Meningo's presence felt nationwide
Inquirer News Service

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines -- Big business in this summer capital is ready to do what it takes to deal with the city's meningococcemia crisis before February, even if that means putting 300,000 residents in quarantine for immediate mass vaccination.
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I tend to hide the bad news that I encounter on this side of the world in an effort to protect those that might worry about me. Shortly after my trip to Zamboanga, several members of the Abu Sayaf terror group were arrested in General Santos City, a city generally regarded as being very safe. Luckily I wasn't in Mindanao at the time.

I had planned to visit Baguio after my business here in Manila had wrapped up, not though I have reconsidered those plans. An outbreak of deadly meningococcemia has threatened to become an epidemic in that region... I had also considered staying in Manila until September 9th for the famed festival of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo City near Manila.

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BLACK NAZARENE FEAST
Devotees' safety assured
Inquirer News Service

AT LEAST a million people are expected to attend the feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, Manila on Jan. 9 since it falls on a Sunday, making the event a security nightmare for the police.

But Western Police District officials were quick to assure the public that adequate security measures would be implemented to ensure the safety of devotees and spectators from criminals and terrorist attacks.

Around 1,200 police operatives, traffic policemen and civilian volunteers would be deployed throughout the route that the Black Nazarene procession would take around Quiapo, while 12 ambulances and five fire trucks would be on standby.

Explosives experts and bomb-sniffing dogs would also be roaming the area.

*and*

Cops nab 14 'suicide bombers'
SunStar News

MANILA -- Fourteen persons believed to be planning to sow terror during the feast of the Black Nazarene in Manila Sunday were arrested Friday in a raid on an Islamic center in Manila.

Police also confiscated three homemade bombs and an array of weapons during the raid, said a report of the Associated Press (AP).

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For these reasons I may have to forgo seeing the ancient image of a black jesus.

Instead, tomorrow I will head south to see the world's smallest volcano in Taal, southern Luzon. After that I will seek out the whitest sand in the region, the cheapest hostel near said beach, and the coldest beer near said hostel.

That should be the safest bet, eh?

PS. Mom, I forbid you from researching the local news.