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For the past 21 years, The Filipino Express has provided the Filipino American community the best news, arts and entertainment coverage from around the United States and the Philippines.
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This website includes selected articles from this week's edition of the Filipino Express. Not all the stories published in the printed version appear on this site.
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MANILA, Aug 8 (Mabuhay) -- A Filipino suspect involved in one of the biggest casino heists in the United States has been arrested by authorities in a hotel near the Los Angeles International Airport.
Rolando Luda Ramos, 25, a Filipino who works as surveillance technician in the Soboba Casino in California, was arrested last Saturday at a hotel on El Segundo Boulevard near the Los Angeles International Airport.
Authorities said Ramos had applied for an emergency passport and could have been preparing to flee United States.
The report said the Filipino suspect was wearing a costume when apprehended. Cocaine was also found in his possession.
Earlier reports said Ramos bound and gagged three employees and herded seven others at gunpoint into another room, then took $1.5 million from the vault at Soboba Casino on the Soboba Indian Reservation near San Jacinto. Another suspect, Eric Alan Aguilera, drove the getaway vehicle.
Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. said the arrest was a joint effort of the California Department of Justice and the Riverside deputy sheriffs.
"These officers demonstrated incredible ingenuity in tracking down Ramos and taking him into custody. The suspect apparently used knowledge from his work at the casino to plot the robbery. Our DOJ Special Investigation Unit joined with the Sheriff's Department in providing the rapid response that made [the] arrest possible," Brown said.
Riverside Sheriff Bob Doyle said Ramos is being detained at the Southwest Detention Center. He said Ramos will be charged with robbery, kidnapping, and false imprisonment. "We are holding him without bail," Doyle said.
The sheriff also announced that they have already recovered P1.3 million of the total amount taken by Ramos and Aguilera from the casino.
Aguilera, 23, was apprehended by authorities last Friday. (MNS)
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NEW YORK - Filipino pirates have found a new tactic with their latest illegal endeavours, with the discovery that GameCube games are being burnt to DVDs and packaged and sold as Wii titles.
Among the games receiving the ‘treatment’ are Luigi’s Mansion, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes and Resident Evil Zero.
Filipino site GameOPS found that pirates are up to their old tricks again. And unlike official GameCube-to-Wii ports, these don’t even feature tacked-on waggle controls!
Apparently, and rather humourously, an employee at one of the offending stores was asked about Metal Gear, and explained that it’s the same title that’s headed to the PlayStation 3 next year.
Thanks to the black market, popular Nintendo Wii titles are priced as low as $5 in some shops. Piracy has become so widespread in the Southeast Asian country, even Sony admits that most of its Playstation software sold in the Philippines are bootlegged copies.
For about $51, you can have your system hacked to play these counterfeit games at the local mall or market. Furthermore, some shops advertise console bundles, selling imported and modded US Wiis with five copied games of your choice for around $450. Similar deals for chipped Xbox 360 systems with 10 pirated titles are actually cheaper at $388.
With such a high level of piracy already in place, Nintendo will have a lot to work against when -- or if -- it decides to finally launch the Wii in the Philippines.
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NEW YORK--- A Filipina nanny who had been missing since July 25 and allegedly stole $600 and a cell phone from a host family, showed up on Wood River Valley, Idaho , on Thursday, and told the Detective’s office that she was safe.
The office of Detective Steve Harkins investigating the case, did not give additional information, and reported that the Filipina, identified as Lenelyn Ordinario Rafael, showed up Thursday (August 9) in Idaho. The Detective’s office declined to comment on the alleged stealing of $600.
Rafael worked at a home in the Mid Valley area until her disappearance. Rafael made calls to relatives or friends in the Philippines and to Pennsylvania.
Rafael was described in a missing person bulletin as having light brown complexion, brown eyes, and black hair. She is about five feet and four inches tall and weighs 120 pounds.
She is holding a U.S. visa and no other identification.
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