Local News 11

Mango's Local News and Info

Archive 11

December 2004 - December 2005

Note: These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Management, Staff and Employees of Mango's.

RP making progress in anti-corruption drive
By Aurea Calica
The Philippine Star
December 21, 2005

Believe it or not, the Philippines is making headway in the fight against corruption. This is according to government consultant on anti-corruption Tony Kwok who also called on the media yesterday to avoid being cynical about the government�s anti-corruption efforts. "The media should play an active role in reporting these kinds of good things that the government has done in fighting corruption," Kwok said. A Hong Kong native who spearheaded the former British crown colony�s drive against corruption for 27 years, Kwok said the recent surveys tagging the Philippines as one of the most corrupt countries in Asia were not based on scientific evidence.

Kwok said the polls were the result of the perception of respondents, most of them foreigners. This was the reason why the media and the public as a whole should actively take part in the government�s fight against corruption, he said. "The biggest enemy in fighting corruption is people�s cynicism, because they are not optimistic, because they are resigned to the (idea) that corruption is our way of life," Kwok said. Compared to the last 16 years where the conviction rate of the Office of the Ombudsman had reached only 14 percent, Kwok said the last two years posted a more than 30-percent success rate.

"In the last two years, the number of dismissals (of government officials) was actually more than the total number of dismissals caused by the Ombudsman for the last 16 years," Kwok noted. "So I�m going to be fair and say that, in this country, from the outside point of view, the Philippines has a corruption problem. But I am also convinced, and I have been here for two years, a lot of progress has been made by the Office of the Ombudsman and this needs to be given fair coverage by the media," he stressed.

In a recent survey released by the Hong Kong-based think-tank Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd., multinationals perceived corruption to be growing worse in Thailand and the Philippines. Compared to these two countries, the same survey noted the corruption rate in other Asian countries was perceived to be declining. Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) Chairwoman Constancia de Guzman also agreed the perception of foreign businessmen and entities might be unfair and inaccurate. The perception was reported amid policies instituted by the government to prevent corruption in its line agencies, she said.

De Guzman released a list of the agencies and their ratings, saying they had implemented measures to address the problems. The ones that landed in the "honor roll" were the Department of Health, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Science and Technology and the Office of the President. Those in the "horror roll" include the Bureau of Immigration, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice and the Department of Trade and Industry.

Manila - What's in a name? Plenty for collectors driving up the price of a small number of Philippine 100-peso bills with the president's name misspelled.

The notes, worth about $1,87 (about R8), are legal tender but their relative rarity attracted starting bids of $9,99 (about R60) each in a sale of four of them on Internet auction site eBay due to end later on Tuesday. The central bank said in November an "insignificant" number of the bills - with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's last name spelled "Arrovo" with a "v" - were released. Demand is outpacing supply.

"There are, in fact, orders from our store but we do not know where to get more of the bills," the Businessworld newspaper quoted Liza Rama Esposo, an antiques dealer in Manila, as saying. The peso, often hurt by political uncertainty, has been the best-performing currency in Asia this year.

EVEN if we won our gold medals fair and square, can we blame other countries for thinking that we cheated in the Southeast Asian Games? No less than Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra accused the Philippines, the SEA Games host, of cheating. But can we blame them, given the reports that we ourselves announce to the world about our country?

Election fraud. Cheating in the board and bar exams. Corruption in government and in the private sector. Foreigners falling victim to holdup men and con artists. Policemen fleecing foreign tourists. These are news items about the Philippines that reach foreign countries. And, let�s face it, cheating is prevalent in our society. We admire cheats as long as they don�t get caught.

A couple of years ago, winning entries to the Manila Film Festival were announced on stage. The names of the winners were not called; the losers were the ones whose names were announced. �Take it, take it,� said the emcee of the show to an actress who didn�t win in the tally but who was called on stage to claim the winner�s trophy.

Sen. Alfredo Lim, then the mayor of Manila, couldn�t stomach the shenanigans and went up the stage to denounce the fraud. There was a big scandal and an investigation was conducted. But nothing came out of the investigation. The �pasimuno� (mastermind) of the blatant cheating lay low for a while from the limelight. But where is she now? She is the host of a popular show biz show. People have forgotten what she did.

It�s a case of the boy who cried �wolf� too often for our country. Even when we�re honest, other nations don�t believe us. I am not being unpatriotic in playing the devil�s advocate in the SEA Games controversy but somebody�s got to tell us the view from outside. Let�s go to Saudi Arabia that employs millions of Filipino workers. Do you know what most Saudis think about Pinoys? Oh, you wouldn�t want to hear this, but the general perception in that country is that Filipinos are thieves!

When Filipinos window-shop in the flea market in Saudi Arabia, the shopkeepers keep close watch on them. Why? Because many shops, especially those selling jewelry, have fallen victim to the Pinoy�s salisi method of stealing. �Salisi� means taking advantage while the storekeeper is busy with the other customers. I once had a friend who had an employment agency that sent doctors and nurses to the United States. She said many hospitals that hired foreign doctors and nurses complained of pilferage of hospital equipment by the Filipino staff.

During the time of Imelda Marcos� travels abroad, hotels where she and her entourage stayed would give allowance for pilferage of hotel bed sheets, towels and other small items, and charge the theft to the Philippine government. You want to listen more to the Pinoy�s propensity for taking things that don�t belong to him?

Here goes: After the Americans left Clark Air Base in Pampanga, there was massive pilferage of items within the former US military base. Even the toilet bowls in the former houses of servicemen were stolen. Many of the looted items taken from Clark were found in a restaurant and a house in Cebu owned by a military general who was still in the active service at that time.

The saving grace was the state of the former Subic Naval Base after the Americans had left: Nothing was lost only because Richard Gordon employed strong-arm methods in dealing with thieves. It�s natural for us to get hurt�very hurt�by the accusation that we�re a nation of cheats. But we have to face reality: We have destroyed our reputation as a nation because of reports that come out in the media about our country.

As the police chief in the movie �Casablanca� said: �Round up the usual suspects.� We are the usual suspects.

Philippines Officers' Club Moves to FlORIDA
By MELISSA NELSON, Associated Press Writer
November 26, 2005

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- The garish, red paisley carpeting is here, as are the red-leather bar stools and the shuffle board table. The names of the past are here, too, engraved in wood by the Filipino artists who, over the years, recorded the exploits and humor of some of the U.S. Navy's most celebrated pilots. It'd be easy to think the Cubi Bar was back at its home base in the Philippines. But this officers' club that served decades of squadrons is now at home serving military personnel and visitors at the Pensacola Naval Air Station.

Nearly a dozen years ago, the famed club was shut down by a volcanic eruption. It now welcomes many of the same pilots who passed through it on their way to and from deployments to the western Pacific. On a recent afternoon, Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, was among a group of retired Navy and Marine pilots enjoying lunch at the cafe.

"There's a lot of naval history in this room. If these walls could talk, you would have one hell of a story," he said. "It might need some editing and censoring, but you'd have one hell of a story." The Cubi Bar, which took its name from an acronym for Construction Unit Battalion One, closed after Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991. When the United States later decided to pull troops from the Subic Bay, the bar's fate was sealed.

But a place so dear to so many of the Navy's top pilots could not be left behind. Navy Capt. Robert Rasmussen, director of the National Museum of Naval Aviation and a former Blue Angel pilot, sent a letter to the Subic Bay commanding officer suggesting the bar be preserved. He learned the commanding officer already had sent a letter to the museum suggesting the same thing. "Cubi Point was without a doubt the center of Naval aviation in the postwar years, especially during the Vietnam conflict," Rasmussen said.

So the bar was dismantled and packed into crates, along with a fair amount of volcanic ash. It arrived in Pensacola in 1992, and Rasmussen oversaw its reconstruction, down to its exact specifications. The Cubi Bar Cafe opened in 1996. It features more than 3,000 colorful squadron plaques from the original club that flight squadrons would commission from local artists and present to the bar before returning home from a deployment.

The plaques, which list the names of individual squadron members, are often not plaques at all but ornate carvings of anything from birds to mermaids to chess pieces. They range from the size of a large poster to human-sized carvings of various creatures. The ornate squadron carvings include an airplane with its fuel line attached to a beer bottle, an ace of spades, a white rabbit in a tuxedo, an Indian chief head and an armored knight. Some bear slogans such as "VS-21 Fighting Red Tails" and "The Last Real 'Harriers in WestPac."

But many of the original plaques aren't displayed in the rebuilt Cubi Bar: They were determined to be too risque for a family atmosphere, said bartender Donnalene Miller. The new Cubi Bar Cafe doesn't serve the 15-cent beer-and-hot dog special available in the old bar, but it does offer San Miguel beer imported from the Philippines for $3.00 a bottle. The relocated bar has a familiar feel despite its new location, said Cmdr. Jeremy Gillespie, a former P-3 Orion pilot who found his Patrol Squadron 22 plaque in the back wall of a dining room. "You can close your eyes and hear Filipino artists imitating the Mamas and the Papas or Jimmy Buffet," he said.

Retired Col. Denis J. "Deej" Kiely, a Marine pilot, said those who lived through the Vietnam days occasionally return to find the names of friends who didn't make it back. The Cubi Bar was a good place to come during a hellish time, he said. "It was a relief that you were still surviving and you could put it out of your mind for a while that you would have to go back and do it again," Kiely said.

Cernan, who passed through the Cubi Bar as a naval aviator in the late 1950s before joining the space program, said the bar is about tradition and camaraderie. Cernan hasn't found his name among the squadron plaques and believes his is among those in storage. "It doesn't make a difference whether my name is here or not," he said. "I left a lot of memories, thoughts and memories here."

Charges that six US Marines stationed on Okinawa raped a woman in the Philippines isn�t sitting well with anyone on the island, even as the case becomes confusing. Six Marines are thought to be involved, and five have been detained in the Philippines after charges were filed by the Olongapo District Prosecutor�s Office. The Marines, assigned with the III Marine Expeditionary Force here in Okinawa, are being held by the U.S. Embassy.

Confusion surfaced this week, though, as a principal witness in the rape case says he was forced to make statements incriminating the GI�s to police. The vehicle driver whose van was allegedly the place where a 22-year-old Filipina was raped and assaulted, has told officials it didn�t happen and that he will withdraw the statement made to police.

A public prosecutor says that will force perjury charges against the driver. Philippine newspapers identify the driver as Timoteo Seriano. Subic Bay police say Seriano�s testimony has been kept under wraps because it offered graphic details of the rape. The Marines are part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Hansen, and were in the Philippines along with 4,500 others to participate in military exercises. The Marines left the Philippines earlier this month, leaving only the five accused men behind.

Philippine reaction has been mostly negative, and Okinawans have been angry as well. Upon learning the men have not been turned over to Philippine authorities, Suzuyo Takazato of the Socialist Party said �This scandal must never be forgiven. Americans do more violence and it�s becoming excessive.� Citizens on the street are saying Americans have lost credibility with Okinawans.

Five men are in custody of the U.S. Embassy. The identity and whereabouts of the sixth rape perpetrator are unknown. The U.S. Embassy in Manila, for its part, says �We are taking very seriously this matter. We are ready to fully support the Philippine investigation.�

MANILA (AP) � Five U.S. Marines who participated in counterterrorism exercises were barred from leaving the Philippines Thursday after being accused of raping a woman in a former U.S. naval base, officials said. A rape complaint against six Marines that was filed with a state prosecutor alleged that the crime occurred late Tuesday at the Subic freeport, a sprawling industrial and recreation hub northwest of Manila. However, only five Marines were identified and barred from leaving the country, officials said.

Philippine authorities briefly delayed the departure of the warship USS Essex while searching for the Marines accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman. The ship left without the five Marines, who were placed under the custody of the U.S. Embassy, said Jose Calimlim, deputy administrator of the freeport. "The U.S. takes reports of violations of U.S. and Philippine law by U.S. military personnel very seriously, and will fully cooperate with the Philippine authorities in the investigation of this incident," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement. The U.S. military was investigating the five Marines, embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop told The Associated Press.

The Philippine government immediately expressed concern about the alleged crime, which was condemned by left-wing militants opposed to the presence of American troops for counterterrorism training with Filipino soldiers. The United States has been helping the Philippine military battle the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group Abu Sayyaf in the south. "The perpetrators of this heinous crime shall be brought to justice," Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo told a news conference.

Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the left-wing Bayan group, condemned the alleged rape and called for the immediate suspension of planned U.S. exercises. "The Philippine must take a tough stance and immediately demand that these Americans be placed under Philippine criminal jurisdiction," he said. The woman told investigators she met the six Marines in a disco at the freeport, where they had drinks. The Marines later brought her to their rented van, where she allegedly was assaulted, Calimlim said. Feliciano Salonga, chairman of the Subic freeport administration, said the woman was wearing only her underwear when found later.

"There was a young woman who was hysterical after being dropped by a dark-colored vehicle without any clothes on," Salonga told GMA television. "It was obvious she was intoxicated and incoherent." Calimlim said the Marines' commander initially wanted to take them back to their base in Okinawa, Japan, but Philippine authorities insisted they remain here while the investigation continues.

"We said you can't leave unless those involved are left behind," he said. The role of the U.S. military has long been a divisive issue in Philippine society. The United States ruled the Philippines as a colony for nearly 50 years until 1946 and continued to maintain a strong military presence until 1992, when the last U.S. base was closed by the Philippine government.

Subic Security Chief Axed Over Spate of Robberies
Philippine Star
November 3, 2005

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga has ordered the immediate suspension of Freeport's law enforcement chief to give way to a "full-dress" investigation into the series of robberies inside the special economic zone. "The disturbing situation has caused embarrassment to the SBMA leadership and tainted the reputation of the Freeport as a safe and secure economic zone, Salonga told THE STAR. Last Monday, burglars carted away P 1.8 million in cash from the "highly secured" SBMA treasury office in administration building 229.

Freeport authorities have sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and other law enforcement agencies to put an end to the spate of robberies. Salonga said the suspension of Col. Jaime Calungsad, head of SBMA's law enforcement department (LED), would prevent him from interfering in the investigation. "We are not discounting the possibility that some LED members, including Calungsad himself, could be accomplices to the crime," he said.

Investigation showed that the burglars were able to open the safety vault of the SBMA's treasury department without being detected by the Freeport's security officers who are equipped with high-tech, closed-circuit TV cameras and other surveillance gadgets installed inside the building. The robberies have reportedly victimized Chowking, the Monkok Chinese restaurant, Italian bistro A Tavola, Anne's Kitchen and Wimpy's restaurant. Burglaries were also reported in the supposedly secure housing areas in Kalayaan and Binictican where investors and SBMA officials reside.

Salonga revealed that the vacation house of former Philippine National Police Chief, now Public Highways Secretary Hermognes Ebdane was burglarized not just once but thrice. There were also break-ins in the houses of prominent politicians and businessmen. Ironically, Salonga said these robberies remain unsolved.

The Freeport has 862 security personnel composed of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) members, Forest Rangers, and men of the K-9 anti-bombing squad, and harbor and security patrol group, overseeing the 67,452-hectare sea and land boundaries of the sprawling special ecozone. "We must admit, so the public would know that there is indeed, a series of unsolved burglary cases and it has been approaching epidemic proportions," Salonga said. Investors have asked SBMA officials to replace Calungsad with a more competent security chief to maintain peace and order in the Freeport.

Int'l survey rates RP's corruption severe
By Doris C. Dumlao
Inquirer News Service
October 19, 2005

NOT ONLY was the Philippines ranked among countries with severe corruption problems -- its rating in a new survey even sank lower compared to last year's. On a scale of one to 10 -- with 10 as the "cleanest" -- the Philippines got a score of 2.5 based on the 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released yesterday by global corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).

The Philippines was thus among 70 countries -- comprising nearly half of those included in the TI index -- that scored less than 3 on the latest CPI, indicating a "severe" corruption problem. The country ranked 117th, a sharp fall from its 102nd place in last year's survey. "Corruption isn't a natural disaster: It is the cold, calculated theft of opportunity from the men, women and children who are least able to protect themselves," said David Nussbaum, TI's chief executive.

"Leaders must go beyond lip service and make good on their promises to provide the commitment and resources to improve governance, transparency and accountability." RP is 117th among 159 Among the countries included in the index, corruption was perceived as most rampant in Chad, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Burma (Myanmar) and Haiti, which scored 1.7-1.8. They were also among the poorest countries in the world.

The Philippines' score deteriorated from last year's 2.6 in the coalition's CPI. Out of 159 countries rated, the Philippines placed 117th in a tie with Afghanistan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guayana, Libya, Nepal and Uganda. More than two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed by Transparency International scored less than five in this year's rating. The 'cleanest' On the other hand, the top 10 scorers were Iceland (9.7), Finland and New Zealand (9.6), Denmark (9.5), Singapore (9.4), Sweden (9.2), Switzerland (9.1), Norway (8.9), Australia (8.8) and Austria (8.7). The United States ranked 17th with a score of 7.6 and Japan shared the 21st ranking with Chile at 7.3.

The CPI is a composite survey, reflecting the perceptions of business people and country analysts, both resident and nonresident. The composite survey also draws on 16 different polls from 10 independent institutions. But the index provides only a snapshot, with less capacity to offer year-to-year trends. The 2005 index bears witness to the double burden of poverty and corruption borne by the world's least developed countries, TI said.

"Corruption is a major cause of poverty as well as a barrier to overcoming it," said TI chair Peter Eigen. "The two scourges feed off each other, locking their populations in a cycle of misery. Corruption must be vigorously addressed if aid is to make a real difference in freeing people from poverty." Extensive research shows that foreign investment is lower in countries perceived to be corrupt, which further thwarts their chance to prosper, according to TI. But when countries improve governance and reduce corruption, they reap a "development dividend" that, according to the World Bank Institute, can include improved child mortality rates, higher per capita income and greater literacy.

The TI report noted that 19 of the world's poorest countries had been granted debt service relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, testifying to their economic reform achievements. However, not one of these countries scored above 4 on the CPI, indicating serious to severe levels of corruption.

The coalition said these countries still faced the grave risk that money freed from debt payments now entering national budgets would be forfeited to greed, waste or mismanagement. It said the commitment and resources devoted to qualifying for HIPC must also be applied to winning the fight against corruption. Stamping out corruption and implementing recipient-led reforms are thus seen as critical to making aid more effective, and to realizing the crucial human and economic development goals that have been set by the international community.

An increase in perceived corruption from 2004 to 2005 can be measured in countries such as Costa Rica, Gabon, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Uruguay.

Graft in rich countries Conversely, a number of countries and territories show noteworthy improvements -- a decline in perceptions of corruption -- over the past year. They include Estonia, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Qatar, Taiwan and Turkey. The report said wealth was not a prerequisite for successful control of corruption. A new long-term analysis of the CPI carried out by corruption expert Johann Graf Lambsdorff showed that the perception of corruption had decreased significantly in lower-income countries such as Estonia, Colombia and Bulgaria over the past decade.

In the case of higher-income countries, such as Canada and Ireland, however, there has been a marked increase in the perception of corruption over the past 10 years, showing that even wealthy, high-scoring countries must work to maintain a climate of integrity. Sharing the burden Similarly, the responsibility in the fight against corruption does not fall solely on lower-income countries, the report said.

The TI said wealthier countries, apart from facing numerous corruption cases within their own borders, must share the burden by ensuring that their companies were not involved in corrupt practices abroad. It also said offenders must be prosecuted and barred from public bidding. Government secrecy The opportunity for ensuring sustainable progress also lies in the hands of the World Trade Organization, which needs to actively promote transparency and anticorruption in global trade, the coalition stressed.

"The lessons are clear: risk factors such as government secrecy, inappropriate influence of elite groups and distorted political finance apply to both wealthy and poorer countries, and no rich country is immune to the scourge of corruption," the report said.

Estrada Says He Was Given U.S. Document
Ex-Philippine President Cites Paper Provided by Espionage Suspect
By Alan Sipress and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
October 7, 2005

MANILA, Oct. 6 -- Former Philippine president Joseph Estrada says he first met Leandro Aragoncillo during a state visit to Washington in August 2000, when President Bill Clinton invited Aragoncillo and about 20 other Filipinos who worked at the White House to greet Estrada.
Some time later, Aragoncillo met Estrada again -- but this time, he handed the deposed president a three-page internalU.S. analysis of political developments in the Philippines. Estrada said the document had originated at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

The former president's account provides further evidence that Aragoncillo may have stolen U.S. documents while he worked as a military security official in the vice president's office. Officials say the case could represent the first allegation of espionage inside the White House in modern times.
Aragoncillo was charged last month with downloading more than 100 documents while working as an FBI intelligence analyst earlier this year. Officials revealed this week that the probe has expanded to include his earlier years at the White House.

The Justice Department and FBI are investigating whether Aragoncillo stole classified material while assigned to Vice President Cheney's security detail, and provided it to Estrada and other opposition politicians in the Philippines. ABC News has reported that Aragoncillo admitted to stealing records while on Cheney's staff. Authorities are also investigating whether documents were stolen during Vice President Al Gore's tenure.

FBI counterespionage agents are investigating whether Estrada or other opposition politicians recruited Aragoncillo and whether a second defendant -- a former Philippines national police official -- was part of a planned intelligence operation. One official familiar with the probe said Aragoncillo was paid to steal the information.

