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancy.

A study by PhilCare, a leading health maintenance organization (HMO), showed that only 1 out of 10 Filipinos always use protection.

Of the 820 sexually active Filipinos polled nationwide, at least 30 percent said they used condoms very frequently to prevent pregnancy and at least 40 percent to avoid sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Condom use for the prevention of STDs was also higher among women with 48 percent than men with 36 percent. 

Some 36 percent of women and some 30 percent of men reported using condoms for pregnancy prevention.

The study also found out that Mindanaoans used protection more compared to the national average. 

Some 26 percent of respondents from Mindanao used condoms against unplanned pregnancy, more than twice the national average of 12 percent.

Meanwhile, at least 18 percent of respondents from Mindanao used condoms against STDs, way higher than the national average of 13 percent.

The survey also revealed that only 2 out of 10 young adults, aged 18 to 30, always used protection.

Over half of young adults used protection very frequently against STDs while almost 40 percent did to avoid pregnancy.

Meanwhile, only 12 percent of men and women between 31 to 40 used condoms against STDs while 14 percent said they did to prevent pregnancy.

Older respondents in between 40 to 50 reported lower condom use. Only 10 percent used protection against STDs while only 7 percent as contraception.

"It’s important that we gather relevant information to find solutions to this problem afflicting a growing number of Filipinos,” said lead researcher Fernando Paragas of the University of the Philippines.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

TIMELINE: Big moments in Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in 2016 US poll

Here is a timeline of significant developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 US presidential election and whether President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Moscow.

2017

May 17 - US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign.

The appointment follows President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and days later Trump attributed the dismissal to "this Russia thing."

June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports.

Oct. 30 - Veteran Republican political operative and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked for the campaign for 5 pivotal months in 2016, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering as is his business partner Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump's campaign.

- Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.

Dec. 1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser for less than a month who also had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington.

2018

Feb. 16 - Federal grand jury indicts 13 Russians and 3 firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused "had a strategic goal to sow discord in the US political system, including the 2016 US presidential election" according to the court document filed by Mueller.

- An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign.

Feb. 22 - Manafort and Gates are charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia.

Feb. 23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial.

April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe.

April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described "fixer" Michael Cohen.

April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe.

April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team.

June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors say had ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering.

July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Russia, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking.

July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts US intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda. Trump touts Putin's "extremely strong and powerful" denial of meddling. He calls the Mueller inquiry a "rigged witch hunt" on Twitter.

Aug. 21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty of 5 counts of tax fraud, 2 counts of bank fraud and 1 count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account.

- Cohen, in a case brought by US prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team.

Aug. 31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine.

Sept. 14 - Manafort pleads guilty to 2 conspiracy counts and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors.

Nov. 8 - US Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official. Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general.

Nov. 20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel.

Nov. 27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies. Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon.

Nov. 28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016.

Nov. 29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. "I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1," says Cohen, who previously identified "individual 1" as Trump.

- The president criticizes Cohen as a liar and "weak person."

Dec. 12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen sentenced to 3 years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. Publisher admits payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements.

2019

Jan. 25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political "dirty trickster" Roger Stone charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release Democratic Party campaign emails that US officials say were stolen by Russia.

Feb. 21 - US judge tightens gag order on Stone, whose Instagram account posted a photo of the judge and the image of crosshairs next to it.

Feb. 22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes, a person familiar with the matter says. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions.

Feb. 24 - Senior Democratic US Representative Adam Schiff says Democrats will subpoena Mueller's final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress by the Justice Department, and will sue the Trump administration and call on Mueller to testify to Congress if necessary.

Feb. 27 - Cohen tells US House Oversight Committee Trump is a "racist," a "con man" and a "cheat" who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies.

March 7 - Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case to almost 4 years in prison. The judge also ordered Manafort to pay a fine of $50,000 and restitution of just over $24 million.

March 13 - Manafort is sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison in the Washington case, bringing his total prison sentence in the 2 special counsel cases to 7-1/2 years.

- On the same day, the Manhattan district attorney announces a separate indictment charging Manafort with residential mortgage fraud and other New York state crimes, which unlike the federal charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon.

March 22 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to US Attorney General William Barr.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Michelle Obama tops Hillary Clinton as America's most admired woman

WASHINGTON - Former First Lady Hillary Clinton's 17-year run as the woman Americans admire most is over.

Another former First Lady, Michelle Obama, has deposed Clinton as America's most admired woman, according to a Gallup poll published on Thursday.

Former president Barack Obama was named the man Americans admire most for the 11th year in a row, Gallup said.

President Donald Trump finished second in the poll for the fourth year in a row.

Gallup has conducted the annual poll every year since 1946 with the exception of 1976.

Fifteen percent of the 1,025 Americans polled said the woman they admire most is Michelle Obama, who is currently on a tour promoting her book "Becoming."

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey was second with 5 percent followed by Hillary Clinton and First Lady Melania Trump with 4 percent.

Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and a former US senator and secretary of state, has topped the list 22 times including the past 17 years in a row.

Nineteen percent of those polled said Barack Obama was the man they admired most.

Trump was second with 13 percent followed by former president George W. Bush and Pope Francis, who were tied with 2 percent.

Gallup said the survey conducted December 3-12 had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

‘The Buzz’ poll favors Mon Tulfo over Raymart-Claudine camp

A text poll conducted Sunday by the ABS-CBN talk show “The Buzz” revealed at the end of separate lengthy interviews with both Ramon Tulfo and Raymart Santiago that an overwhelming majority of viewers favored the veteran journalist over the showbiz couple.

The poll results said 81.36 percent of the undisclosed number of texters believed Tulfo’s version of the so-called “Thrilla at NAIA”, the May 6 melee where he was mugged by the group led by the actor and his wife, actress Claudine Barretto.

Only 18.64 percent voted for the Santiagos.

One week after the incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, Tulfo and Santiago remained at loggerheads over who really started the brawl, which was caught on camera by an eyewitness who quickly posted the video on youTube.

The incident was an offshoot of Barretto issuing a verbal complaint to the Cebu Pacific ground crew for offloading her party’s luggage.

“Siya (Tulfo) po ang nauna. Never ko inextend ang kamay ko,” Santiago insisted to “The Buzz” host Boy Abunda in his recollection of his initial encounter with Tulfo, who had photographed Barretto’s outburst with his cellphone camera.

Santiago stuck to his claim that he and his party only attacked Tulfo after the latter kicked his wife. Again, Tulfo denied the charge.

“Wala akong dahilan para i-provoke sila,” he said. “Hindi ko sila kilala. Hindi ko sila kalaban.”

Santiago appealed to other witnesses who might have also videotaped the incident to produce the video. The CCTV cameras at the terminal were not working.

Santiago claimed that the video that had gone viral only caught the second half of the incident, when the Santiago couple and their companions ganged up on Tulfo.

A candid Tulfo confessed that he thought about getting his gun to defend himself against the Santiagos’ group.

“Ang instinct ko was to run towards my gun,” he said.

Tulfo, who has a license to carry a firearm, was thankful that he had not yet retrieved his gun from the security counter at NAIA 3 when the fracas happened.

He said his martial arts expertise was rendered useless because he was totally outnumbered.

“I stood my ground kaso napakarami nila,” he said. “What is important is I fought for my right and the rights of others.”

Santiago issued this parting shot: “Basta nasa tama ka naman, kakampi mo ang Diyos.”

The poll results, which showed that public sympathy was not on his side, were flashed immediately afterwards.

source: interaksyon.com