Court documents filed in New Jersey this week show that Aragoncillo, 46, of Woodbury, N.J., is cooperating with prosecutors and is in the midst of plea negotiations. The second man, Michael Ray Aquino, 39, is not cooperating and was indicted in Newark Thursday on charges of conspiracy to obtain classified information and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

Interviewed by telephone at his secluded vacation estate, where he remains detained on corruption charges, Estrada said he could not remember the date that Aragoncillo gave him the U.S. document. But he said it occurred when Aragoncillo came to see him sometime in the two years after Estrada was ousted as president, in January 2001. "This document was about the graft and corruption happening in the country. It's nothing new," Estrada said, comparing it to accounts in Philippine opposition newspapers.

Aragoncillo, a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, was first detailed to the White House as administration chief of the vice presidential security detail in July 1999 and served through February 2002, the Pentagon said. Bush administration officials have refused to provide further details on the case or to reveal how Aragoncillo gained a top-secret security clearance at both the White House and the FBI. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales said during an unrelated news conference Thursday in Washingtonthat aides assigned to the White House complex are generally vetted by the agency they work for, but said he did not have details of the Aragoncillo case.

"We take all investigations, of course, very, very seriously, particularly investigations that might involve jeopardizing very sensitive information relating to the actions of our government," Gonzales said. Michael Feldman, a spokesman for Gore, declined to comment, referring questions to the FBI.
U.S. investigators have said the documents were sent to a former high-level Philippine official and two current high-level Philippine officials but have not identified them. All are opposition politicians seeking to topple President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who replaced Estrada after he was forced from office over accusations that he enriched himself off gambling kickbacks.

Estrada, once a popular movie star, is one of several Philippine politicians who have acknowledged receiving documents from the two suspects. Another, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, who unsuccessfully challenged Arroyo in presidential elections a year ago, said in an interview last week that he had obtained e-mails from Aquino but that they were neither sensitive nor unusual. Estrada said in the interview that he had a close relationship with Aquino, even accompanying him to the altar at Aquino's wedding seven years ago. Estrada said they have not been in contact in recent years.

Aquino left the Philippines for the United States in July 2001. At the time, he was under indictment in the Philippines for involvement in the kidnapping and murder of a public relations executive who had quarreled with Estrada, and the man's driver. Estrada also spoke warmly of Aragoncillo, calling him a friend and recounting their first meeting during the 2000 White House visit. Estrada told reporters at the time that Clinton "introduced me to each of the 21 Filipino staff at the White House like they were part of his family, which, in turn, made me very proud." Soon afterward, Aragoncillo came to Manila and visited the presidential palace with his wife to meet Estrada, Estrada recalled.

In 2001, Estrada was unseated by mass demonstrations that erupted when an effort to impeach him broke down in the Philippine Congress. Estrada was detained and later that year incarcerated in the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Manila, where he remained until 2003. He said Aragoncillo visited him in the hospital and joined him for lunch. The former president said a personal bond had been established. "He still has that Filipino heart," Estrada said, noting that Aragoncillo came from a relatively poor family. "He knows I am a president who was pro-poor, and he is pro-poor. That's why he was so worried about what's happening in our country today."

Since the final meeting, Estrada said he has spoken with Aragoncillo once or twice by telephone, most recently last year. "It was to say hello, talk about what was happening in the Philippines and what was happening in Iraq," Estrada recounted. "He told me what was happening in Iraq." When he learned last month that Aragoncillo had been charged with illegally providing classified information to Philippine officials, Estrada said he was shocked. He said he did not believe the former Marine had done anything illegal or worked to help opposition politicians in the Philippines.

Aragoncillo was honorably discharged from the Marines with the rank of gunnery sergeant and went to work a year ago as an FBI analyst at Fort Monmouth, N.J. Federal investigators allege he used his top-secret clearance to download classified documents from the FBI, CIA and State Department relating to his birthplace and conspired with Aquino to forward the material by e-mail, telephone and text message.

Eggen reported from Washington. Correspondent Ellen Nakashima in Jakarta and researcher Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON - The FBI is investigating whether a former Marine took classified information from the White House when he worked in the vice president's office and passed it to Filipino officials, U.S. government officials said Wednesday. Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, a 21-year Marine veteran who became an FBI intelligence analyst last year, already has been charged in New Jersey with passing classified information about Filipino leaders to current and former officials of that nation. Aragoncillo worked at the White House from 1999 to 2001 and was assigned to the vice president's office under both Al Gore and Dick Cheney.

White House officials said they were aware of the investigation but would provide no details. "It is an ongoing investigation and as such all questions should be directed to the FBI," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "We are cooperating fully with the investigation." Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the department would not comment on an ongoing investigation, first reported Wednesday evening by ABC.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said investigators were examining all of Aragoncillo's postings where he had access to classified information, including the White House. Aragoncillo was hired to work at the Army's Fort Monmouth, N.J., in July 2004 and began sending classified information and documents in January, according to an FBI complaint made public last month. The documents' contents have not been made public.

From May to Aug. 15 of this year, he printed or downloaded 101 classified documents relating to the Philippines, of which 37 were classified "secret," according to the criminal complaint. He sent some of the material to Michael Ray Aquino, a former deputy director of the Philippines national police who lives in New York City, the complaint said. Both men were arrested Sept. 10 at their homes and ordered held without bail following an appearance before a federal magistrate.

After his arrest, Aragoncillo "essentially admitted that he took classified information," Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl H. Buch told the magistrate. Aragoncillo is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the Philippines. He had top secret clearance. A Philippine opposition senator has acknowledged that he received information from Aquino. Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a former national police chief under whom Aquino served, said he and "many others" received information passed by Aquino, but he played down the value of the reports, describing them as "shallow information."

Last month, Newark U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said there was no evidence that the administration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was involved, but he would not say if the suspects were in contact with opposition factions. The Asian nation has been beset by persistent coup rumors since Arroyo was accused of rigging last year's elections. Philippine Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said his office wrote to the FBI to ask for copies of documents that will emerge in the investigation, but that the U.S. government has not responded.

"A crime has been committed in the United States," he told The Associated Press in Manila. "Two Filipinos are involved and we don't know what classified documents they got, so we want to know because it might affect the national security situation in this country."

He said bits of information that can be gleaned from the charge sheet against Aragoncillo show there could be some information used to destabilize the government. He did not elaborate. Gonzales said he was on the phone Thursday with Philippine Ambassador to Washington Albert del Rosario, who told him that the Philippine Embassy was keeping tabs of the Aragoncillo case.

Philippines junks old fighters to buy helicopters
Source: Reuters
By Manny Mogato
September 30, 2005

MANILA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Philippines has shifted its military focus to communist and Muslim rebels from external threats, the air force said on Friday as it junked its fleet of ageing jet fighters in favour of buying more helicopters. Lieutenant-Colonel Restituto Padilla, an air force spokesman, said the remaining five of its 34 F-5A/B planes will be formally decommissioned on Saturday at an airbase north of Manila after 40 years as the country's primary air defence tool.

"The F-5 will never fly again," Padilla told Reuters. "The resources to sustain the operations of the fighters had been re-channeled due to our changing national priorities." The Philippines, a close ally of the United States, has one of the most ill-equipped armed forces in the Asia-Pacific region, which patrol the nation's 7,000 islands with World War II-era navy boats and aircraft dating from the Vietnam War.

Soldiers fighting communist and Muslim rebels also depend on second-hand U.S.-made trucks, assault rifles and other gadgets. Padilla said about 100 million pesos ($1.8 million) allocated to upgrade and maintain the F-5 fighters under the 2005 budget was transfered to an air force programme to buy several U.S.-made UH-1H "Huey" helicopters of Vietnam War vintage.

A portion of the fund was used to maintain propeller-driven OV-10 planes, a counter-insurgency weapon in bombing and close air support operations, he added. The Philippines had acquired 20 upgraded Huey helicopters from Singapore for nearly $12 million in July 2004 to strengthen its creaking air force.

Manila is still awaiting delivery of up to 10 Hueys from the United States, after paying $7.3 million for repairs to the aircraft last year. The Philippines has about 80 Hueys but only about 60 percent are in flying condition. A senior air force official told Reuters the Philippines may opt to buy five more Hueys from Singapore this year, using funds that were earmarked for the F-5 planes under the 2005 budget.

The Philippine military said a squadron of Italian-made S-211 trainer jets -- refitted with machine guns, rockets and bombs -- would fill in the gap left by the F-5s. Internal military documents seen by Reuters showed that defence assessments predicted no immediate external threats to the Philippines. From the early days of the Cold War in the 1950s to the current war on terrorism, Manila has been one of Washington's closest security allies in Asia. Elite U.S. troops train and advise local units in counter-insurgency operations.

Among armed forces in the region, the Philippines was the first to enter the jet age in 1957 when the United States delivered the F-86D plane, known as the "MiG killer" for shooting down nearly 800 Russian-made MiG-15s during the Korean War. In 1965, the F-86D "Sabre" was replaced by the F-5A/B "Freedom Fighter" when Washington delivered 23 of the low-cost and low-maintenance aircraft. Later, another 11 F-5s were added, including five transfered from the South Korean air force.

About 35 carrier-based F-8H "Crusader" planes were delivered to Manila in 1977 but were phased out in 1988 due to disrepair and several accidents that earned it the nickname "widow maker". Padilla said the last time an F-5 was flown was in May 2001 during joint military exercises with United States in the northern Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines - Former first lady Imelda Marcos' vast collection of shoes, gowns and jewels worth $10 million could soon be auctioned off, a Philippine official said Thursday. Ricardo Abcede, of the Presidential Commission on Good Government that has recovered ill-gotten wealth of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos and his family, said his agency is looking at whether her possessions should put up for sale.

"I believe that with all the publicity generated by Imelda Marcos ... the jewelry collection and other items would be (worth) much, much more than the appraised value," he said. "There are also eccentric collectors, they might be interested in the shoes or in the gowns." International auction houses Christie's, Sotheby's and Bonhams have expressed interest in holding the auction for the jewelry collection, initially estimated to be worth at least $10 million.

At the height of her husband's power, Marcos gained notoriety for shopping trips to the world's swankiest boutiques, glitzy parties and lavish beautification projects in the midst of the Philippines' grinding poverty. When the Marcoses fled the Philippines at the climax of a "people power" revolt, Imelda Marcos left hundreds of gowns and 1,220 pairs of shoes behind at the presidential palace.

The shoe collection, including many expensive foreign-made brands, astounded the world and became a symbol of ostentation. Some of the shoes have been turned over to a shoe museum in suburban Marikina city. The presidential palace museum displays Imelda Marcos' five locally made pairs of satin shoes, at least two of her gowns, and her bulletproof vest, parasols, paintings, silverware and period pieces of furniture.

FBI Intel Analyst Charged With Spying
By JEFFREY GOLD, Associated Press Writer
Sept 12, 2005

An FBI intelligence analyst with top secret clearance who worked at a New Jersey Army base was charged Monday with passing classified information about Filipino leaders to current and former officials of that nation. The analyst, Leandro Aragoncillo, sent some of the material to Michael Ray Aquino, a former deputy director of the Philippines National Police who lives in New York City, according to an FBI complaint unsealed with the arrests.

Aragoncillo, 46, of Woodbury, was hired to work at Fort Monmouth in July 2004 and began sending classified information and documents in January, according to the complaint. From May to Aug. 15, Aragoncillo printed or downloaded 101 classified documents relating to the Philippines, of which 37 were classified "secret," the complaint said. Details of the documents' contents were not disclosed in court papers or in court.

The investigation by immigration authorities began after Aquino, 39, was arrested in March, accused of overstaying the tourist visa he used to enter the country in July 2001. Aragoncillo, a Marine for 21 years, and Aquino were ordered held without bail following an appearance before a federal magistrate.

The defendants face a charge of conspiracy and a charge of acting as unregistered foreign agents, the latter of which carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine. Aragoncillo also was charged with unauthorized use of a government computer, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine.

ANGELES CITY � A total of 10 cybersex models most of them minors were rescued by policemen during a raid in a cybersex den in Bgy. Balibago, here, last Friday. Senior Superintendent Policarpio Segubre, Angeles City Police Office, director, said the rescued models were brought to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The team led by Supt. Ronaldo de Jesus, ACPO intelligence and investigation chief, armed with a search warrant issued by Judge Philbert Iturable of the Regional Trial Court Branch 58, Angeles City raided the cybersex den inside a house in Diamond Subdivision, Bgy. Balibago here, at about 8:30 p.m., said Segubre.

The alleged operator of the cybersex den � a certain William "Bill" Keith Baird, an American national and a certain Candy Tuazon, maintainer, escaped from the raiding team through the backdoor, he said. Confiscated from the house were 10 computer units complete with monitors, keyboards webcams, scanners, dildos and other sex toys.

Segubre said the busting of another cybersex den was the result of a week-long surveillance at the house. Charges of violation of laws against pornography and trafficking of women have been filed in court against Baird and Tuazon. The latest cybersex den raid was the 11th busted by police within two years.

Earlier, Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit-3 has busted two cybersex dens in Bgy. Balibago and Henson Ville Subdivision, Bgy. Malabanias, both in Angeles City. The alleged operator at the Balibago cybersex den was identified as James Paul Kelly who was arrested, where six models were rescued.

An internet caf�, owned by couple Tom Dessey, an American national and his wife Virginia, suspected to be a cybersex den was also busted by CIDU-3 operatives who rescued seven women. The couple escaped during the raid.

International and domestic passengers and even Philippine Airlines (PAL) employees have been greatly inconvenienced by the poor air-conditioning and out-of -service escalators, elevators and electronic flights information display systems (FIDS) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal (NAIA 2) for more than a month now.

Due to a hefty unpaid bill of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) with the International Elevator Equipment Inc. (IEEI ), the local distributor and maintainer of the Mitsubishi elevators and escalators at the said terminal, both international and domestic passengers using NAIA-2 will have to keep using the stairs for what could be a long period of time.

This is due to a declared intention of MIAA to review the amount being demanded by the IEEI for the upkeep of the elevators and escalators for a period of three years. The unserviceable escalators and elevators have taken their toll on passengers, especially the elderly and disabled, Philippine Airline (PAL) employees said.

In the case of the busted FIDS system, or the network of electronic monitors scattered throughout both the domestic and international areas at the terminal, PAL would have to make do by manually writing the information using markers and white boards and white sheets of paper for an uncertain period of time.

Due to the poor air-conditioning, PAL has provided at its own expense four portable "chillers" at the international passenger terminal. Making matters worse for PAL, airline employees lamented that they are being blamed by passengers for the poor state of equipment and facilities at the terminal when the responsibility for making sure the equipment and facilities at the terminal was the obligation of MIAA.

NAIA-2 is where PAL international and domestic operations are exclusively housed. Only one of the terminal's six elevators are functioning. Two of the three escalators are not working.

Engr. Octavio "Bing" Lina, MIAA assistant general manager for operations, said the problem with the air-conditioning system, which he admitted was being operated by MIAA, is now being addressed with a planned purchase of additional units since those at the terminal are inadequate to properly cool the area.

In the case of the non-working FIDS system, he said MIAA has purchased busted spare parts so they can reactivate monitors. However, MIAA would still have to resolve the issue over the repair of escalators and elevators due to a quarrel with IEEI, which reportedly wants to be paid first before continuing to provide maintenance services for MIAA.

MIAA General Manager Alfonso Cusi admitted they cannot find the contract IEEI signed with the previous MIAA management for the upkeep of the Mitsubishi escalators and elevators. "Wala kaming makitang kontrata nila. Hinahanap pa namin yung kontrata. You have to understand that we want to first see the contract before we release any payment," Cusi told The STAR.

NAIA-2, which is shaped like an inverted V, has a southeast arm designated for domestic operations and a northwest arm for all international flights. PAL has a total of 60 flights a day at the terminal, representing 60 percent of the total international and domestic flights operations at both Terminals 1 and 2.

MANILA (Reuters) - Everything is unpredictable in the Philippines, including public holidays.

Conflicting announcements by the government this weekend over whether to declare a public holiday the National Heroes Day -- which fell on a Sunday -- left many people and business houses confused. On Friday, government said the day after the National Heroes Day will be a working day, but later declared it a holiday. On Sunday, a last-minute statement said government offices and schools would be closed, but businesses will be opened.

Foreign firms in the country were not amused. "A good business environment requires predictability," The Foreign Chambers of the Philippines said in a statement, as it urged the government of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to maintain a fixed schedule of holidays.

"The nation's holiday schedule should be fixed in advance and followed without capricious change, as has unfortunately become too frequent a practice in 2005," the business lobbying group, which represents seven foreign chambers, said in a statement. Besides the August 29 holiday declaration, the chamber also cited three other "disruptive last-minute holidays" on July 25, June 13 and May 2.

Trike Drivers found to be most vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Aug 25, 2005
by Ding Cervantes

ANGELES CITY � Guess which male group in this Pampanga city, long dubbed as "Sin City" due to its red light district, has been found to be most vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Not the male tourists who continue to flock all year round to the bars on Fields Avenue which used to cater to American soldiers, or young professionals who earn enough money for some "good time," or homosexuals.

A study conducted by the city health office has revealed that the city�s tricycle drivers, owing to their "high-risk behavior," topped the list of male groups most vulnerable to STDs and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to the fatal Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

The findings prompted Mayor Carmelo Lazatin to order tricycle drivers to undergo seminars on HIV and STDs.

Marine park in Subic to stay open, says DENR
By Tonette Orejas
Inquirer News Service

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT-Environment Secretary Michael Defensor has ruled out the immediate closure of a marine park here where three false killer whales had died in the last four years, a Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) official said. PAWB Director Theresa Mundita Lim, head of an investigating team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), which visited the park Tuesday, said the closure of Ocean Adventure would only be enforced if there was a strong basis for it. The closure of the marine park is being sought by animal welfare groups.

"Instead of being antagonistic about it, we are giving the project proponent a chance to explain how it addressed animal welfare and environmental protection issues," Lim said. The Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc. (SBMEI) has operated the park, located at the Camayan Wharf, since February 2001.

Earlier, Gregorio Magdaraog, Ocean Adventure vice president for corporate affairs, said closing the park would endanger the lives of the marine animals and deprive Filipinos of the opportunity to appreciate the value of marine animals. The Earth Island Institute (EII)-Philippines, which has opposed the venture, said the deaths of three whales-Hook on July 8 this year, Coral in January 2004, and Deuce in July 2001-were enough reasons to stop keeping animals in captivity for entertainment.

The SBMEI, through the Subic Management Associates, imported at least six false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and eight South American sea lions (Otaria byronia) from China in 2000. A fisheries special permit covered the importation, documents from the Department of Agriculture showed.

EII said the park operator did not consult with the committee on animal welfare, an entity created by the Philippine Animal Welfare Act or Republic Act 8485. Lim said PAWB would review the environmental impact study of the SBMEI and the environmental clearance certificate issued to it by the ecology center of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Marine park shut to pave way for probe
By Christine Gaylican
Inquirer News Service
Aug 03, 2005

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources has closed for an indefinite period the Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Freeport Zone until its officials comply with the DENR's requirements, including an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC).

A cease and desist order issued by the DENR's Environment and Management Bureau said the Ocean Adventure, managed by the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc. (SBME), would have to suspend its operations as the DENR reviews allegations that the park violated laws against maltreatment and abuse of whales.

"We need to close it down to review their operations because of the death of some whales. Technically and legally the Ocean Adventure management did not secure an ECC from us," Defensor said in another interview with reporters. He said the agency deemed it necessary to uphold the decision issued recently by the Court of Appeals in May 2004 that the management of the Ocean Adventure, led by the SBME, should have first secured an ECC from the DENR before operating the park.

Defensor added that the DENR's Environment Management Bureau will lead the investigating team that would study the operations of the SBME and determine if it was complying with international standards on marine parks. "We would want to know if the claims of non-government groups are true and if the marine animals of the park are properly cared for and if their current environment is suitable to them," he said.

Ocean Adventure offers "swim with the whales" and dolphin shows, usually to groups of excursionists from Metro Manila. In a separate statement, the SBME management said they welcome the DENR's move and will now work on securing an ECC from the DENR.

"We are already talking to the DENR and we welcome the move of Secretary Mike Defensor that will complete the resolution of the issue and clear the way for us to get a separate ECC from the DENR, in compliance with the earlier ruling of the Court of Appeals," said Gregorio Magdaraog, Ocean Adventure vice president for corporate affairs, in a statement.

The Earth Island Institute-Philippines (EII) and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sought the closure of the marine park in Subic Bay and called on environment and health officials to save the two false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) still in captivity in the park. The whales and some sea lions are used in amusement shows at the park. The groups issued the call following the death of a female false killer whale in the park on July 8.

The EII and the PAWS filed criminal charges against the SBME board, composed of Americans Timothy Desmond, John Corcoran and Gail Laule, in 2001 for violation of Republic Act No. 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act, and Presidential Decree No. 1586, which mandates the Environmental Impact Statement System.

The EII and PAWS said US military forces that used Subic as a naval base for decades have not done anything to remove toxic biochemical, possibly nuclear, wastes dumped into Subic Naval Base. They said the SBMA also has no proper sewerage system and wastes flow directly into the bay.

The big Subic loot
First posted 10:13pm (Mla time) July 26, 2005
By Ansbert Joaquin
Inquirer News Service

WHAT'S in a shipwreck? A lot, if it's found in Subic Bay. A seabed of sunken national treasures, Subic Bay has 25 shipwrecks (some accounts estimate 30) that tell a lot about history and the significant role it played in World Wars I and II and during the Spanish occupation.

San Quentin, the oldest known wreck, is a wooden gunboat scuttled by Spaniards in 1898 in a futile attempt to block the channel between Grande and Chiquita islands from the invading Americans.

Oryoku Maru, a Japanese outboard passenger ship, lies 60 feet deep at 300 meters off the Alava pier. It was carrying families and 1,600 American war prisoners when it was attacked by a US aircraft. The wreck posed navigational risks to arriving US Navy ships, including aircraft carriers, when the port was still used as a US military facility. To remedy the problem, base officials flattened the wreck by blasting it.

One of its cannons is displayed in a restaurant, aptly called "The American Legion," on Magsaysay Drive in Olongapo City, just outside the Subic Bay Freeport. Sean Maru is a 30,000-ton Japanese cargo vessel found between the Alava pier and the northern end of the Subic International Airport runway. It was sunk by the US Navy during World War II.

The USS New York, once the pride of the US fleet in Asia, is the "star" attraction because of its historical value. When the Japanese swept the US Marines out of the Philippines during the war, the Americans had no choice but to scuttle their ship as they left Subic in early 1942 to avoid its capture.

Apart from their historical value, the sunken shipwrecks also serve as recreational dive sites for local and foreign tourists. "Their attraction can be attributed to their closeness to the shoreline," said dive instructor Butch Horario. Anilao (in Batangas) has its well-preserved corals, but Subic has its one-of-a-kind historical value, "where you can find plenty of shipwrecks in one area," he said.

The Subic shipwrecks also provide artificial habitat for more than 200 species of fish, replacing the corals that have been destroyed by poaching over the years. The marine abundance, in turn, sustains communities surrounding the bay.

For all their material and environmental value and beauty, the least that mankind can do is protect them. Yet, lately, the wrecks have been the targets of looters who threaten to destroy their historical value. Looting is also threatening the Subic communities' livelihood, recreational diving, and fish habitat.

Looting, according to divers, has been going on for years. And while looting cases have been on the rise lately, the treasures always end up in souvenir shops and junkyards.

While visiting the USS New York during a recreational dive on June 13, Horario said he saw a hacksaw and a hookah hose, and immediately suspected that looting was taking place. He later discovered that the vessel's pipes, cables and portholes were missing. He immediately reported the incident to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) harbor patrol, but so far, nothing has come out of it.

A month later, on July 11, the SBMA tourism department and the Philippine Coast Guard station in Subic town foiled another attempt to loot a sunken vessel off Baloy Beach in Barangay Barretto, Olongapo City. An SBMA official said a small ship that looked like a Japanese landing craft, or what was left of it after previous lootings, was recently unearthed 15 meters inland in Sitio Minanga in Morong, Bataan.

Remnants of the ship were found on a beach-front property owned by an official of the Bataan Techno Park. The "scrap," which was found by workers clearing the area for a casino project, was cut to pieces to be sold to junk shops, the SBMA official said.

In another account three years ago, according to an SBMA document, Brian Homan, an Australian dive shop and restaurant owner at the freeport, brought several witnesses to an SBMA office to testify on a shipwreck looting incident. After an investigation, the SBMA cancelled the accreditation of the suspect, Belgian Johan Desadeleir, who owns a dive shop called Johan Adventure Diving in Barretto.

Desadeleir sued Homan for libel. Three months later, the SBMA brokered an agreement between the two foreigners: Desadeleir was to withdraw the case against Homan in exchange for the renewal of his accreditation. The suspect's accreditation was eventually renewed, but the libel suit was not dropped.

The Inquirer visited Desadeleir's shop on July 18 and 26, but failed to reach him for comment. Another diving enthusiast has accused the SBMA and Homan, who also operates a museum, of looting the USS Lanikai of its artifacts when the ship was found in 2003. The century-old wooden ship sank in the Nabasan Bay 59 years ago. Dive shop owner Jim Robertson defended Homan, saying the latter "had [the] permission of the National Museum."

"They have been taking artifacts from the Lanikai, but apparently, they have the go ahead from the SBMA and the National Museum. They brought up some artifacts but those are supposed to be displayed at his (Homan's) place," Robertson said. "I think whatever they recovered, Homan was allowed to keep a portion or whatever [of the find]."

Dive master Earnest Elduayan agreed. "If you go to the National Museum, you will see his collection of jars-1500s, 1600s, Ming Dynasty, Tang Dynasty-everything is there. Homan donated those to the Philippines after he found them in Mindoro," Elduayan said. Homan declined to be interviewed by the Inquirer at length. But he said he felt abandoned by the SBMA when it renewed Desadeleir's accreditation. "And this you can quote me-ankle weights, crowbars, hammer and chisels are not the ordinary tools of fun divers," he said. "Right or wrong, that is between Brian and Johan," Robertson said.

"I don't think they are even suspects. If Brian is going to take something, he is going to take it whole. Whatever he has now was acquired through legal means," he added. Despite their differences, rivalries and bickering, the dive shop owners agreed on two things: a large part of the loot goes to the junk shops, and the solution to the problem is simply law enforcement. "Souvenir lovers are not going to take a piece of anything. They want something whole, an artifact that they can make use of," Robertson said.

By their own estimate, divers said tons of metals were lost to small-time looters every year. If a kilogram of copper was sold at local junk shops at P100, a ton of it a year would cost only P100,000. Brass could fetch a higher price, Horario said.

"They might not be aware of it, but looters do not only threaten to destroy the shipwrecks' historical value and Subic's marine life and tourism potential. They also risk even their own lives when they are not experienced in the proper way of diving and ascending in deep waters," Horario said.

THE slow business in Angeles City�s tourism district is seen to become worse as the police in the city fail to stop �hustlers� who continue to perpetrate abductions and theft cases with impunity, thus scaring away tourists. Reynaldo Lacquian, director of the Angeles City Clark Field Tourism Association�s Tourist Police (Acta-TP) director, said the tourist police has increased its personnel to be on constant watch against the �hustlers.�

Senior Superintendent Policarpio C. Segubre, chief of the Angeles City Police Office (Acpo), said that he would order an investigation and curb the so-called �hustlers.� A report said some members of the group were identified only as �Jerry Pambuk�, �Ronnie�, �Joey�, �Maning� and �Ofring.�

�Ofring� is the owner of a house along Ventura Street in Marisol Village where victims are forcibly taken and conned to lose money in card games and then made to pay or sign promissory notes obligating them to pay money as much as P30,000. �Maning� rejoined the �hustlers� � with whom he has worked until he parted ways with the group about eight years ago.

A tricycle driver in the town of Balibago confirmed that �Maning� is now driving a passenger tricycle that the group uses in its illicit activities. �Ofring�, on the other hand, is often seen aboard a single motorcycle at the back of Orchid Inn Resort. Police said the �hustlers� have also revised the route they use in fleeing with their victims.

They said the �hustlers� now take the back of Fields Avenue, driving along Real Street, then turning right to A. Santos Street, then turning left towards McArthur Highway through Hennyfel Street or Surla Street.

Last July 9, hustlers abducted a 56-year-old Australian near the Emotions Bar along Don Juico Avenue and pulled him into a blue colored tricycle with licensed plate YR 9623. One of the perpetrators, who introduced himself to the victim as �Tony�, pretended to ask the tourist to go with him to give Tony�s sister an orientation about Adelaide where she would be going to work as a nurse.

Upon reaching the house in Marisol Village, a group member shuffled a deck of cards placed on a table where he sat then asked him to cut the deck. When he refused, another member of the group cut the cards and dealt him cards despite telling them he does not want to gamble. When the group opened their cards and those in front of him, they told him he lost and demanded him to pay P30,000.

The hustlers ganged up on him with one yelling threats and intimidating words at him. Another forcibly reached into his pocket and took his P2,040. The hustlers further asked the victim to withdraw more money from the bank to complete the P30,000. Prior to the incident, the group also victimized four other tourists from the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the US. (DMF)

MANILA�S coffeeshops are always abuzz with rumors. So when we heard the tape story at Caf� Havana in Greenbelt two weeks ago, we didn�t give it much credence. The caf�s of this city teem with tall tales and it is often difficult to separate the chaff from the grain. But on Sunday, Malaca�ang itself issued a statement saying the tape was part of another destabilization plot. It was a classic PR maneuver. By preempting the release of potentially incriminating information, the Palace was doing damage control and wresting the PR initiative from its opponents.

But by issuing a press statement, the Palace was also showing its hand: It was a signal that there was more to the tape than just caf� society talk. This is the story we have so far pieced together from both opposition and administration sources, all of whom spoke to us on condition of anonymity. Pieces of the story are still missing, but it does look like the tale itself will unravel in the next few days.

The postelection wiretaps were apparently done by intelligence officers on orders from their superiors. The motives for the tapping remain unclear. Some sources say that they were probably tapping not so much the president (who has said that she frequently changed telephones) but Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

The CD containing the tapped conversations found its way to the opposition about a month ago. The original tape, both opposition and administration sources say, is about two hours long, and contains various conversations from late May to early June 2004. What Malaca�ang has so far released (see previous blogs) are portions of the tape in which the conversations of President Arroyo and her husband are included (May 26, 27, 28 and 31 and June 1, 2, 6, 8 and 10).

The opposition knew the tape was explosive but was also astute enough to know that it had to be released by a nonpartisan group. Besides, wiretapping is illegal. There were long discussions on how and when the tape should be released. A copy of the CD and the transcript were given to former Erap lawyer Allan Paguia, who was asked to look into the possible legal charges that could be brought against officials on the basis of the tapes.

Apparently, opposition sources say, Paguia, whose lawyer�s license was suspended in 2003 for conduct unbecoming of a lawyer, saw his chance to grab �15 minutes of fame.� He made his own version of the CD, with only the juiciest conversations included and with himself as narrator. He also planned to release the tape himself. The other oppositionists, however, managed to dissuade him from doing so, but by now copies of various versions of the tape were in various hands.

It is not clear how the Palace got hold of the tape, but one opposition version is that Malaca�ang probably obtained copies released by oppositionist Herman Tiu Laurel, who was boasting at the Sulo Hotel on Saturday morning that he had distributed the CDs to soldiers going to Mindanao.

It is possible that Malaca�ang got hold of the CD from military sources. At any rate, the Palace insiders panicked when they learned that the tape was going to be released Monday, June 6. (Willie Villarama, who was Mrs. Arroyo�s chief of staff when she was senator, was actually texting journalists on Saturday, saying that the opposition was releasing a tape. The Palace seems to have gotten its information wrong, because the press conference scheduled Monday was one orchestrated by Homobono Adaza, who didn�t have the tape, and instead released some innocuous video footage).

Nonetheless, on Saturday, there was a frantic meeting between the President and her closest advisers. The tape was played, and someone who was there said �it could send chills down your spine.� There was genuine concern and real worry about the implications of the recording. It was not quite panic, says one source, �more like a mild tremor.� Various options were discussed. The most extreme one, said an informed administration source, was that the First Gentleman should be �taken out� of the way. (This option, however, has been discussed in many other previous Palace meetings.)

It was also at the Saturday meeting that it was decided that the Palace should preempt the opposition by issuing the statement about the destabilization plot. Word about the meeting soon spread to the Cabinet and other Arroyo allies, all of whom appeared shaken Saturday night. �They all felt the tape was real,� said one source.

Presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye says that the �original tape,� which involved not Garcillano but a certain �Gary� (identified today as Edgardo Ruado, chief of staff of Rep. Ignacio Arroyo) landed on his desk on Sunday. Opposition sources, however, say that �Gary� was the wiretapper�s code for Garcillano.

On Monday, Bunye released two versions of the tape, and it�s these versions which we�ve heard on radio and TV. Some sources say, however, that none of these versions is the real one. But someone, somewhere, has the master tape. The tale is not over. We have been told that in the next few days, the �real� and longer version of the tape will come out, and with it, possibly also the officers who did the wiretaps.

Vital Tool of Communication for ordinary Filipinos
By K. Oanh Ha
Mercury News
June 24, 2005

MANILA, Philippines - Marsha Abenes, 20, pauses while talking to a visitor at the Glorietta Mall in downtown Manila to read an incoming text message on her cell phone. It's a sweet nothing from her boyfriend, who could have delivered the message quicker and cheaper by leaning over and whispering it into her ear. But then, this is the Philippines, where text messaging isn't just a craze, it's a way of life. This country's 80 million people send 160 million cell phone messages a day.

Unlike in the United States, where text messaging is popular mostly with teens and young adults, sending and receiving messages via cell phone has become tightly integrated into the daily life of many Filipinos. It has become a vital tool for daily communication, commerce and government, as well as a formidable political weapon.

``Filipinos are addicted to text messaging,'' said Claro ``Lalen'' Parlade, executive director of the Cyberspace Policy Center for Asia-Pacific in Manila. ``It has become a part of our cultural identity.''

Even the guerrillas in the country's embattled southern province of Mindanao, where fighting between splinter groups and the government occasionally flares, find text messaging an indispensable tool. ``No self-respecting rebel would be caught without one or two cell phones,'' said Amina Rasul-Bernardo, who is working to craft peace between the guerrillas and the government. Rebels here, who often resort to kidnappings, send ransom notes via text messages because their location can't be traced.

In the Philippines, where computer and Internet penetration remains low, text messaging is the equivalent of e-mail and computer instant messaging rolled into one.

As in many other Asian countries, cell phones are a leapfrog technology, enabling people without land lines to go straight to a mobile phone. The low cost of text messages has made them widely popular throughout Asia, which sends the most number of text messages in the world. Of the 2.9 billion text messages sent each day worldwide, nearly 40 percent originate in Asia, compared with 14 percent from North America, according to research firm the Radicati Group in Palo Alto.

With 27 million cell phone subscribers in the Philippines, there are more cell phone accounts than fixed telephone lines. The vast majority of text message senders are people with modest incomes. They buy access in small, prepaid amounts for as little as $1.80, which buys 100 text messages. That makes a text message one-seventh the cost of a voice call from a cell phone.

Although low in cost, text messages are a critical part of the Filipino economy. Last year, when growth in nearly all major industries was stagnant or in the single digits, the telecommunications industry grew by 17 percent -- boosted by text messaging, said Cielito Habito, director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development.

There are also cultural reasons for Filipinos' love affair with text messaging. The technology supports many Filipinos' aversion to even mild confrontation, said Cesar Tolentino, an analyst with telecom research firm XMG-Global in Manila, which is spearheading a study to explain the service's popularity in the country. Many Filipinos use text to ask permission before they call someone on their cell, said Parlade of the Cyberspace Institute.

In a country where personal relationships are key, keeping in constant touch with family and friends is of utmost importance. Nothing is too trivial to prompt a message. More than half of personal text messages are just greetings less than 100 characters long. ``Hi,'' ``good morning,'' and ``how are you?'' are among the favorites, according to XMG's surveys.

Divina Parreno, a Filipino-American who lives in Milpitas, became hooked on text messaging on a visit in 2001. She routinely sends greetings, as well as jokes, to friends and family in the Philippines -- sometimes as many as 1,000 text messages in one month. (Her service provider is Verizon, which enables her to send text messages internationally.)

``I've been here (in the United States) for 25 years. I lost touch with many friends because I hate writing letters,'' said Parreno, who is in her 40s. ``This is an easy way to keep in touch.''

Text messaging has serious uses, too. In 2001, mass, impromptu protests were staged using text messages by opponents of then-President Joseph Estrada, bringing together 1 million protesters who ultimately toppled Estrada.

Today, cell phones are routinely used to stage political rallies and demonstrations. Equally important is their use to send damaging political jokes at election time, many written and planted by the political parties, Parlade said. ``It's a great tool because Filipinos love jokes,'' he said.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo now swirls in controversy, accused of fixing the election results that enabled her to stay in power. One Web site, Txtpower.org, encourages Filipinos to download a ring tone of a song that jokes about Arroyo's troubles -- as a sign of protest to urge Arroyo to answer the allegations.

For its part, the Filipino government is catching on. Filipinos can now text message Arroyo, as well as other government agencies. The country's equivalent of the Internal Revenue Service, in an effort to catch tax scofflaws, holds a text-message lottery with prizes. Citizens are urged to send details of purchases, which are used to catch vendors who don't pay taxes.

Police stations ask citizens to message in criminal activity and complaints. Even the 911 emergency service can be contacted through text message. Businesses have milked the trend for profits, with television viewers messaging their favorite soap operas and competing in contests. All this messaging, of course, is making cell phone companies gleeful. One of the country's two major telecommunications companies, Smart, is rolling out programs where users can pay for retail items with their prepaid minutes.

In the fall, it unveiled a text messaging remittance service -- the first of its kind in the world -- to capitalize on the $9 billion overseas workers send home to the Philippines annually. The bulk of remittances come from workers in the United States who send as much as $1,000 at a time through the service, which charges lower fees than banks, said Tolentino of XMG. The transaction is received as a text message and can be presented at a ``cash center'' for pesos.

Marsha Abenes is helping to fuel the text messaging craze. A student at Technological University of the Philippines in Manila, she recently signed up to send unlimited text messages. She sends messages every free minute, firing off as many as 100 a day.

``The very first thing I do when I wake in the morning is check my phone for messages,'' she said, smiling between rapid-fire key punches. ``I can't live without my phone.''

Filipino President was 'recorded fixing election'
By Stuart Grudgings in Manila
07 June 2005

The President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal Arroyo faces a growing crisis over allegations of fixing last year's election result. A local television network claims to have an audio tape of a conversation between Mrs Arroyo and the election commissioner, Victoriano Garcellano, during the counting, in which she appears to ask leading questions over the progress of the account.

The government has denied the authenticity of the recording, saying that it was doctored. The opposition has consistently accused President Arroyo of cheating her way to a narrow election victory last May.

"The latest plot, by far the most devious and desperate, involves the illegal bugging of a conversation and the subsequent electronic doctoring, alteration, and revision of that conversation so as to introduce elements that were not really there," Mrs Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said in a statement.

In the recording, Mrs Arroyo asks the official whether her overall lead could fall to below 1 million votes. The official says that although her lead had fallen to about 900,000, votes from several towns had yet to be counted. "We will do our best," he says. The final election count by last June gave Mrs Arroyo a winning margin of just more than 1 million votes over her rival Fernando Poe Jr, a movie star who died later in 2004.

Bunye said the man talking with the President on the audio tape was not an election agency official but a southern political leader. He said the tape was edited from a master tape that recorded 12 conversations between Mrs Arroyo and the political leader from 31 May to 29 June last year.

Analysts say cheating by all sides is a common fixture of Philippine elections, with incumbents having the advantage of state machinery and financing. They say the steady drumbeat of fraud allegations against Mrs Arroyo could help the opposition undermine her presidency and turn the public against her. Her ratings slumped to a record low amid allegations her family took illegal gambling payoffs.

A senate inquiry into the illegal numbers game, known as "jueteng" heard testimony from a "fixer" yesterday who said it was well known that Mrs Arroyo's husband had been taking gambling payoffs in Bicol province, south-east of the capital, Manila.

ANGELES CITY -- Mayor Carmelo "Tarzan" Lazatin is now gearing towards a program to bring about urban regeneration in the city to make it more attractive to tourists and foreign investors. Lazatin has reportedly invited one of the top urban development planners in the country to prepare designs for the future improvements in the physical features of the city to boost tourism and foreign investments.

Lazatin is intent on starting the urban regeneration plans on the city's tourism center now popularly known to tourists from many countries as Fields Avenue. This was bared Wednesday to an audience composed of foreigners, most of whom have been engaged in the entertainment business in the city for years.

Architect Felino "Jun" Palafox presented global trends and revolutionary ideas in planning and architecture in a talk before the Rotary Club of Clark Centennial (RCCC) at the Four Seasons Restaurant in Clark Ecozone Wednesday. Together with Architect Bobby Ma�osa, Palafox was hosted by Rotarians headed by RCCC president Greg Tengco and Rey Pineda, RCCC charter president.

Ma�osa designed the Coconut Palace near Manila Bay for then First Lady Imelda R. Marcos. Pineda said Palafox was invited by Lazatin to assist in preparing plans for the urban regeneration program for the city.

Pineda said Palafox will contribute his internationally acclaimed expertise in urban planning in improving the Fields Avenue district. Palafox, one of the top 200 planners in Asia, is a graduate of Harvard University, University of the Philippines and the University of Sto. Tomas.

His latest work in the country is the Rockwell Center shopping mall, which was transformed from what used to be an electric power plant facility. His firm is also engaged in various projects abroad.

BCDA declares availability of P22-B fund for Subic-Clark-Tarlac tollway
By Ding Cervantes
The Philippine Star 05/11/2005

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga � The finance department of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) has finally issued a certificate of availability of funds, the final requirement to facilitate the long-delayed release of the P22-billion 93.77-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac tollway.

But full blast work on the tollway, which would be the longest in the country when finished, cannot start until three to four months from now pending the completion of a geographical survey now being done by its Japanese contractors, BCDA vice president for operations Antonio Rex Chan told The Star yesterday.

Chan said the certification means that the P18-billion soft loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the 15 percent project cost counterpart of the Philippine government are now available for the project. "The certification means that cash is now available from both JBIC and BCDA, and there�s no more reason why the project should be delayed," Chan said.

He added that the BCDA has already obtained loans from Banco de Oro and the Development Bank of the Philippines to come up with almost P5 billion needed for the 15 percent counterpart fund from the government as required by law.

"The foreign loan has an interest of only .9 percent annually and is payable in 40 years," Chan said. The P18-billion loan for the project was allocated by the JBIC from its Special Yen Loan Facility way back in December 1998. The loan was firmed up during the visit of President Arroyo to Japan in 2001.

The project has been divided by the BCDA into two packages, one project extending from Subic to Clark and the other fr�\�wh>0 om Clark to Tarlac. They are to be implemented by the Japanese firms Kajima Joint Ventures Inc. and Hasama Joint Ventures Inc. which are now conducting a survey in the areas to be traversed by the tollroad from the Subic Freeport through the Clark special economic zone and winding up at the Luisita economic zone in Tarlac.

Chan said the length of the tollroad was based on an earlier survey conducted by the local firm FF Cruz, but the result of the survey is now being reviewed by the Japanese contractors. He denied reports that changes have been made in the pathways of the tollway reportedly to accommodate a prominent Makati-based business clan which has allegedly been buying up properties in areas to be traversed by the project, particularly in the Subic area.

The tollway project is expected to open up huge foreign investments by linking up the major economic zones in Central Luzon, as well as airports and seaports north of Metro Manila. " The BCDA has already spent some P600 million for acquisition of properties to be traversed by the toll road which Mrs. Arroyo identified earlier as a vital component of her administration�s 10-point agenda to transform the Clark and the Subid as a competitive hub in Asia.

The tollway will have four lanes through Subic, Clark and Tarlac and will provide a main transportation network that would facilitate human and cargo transport in Central Luzon.

Tiger Airways will increase its services to the Philippines
May 5, 2005
SINGAPORE (AFP)

Singapore budget carrier Tiger Airways said Thursday it will increase its services to the Philippines to five flights a week from three starting June 6 due to strong demand. Tiger Airways chief executive Tony Davis said the carrier's flights to the Philippines are already fully booked until June.

Tiger Airways began flights to Clark Field, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Manila, on April 5. Clark Field is a former US air base converted into a commercial airport. Tickets for a one-way trip for travel July 1-August 31 are selling as low as 14.98 Singapore dollars (9.0 US), excluding taxes and other charges, according to the Tiger Airways website.

A one-way ticket to Manila on Philippine Airlines costs 310 dollars. On Singapore Airlines, it will cost 480 dollars. More than 90,000 Filipinos reside in Singapore, according to the Philippine embassy.

Singapore is also used as a travel hub by Filipinos working in other countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Tiger Airways is 49-percent owned by Singapore Airlines. A rival budget carrier, Jetstar Asia, which is backed by Australian flag carrier Qantas, flies from Singapore to Manila.

Report: Philippines Most Dangerous Place to be a Journalist
By Heda Bayron
Dipolog City, Philippines
03 May 2005

The Philippines is the most deadly place for journalists to work according to a new report issued on global Press Freedom Day. The group, Reporters Without Borders says 52 journalists have been killed in the Philippines over the past decade. VOA's Heda Bayron recently traveled to the southern Philippines where most of the attacks happened.

It is midday in Dipolog City, in the southern Philippines. In the sweltering heat, workers and students pile into tricycles to go home for lunch, and listen to radio host Elmer Elmidulan. In his one-and-a-half-hour show, called Katin-awan, or Enlightenment, Mr. Elmidulan regularly criticizes local government officials.

And this has earned him the ire of his targets. "I received several death threats,� he said. "As of now, I am facing a libel [case] filed by one of the board members [legislators] of this province." Mr. Elmidulan is one of dozens of Filipino journalists facing harassment, and often violence, for doing their jobs.

At least 15 reporters have been killed in the past two years. Unlike in many countries, Filipinos working for the nation's 700 radio stations, half dozen national television networks and numerous newspapers are free to pursue any story. They can interview anybody, including rebel militants, often to the consternation of government officials.

Vincent Brossel of the international media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, says this kind of freedom can create enemies. "When you have free press, you have critiques on the authorities, on the Mafia [organized crime] and religious groups. So all these interests try to put pressure, including physically, on the journalists, and this is what happened in the Philippines," he explained.

Most of the killings occur in the provinces, especially in the conflict-ridden south where criminal gangs and rebel groups operate. Life here is cheap, abject poverty makes it easy to find someone willing to kill for as little as $100. Most of the journalists killed were covering government issues, which in the provinces are complicated by corruption.

Many victims have been radio commentators, who have been brave enough to challenge the system, so much so, that popular presenters such as Mr. Elmidulan have become the last resort for those desperate for help. Those seeking protection from abusive or corrupt public officials, or looking for help in filing legal cases against officials and those seeking justice for relatives in jail often call their local station to seek aid.

Mr. Elmidulan says he tries to follow-up some cases, but he feels frustrated when nothing gets done. "I sometimes feel like a dog barking at the moon, waiting for it to fall. But if I stop, that means the powerful people had won," he added.

Some journalists admit a lack of professional ethics can contribute to attacks. Mr. Brossel of Reporters Without Borders says some Filipino journalists push the limits of media freedoms. �The local radio is sometimes very critical, attacking very harshly, sometimes on the limit of what we call normal ethical journalism, but it is not a reason to kill a journalist," he explained.

The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines and other media organizations have started nationwide training on safety and ethics, and have established a hotline for journalists who feel threatened. Filipino journalists are fiercely protective of their freedom, having fought hard to regain it after suppression during the 1970s and 1980s under former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Many say it is essential to bring to justice those who target journalists, because they are also killing the country's democracy.

President Gloria Arroyo admits that reporting on corruption has become a deadly occupation, and vows to punish those who kill reporters. "There is nothing more corrosive to our democracy than the murder of journalists in pursuit of truth," she said. "I will not rest until those guys who have been caught and other assassins are brought to justice."

As he leaves his studio, Elmer Elmidulan says he is resigned to the possibility that a bullet could end his life at any second. Death is a certainty, he says, whether today or tomorrow. In his work he believes he is exercising his rights and obligations as a citizen and a journalist. But he does not want to be a hero

Gloria's Last Stand
By George Wehrfritz and Marites Vitug
Newsweek International
July 11, 2005

In Philippine politics, it's often the relatives who stand out in a crisis. In the 1980s Imelda Marcos's penchant for designer shoes defined the excesses of her husband Ferdinand's dictatorship. His ouster capped a "people power" revolution orchestrated by the widow of a powerful Marcos opponent assassinated two years earlier. Today the relative in the klieg lights is Jose (Mike) Miguel, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's businessman husband, who allegedly took payoffs from illegal gambling syndicates and conspired with his wife to fix the last presidential election. He denies the charges, yet last week Arroyo announced that the First Gentleman had "volunteered to go abroad" in an effort "to remove himself from any situation which will cast doubt on my presidency."

The decision betrayed a tinge of desperation. Congressman Joey Salceda, one of Arroyo's closest allies, told NEWSWEEK the presidential palace was in "affirmative mode" after the administration's toughest week in office. But he added somewhat ominously: "To save the queen, we should sacrifice the king, the bishop and the rook."

Will Queen Gloria survive? That question hangs in the air across the Philippines (and, indeed, among international investors) as the president struggles to weather an all-too-familiar string of scandals. Among them: allegations that warlords running underground jueteng lotteries had Arroyos on their payroll; that Mike pocketed $5 million in surplus campaign funds after his wife's May 2004 election victory, and that the couple conspired to rig that contest. The final charge gained credibility a month ago, when wiretaps surfaced supposedly capturing the president, during the vote count, fixing the outcome by telephone with an election commissioner. After a three-week silence, Arroyo nervously acknowledged the conversation on national television, but called it a "lapse in judgment" and not a crime.

That's a legal question, of course. But if recent history is any indication, the odds are good that it will be settled on Manila's streets. Most of Arroyo's opponents are aligned with former president Joseph Estrada, an actor turned politician who was ousted during 2001 protests dubbed "People Power II." They now view turnabout as fair play. They're organizing mass protests to drive her out of power to vindicate the late Fernando Poe, who they believe was cheated out of an election victory in the 2004 presidential race. Their symbolic leader is Poe's widow, Susan Roces, who last week accused Arroyo of "stealing the presidency, not once but twice."

The backdrop to this sordid political soap opera is a country that's become truly bleak. Once at the vanguard of the political change that swept the globe in the 1980s, the Philippines has turned out to be the clown in a class of new democracies. Its economy is growing but hamstrung by a serious debt problem, 25 percent of the population lives in abject poverty and corruption is arguably as bad as during the Marcos era. Perhaps the saddest measure of all is the daily exodus. Last year the Philippines "exported" more than a million people to work fishing boats in the Pacific, build skyscrapers in Dubai or change nappies in places like Hong Kong and Singapore.

Ironically, even the chief architect of democratization now perceives "a fatal flaw" in the system. In an essay published last April, former president Corazon Aquino argued that entrenched institutions, including the police, the courts and most ministries, remained arrayed against change in the Philippines. "Even the best and the brightest... could not wrestle governance out of the grips of corruption, patronage, and inefficiency," she wrote. According to polls by Pulse Asia, the public's trust in government has eroded dangerously because successive administrations have failed to deliver what average people want most�a better standard of living. Between 1990 and 2002, the average annual growth of per capita income was 1.1 percent.

The country's fiscal condition is indeed dire. Today a third of government spending goes to servicing foreign and domestic debt totaling $55 billion. The country's narrow tax base compounds the problem: of the 31 million workers who are supposed to pay taxes, fewer than a third actually do�and most of them are middle class.

Arroyo's reform agenda, which has included higher prices for electricity and public transport, remains incomplete. At her urging, the legislature just boosted the nation's value-added tax, which will increase state revenues. (Last week the country's high court suspended the tax pending a review.) The president endorsed a bill hiking the "sin tax" on tobacco and liquor, but analysts say she didn't push the legislation and the bill was diluted in Congress. Those same analysts note that one of her major campaign donors, tycoon Lucio Tan, is the main domestic player in those industries.

Corruption remains a cancer. Estrada, the former president, is on trial for accepting bribes from gambling syndicates. He denies the charges. In another case, former military general Carlos Garcia is under investigation for plundering at least $5.6 million from his budget and using it to buy real estate and cars, while padding secret bank accounts overseas. He, too, has denied doing anything wrong. Arroyo's son and brother-in-law, both elected lawmakers, are under investigation for influence peddling�a situation that has understandably bred cynicism regarding the government's claim to be mounting a decisive campaign against corruption. Little wonder Transparency International ranked the Philippines as one of Asia's most corrupt countries in 2004.

The country's total population, forecast to top 85 million this year, is growing so rapidly that it eats up much of the annual economic gains. Even with GDP expanding at a respectable 4.6 percent clip in the first quarter of 2005, most of the country's growth is driven by energy exports that do little to boost employment or shrink the ranks of the poor. Unemployment now stands at 8.9 percent. Perhaps most disturbing: the country's middle class has atrophied as entrepreneurs and professionals emigrate in droves to find work overseas.

With its weak institutions, rogue military (there have been eight coup attempts since 1986) and near-continuous political turmoil, it's fair to ask if the Philippines is a failed democracy. "We continue to be a democracy in progress," says Mario Taguiwalo, head of the National Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank. "We are in a vicious cycle of bad government which diminishes our capacities, leading again to continued bad government. There is no substitute for leadership in the reform of our institutions." Many look back to the presidency of Fidel Ramos (1992-1998) for solace. The former police general grew the economy, broke down monopolies and deregulated key industries like airlines and telecoms while maintaining political stability before his time in office expired (the Constitution mandates a single-term presidency). His successor, Joseph Estrada, was an actor with a reputation for living fast. Arroyo, then the vice president, led mass rallies that ousted him from office after impeachment efforts stalled in the Senate.

Arroyo's strategy for avoiding the same fate is to ask the people for "a six-month probation period," says Salceda. During that time, he explains, the president will push hard to root out corruption in government, broaden the country's tax base and deregulate the economy through bold executive action. On the political front, she will champion a plan to abandon the country's American-style presidency for parliamentary democracy; she has even proposed a constitutional convention to be followed by elections in 2007�a timetable that would cut short her tenure by three years, providing her an early but graceful exit from politics.

Foreign investors, international aid organizations and even the ratings agencies hope Arroyo can weather the storm. They applaud her efforts to fix the fiscal crisis, knowing that a populist successor could easily ratchet up spending again. She has begun to go after tax cheats; Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap resigned last week to contest tax-evasion charges filed against him. Pressed to comment on the turmoil, the World Bank issued a statement declaring itself "very encouraged by recent progress on fiscal reforms"�the bank's equivalent of a five-star movie review. Still, nobody expects the president's enemies to stand idly by. "The opposition will continue with its campaign for her to step down, whatever she does," says Environment Secretary Michael Defensor. "So we should make it difficult for them to gain public support by [implementing] effective programs, showing good governance."

Were Arroyo to resign, Vice President Noli de Castro would take the helm. The former television news anchor was the top vote getter nationally in his 2001 senatorial race, but he's perceived as a lightweight who would struggle to solve the many problems facing the Philippines. But, then, so has just about everybody else.

MANILA, Philippines - With coup rumors swirling, as many as 40,000 people staged a "people power" protest Wednesday to demand the resignation of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. A close ally of Arroyo said the president will never resign but admitted the month long political crisis over allegations of vote-rigging is potentially explosive.

Police and troops were on high alert for violence by the protesters, a possible coup attempt or even terror attacks. Security at the presidential palace was extra tight. The protest in Manila's financial district was as much about glitz and glamour as politics, with a steady stream of singers, dancers and politicians taking the stage to entertain a broad spectrum of opposition groups and parties.

The biggest show of force since the political crisis erupted last month - over allegations that Arroyo rigged the May 2004 election and her family received illegal gambling payoffs - was seen as a test of public sentiment and an indicator of whether the opposition can muster enough support to oust her.

But while the turnout was quadruple that of the largest anti-Arroyo rally so far, it was still a fraction of the giant "people power" rallies that forced out dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada, Arroyo's predecessor, in 2001.

Wilson Fortaleza of the left-wing Sanlakas party claimed the protest was "a preview for a bigger storm." "We will not stop marching until she steps down," added opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson. "She must now think of the interest of the country."

Environment Secretary Mike Defensor, one of Arroyo's closest advisers, told foreign journalists that Arroyo "will never resign." He said the crisis is "reversible" and that public trust can be restored. He admitted, however, that the current situation is "just one notch short of getting violent."

Adding to Arroyo's problems, Moody's Investors Service followed the lead of two other rating agencies and downgraded the country's credit outlook to negative from stable, citing possible fallout on the budget and external payments "if political turmoil intensifies or is prolonged." The main stock index fell by 0.8 percent.

Arroyo has apologized for talking to an election official before she was declared winner, but denied manipulating last year's ballot. She has defiantly refused to step down despite the mass resignation last week of 10 Cabinet members.

In both the Marcos and Estrada cases, the Roman Catholic Church and the powerful military withdrew their support - but that hasn't happened this time. The military has declared it would stay neutral. Rumors of a brewing coup have swirled in recent weeks.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said officials have received reports of junior military officers planning to make statements against Arroyo. The military chief of staff, Gen. Efren Abu, has assured officials that troops have been amply warned to stay away from politics.

"The commanding officers of these officers and enlisted personnel are definitely doing something about this to prevent any untoward incident," he said. At Wednesday's protests, former left-wing activists who helped oust Estrada stood side by side with Estrada supporters.

Making a brief appearance was Susan Roces, the political neophyte widow of popular action film star Fernando Poe Jr., who finished second to Arroyo last year then died of a stroke in December. While she stopped short of calling for Arroyo to step down, Roces said: "Cheating is wrong." "Currently they are trying to confuse us," Roces said, referring to Arroyo's administration. "They are offering so many schemes so they will stay in power. Let us not trust them."

But not everyone was anti-Arroyo. "It reminds me of `people power,' but this makes me sad because they have different political colors, different agendas," bank employee Erica Perez said. "They are wasting efforts because what they are doing will not make any complete change for our country, for our economy."

Visayas, Bicol govs draw up plans to set up 'republics'
First posted 00:50am (Mla time) July 10, 2005
Inquirer News Service

FED UP with always having to be dictated by "Imperial Manila," the governors of Western, Central and Eastern Visayas have started plans to form a separate "Visayas republic" in case President Macapagal-Arroyo is forcibly removed from office. Governors from Mindanao and the Bicol region have also started thinking of their own republics.

Oriental Negros Gov. George Arnaiz, who is also chair of the Central Visayas Regional Development Council, said the idea of forming a federal Visayas republic came out spontaneously during a meeting of governors in Manila last Wednesday at the Century Park Hotel, borne out of their "frustration" over how events in Metro Manila are affecting the rest of the country.

Referring to the people power uprisings of 1986 and 1991, Arnaiz said "we are always dictated upon by Manila, even if there are only a few ralliers." Arnaiz said the sentiment was also expressed by his fellow Visayan governors, as rallies demanding the ouster of President

"We have been removing presidents since the time of [Ferdinand] Marcos. If they themselves cannot respect the Constitution, how can we respect it?" Arnaiz said that of the Visayas governors, only Northern Samar Gov. Raul Daza did not sign the manifesto supporting a "federal Visayas republic" because the first portion was in support of President Arroyo. Daza, however, favors the idea of having a federal republic, Arnaiz said.

"We have everything in the Visayas except the Armed forces, and a few airplanes. But we are not really preparing for external aggression. We only need to fight local criminality," Arnaiz said. He said while it will initially be difficult for the Visayas provinces to stand on its own, the bulk of the income for this "Republic" would be its collections from international ports like Cebu.

"Soon, we will have an international port in Iloilo and Bacolod. We should also start paying the right taxes," he said. The idea has gained the support of local executives down to the municipal level, Arnaiz said.

This movement will be similar but separate from the federal movement that is also being planned by Mindanao governors, Arnaiz added. On Tuesday, the governors and some mayors of the Visayas will meet in Cebu to discuss the concept further. The meeting, to be hosted by Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia, will be held simultaneously with a similar meeting in Davao among Mindanao governors and mayors. "We will meet in order to understand better what this movement is all about in case we don't follow our Constitution," Arnaiz said.

Sorsogon Gov. Raul Lee, who said he is the spokesperson of the six governors in the region, said they were serious in putting up their own "republic" in the Bicol region if unconstitutional moves to oust President Arroyo succeeded. Lee said that even the groups pressuring the President to resign were working against the Constitution because the decision of resignation must come from herself alone.

"What will happen to the votes people cast, which have given the President a mandate? Will they just come to naught?" Lee asked. Lee said Bicol is a strategic region because it supplies a significant volume of power to Metro Manila with its two geothermal plants. He said that if Ms Arroyo is unseated unconstitutionally, they could cut power supply to Metro Manila.

But Legazpi City Vice Mayor Jess Rico Salazar said there was no need for a mini-republic in the country or in the province. "We will not survive as a nation. It will only divide us even more," he said. In Koronadal City, the move to create a Mindanao Republic would only worsen the decades-old conflict on the island, according to South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Fuentes.

The establishment of an independent Mindanao was being peddled by One People Mindanao, a group headed by former Transportation Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez. Alvarez's group even came up with a flag for the proposed republic, a yellow octagram adorned by eight stars, and a "national anthem."

Alvarez said his group has been gaining support with the protests that have been rocking the capital. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he would support the creation of a separate government for Mindanao if Ms Arroyo was ousted through violent means. Duterte is Ms Arroyo's antiterror adviser.

Allies of Philippine President Call on Her to Step Down
By CARLOS H. CONDE
Published: July 9, 2005

MANILA, Saturday, July 9 - The political crisis facing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took a major turn on Friday when influential allies, including 10 of her departing cabinet officials and the former president, Coraz�n Aquino, called on her to step down. The turnaround by her former supporters makes a resignation by Mrs. Arroyo more likely in the wake of accusations that she rigged the 2004 presidential election by conferring with an election commissioner, officials and analysts said.

Mrs. Arroyo reacted to snowballing calls for her resignation by asserting Friday that she would not leave office. "I was duly elected to uphold the Constitution and ensure that the institutions of the nation were strengthened not weakened," she said in a radio broadcast. Those who want her to step down are "undermining our democratic principles" and "subverting the rule of law," Mrs. Arroyo said. She also advised her critics to "take your grievances to Congress," where, she said, she would be willing to face the accusations against her.

Mrs. Aquino, who played a role in the "people power" uprisings in 1986 and 2001, went on television Friday to ask Mrs. Arroyo to resign. "I ask the president, in all humility and with full awareness of its difficulty and pain, to make this supreme sacrifice to spare our country from the violence that threatens it," she said.

The 10 cabinet officials announced their resignations on Friday but said they had decided to leave their posts as early as Tuesday, having concluded that Mrs. Arroyo could no longer govern effectively under the cloud of scandal. When Mrs. Arroyo learned about the planned mass resignations, she pre-empted them by announcing Thursday night that she had ordered her whole cabinet to resign.

There has been concern here in the past month that the crisis could spin out of control, providing an opportunity for rightist elements to attempt a coup d'�tat. Thousands of anti-Arroyo protesters began gathering in Manila and other parts of the country late on Friday afternoon. Organizers said they would hold an "indefinite vigil" until Mrs. Arroyo stepped down.

Roman Catholic bishops are expected to express their views over the weekend, which could be crucial in influencing public opinion and the president's course of action.

Former President Fidel Ramos, who led the mutiny in 1986 that led to the downfall of Ferdinand E. Marcos, gave his support to Mrs. Arroyo on Friday, as have many of the country's mayors and governors, who have gone so far as to vow to secede from the republic if she were to be removed unconstitutionally.

Mrs. Arroyo apologized to the country for what she called a "lapse in judgment" by consulting with an election official. But instead of placating Filipinos, the apology opened her to more resentment because, to many, she was not repentant enough.

US says it will oppose any unconstitutional change in RP
July 08, 2005
Agence France-Presse

(UPDATE) THE SENIOR US diplomat in the Philippines said Friday his government would oppose any unconstitutional attempt to unseat President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who is besieged with allegations she stole last year's elections. US embassy Charge d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli also said in a live television interview that Washington still recognizes Arroyo as the legitimate president of this former US colony in Southeast Asia unless she is unseated through a constitutional process.

"Anything that goes beyond the Constitution, the US government will firmly oppose," he said. He stressed that unacceptable options would include "a military coup, the imposition of martial law [and] people power in the streets." "Anything that will weaken the institutions that we genuinely believe are the true safeguard for your own liberty and welfare ... we will do our best to oppose any such actions," Mussomeli said.

"We support the rule of law. Within that context, we believe the president is still the president," he added, saying that Arroyo was within her "legal right" to order her entire Cabinet to resign late Thursday. Arroyo's order to the Cabinet was intended to open the door to a revamp but eight of the cabinet members tendered their irrevocable resignations Friday, saying Arroyo should also step down as she has lost the confidence of the people.

Arroyo has been under increasing pressure to step down on opposition allegations that she cheated to win the May 2004 elections. Arroyo has refused to step down, insisting she has done nothing illegal. In the past, huge street demonstrations, widely known as "people power," were used to topple the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and scandal-tainted president Joseph Estrada in 2001.

Referring to the crisis which has dominated national attention for months, Mussomeli said that the United States, the country's main security ally and trading partner, was mainly disappointed that political squabbles had distracted the national attention from vital reforms.

Calls mount for Arroyo to resign
Friday, July 8, 2005; Posted: 4:12 a.m. EDT (08:12 GMT)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's hold on the Philippine presidency looked increasingly tenuous on Friday as members of her sacked cabinet, an iconic former president and an influential business group called on her to quit. Arroyo, under mounting pressure to resign over allegations she tried to influence the vote counting in last year's presidential election and that members of her family took payoffs from illegal gambling, vowed on Thursday she would not step down.

But former president Corazon Aquino, who Arroyo has called a role model in the past and is considered an icon of democracy in the Philippines, added her voice on Friday to the chorus asking the president to resign. And withdrawal of support at a weekend meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines would almost certainly be a lethal blow.

Police raised their alert level in Manila to maximum on Friday and General Efren Abu, the military's chief of staff, ordered troops not to intervene in the deepening political crisis at a hastily called meeting of all senior commanders. Several hundred protesters, carrying placards saying "Oust Gloria now" had gathered in the business district by mid-afternoon. The peso fell close to its historic low against the dollar and bonds slumped. But stocks rose, as analysts said any change in the leadership was likely to be peaceful.

"This could be the tipping point," said Tom Green, executive director of risk consultancy Pacific Strategies & Assessments. "We haven't seen the reaction on the street but still this is a pretty good shove." Under the constitution, Vice President Noli de Castro would assume the presidency if Arroyo resigns. Fighting for survival, Arroyo said on Thursday she asked her cabinet to resign to clear the way for a reshuffle.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, speaking for eight cabinet members, said Arroyo's surprise announcement pre-empted their plans to quit over decisions that seemed to show she was more concerned about political survival than fiscal reforms. There has been speculation Arroyo leaned on the Supreme Court, as it considered an opposition petition last week, to freeze a tax package that is at the heart of her economic reforms as a way to defuse public anger about rising prices.

"The opposition filed it and she exploited it," one source close to the president told Reuters. Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin and Trade Secretary Juan Santos, as well as the heads of the tax and customs agencies, were among those who announced their resignations at the news conference and endorsed the call on Arroyo to step down.

Filipinos are angry about corruption and rising prices but there has been no sign of the rage behind "people power" uprisings that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and Joseph Estrada as president in 2001. Still, key elements of Arroyo's support were crumbling. "It is with a heavy heart that we ask the president to relinquish her position," the Makati Business Club, which groups the heads of many major companies, said in a statement.

The Liberal Party, a government supporter that had helped give Arroyo a majority in both houses of Congress, said her departure would help eliminate the political tension. De Castro, the vice president, said Arroyo should be given "a chance to think and decide for the nation".

Some analysts said financial markets would have liked Purisima and the other main economic managers to stay on for now to keep Arroyo's reform agenda moving to improve weak revenue collection and cut debt of nearly $70 billion. "Even a swift Arroyo resignation would be unlikely to settle matters as Vice President de Castro has questionable support among the elite," David Fernandez, research head for Asian emerging markets at JPMorgan, said in a note to clients.

Investors were already rattled by weeks of political crisis over the allegations and the court freeze on the tax package. The longer the president stays in office, under a cloud of doubt and distrust, and with her style of decision-making, the greater the damage to the economy," Purisima said with tears in his eyes.

Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said other secretaries would submit "courtesy resignations" at a cabinet meeting. "It is simply the truth that the political system that I am part of has degenerated to the point that it needs fundamental change," Arroyo said on live radio and television on Thursday.

Arroyo, whose second term is due to run until 2010, has made no secret of plans to change the two-chamber congressional system to a single parliament to speed up passage of laws. Arroyo apologized last week for a "lapse in judgment" for talking to an election official during vote-counting last year but denied rigging the results.

TEN "doves" in the Arroyo Cabinet are expected to announce their irrevocable resignation in a press conference this morning, in a bid to outflank the President who had preempted them by hastily announcing last night that she was overhauling her Cabinet. (See "Hawks" and "doves" post.) A number of them will also call for the resignation of the President.

The resignations of these Cabinet members will by far be the most damaging fallout from the controversies rocking the Arroyo administration, after wiretapped conversations implying the rigging of the 2004 elections were made public in early June. Various sectors have since then called for the President�s resignation, or, at the least, the creation of a Truth Commission.

The resignations will be led by no less than the President�s economic managers, in what is seen as a signal to the business community that they have lost their trust in the administration. Those expected to leave are Energy secretary Raphael Lotilla, Finance secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget secretary Emilia Boncodin and Trade secretary Juan Santos. They will be joined by Social Welfare secretary Dinky Soliman, Presidential Peace Adviser Ging Deles, and Education secretary Butch Abad.

With the resignation of these individuals, the President will be left with the "hawks" in her ranks, among them Environment secretary Mike Defensor and Presidential Management Staff Chief Rigoberto Tiglao.

TONIGHT we heard fighting words from a fighting president (see previous post). The message was clear: she will not resign. It was a message intended first of all to the bishops, who are meeting this week and are expected to issue a statement on the crisis by Saturday. The talk going around Manila today was that the bishops were set to ask her to step down.

The second message: She will reconstitute the Cabinet. This one was apparently directed at those secretaries who were supposedly considering this option in the light of the president�s reluctance to implement reforms beyond merely exiling her controversial husband. She effectively took the wind out of their sail � how can they now resign when the president in effect said they had been fired?

The third message: She did not cheat. Thus, there was no mention of an investigation or a �truth commission� to look into the suggestions of electoral fraud in the �Hello Garci� tapes. How could an investigation be called when she claimed she did no wrong?

The fourth message: She and all the opposition politicians now crying for her head are the products of a flawed political system. Therefore, that system had to be changed through constitutional reforms. Removing her without changing the system makes the next president vulnerable to another people power episode.

This speech is so far the most radical the President had given since the crisis over the tapes broke out in the first week of June. Since then, she has been giving piecemeal concessions: first, an apology; then the banishment of Big Mike. Today it�s a Cabinet overhaul and the prospect of constitutional change. But will this suffice, or is this again, a case of too little too late?

Was the President seizing the initiative tonight and putting her enemies on the defensive? Is she getting a second wind? Or are these defensive moves against her impending, but inevitable, doom?

The speech was apparently rushed. The Palace didn�t even show a video of the president reading it. Nor were reporters told well in advance � most found out there would be a presidential announcement only an hour before it took place. So this was clearly a hurriedly conceived preemptive strike. For now, she may have fended off the fallout from Cabinet resignations, but will this satisfy the bishops? Will �civil society� accept anything short of resignation? Will this appease the 60 percent that pollsters say are dissatisfied with her performance?

For sure, this announcement will buy her some time. But the attacks will not cease. The credibility of her presidency is shattered and many already think her days are numbered. The opposition certainly smells blood, and so do those with a nose for the kill. Why else is everyone, even those allied with the President, now knocking on Vice President Noli de Castro�s door? The Manila elite is now looking at post-Gloria scenarios, and many of them are now thinking it�s only a matter of time before she goes.

The problem is that she is determined to hang on. Today�s speech � read in an unusually staccato and angry tone � is one of the toughest the President has ever made. It is obvious she is not preparing for a graceful exit. She will have to be dragged out of Malaca�ang kicking and screaming. Those who met with her the last few days attest to her stubbornness and determination.

If she hangs on, then extraconstitutional options will come to the fore. As in Edsa 1 and Edsa 2, people were willing to give the legal route a chance � a snap elections in 1986 and an impeachment trial in 2001. But when these fail to effect the desired outcomes, then other options become attractive. Mrs. Arroyo may have forestalled the attack from one flank, but she is exposed in others. For sure, in the coming days, she will not get a moment�s peace.

PRES. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered a speech over Radyo ng Bayan at 8 p.m. tonight in what could be a preemptive strike against the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, with the powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expected to issue a statement this weekend on the controversial recording and other scandals that have rocked the Arroyo presidency. (There are strong indications that they will be calling for her resignation.) Apparently, the move was also to steal the thunder from some members of her Cabinet reportedly contemplating on resigning their positions.

Interesingly, Arroyo�s address also bears hints of the so-called (Speaker Jose) de Venecia formula that some political analysts say have been proposed within the ruling coalition. This comes in the form of heavy, political concessions on the part of the president in order to save her and douse mounting calls for her resignation. Arroyo�s speech resounds mightily with this � no resignation but a clipping of some of her powers by giving the Cabinet a free hand to work on the needed reforms, and a national unity framework anchored on the calling of a constitutional convention to initiate the change to a parliamentary form of government.

Under the JDV formula, Pres. Arroyo is to stay in office for three years to allow her a graceful exit, by which time a new form of government will have already been put in place.

When I was young and my late father Diosdado Macapagal was president of this country, I thought of him as the "good guy" and his political opponents on the other side were the "bad guys."

Because of my father�s influence, I had always thought of myself as on the side of the good. Thus, it is very painful for me to know that among many of our countrymen today, I have been demonized as the "bad guy." This is unfair. But it is a cross that God in His wisdom has given me to bear, so I will bear it. I have never questioned God�s ways before. And I will not do so now.

When I first entered politics in 1992, little did i know that within a decade I will become President of our country. And little did I expect that within another five years, there would be calls from civil society for my resignation in office or for the formation of a "Truth Commission" regarding some of my political actuations.

When I spoke before the nation some two weeks ago, I did so against the advice of my legal counsel. But I thought that speaking before you, the Filipino people, was the right thing to do. Shameless people have peddled the lie that I confessed to cheating. What I disclosed was that I talked to an election official. But that this had taken place after the certificates of canvass had already been used to proclaim the winning senators, and that those same certificates of canvass that showed that I won by around a million votes. That is the truth.

Philippines' army assurance may not mean Arroyo safe
06 Jul 2005 02:49:46 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Manny Mogato

MANILA, July 6 (Reuters) - In few countries does an assurance of political neutrality from the military cause as much nervousness as in the Philippines. And with good reason. In the 19 years since the overthrow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose iron grip on the country did much to politicise the armed forces, the military has been an active player in national affairs.

That is a worry for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as she comes under intense pressure from allegations of election cheating against her and graft involving family members, even though security analysts say conditions are not ripe for a coup. "She lives by the sword, she dies by the sword," former navy commodore Rex Robles told Reuters, referring to the army's pivotal role in Arroyo's rise to the presidency in 2001 and the danger that it may now pose to her scandal-prone administration.

Robles, a member of an independent panel that investigated a failed July 2003 coup against Arroyo, said the military has always invoked its constitutional duty to protect the republic and its people when it decides to shift loyalty. That can happen quickly. "In 1986, Marcos had all the generals behind him, but not one was able to save him," said Robles.

Marcos's support from the military only cracked in the final hours before the million-strong "people power" protests of 1986. Four years ago, Joseph Estrada suffered a similar fate when his generals suddenly withdrew support from his government as a huge crowd gathered on streets in the capital, demanding his resignation over graft and illegal gambling allegations. For the past three months, rumours of coups against Arroyo have been swirling.

The military, the source of at least a dozen coup attempts since 1986, has felt it necessary to dampen the speculation. "The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) will remain apolitical and never allow any group or personality to use the AFP to advance any political and personal interest," the armed forces leadership said in a statement on Monday.

The statement only fuelled speculation of unrest in the military. On Tuesday, Lieutenant-General Romeo Dominguez, army commander for the northern Philippines, went on national television to deny media reports his troops were plotting to install Arroyo's vice president, Noli de Castro.

Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Buenaventura Pascual said the military would strongly resist any unconstitutional attempt to change the political leadership. Jose Rene Jarque, a security analyst, said divisions within the officers' corps could be preventing elements within the military from taking action.

He said the generals wanted to keep the status quo while younger officers, angry about corruption and underfunding that has hampered their fight against communist and Muslim rebels, were agitating for drastic change. But the memory of the failed coup in 2003, when 300 captains and lieutenants took over the Oakwood apartment hotel in central Manila to highlight corruption in the army, could be deterring the younger officers from action.

The one-day mutiny at the luxury apartment block in Manila's business district ended without a shot being fired. Most of the soldiers who joined have been demoted but the young officers involved still face military charges of mutiny and civilian charges of leading a coup. "The ghosts of Oakwood still haunt the junior officers," Jarque told Reuters.

But he added that a protracted political crisis would raise the chance of another coup attempt because it could affect the economy and weaken Arroyo. "Weak governments invite army intervention," he said.

Filipino convict in US serviceman's (US Army Colonel James Rowe), slay is free
First posted 09:28am (Mla time) June 28, 2005
By Jocelyn R. Uy
Inquirer News Service

A POLITICAL prisoner convicted for killing of an American serviceman was freed Tuesday, after spending 14 years at the maximum security compound of the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City. Donato Continente was released at 8:30 a.m. and was met by his family. There will be a press conference at 2 p.m.

Continente was convicted in the 1989 killing of US Army Colonel James Rowe. A staffer of the University of the Philippines paper Collegian, Continente was arrested June 16, 1989 at the UP Diliman campus in Quezon City. He was sentenced to life in prison on Feb. 27, 1991 for Rowe's murder.

On August 25, 2000, the Supreme Court modified Continente's penalty to a minimum of 12 to a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Road accidents rank as RP's 3rd child killer, says NGO
First posted 11:39pm (Mla time) June 28, 2005
By Allan Macatuno
Inquirer News Service

OLONGAPO CITY-At least 263 Filipino children aged 14 years old and below are being killed or injured in road crashes everyday, data gathered by a group that promotes child safety in the country showed. Officials of the Safe Kids Philippines (SKP), a non-government organization, working to prevent accidental child injuries, said unintentional injuries rank as the third leading killer of children in the Philippines.

Alarmed by this situation, the SKP on Friday launched here its child pedestrian safety campaign dubbed "Walk this Way," a global joint project with the international courier Federal Express. The group has gathered health and safety experts, educators and volunteers to teach pedestrian safety.

"At Safe Kids, we have been working to reduce accidental injuries in our country since 2003," said Maria Theresa Perez, executive director of SKP. She said President Macapagal-Arroyo has declared the third week of June as "National Safe Kids Week" and it would be dedicated to support safety programs for children.

"We are so thrilled that the government recognizes the importance of protecting our children," Perez said during the program launching here. According to Dr. Rafael Consunji, Safe Kids director for Asia operations, the government's support for the program is an important step in educating the public.

Filipinos call for Arroyo to quit
Sunday, June 12, 2005 Posted: 10:49 AM EDT (1449 GMT)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- An estimated 5,000 protesters have demanded that Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo step down, marking the biggest anti-government rally since allegations surfaced that she fixed last year's election and her family received gambling kickbacks.

The government has denied the allegations, saying they were part of a plot to unseat Arroyo. Police nationwide and soldiers in the capital, Manila, were on full alert on Saturday against a power grab in a country with a history of coup attempts.

Arroyo's popularity -- already at the lowest level since that for late dictator Ferdinand Marcos -- has taken more hits since the release of an alleged wiretapped conversation between Arroyo and an election official to fix the 2004 vote, and claims of payoffs to Arroyo's son and brother-in-law from illegal gambling operators.

Arroyo has been battling poverty, rising prices, a fiscal deficit and corruption. At a reception on the eve of Philippine independence, Arroyo said "purveyors of instability and intrigue" were undermining her efforts to reform the economy. Arroyo said she was focused "like a laser beam" on reforms "to turn this economy around, and no one will deter me from that mission." "We cannot resolve our differences by tossing out the democratic process just because we are not getting our way," she said.

In a rare show of solidarity, a wide spectrum of anti-Arroyo groups, including opposition politicians and rival leftists, joined forces in Saturday's rally dubbed a "National Day of Mourning." Police estimated that 5,000 people participated. "The rally for me can be seen as a measure of how far or how widespread the disgust is for Arroyo and her isolation," said Rep. Teddy Casino of the left wing Bayan Muna party. Casino said his party sought Arroyo's ouster but opposed a coup d'etat, a military junta or a "palace coup."

"This is the early stage of the struggle for the eventual regime change that is expected," he said. However, talk of "an imminent downfall is not accurate," he said. Earlier in the week, a key witness testifying in an ongoing Senate hearing on the illegal numbers game called jueteng claimed she personally paid off Arroyo's son and brother-in-law, both members of the House of Representatives.

The two men have denied the charges. Arroyo's son has filed a libel suit against the witness. To show she was not protecting her family, Arroyo immediately ordered government investigators to look into the allegations and file charges if warranted, saying her kin are not above the law.

On Friday, the dismissed deputy head of the justice department's investigation agency claimed he was the source of an audio recording that purportedly has Arroyo talking to an election official about fixing last year's election to gain a 1 million-vote margin against her closest rival, Fernando Poe Jr. Poe died in December after a stroke.

Samuel Ong, former deputy director of the National Bureau of Investigation, said disgruntled military intelligence agents gave him the "mother of all tapes" containing the alleged wiretaps. Officials said the recording was doctored to show alleged wrongdoing by the president.

"In the first place," Ong said, "our constitution says that the (Commission on Elections) is an independent constitutional body to ensure peaceful, orderly and honest election. Now here comes somebody outside this constitutional body ... not only asking but directing him to do something."

Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said Ong's allegation is "part of a well-orchestrated plot to destabilize the government and eventually replace the president." "We will not allow democracy to be undermined," he said.

LOS ANGELES -- One of the country's most popular film and music stars was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on investigation of possessing methamphetamine, a newspaper reported Friday. Nora Aunor, whose real name is Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, was arrested late Wednesday allegedly with 8 grams of the drug in her carry-on bag and a glass pipe wrapped in a T-shirt, according to the Daily Breeze of Torrance, which is near Los Angeles.

Arroyo to lead expressway groundbreaking on Monday
By Dante M. Fabian
Friday, April 01, 2005

ANGELES CITY -- Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president and chief operating officer Antonio R. Ng announced Thursday that President Arroyo is scheduled to lead the groundbreaking rites for the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project (SCTEP) on Monday.

Ng announced this during the induction of members and officers of the Metro Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (MACCII), now headed by its president Roland "Rox" Pe�a, at the Oasis Hotel yesterday.

Ng said the SCTEP is a major road network, which would attain good synergy between the aviation-led economic development envisioned for Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and the seaport in Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). Ng explained that infrastructures like the SCTEP, which is part of the Subic-Clark Area Corridor (SCAD) road networks, is among the four primary engines of growth needed to make Clark an effective magnet for job creation and economic activity.

He named the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) as the first and foremost growth engine and the "family jewel" that gives life to the vision of a world-class logistics hub. Ng disclosed efforts to make Clark the investors' first choice (IFC) from cost competitiveness, simplified bureaucracy and ease of doing business aptly fitting the tagline: "In Clark, you can make your profit."

During the occasion, Ng urged members of the business and civic community to help in achieving the objectives for developing Clark. "What we aim to accomplish is very, very tough. Without your support, it will not happen. And so with passion and humility, I seek your friendship, cooperation and assistance to our framework of action at CDC," Ng said.

Manny Pacquiao fought desperately with blood flowing down his face from a bad cut over his right eye. Against another fighter it may have been enough, but Erik Morales was not just another fighter.
Associated Press Mar. 19 LAS VEGAS

Morales, fighting with the cool precision of a champion who has been there many times before, got the better of Pacquiao with jabs and big right hands Saturday night to win a close but unanimous decision in their 130-pound showdown. No title was at stake, but there was plenty of national pride.

Pacquiao is a national hero in the Philippines while Morales is revered in Mexico, and between the two they drew a sellout crowd of 14,623 to the MGM Grand hotel to see them brawl. They didn't disappoint, going after each other from the opening bell in a fight that grew in intensity after Pacquiao was cut in the fifth round when he was hit with a right hand and the two boxers clashed heads.

Though blood flowed in his eye, Pacquiao fought gallantly and the two fighters went toe-to-toe in a frenetic 12th round that had the crowd standing and cheering. All three judges had Morales the winner, but not by much. He won 115-113 on the ringside scorecards, while The Associated Press had Morales ahead 116-112. "He was a tough guy. I hit him with everything," Morales said. "I knew the guy was quick. I knew boxing would be the key because he was so fast."

It was the first fight at 130 pounds for Pacquiao, and Morales appeared to be both the bigger fighter and the bigger puncher. Pacquiao fought inside with flurries, but it was the right hand of Morales (48-2) that was the big punch in the fight. Still, Pacquiao landed effectively with both hands himself and he kept punching and coming forward and in the 12th round seemed to be landing the bigger punches. "It was a close fight with a lot of close rounds," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach said. "Morales landed the bigger punches but Manny landed more combinations."

Pacquiao blamed the loss on having to wear a different type of gloves than he usually uses. He wore them because his promoter, Murad Muhammad, signed a deal for his fighter to wear them. Neither fighter went down, but it wasn't because of a lack of effort. They brawled at a relentless pace that brought back memories of Morales' three fights with Marco Antonio Barrera. "I tried my best," Pacquiao said. Morales kept his left jab on the cut over Pacquiao's eye, but said he didn't think the fight would be stopped. "I wasn't focused on them stopping the fight," he said. "I wanted to punish him."

Pacquiao came into the ring as a slight favorite and wasted no time in going after Morales, who is generally a slow starter. But Morales fought back with right hands midway through the round, gesturing to Pacquiao as if the fight had just begun. Morales was getting the better of Pacquiao with hard right hands in the early rounds, but Pacquiao landed good combinations of his own and the fight went back and forth with good ebb and flow.

Pacquiao (39-3-2) came into the ring with the weight of his country on his slight shoulders. Some 30 million people in the Philippines were expected to watch the fight on live television, and the husband of the country's president and many members of its congress traveled to Las Vegas for the fight. The fight was more intriguing because of the common opponent the two boxers faced. Morales beat Barrera once and lost two close decisions to him, while Pacquiao stopped Barrera in the 11th round of their 2003 fight.

Morales had far more experience in title fights, winning 18 of 20, and held titles in three different weight classes. Pacquiao, meanwhile, was moving up to 130 pounds after a career that began at 106 pounds. In another title fight on the card, Martin Castillo of Mexico retained his WBA 115-pound title with a unanimous decision over Eric Morel (35-2) of Puerto Rico. Castillo (28-1) won 119-109 on all three ringside scorecards in his second title defense.

A Journey From Doughnuts to Dollars
Pacquiao rose from poverty to icon status in the Philippines.
By Steve Springer, Times Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS � At age 11, Manny Pacquiao didn't know boxing trunks from tree trunks. Surviving in the ring wasn't his goal. He was just trying to survive, period. Born into poverty in the Philippines, he would roam the streets, trying to sell doughnuts when he wasn't working in the fields with his family. The year was 1990 and, on the same side of the world, a momentous event was taking place. Mike Tyson, the supposedly unbeatable heavyweight champion, had been knocked out in Tokyo by Buster Douglas, a 42-1 underdog.

All around him, Pacquiao saw people carrying radios and reacting in stunned shock. He heard the word "knockout" and saw tears in the eyes of some. "He didn't know what it meant to be knocked out," Pacquiao's manager, Keith Davidson, said, "but, he thought, if a boxer can bring people to tears like that, if he could move people like that, then he wanted to be a boxer." Fifteen years later, Pacquiao has moved a nation. With a 39-2-2 record, 30 knockouts, a memorable upset victory over Marco Antonio Barrera and a dramatic draw against Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao has become a superstar in the Philippines.

His super-featherweight match tonight against Erik Morales (47-2, 34) at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena has captivated the Philippines. "For something like this, our nation stands still," said Homer Sayson, a sports columnist for the Sunstar Cebu. "We are having hard times in our country. There is terrorism. There is poverty. There are kidnappings every day. We find solace in Manny Pacquiao." Pacquiao has also found support with the Las Vegas oddsmakers, who have installed him as a 7-5 favorite even though he is coming up to 130 pounds for the first time to face Morales.

Morales is coming off a loss to Barrera in November, the second time he has lost to Barrera in their well-fought trilogy. After getting an 11th-round TKO victory over Barrera in 2003, Pacquiao had the draw against Marquez followed by a fourth-round TKO win over Fahsan Thawatchai in his last ring appearance in December. Tonight Pacquiao takes a huge step up in terms of quality of opponent.

Can he bring with him the speed and mobility he had at a lower weight? Does Morales, who has been through a series of punishing fights, have enough left to withstand what figures to be another brutal bout? There is no question about tonight's end result in the Philippines, where they have watched their native son gain prominence in a process that has taken more than a decade. When Pacquiao announced that he was out of the doughnut business, but hoping to win big dough in the boxing business, it didn't go over too well in the Pacquiao household. So he left home at 13 to seek his fortune as a fighter and wound up on a national boxing team, the Philippine government taking care of his room and board.

Pacquiao turned out to be a bargain, amassing a 60-4 amateur record. At 16, he turned pro and won his first 11 fights. Then he met reality in the person of Rustico Torrecampo, who knocked Pacquiao out in the third round of their 1996 fight. It was a tough but valuable lesson for Pacquiao, then 17, who rose from that failure to win the World Boxing Council flyweight championship two years later via an eighth-round knockout of Chatchai Sasakul in Thailand. Pacquiao's success was short-lived. A year later, he lost the title to Medgoen Lukchaopormasak, lost before the first punch was thrown when Pacquiao couldn't get down to the required weight of 112.

Pacquiao went through with the fight anyway, title or no title. And Lukchaopormasak put Pacquiao down with a body shot in the third round, the fight stopped at the 1:32 mark. Already a rising figure in the Philippines, Pacquiao soon had the attention of the world because of a surprising TKO victory over Lehlohonolo Ledwaba in 2001 to win the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight title, the win over Barrera and the Marquez fight, in which Marquez went down three times in the first round but rallied to earn the draw.

"It is something to behold," Davidson said of Pacquiao's high profile in the Philippines. "Over there, he has become what Elvis Presley was in this country in his heyday." That might be a slight overstatement, but there is no overstating Pacquiao's influence among his fellow Filipinos. He has appeared in three Philippine movies and was even asked for his endorsement in the last election by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"Everybody recognizes me," Pacquiao said. "Kids, old people. All my countrymen are proud of me." No argument from Macapagal-Arroyo. "The victories of Pacquiao are victories of the more than 76 million Filipinos," she said. "The entire nation joins him in celebrating." About 40 Philippine legislators have come to Las Vegas for tonight's fight. But such honors come with a price. "There is a lot of pressure on me," Pacquiao conceded. "Because I have a lot of countrymen praying for me to succeed, I feel like I need to win every fight."

SINGAPORE--Singapore-based regional budget airline Tiger Airways began selling tickets for flights to the Philippines to be launched next month.
https://www.tigerairways.com
March 17, 2005

The airline will fly three times weekly from April 5 to Clark Field, a former US air force base some 80 kilometers north of Manila that has been converted into a commercial airport. The Singapore-based carrier will raise the frequency of the flights to five times a week in June, it said in a statement.

Fares for a one-way trip to Clark Field will start from 25.98 Singapore dollars. More than 90,000 Filipinos reside in Singapore, according to the Philippine embassy. Singapore is also used as a travel hub by Filipinos working in other countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Tiger Airways currently flies to Bangkok, Phuket, Hatyai and Chiang Mai. It will start flying to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Macau next month.

The carrier, 49-percent owned by Singapore Airlines, is in competition with an array of budget airlines in the region, including Singapore-based Valuair, Qantas-backed Jetstar Asia and Malaysia's AirAsia.

Truck overturns, spills smuggled brandy
Thursday, March 17, 2005
By Dante M. Fabian

ANGELES -- A van reportedly speeding to elude members of the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) police flipped and fell on its side, spilling a cargo of untaxed brandy believed purchased from one of the duty-free stores in the Clark Ecozone Monday night. The incident even caused an argument between the CDC police and the Angeles City Police Office (Acpo) over the question of which has jurisdiction over the truck that lay on its side several meters outside the main gate of the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ).

An inventory at the police station later showed that the truck was loaded with at least 191 boxes of imported brandy when it sped past CDC policemen and Customs Police officers at the CSEZ main gate. Employees of the CDC who sought anonymity said the truck is part of an illegal smuggling operation popularly called "ninjas", which for years sustained the operations of most duty-free stores in the CSEZ. The cargo was later brought to the office of Chief Inspector Efren Y. Miranda, Station 4 chief, by workers employed by the owner of the truck and the allegedly untaxed brandy produced in Spain with the brand "Alfonso I."

Senior Superintendent Jimmy F. Restua, Acpo director, ordered Miranda and Chief Inspector Ramon B. Francia to conduct an inventory and documentation of the brandy prior to its turnover to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) Police. Restua explained that the Acpo took on the case with regard to the vehicular traffic accident that occurred in the area of jurisdiction of the Angeles City Police. Miranda reported that investigation by Francia, and traffic investigators PO2 Domingo R. Zervoulakos, PO2 Rodolfo M. Esguerra, and PO2 Willy C. Tandoc showed that the vehicle involved in the accident was described as one white Mitsubishi Canter with plate number UDV 493.

Miranda said the vehicle was traveling on a west to east direction along Manuel A. Roxas Highway just outside the CSEZ main gate when it suddenly flipped over. Police investigators reported that the unidentified driver of the truck quickly disappeared from the scene after the accident. Miranda reported that shortly after the accident, CDC police personnel led by Rodelio Sapnu, CDC police field commander, arrived at the scene and narrated to police that the vehicle was being chased earlier in Clark Ecozone due to information that it was loaded with untaxed cargo.

A man who identified himself as Sergio Icmat, 53, married, businessman, of 1222 Sarita St. Diamond Subdivsion, Balibago, Angeles City, arrived at the station and claimed that he owned the cargo. Although Icmat failed to present proof of ownership of the brandy, he and his workers transferred the cargo from the truck to the station, loading these in three vehicles.

More than 20 dead after Philippines standoff ends
Tue, 15 Mar 2005 00:05:46 EST
CBC News

MANILA - At least 22 people are dead after police stormed a high security prison in Manila Tuesday where Islamic militants staged a failed jailbreak. Prisoner accused of Philippines' worst terrorist attack Police used tear gas canisters and guns to end a one-day stand off with members of the the extremist Abu Sayyaf group. "There were so many people, they were hiding in their cells," said police officer Napoleon Cabrera, who led one of the assault teams. "Some were firing pistols, some were yelling because of the tear gas smoke."

The crisis began Monday when prisoners took guards' guns and got into a shootout with other guards, leaving three guards and two Abu Sayyaf members dead. Radio reports say several loud explosions were heard at the police camp where the prison is located. Authorities say another 17 prisoners died during the raid, including four leaders of the movement. Accused of terrorism Police took control of the prison less than an hour after the operation began. Five officers were wounded.

Philippines' President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo congratulated the forces for a job well done. A police spokesperson said about 10 prisoners were involved in the uprising. Police estimated there were about 129 suspected Abu Sayyaf members out of more than 400 inmates in the jail. Among the dead is Alhamzar Manatad Limbong. He was accused of involvement is a mass kidnapping in 2001-02 that left several hostages, including foreigners, dead.

He was also accused of being behind the Philippines' worst terrorist attack � the bombing of a ferry a year ago that killed 100 people. Two other Abu Sayyaf leaders � Ghalib Andang, known as Commander Robot and Nadzmie Sabtulah, alias Commander Global � also died. The inmates claimed that they had 100 hostages, but police said only inmates were inside. Authorities gave inmates 15 minutes to surrender, following several hours of negotiations Monday. Police rushed the prison after the deadline passed.

Village buries poisoned children
President releases funds for families unable to afford coffins
Thursday, March 10, 2005 Posted: 7:16 AM EST (1216 GMT)

SAN JOSE, Philippines (Reuters) -- Hundreds of grieving villagers walked under scorching sun Thursday to bury 12 of 26 Filipino children poisoned by a cassava snack they ate at school in central Philippines. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered officials to release funds to the families after hearing that some were too poor to afford coffins for their children.

Arroyo met the families of the victims in San Jose village on Thursday and ordered police and health authorities to find out what happened. "Let us get at the root cause of this tragedy," she said after visiting the village. "I want the police to work with the health authorities to give me a detailed report on why, and how, this unfortunate incident happened."

Most of 90 children, aged between 6 and 13 years, were sent home from hospitals on Bohol island in the central Philippines after their conditions improved, a day after eating the local delicacy during a mid-morning school break on Wednesday. An army helicopter brought two critically ill children to a better-equipped medical facility on nearby Cebu island. Less than two dozens remained in the local hospitals. Some 2,000 villagers joined the families of 12 dead children in a mass burial at a public cemetery on Thursday afternoon.

From a Roman Catholic church, men carrying 12 small wooden coffins on their backs walked for over a kilometer (mile) under an intense afternoon sun on a dusty village road to the cemetery in the middle of rice paddies. Distraught mothers of the dead were hysterical, crying and clinging tightly to wooden coffins that were slid into concrete tombs. Some men cursed the old woman who cooked and sold the cassava fritters and balls suspected to be poisoned. Stephen Rances, the mayor of Mabini town, said the rest of the dead would be buried in the next two to three days. Classes were suspended for the rest of the week to allow the village to mourn the dead, he said.

Senior police officer Ernesto Abueva said they had collected samples of vomit and leftover food and sent them to the health department for an analysis to determine the cause of the poisoning. He said one of two women who cooked and sold fried cassava was placed under police protection due to threats from angry parents. "I have nothing to do with that," Victoria Hibiya told Reuters. "I also ate some of the cassava balls I sold, but nothing happened to me. Please help me."

Her neighbor and a fellow vendor, Anna Luyong, was herself poisoned after eating the snack. The school in San Jose has 276 students and about half of them ate fried cassavas sold by the two women during the morning break. Half an hour later, many children began complaining of stomach aches. Some began vomiting and feeling dizzy, forcing the school to send them home. Visminda Vallecera said there was complete chaos at a nearby clinic when she brought her younger brother who started vomiting and complained of a stomach ache.

"We were shocked to see the clinic packed with children who had similar complaints of stomach aches," she said. "Everybody was rushing. They were shouting for help and others were crying." Troy Gepte of the health department's National Epidemiology Center told reporters in the capital Manila that children may have been poisoned by cyanide in the fried cassava. "Based on data and information regarding the cassava, cyanogens occur naturally in the root crop," he said. "These are compounds which contain cyanide. The cassava should be boiled or dried first before using it as a food ingredient." He said more laboratory tests were needed to find out what poisoned the children.

Fried snack kills 27 children in Phillipines
Wed, 09 Mar 2005 23:22:10 EST
CBC News

MANILA - At least 27 children have died and another 100 are in hospital after eating a fried snack at their school in the southern Philippine province of Bohol. Grief-stricken parents left hospitals carrying the bodies of their children wrapped in blankets. Victim of food poisoning, in Mabini, Wednesday.

The first- and second-grade students had eaten deep-fried cassava, a starchy root usually eaten only after being dried and leached. If it's not prepared properly, the human body will convert part of it into cyanide. "Some said they took only two bites because it tasted bitter and the effects were felt five to 10 minutes later," said Harold Gallego of the Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital, where 47 patients were taken.

The children bought the snack during recess in the town of Mabini on Bohol island, said the town's mayor. After eating the cassava, they complained of stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Some victims were still vomiting 12 hours after eating. Health officials have questioned several vendors who prepared the snacks, and have taken samples to a local crime lab. A major crop in Southeast Asia, cassava is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. If eaten raw, as few as two cassava roots can be fatal.

Philippines No. 2 on Asia graft list
Survey covers 900 foreigners in region
Posted 11:55pm (Mla time) Mar 08, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Reports from Nelson F. Flores and Inquirer wires

FOREIGN businessmen have ranked the Philippines the second most corrupt country in Asia, according to results of a survey conducted by a Hong Kong-based consultancy group. Indonesia is ranked the most corrupt country in the region, raising fears about how billions of dollars in post-tsunami aid will end up, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Ltd. (PERC) said yesterday. PERC, which provides advice to companies and governments on how to do business in Asia, polled more than 900 expatriate respondents across the region in January and February.

Across Asia, perceptions of corruption were little better than a decade ago even though governments had lost power in part because of their reputation for nepotism and cronyism and had been replaced by administrations promising cleaner governance. "Many of the same old problems continue," PERC said in the report. "Only the actors have changed." In the Philippines, a regular bottom-dweller in the survey, "corruption is clearly less today" than it was in the worst days of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was overthrown by a popular revolt in 1986, PERC said.

But it was more difficult to say whether the current administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo "is any cleaner or dirtier" than that of her ousted predecessor Joseph Estrada, now on trial for alleged corruption, the consultancy group said. The Philippine government lost about $48 billion to corruption over a 20-year period, according to a World Bank study in 2000. US-based investment bank Morgan Stanley placed the losses at $204 billion between 1965 and 2001.

In the PERC survey, now into its 18th year, countries are graded between zero -- the best possible score -- and 10. Singapore's grade was an almost pristine 0.65, followed by Japan at 3.46 and Hong Kong at 3.50. Next, but far behind, were Taiwan at 6.15, South Korea at 6.50, Malaysia at 6.80, Thailand at 7.20, China at 7.68, India at 8.63, Vietnam at 8.65, the Philippines at 8.80 and Indonesia at 9.10.

The Arroyo administration has launched a campaign to crack down on corruption. It is conducting lifestyle checks on government officials, especially those working in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs. But a former Hong Kong commissioner called on the government leadership to exert its political will in the fight against corruption.

Tony Kwok, former deputy commissioner of the Hong Kong Commission Against Corruption, made the appeal in Manila as he expressed honor for his appointment as chief adviser of the ambitious three-year Corruption Prevention Project of the Office of the Ombudsman. "I am confident that given the effective enforcement and successful prosecution by the [Office of the Ombudsman] and the partnership approach in this corruption prevention project, it is possible that this three-year project will see a marked improvement in the eradication of corruption in this country," Kwok said.

He is also an anticorruption presidential adviser. The Office of the Ombudsman launched the anticorruption project in an attempt to reduce opportunities for graft in government, promote fair competition in business and provide agencies that offer services to the poor with more resources. The project, which the European Union sponsors, was launched during a two-day anticorruption workshop, which started on March 2, at the Bay View Hotel in Manila.

The launching was attended by Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, dignitaries from the EU and the British Council and some 100 participants from various government departments and agencies. In the project, the Office of the Ombudsman will establish a closer partnership with civil society organizations, the public and other government agencies.

In its report, PERC said "the issue of corruption could make or break Indonesia." It said "relative outsider" Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was elected Indonesian president last year partly because voters were "disgusted with the corruption of an entrenched, secular elite." PERC urged Yudhoyono to ensure that foreign aid was used transparently in projects that benefit people and areas affected by last December's tsunami that left more than 220,000 Indonesians dead or missing, mostly in Aceh province.

If the former general succeeds in fighting corruption, the economy would improve and radical Islamic groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah "will be much more marginalized and less of a threat to the country and the region." Indonesia's post-tsunami relief program "presents a real opportunity to improve the governance and transparency standards" for disbursing aid money not only there but in other developing countries, PERC said.

At the other end of the scale, foreign businessmen have consistently rated Singapore as being the least corrupt country in Asia, but the view is not shared by opponents of the People's Action Party (PAP), which has ruled the city-state since independence in 1965, PERC said. This could cause problems for Singapore overseas since key PAP critics live in exile and could raise questions about Singapore's "systemic integrity" as state-linked companies expand abroad, PERC said.

Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, booming Thailand's image has improved following a crackdown on graft, but PERC said there were laws, regulations and practices "that benefit certain large industries and businesses, many of which happen to have close links with influential politicians." In Malaysia, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has generated strong public support with his anti-graft stance, but allegations of internal corruption in the ruling coalition have resurfaced, PERC noted.

Communist countries such as China and Vietnam take extreme measures against corruption such as executing offenders, but they still have a worse reputation than western countries because they lack democratic checks and balances and free elections, PERC noted. It said corruption in China could potentially cause the most damage. "China's growing economic role in the region and the world ensures that the global fallout from any crisis precipitated by corruption on the mainland would be severe," the consultancy group said. "In view of the growing reliance of multinationals on China as a production base, such a crisis would wreak havoc with a lot of companies' bottom lines," PERC said.

Gordon proposes P1 tax on text for education
Posted 10:04pm (Mla time) Feb 22, 2005
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A19 of the February 23, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Donna Demetillo, PDI Northern Luzon Bureau

It's another tax proposal, but Sen. Richard Gordon says this one makes a difference because people will know where their taxes are going. Gordon, during a press conference at the Baguio Country Club on Friday, said he has drafted the Philippine Education Revitalization Act that will focus on solving the country's education-related problems. Under his proposal, another P1 will be added to the cost of sending text messages through mobile phones.

The revenue, Gordon said, will go to a special fund that can be tapped by the Department of Education (DepEd). He said the proposal, which he called "educational text" or "text for education," also includes the creation of an advisory body to help the DepEd determine its priority needs. "Education is in disarray, but no one is solving it. We are not focused. We keep on talking about the problems but we don't do anything about them," he said.

Gordon said an average of 300 million text messages amounting to P300 million are sent in the country daily. In a year, this could amount to P73 billion, he said. Gordon said if the tax measure is passed, text messages are expected to go down to around 200 million, but this will not affect the amount to be generated because the cost of sending messages will be higher.

He said the advisory body would be asked to issue regular reports on its accomplishments and explain where the money generated was spent. "Hard sacrifices must be made by everyone. Imagine what P73 billion could do for education," Gordon said. He said the country lacks at least 69,000 classrooms, 40,000 teachers and more than 55,000 textbooks.

TRAVEL Q&A - Philippines: Good to Go
By Andrea Sachs
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page P03

Q: Do you have any info regarding packages or group trips to the Philippines? Chapel Hill, N.C.

A: Before you head off for the Philippines, here are some jarring realities to keep in mind: terrorist threats, kidnappings, Communist insurgents, petty crime and typhoons. In November, the U.S. State Department issued a public announcement -- more of a "be careful" than a "don't go" -- that warned Americans of terrorist activity, as well as other violence, in the Southeast Asian country. (That notice is set to expire April 30.) Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office concurs: "There continue to be threats against Western interests and there is a danger of collateral damage from terrorist attacks targeted at others."

But don't give up yet. Robb Maxwell, an Asia regional analyst for iJet Travel Risk Management, which assesses security risks for travelers worldwide, says the country does have secure tourist zones. "Right now, there's no real reason to avoid the country altogether," he says. "It's just about being smart about where you're going." That means skipping the Mindanao region in the south, as well as rural areas, even those around Manila, and avoiding overland travel. Resorts, however, are safe, especially those that cater to divers. If you're unfamiliar with the country, it may be best to let a travel agent organize your trip.

The Philippines Department of Tourism lists at www.wowphilippines.com.ph accredited travel agencies and their packages and tours, which cover lodging, attractions, white-water rafting and sailing outings, island visits and more. Example: The Ifugao Heritage Tour offers two nights at the Banaue Hotel, breakfast, a Banaue rice terraces excursion and transfers for $127 per person double. Other land-only packages are similarly inexpensive. Hong Kong's PacificTours.com (www.pacifictours.com) also offers land-only packages, such as a four-day Manila trip that includes accommodations, a city tour and a boat trip to the Pagsanjan Falls, from $215 per person double.

You should also consider an American tour company; it will make trip planning easier and, in case of emergency, it's good to have a U.S. contact. Manila Forwarders Travel and Tours (800-210-1019, www.tourism.gov.ph) is an L.A. travel agency that specializes in the Philippines. It books hotels, flights, day tours, wildlife adventures, etc., but does not offer organized group programs. IExplore (800-IEXPLORE, www.iexplore.com), for one, has an 11-day almost-inclusive tour (air is extra) from $3,370 per person double.

Subic-Clark road to start finally
Posted 00:47am (Mla time) Feb 13, 2005
By Inquirer News Service

CLARK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE -- After more than a year of delay, the construction of the P27.5-billion Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway will start in March, said Francisco Licuanan II, presidential adviser for the Subic-Clark growth corridor program. Interviewed after meeting with President Macapagal-Arroyo here on Saturday, Licuanan said his office and the Bases Conversion Development Authority had submitted the contract for the project's Clark-Tarlac phase to the lender, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and to the government's corporate counsel.

"We expect approval shortly," he said. The JBIC, he said, would receive the contract for the Subic-Clark phase by next week. Licuanan said he expected no major hitches in the next months. The delays have been largely due to procedural matters, he said. Recently, BCDA clarified it was to shoulder all taxes resulting from the 94-km road project. In a separate interview, BCDA Chair Narciso Abaya said his agency had "already come to terms as far as the contentious issues in the contract [were concerned]."

He said these involved the schedule on the increase of prices of materials and on the cap on the percentage of Japanese materials and services that would be involved in the project. "These terms are in the JBIC loan. As much as possible we are negotiating with them so that we can get the best terms for the Philippine government," Abaya said.

He said the final stages of negotiations were being held with the two Japanese contractors and these would be concluded by next week. Antonio Rex Chan, BCDA vice president, said the contractor for the first phase is the joint venture of the Kajima, Obayashi, JFE Engineering and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. He said the second phase would be built by the Hazama, Taisei and Nippon Steel joint venture.

Don't touch that bottle if you're going to touch the wheel.
A person driving while intoxicated could spend up to six years in jail under a bill filed by Senator Richard Gordon.
Feb 13, 2005

Gordon said Senate Bill 1898 is intended to address the menace to life and property posed by drivers under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. "Drivers under the influence of liquor or illegal drugs who cause physical injuries or death shall be punished according to the penalties prescribed under the Revised Penal Code," he said.

The bill punishes intoxicated drivers even if they don't cause any injury or damage to property. The licenses of first-time offenders will be suspended for six months, while the licenses of second-time offenders can be revoked for one year. But "a third conviction shall result in the revocation of the driver's license and perpetual disqualification to hold a driver's license," Gordon said. Aside from stiffer penalties on intoxicated drivers, the bill also provides for mandatory alcohol and drug testing for all driver's license applicants.

Applicants will also be required to attend a course explaining how alcohol, illegal drugs and even some over-the-counter medicines can affect their ability to drive safely. "The driver's license shall not be issued until the applicant has passed a written examination on the harmful consequences and penalties for driving while intoxicated with liquor or illegal drugs," he said. Gordon also proposed the creation of a Drunk Driving Prevention Fund.

The fund will be collected from the fees charged for licenses and motor vehicle transactions and will be used to fund the mandatory tests and training provided for in his bill. Gordon sounded the alarm over an increase in deaths from vehicular accidents involving intoxicated drivers. He cited the case of a student of the University of the Philippines who was killed after being run over on the sidewalk by a drunken driver. "There must be full personal and social responsibility for the incidence of drunken driving in our country," he said.

Angeles City cyber sex den raided
Posted 07:36pm (Mla time) Jan 29, 2005
By Tonette Orejas
Inquirer News Service

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga, Philippines -- The police on Saturday raided a cyber sex den here reportedly owned by an Australian. The den was actually a residential house on 2-2 Sandico St. on Diamond Subdivision, south of Fields Avenue, this city's red light district.

Senior Supt. Jimmy Restua, city police director, said the suspect, whom he identified only by the alias Peter, was not in the house during the raid. Neither was another suspect, Rosalie Dizon, who allegedly rented the house and operated the den for the Australian. Restua said seven young women, some of whom were believed to be minors, were taken in for questioning. Policemen counted at least 17 computers, each with a webcam, in all of the cubicles found in the house.

The 5 p.m. raid, the fifth since 2004, was made on the strength of a search warrant issued by a local court, according to Restua. Restua announced a manhunt for Dizon and the Australian.

Vagrants, street kids rounded up in Balibago
Mon 1/24/2005 6:15 PM
By Dante M. Fabian

ANGELES -- Combined teams from the Angeles City Police Office (Acpo) and the Tourist Police (TP) arrested vagrants and rescued 10 minors as they started clearing the tourism center in Barangay Balibago of vagrants, beggars and street children in operations last Thursday night. Chief Inspector Efren Y. Miranda, Acpo Station 4 chief, said the clearing operations - led by Senior Inspector Luisito M. Tan, Acpo Detective Management Bureau (Acpo-DMB) chief - resulted in the rescue of 10 minors and the arrest of 12 persons found aimlessly wandering near the crime-prone portions of Balibago.

Tan said the operation is part of the efforts of the local police upon instructions of Senior Superintendent Jimmy F. Restua, Acpo director, in clearing of snatchers, holdup men, hustlers, vagrants, beggars and minors from the streets. He added that the joint conduct of the operation is also part of the program to acquaint TP members with important aspects of police operations in making them more effective in maintaining peace and order in support to the members of Angeles Clark Field Tourism Association (Acta).

Organized under the auspices of the Acta, chaired by businessman Rey Pineda, the TP volunteers include businessmen and professionals who were deputized by Mayor Carmelo "Tarzan" Lazatin and Restua last December 31 to assist in maintaining peace and order in the city. The TP volunteers are under the supervision of Richard Agnew, Acta director for peace and order, who has funded the repair of PNP patrol vehicles and provided the TP volunteers with several sets of two-way radios.

Tan disclosed that apprehensions were made along Henyfel St. and nearby streets in the vicinity where the Rajah and Sunlight motels are located. The same place has also been the scene of many reported snatching and holdup cases, and drug abuse. The operations launched in the vicinity � considered by police as one of the most crime prone spots and a lair of prostitution - was conducted jointly with the Tourist Police led by Reynaldo G. Lacquian; Senior Inspector Romulo P. Fortin, Station 4 deputy chief and Compac 41 chief; and Insp. Josefa M. Peralta, Station 4 Women and Children's Concerns Section (WCCS) chief.

A joint affidavit by PO3 Catalino R. Dungca and PO1 Leonel M. Gatchalian, showed that charges of vagrancy were filed against the persons arrested. PO2 Joven Rodriguez, Compac 42 investigator, said that police turned over all the minors to the Angeles City Social Welfare and Development Office (ACSWDO) for proper disposition. During the Acta meeting last Thursday, Agnew expressed the concerns raised by members regarding the need for immediate action to curb criminal and other activities that virtually posed hazards both tourists and employees in the tourism district of Fields Avenue and its back-streets.

Agnew reported that most members and customers complained of the frequent incidents of cellphone snatching, theft of motorbikes, and hustlers, beggars, rugby boys, street children who are either just loitering or selling garlands and other stuff, and "cheap Charlies." Owners of establishments here disclosed disappointment over the failure of the ACSWDO to solve the problem posed by the loitering of minors and beggars in the vicinity.

They noted that in several occasions, the police and barangay bantay bayans rounded up street-children in the past then turned them over to the ACSWDO. They said very soon after, usually on the following night, the same children are back on Fields Avenue selling or wandering.

Back to the Top

19 girls rescued from cyber exploitation
Posted 10:05pm (Mla time) Jan 22, 2005
By Nancy Carvajal
Inquirer News Service

THEY slept in airconditioned rooms, were provided with their own maids, and paid hundreds of thousands of pesos. Nonetheless, police said, by performing sex acts for pay they were victims of exploitation. So, after two months of surveillance, 19 women -- most of them in their teens and many suspected to be minors -- were rescued by authorities from an alleged cybersex den in Las Pi�as City.

"They are victims of human trafficking," said Supt. Michel Filart, who led the team from the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group that raided the office of Orgasmic Studios Inc. on Friday. But with all the perks enjoyed by the victims, it was no surprise that they found nothing wrong with the den's operation. "We are not criminals, we did not violate any law," one of the rescued girls said. One even related how much she stood to lose with the raid.

"As a newcomer I earned close to $1,000 (in 15 days), but old timers earned as much as $2,000," said Megan (not her real name), one of the girls caught doing sexual acts in front of a computer Web camera. On a bulletin board of Orgasmic's office, a list showed its top earners, with the best performer taking home $1,856.39 (roughly P102,000) in 15 days.

To prod the girls to work harder on their clients, a memo on the board shows den operators promising them a 100 percent incentive on top of their quota if they bring in $2,500 (P137,500) or more during the same period. One of the girls said Orgasmic already paid them in pesos.

According to Orgasmic's records, the longest video chat by any girl was done by Sherrypassion.com, which clocked in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 2 seconds. The girls said they had no complaints because everything from food, accommodations and even laundry service was provided by Orgasmic.

They were even provided the necessary work permits and licenses for them to be able to work at the Internet shop. According to the girls, Aloysious M. Galvez, whom police invited for investigation on suspicion of running a cybersex den, even provided them with maids. Each of the four maids employed to take care of the girls was reportedly paid P6,000 a month, more than the regular salary of household helpers. "Mga se�orita kami," said a girl who looked like a minor but claimed that she already turned 18 last month. The girls were distributed in fourteen rooms that served as studios where they performed various role playing acts for clients, mostly from the United States and Germany.

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Cybersex is sexual activity of arousal through communication by computer. Cybersex-for-pay employs the Internet, which gives it worldwide coverage, and computer cameras and microphones that allow clients to see and talk to girls doing the role play with or for them.

Police who raided Orgasmic's office in Pilar Village, Las Pi�as, later seized 30 computers and 100 cameras. According to police surveillance, some of the girls at times did live sex with a partner in front of a camera. "The girls did what their clients wanted them to do," Filart said. But everything was done for a fee. Filart said, "Clients from all over the world pay through credit card." However, he could not give specific amounts charged.

Inside each studio at Orgasmic was a bed and an air-conditioned unit. The walls were draped with multicolored, pastel curtains. Each room had a distinct look, like one was decorated with neon lights and plastic flowers, while others were made to appear like a typical girl's room. Scattered in some of the rooms were sex toys, costumes and skimpy lingerie.

According to Filart, people caught operating a cybersex den could be charged with violation of Republic Act 9208 or the Woman and Child Trafficking Act. "Anyone who harbors persons with or without consent for sexual exploitation is liable for human trafficking," he said.

When police tried to bring the women to the station for investigation, the women resisted. One of them even cited an earlier statement of Sen. Jamby Madrigal, who joined the raid but left after inspecting the alleged cybersex den. "You heard Senator Madrigal. We are not criminals, so you can't jail us," the girls said. The police had to patiently explain to the girls that they would just be brought to the station for proper documentation and then released to social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

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THE PHILIPPINES is paying a high price for its failure to curb "systemic" and "widespread" corruption. A study conducted by the Asian Development Bank showed that the Philippines ranked second to Bangladesh among 102 countries in terms of the magnitude of irregular payments, including bribery, in public contracts. Corruption affected 34 percent of domestic enterprises, resulting in the retardation of revenues and labor productivity, said the survey report which the Manila-based bank released yesterday.

The report, "Improving the Investment Climate in the Philippines," was the result of a survey of 800 companies covering food and food processing, garments, textiles and electronics carried out in 2003 in collaboration with the World Bank. The ADB used the ranking on several key indicators under the latest world competitiveness report. Aside from irregularities in public contracts, among other indicators of corruption used were irregularities in tax payments and the business cost of corruption.

Corruption ranked second among the key concerns -- the first being macro-economic instability and the third poor infrastructure -- cited as impeding foreign investment and growth by business firms. The ADB said that the Philippines' "anemic growth" over the past two decades can be explained by its "poor investment climate that limited capital formation, productivity and competitiveness of firms."

Unless these key concerns are met, "the country's rebound may prove to be very difficult, if not impossible to achieve," the ADB said. Political instability, increasing electricity costs and oil prices, infrastructure bottlenecks and bureaucratic red tape all add to the cost of doing business in the Philippines, the survey said. Of the companies surveyed, 62 percent rated infrastructure as being inefficient with only 20 percent of the country's roads paved. Corruption was listed as the second most important concern.

"Corruption is already perceived to be systemic and widespread across all levels of the bureaucracy," the report said. Tom Crouch, the ADB country director for the Philippines, told a press briefing that the will to carry out reforms was not the issue, noting that the government was addressing many of the issues raised in the report. But he said the Philippines still has a long way to go if it is to catch up with its neighbors.

"I don't doubt its (government's) commitment and concern for the economic reform of this country. The question is the pace of reform and that is crucial," said Crouch. To address investors' concerns over macro-economic instability, the government should reduce its budget deficit and refrain from absorbing the debts and losses of government-owned and -controlled corporations, the study said.

The report said a system of lifestyle checks alone was not enough to combat corruption. The "critical missing factor to effectively come to grips with it [corruption] is firm political will and commitment to implement the required policies and civil service reform," it said. The ADB said graft was also a serious problem in tax administration, with only 77 percent of revenues being reported by enterprises for tax-payment purposes.

Bribes
The study showed that enterprises resort to informal payments in obtaining regulatory permits and licenses, such as in getting a telephone or electricity connection or securing a construction permit, import license or operating license. "Payment of bribes exacts a heavy cost on the economy since it prevents the small, new entrants but efficient firms from acquiring public contracts. In addition, it imposes an additional direct cost to business which is often passed on to consumers," the ADB report said. The survey of the domestic investment climate turned up other worrisome findings on corruption:

The antismoking ban and Jinggoy
Updated 03:10am (Mla time) Jan 13, 2005
By Ramon Tulfo
Inquirer News Service

SEN. AQUILINO Pimentel Jr. has complained that some of his colleagues in the Senate smoke in the Senate building in violation of a national law against smoking in enclosed public buildings. Legislators who continue to smoke in enclosed public places are either ignorant of the law or just plain arrogant.

Ignorance of the law doesn't excuse them. If that were so, they have no business being in Congress because they pass laws. If it's arrogance - they consider themselves above the law - well, many politicians ran for their respective positions because they want to be above the ordinary citizen. In short, they want to belong to the "privileged class."

Pimentel was apparently referring to Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Lito Lapid, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Rodolfo Biazon, and Sergio Osme�aIII when he made the complaint. Biazon and Osme�a probably couldn't help themselves because they're addicted to cigarettes. It was probably not their intention to hurt other people with their cancer-causing smoke, or they just forgot there is a law against smoking in public places, RA 9211. But that doesn't excuse them.

It's certain that Lapid is not only ignorant that such a law exists, he's plain ignorant. The same is true for Revilla. He might not have been aware of the law against smoking. Although he didn't go to college, he is more literate than Lapid since he finished high school in the United States. The worst kind is Jinggoy Estrada. He thinks that since he's a senator of the republic, the world-or at least the Philippines-owes him a living. If I know Jinggoy, his mentality could be summed up in what he would probably say to anybody who would point to his lighted cigarette: "So what? Are you a senator? You should become senator first before you question what I do."

Before his father Erap was thrown out of office by an angry mob at Edsa, Jinggoy had this attitude that he was above the law. I think he still has that kind of attitude. Several months before his father was ousted, Jinggoy went to Los Angeles with his friends. Aboard a Philippine Airlines jetliner, Jinggoy, then mayor of San Juan, smoked with his friends inside the first class section's lavatory.

Smoking in an international flight en route to the US is a federal offense even if the aircraft is not yet over US territory. The flight crew that allows a passenger to smoke on a US flight is as equally liable as the offending passenger. Word of Jinggoy's smoking reached the pilot. Through a flight attendant, the pilot sent word to Jinggoy and his friends that they were violating a US federal law.

What was Jinggoy's reaction? The flight attendant, to whom Jinggoy addressed his comment to the pilot, quoted him as saying: "Siguro anti-Erap yang piloto n'yo (Your pilot is probably anti-Erap)." Now, you know why Jinggoy ran for the Senate: he wanted to be in power so his chances of being acquitted of plunder charges are big. After all, the Senate is a Big Boys Club and his colleagues would help him and his father, his co-accused in the plunder case, get off the hook one way or another.

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Subic International Hotel to get casino and convention centre
Ollie Quiniquini, Manila ( 2005-01-03 )

SUBIC International Hotel is undergoing a 300-million-peso (US$6 million) expansion and renovation programme, which will see a casino and a convention and exhibition centre being added. The casino, which will open in March 2005, will target the Chinese, Japanese and Korean markets. The hotel�s director, Mrs Alejandra Clemente, said the property is presently negotiating with airlines for scheduled and chartered flights to Manila and Subic.

For its part, the convention and exhibition centre, which opens June 2005, will have a seating capacity of 2,500 persons. Target markets for the centre are local and Chinese corporations. Mrs Clemente said, �Companies in mainland China often hold exhibitions in Asian cities. We plan to organise events that will allow them to reach the Philippine market.�

The hotel is also upgrading its room facilities. At present, the property has three buildings. One of these will be converted into a 72-room five-star hotel to cater to highrollers visiting the casino. An additional 90 rooms are being built in the two other buildings.

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At least 11 people were killed and nearly 600 injured as Filipinos welcomed 2005 with daredevil revelry � but there were fewer firecracker blasts and less celebratory gunfire than in the past. More people converged last night to watch official firework displays organised in three areas of Manila�s tourist and financial districts to discourage rowdier celebrations. And there was less sparkle and smoke from exploding firecrackers in the capital�s sky.

But those who lit powerful firecrackers and defied a ban on the celebratory firing of guns were as careless as in the past, despite a government campaign against dangerous celebrations that have often made the city�s alleys resemble smoke-shrouded war zones on New Year�s Eve.

�We sympathise with the victims, but we hope more and more people will be more cautious,� police spokesman Senior Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil said. �Let�s not learn the hard way. There is no need to lose a hand to learn one�s lesson.� Of the 11 deaths monitored by police in the two weeks that ended today, seven were caused by a firecracker-ignited fire, three by stray bullets and one by a firecracker blast, Bataoil said. He said 547 people were injured by firecrackers and 30 by stray bullets. Fireworks ignited 22 blazes across the country during the period.

Among the dead were seven people trapped yesterday in houses which caught fire when a man set off a firecracker that hit and ignited a stack of pyrotechnics. Firefighters struggled to control the blaze, which burned for nearly three hours, in Bocaue, a firecracker-producing town north of Manila. Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said doctors amputated the hands of 27 people severely injured by firecrackers. Many of those injured were children or drunken men, he said.

Health officials have tried to scare potentially rowdy revellers with posters of a man whose right hand was blown off by an oversized firecracker last year and TV ads in which he explained the dangers of firecrackers. Superstitious Filipinos believe the noisy celebrations, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, drive away evil and misfortune. Some show off with stunts like holding lighted firecrackers in their hands.

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Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada, who was ousted and placed under house arrest on corruption charges, said Tuesday his country's government feared his popular support and prosecutors had no evidence against him. Estrada, who is in Hong Kong for knee replacement surgery, told The Associated Press that current Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was keeping him under house arrest because he was still hugely popular and could launch his own "people power" movement similar to the one that forced him out in 2001.

"This administration, even a small rally in support of me, they tear gas, they use water cannons," said Estrada, still wearing his trademark white wristband with the presidential seal. "They are very, very afraid." He added, "The constitutional clock in the Philippines stopped when I left (office)."

Estrada arrived Monday in his first trip outside the Philippines since being forced from office amid massive street protests. Prosecutors allege that Estrada amassed about $71 million in illegal gambling payoffs, tax kickbacks and commissions stashed in secret bank accounts while he was in office. He has denied any wrongdoing.

An anti-graft court in Manila, Philippines, allowed Estrada to leave for the surgery after he posted a $17,780 travel bond and formally pledged to return. Critics charge he made a deal with Arroyo to leave. "I would never strike a deal with this regime," said Estrada, who referred to Arroyo as "that girl." Estrada accused prosecutors of dragging out their case because they have no evidence against him.

In an exclusive interview from his room at Hong Kong's Adventist Hospital, Estrada said he would head home once he recovered from Thursday's surgery on both knees. Four police officers stood guard outside his private room as he puffed on cigarettes and looked over the Hong Kong skyline.

Dr. Christopher Mow, an orthopedic surgeon from Redwood City, Calif., said tests on the 67-year-old former actor would continue Wednesday. Estrada traveled to Hong Kong with an entourage that included family members. He said it was the first time in nearly three years he was able to gather with relatives. His elder son, Jinggoy, who also faces corruption charges, was to join him. Philippine leaders "did not even let me spend Christmas with my 99-year-old mother. They are very mean," Estrada said.

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Ex-general becoming most powerful man in Subic
Dec 24, 2004
By Tonette Orejas
Inquirer News Service

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT-A retired general is emerging as this freeport's most powerful man. Retired Maj. Gen. Jose Calimlim has joined the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and is taking on several positions and tasks.

As the SBMA senior deputy administrator for operations, retired Maj. Gen. Jose Calimlim oversees two major infrastructures: The Subic Bay International Airport and the Subic Bay Seaport. Calimlim is also president of the Freeport Services Corp., a government-owned and controlled firm which provides SBMA with personnel now totaling 1,800.

The retired general (a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1968) is also chief of the SBMA's law enforcement, intelligence and investigation department. On top of those jobs, he also heads the SBMA's Task Force Anti-Smuggling, which President Macapagal-Arroyo created through Executive Order No. 384.

Can he get any more powerful than that? Calimlim said the reorganization instituted by SBMA Administrator Alfredo Antonio since the October takeover delineated those duties to him. During a roundtable discussion with Inquirer Central Luzon correspondents on Dec. 18, Calimlim admitted that his military background and the presence of other military men at the zone may have created the impression that Subic has turned into a garrison state.

Under the administration of ousted President Joseph Estrada, Calimlim was also key in anti-smuggling efforts, even raiding a suspected base of smuggling operations in a province controlled by a former friend of the ousted president. Calimlim said in less than three months, he has gathered information on containers bound for Clark that are diverted to Makati and Manila. He also said oil products are misdeclared to skirt the payment of taxes. But asked to name the active smugglers at Subic, Calimlim was tight-lipped, saying that identifying them would malign even their children.

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Philippines arrests two colonels over coup plot
23.12.2004 - 11:15
By Manny Mogato

MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine military has arrested two colonels for planting a bomb at a stock exchange building as part of a plot to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, security officials say. "We have in custody two colonels in connection with an alleged plot to seize power and install a military junta," a senior army official said on Thursday on condition he was not identified.

"There are still efforts to account for other people involved in this military adventure." Arroyo had placed soldiers and police on alert on Tuesday night, hours before 300,000 people poured into the streets of Manila for the funeral cortege of film idol and former presidential challenger Fernando Poe Jr on Wednesday. Big, emotional crowds are potential powder kegs in the Philippines after popular revolts that toppled Joseph Estrada as president in 2001 and dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

There have also been numerous coup attempts. Poe, the strong, silent hero of 200 films, came within three percent of defeating Arroyo as president in May's election, despite being a political novice with a vague economic agenda. At Poe's wake, Estrada broke down as he stroked his best friend's brow and delivered a fiery eulogy accusing Arroyo's camp of cheating the late actor of victory in the election.

The military official said the two arrested officers being interrogated had close links with Poe and Estrada, who was replaced by his vice president Arroyo after street protests about graft. One of the colonels had been stripped of his command earlier this year for openly campaigning for Poe. An intelligence official told Reuters the colonels were taken into custody after a bomb was found at one of two stock exchange buildings in Manila on Wednesday morning as Poe's family, friends and supporters were hearing the funeral mass. He said the bomb was part of a plot to use the funeral to incite a revolt against Arroyo and install a seven-member junta that would have included Estrada, generals and a TV evangelist.

Lieutenant-Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, an army spokesman, told reporters heightened security had deterred the plotters, who he said came from left- and right-wing opposition groups. Security forces lifted the red alert after Poe's funeral went off peacefully. Another military official said the plot was aborted after a disagreement between opposition politicians and generals about who would run the government after Arroyo was ousted.

"What we heard from our informants was Estrada insisted on returning to power, but some generals opposed the idea because they wanted power for themselves," he told Reuters. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said intelligence agents discovered the plot after accidentally intercepting mobile phone conversations among opposition leaders, including a call placed by an actor to a communist rebel leader.

Arroyo, a former economics professor whose popularity ratings have plunged in recent months, faced down a one-day mutiny in July 2003 by 300 elite soldiers suspected of having support from opposition figures. Estrada, 67, is under house arrest while on trial on charges he salted away at least $80 million during his 31-month term.

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Camp John Hay faces closure due to unpaid rent
Tue 12/21/2004 4:08 AM
By LAWRENCE AGCAOILI
TODAY Reporter

The state-run Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) has threatened anew to terminate the lease contract agreement with CJH Development Corp. (CJHDevCo) after it defaulted on its lease rentals that has ballooned to P2.2 billion over the past few years. BCDA president and chief executive officer Narciso Abaya said the government has already formed a negotiating team and is just awating a new restructuring plan from CJHDevCo�a joint venture between property giant Fil-Estate Land and Penta Capital. �We have already formed a negotiating team but we haven�t met yet,� Abaya said.

CJHDevCo entered into a 25-year lease agreement with BCDA in October of 1996 to transform the former US military camp into a tourism complex, multiple use watershed and human resource development center. The agreement set the fixed annual rental of P425 million or 5 percent of the gross revenues for the first five years and P150 million per year starting on the sixth year until the end of the contract.

CJHDevCo made an advance payment of P250 million during the signing of the original lease agreement in 1996 and the annual P425 million rent in 1997. After the Asian financial crisis, the company was forced to seek a restructuring of its lease payments. Aileen Annunciacion Zosa, BCDA vice president for planning service and business development, told reporters that the unpaid amount has ballooned to P2.2 billion consisting of P1.8 billion in unpaid lease rentals as well as P400 million in interest and surcharges.

Zosa said BCDA has already approved two restructuring programs of CJHDevCo way back in 1999 and in 2003. Unpaid lease rentals are charged a 12-percent interest rate and a 3-percent surcharge per annum. Under the first restructuring, CJHDevCo was supposed to pay the P425 million annual rent starting 1999 to 2002 or one year longer than the original schedule.

The company, however, failed to comply with the terms of the restructured agreement forcing the BCDA board to serve the Notice of Termination of the Lease Contract with CJHDevCo after it failed to submit an acceptabled proposal in February of 2003. Both parties, however, settled their differences and entered into a second restructuring agreement. For his part, BCDA general counsel Arnel Paciano Casanova said the termination of the lease contract was one of the options being considered by the agency as CJHDevCo has already defaulted on its obligations."

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Philippines Relief Effort A Showcase Of Speed And Flexibility
December 18, 2004
By Juliana Gittler, Stars and Stripes

CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines � In the span of a few days, more than 600 Marines, sailors and airmen from Okinawa and the USS Fort McHenry from Sasebo Naval Base, Japan, were organized into a joint task force in the vicinity of the Philippines to help the nation carve itself out of a national crisis.

A succession of violent storms and mudslides earlier this month killed hundreds and left thousands homeless or without sustenance. With roads and bridges out, Philippine military and government forces were stretched thin trying to deliver aid. The United States pledged its support, and soon U.S. helicopters were flying in aid to remote communities.

It was a vivid demonstration of the U.S. military�s capability for humanitarian aid in the Pacific region, one of the first of its kind, officials say. The mission was accelerated by the U.S. military�s familiarity with working in the Philippines and by the flexibility of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade on Okinawa, said the man leading the task force.

�We were able to quickly analyze this mission, quickly deploy for the mission, quickly execute and begin aid runs,� said Brig. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck, commander of Joint Task Force 535 in the Philippines and the 3rd MEB. Through bilateral exercises such as Balikatan, �we have basically rehearsed this several times. The whole deployment, the whole setup here at Clark, had been done before,� he said.

The MEB itself is designed to adapt to different missions, from humanitarian help to full-scale combat, he said. A core command structure attaches whatever resources are needed and available to make the joint task force. �When you begin to think and plan for a mission like this you�re already thinking from a joint perspective: What capabilities are we deficient in within the MEB that we can draw from the other services?� Glueck said.

Before the final approval came through, an advance team of Marines hit the ground to prepare, followed by helicopters from a Military Sealift Command ship that flew out initial aid. When the Pentagon officially pledged its support Dec. 7, the ball was set in motion. The USS Fort McHenry from Sasebo carried in two heavy-lift Marine CH-53 helicopters, while six CH-46 helicopters flew in from Okinawa. Three Air Force HH-60 G Pave Hawks came from Kadena Air Base. More than 600 servicemembers came along or followed.

�It really did take a lot of parts and integration to put it all together,� said Col. John Shook, chief of staff for the joint task force. �It�s a lot of moving pieces.� In three days aid was flowing, fueled by a common focus and sense of urgency among the participating units, he said. Each day since arriving, the task force has topped its own success. �We have consistently increased the amount we have delivered on a daily basis,� he said. �I think we are definitely accomplishing our mission.�

In the sea of Marine digital camouflage uniforms, a few dozen Air Force cammies stand out. Lt. Col. Billy D. Thompson, commander of the 33rd Rescue Squadron from Kadena, brought the assets of about 50 airmen from four units to the mix to lead the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron under the task force. With barely two days� notice, he assembled the expeditionary squadron from the 33rd and 31st Rescue Squadrons, the 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and pararescue jumpers mostly from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron. Despite all coming from Okinawa, the Air Force and Marine personnel didn�t know each other.

�We don�t train together on a regular basis to do humanitarian assistance,� he said. �This has worked out really well, on really short notice. Everybody has their role. Everybody stays in their own lane.� The Air Force role is conducting search and rescue in the event an American aircraft goes down, or as needed to assist Philippine forces. The Air Force Pave Hawks, HH-60G helicopters, also transport the task-force commander as needed so Marine aircraft aren�t diverted from their relief missions, he said.

On the first day of their air operations, Air Force personnel evacuated four injured Philippine nationals and ferried in 500 pounds of medical equipment and 600 pounds of water to one town. �The benefit is obvious � you�re doing something important,� Thompson said. �Especially when you go out there and see the devastation. We�re all happy to be anywhere we can help.�

As the mission winds down, the joint task force has exceeded its goals for delivering aid. It also sets an example for the U.S. military�s potential dealing with future regional humanitarian crises. �It�s really one of those benefits of a forward presence,� said Shook, the task force chief of staff. �Standing up task forces is something Pacific Command routinely practices.�

�I think it pretty much shows how important it is for our nation to maintain that capability in the future,� Glueck added, �to be responsive to the needs of our allies.�

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The Philippine National Police (PNP) is perceived as the most corrupt institution in the country, according to a survey conducted by watchdog Transparency International. According to the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2004, the PNP got a score of 4.2 on a scale of 1.0 (not at all corrupt) to 5.0 (extremely corrupt).

Tied in second place were political parties and the legislature, each with a score of 4.1. Church groups were rated as the least corrupt at 2.1. In third place is Customs with 3.9, followed by Tax revenue agencies with 3.8 percent; registry and permit services with 3.6 percent; and the military with 3.4 percent.

The results of the study were posted on the group's website. It included results from 62 countries. In 36 states, political parties ranked as the most corrupt. Sought for his reaction, PNP Director General Edgar Aglipay said: "That's why I ordered our troops to change their ways." Aglipay cited his many efforts to stamp out corruption in the force, such as retraining lazy and erring cops.

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Fernando Poe Jr. passes away
Updated 09:42am (Mla time) Dec 14, 2004
INQ7.net, GMA7, Agence France-Presse

MOVIE star and former presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. passed away shortly after midnight Monday. Poe, 65, popularly known by his initials FPJ, fell into a coma after a massive stroke over the weekend and never recovered.

"Mabigat sa aking loob na ipaalam sa inyo na patay na si FPJ" [With a heavy heart I wish to inform you that FPJ has passed away], his wife actress Susan Roces said in a statement, which was read in to press by Poe's former campaign staff Susan Tagle. "I'm very sad to announce that Mr. FPJ passed away at 12:01 a.m. despite aggressive resuscitative and therapeutic measures," said Poe's attending physician Dr. Abdias Aquino, head of the Stroke Service of the Institute for Neurosciences of St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City. Representative Francis Escudero, a spokesman for the political opposition, also announced Poe's death.

Roces thanked the public for praying for her husband. "Let remember him with joy," she said. "The Filipino people was in his heart." Roces and other family and friends had surrounded Poe since he was rushed to the hospital Sunday. Poe's remains were brought to Arlington chapel. Arrangements are being made for his wake, said Marichu Vera Perez Maceda, who was quoted on GMA Network television. "Lets pray for the soul of FPJ," actor Richard Gomez said.

Poe was rushed to the hospital after he fell unconscious during a party at his FPJ Productions studio compound Saturday. Doctors said he suffered from a blood clot in his brain. Poe was on life support systems before he died. A self-made millionaire, Poe lost the election to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in May by over a million votes. He filed an electoral protest with the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, saying he was cheated. After the election he kept a low profile, staying out of public eye and only occasionally attending showbiz functions.

Poe was a reluctant presidential candidate in May, but was cajoled into leading the opposition ticket at the request of his good friend, ex-president Joseph Estrada, who was ousted by a popular revolt in 2001 and was replaced by Arroyo. Estrada is in jail while being tried for massive corruption. Poe, who was also known as "Da King," had built a successful movie career and film business. His production company FPJ Productions is said to be one of the biggest in the country.

Outside of the Philippines, Poe was a relatively unknown figure until he decided to stand in this year's presidential election despite his total lack of experience in politics. He promised very little to the voters. "Breakfast, lunch and dinner" was the slogan of his faltering campaign, which saw him blow a huge opinion poll lead to arrive at election day trailing incumbent Arroyo.

Poe's campaign was more about showbiz than politics. His aides were film stars and his bodyguards were stuntmen, and he liked to pepper his election speeches with some of his most famous one-liners. Some of his closest friends have said that he was reluctant to stand for the presidency and only did it as a favor to his old friend and acting buddy Estrada.

Born Ronald Allan Kelley Poe, the son of film star Fernando Poe Sr. -- the real-life Fernando Poe Jr. was his elder brother -- and an American mother Elizabeth Kelley, Poe always seemed destined for a life in the movies. Poe dropped out of school at 15 after his father died and took a job as a messenger in a film exchange office. Later he took bit parts as a stuntman for Everlasting Pictures before being given his first real acting role in the film "Son of Palaris" in 1950. Poe's biggest break was in the film "Lo Waist Gang" in 1956. It marked the local cinemas shift from the fantasy world of costume productions to the trendy realism of action movies.

He starred in some 200 films specializing in Robin Hood-style guerrillas and honest cops who overcame fearsome odds, corrupt politicians and gangsters to secure victory for the common man. Poe was "Ang Panday" ["The Ironsmith"], a working class hero who struck down challengers with a giant magic sword modeled on King Arthur's Excalibur.

Through his years in the spotlight, Poe had guarded his privacy closely and tried to cultivate an image of incorruptibility, revealing little about his supposed storybook marriage to Roces. However the image slipped a little in February when Poe was forced to admit he had fathered a child out of wedlock with a minor starlet, denting his reputation as "Mr. Clean." He leaves his wife and daughter, Mary Grace.

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Three police, security guard killed by suspected rebels in Philippines
2004/12/10
OLONGAPO, Philippines (AP)

Suspected communist rebels fatally shot three police officers and a security guard at a highway outpost near a former U.S. Navy base, police said Friday. The attackers, four men and two women, arrived at the outpost late Thursday in a rented van and fatally shot the three officers and a visiting security guard, said Olongapo police chief Orlando Maddela. Another officer was wounded.

The attackers fled after seizing two M-16 rifles from the officers. The outpost is close to bars, nightclubs and beach resorts popular among foreign tourists along the highway in Barreto district of Olongapo, which is adjacent to the former U.S. Subic Naval Base, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Manila.

The owner of a car rental company in Angeles city, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Olongapo, said a man and a woman who rented the van later identified themselves as members of the rebel New People's Army.
He said they forced a company driver out of the car after taking his cellular telephone, but later one of the attackers called the company to say the van was abandoned in Subic town near Olongapo.

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US Marines dispatched to storm-ravaged Philippines
07 Dec 2004 21:03:36 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Charles Aldinger

German tourist shot in Angeles City heist
Monday, November 29, 2004
By Dante M. Fabian

ANGELES CITY -- A German tourist who had just arrived in the country is now in critical condition after he was shot by one of three still unidentified men persons at the Blue Fields Hotel in Plaridel Subdivision here Saturday night.

Chief Insp. Efren Y. Miranda, Angeles City Police Office (Acpo) Station 4 chief, identified the victim as Uwe Tschauder, 36. In reports to Senior Supt. Jimmy F. Restua, Acpo director, Miranda said Tschauder was rushed for treatment at the Philippine International Hospital (PIH) where he was declared in critical condition by attending doctor Eldy Daileg.

Miranda said an investigation by responding Station 4 policemen led by SPO2 Rodrigo Rodriguez, of the Complaint and Action Center 43, showed that Tschauder sustained gunshot wounds in different parts of the body. He added that after the shooting and robbery, one of the assailants drove the hotel-owned vehicle, a gray Honda City with license plate UPS 798, and together with two others, used this in fleeing the scene.

He added that after shooting Tschauder, the assailants, carrying .45 caliber pistol and a .38 caliber revolver, fled with the tourist's belt bag containing about P65,000 worth of cash in European currency. Miranda ordered immediate follow up operations to track down the killers. Investigation by Rodriguez and SPO2 Celestino Dela Cruz showed that Tschauder and another German, identified as Ralf Peter Podbweist, had just arrived and were about to check in at the Blue Fields Hotel when the suspects struck.

Rodriguez reported that the tourists had just been fetched from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport aboard the hotel car by driver Arnel Nicdao, 31, single, of 945 Magsaysay St., Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga. He added that the killers suddenly approached Tschauder as Nicdao and the duty security guard, Renaldo Menase, 33, Transcore Security Agency, of 316 P. Gomez St., Lourdes North West, Angeles City, helped the German guests carry their luggage into the hotel.

Rodriguez said a man armed with the .45 caliber pistol tried to grab Tschauder's belt bag containing his passport and cash. However, the German tourist resisted and fought back. The gunman then fired successive shots at him and succeeded in taking his bag. Menase reported to police that while he was writing the guest's arrival on the hotel logbook, one of the men poked a .45 caliber pistol at him and warned him not to move then took his service firearm, a 12-gauge shotgun.

He said while he was held at bay by the gunman, he saw another man follow Tschauder and saw him grab his belt bag and later fired shots at the victim. Nicdao also reported to investigators that one of the killers, armed with a .38 caliber revolver, divested him at gunpoint of his Seiko watch and his wallet containing P900 in cash. Nicdao said the same gunman then drove away aboard the hotel's car. Miranda said the car was later found abandoned by members of the Traffic Enforcement Group (TEG) and Station 4 police along Immelman Road, Hensonville Subdivision, Barangay Malabanas.

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Spam Cafes Open In Philippines
Nov 23, 2004 9:01 pm US/Central
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