Balikbayan box distribution center opened in Subic free port
July 16, 2009

SUBIC FREE PORT � Atlas Shippers International, a Filipino-owned freight forwarding service provider yesterday opened its distribution center here with the launching of its maiden shipment. Atlas Shippers President and Chief Operating Officer Joel P. Longares said Subic will now be its distribution hub of ’balikbayan’ boxes.

Mr. Longares said Subic, which has modern seaport facilities and highly skilled workers, is an excellent location for freight forwarding services. "We decided to change port destination from Manila to Subic because of several advantages that the free port has to offer," Mr. Longares told reporters here. He added that his firm would also be banking on the free port status of Subic that ensures fast movement of cargo.

Mr. Longares said tax incentives enjoyed by free port companies will allow his firm to "save more" from its operational expenses. He also pointed to the strategic location of the Subic free port in serving clients from Northern and Central Luzon, citing the newly built Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.  Subic Bay Metropolitan Administration chief Armand C. Arreza said the setting up of business of Atlas in Subic free port was an off-shoot of a recent government trade mission to US.

The agreement with Atlas Shippers was signed on June 24. "This is part of our efforts to develop Subic into a major logistic and distribution hub," Mr. Arreza said.  Trade and Industry regional director Blesila Lantayona told the BusinessWorld the government is encouraging local exporters from the region to use Subic to ship their products.

She noted that all cargo containers of Atlas Shippers would be empty after the shipment of balikbayan boxes in Subic, and said it would be a great opportunity to use Philippine-made export products as "back load" for cheaper freight charges.  "We are conceptualizing a business plan for Filipino exporters to have a tie-up with Atlas Shippers, for them to use those empty cargo containers for outbound shipment of local products abroad," Ms. Lantayona added.

Mr. Longares also said the company is preparing to operate a warehouse for its sorting facilities. He said he was expecting more Filipino freight forwarding service companies to also use the Subic free port as its distribution hub. "The international freight forwarding industry is so big that’s why I am encouraging them to come and also do business in Subic," Mr. Longares said.

The inaugural shipment of cargo container consisting of more than 400 balikbayan boxes was held at the Subic Port Container Terminal I, which is being operated by the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., a subsidiary of the Enrique K. Razon, Jr.-led International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

Atlas Shippers started in January 1993 in Covina, California providing door-to-door cargo services to Filipinos in United States. Five years after, the company took advantage of an opportunity to expand all over the US midwest, the East Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii. On 2001, Atlas Shippers opened its doors to the international market by putting up branches in Hong Kong, Italy and Singapore to serve Filipino communities in Asia and Europe.

Other services offered by the firm are travel and tour services, air cargo service, and remittances. � Rey M. Garcia

Empty Ships Flock to Subic Bay as Lines Battle Plunging Rates
By Wendy Leung and Francisco Alcuaz Jr.
March 5, 2009

Subic Bay in the Philippines is the busiest it’s been since the U.S. Navy moved out 16 years ago. The traffic surge is coming from ships all carrying the same cargo -- nothing. Last week, 19 vessels were anchored in the mountain-lined bay awaiting charters near an empty container terminal. The authorities at the port, 110 kilometers west of Manila, were expecting another eight this week.

“If the downturn continues, we’ll probably get even more,” said Ferdinand Hernandez, senior deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. Hundreds of vessels have been laid up worldwide as container lines try to boost rates depressed by U.S. and European consumers paring spending on Asian-made furniture, toys and other goods. Still, with shipyards set to deliver the largest amount of container ships by capacity in at least 15 years in 2009, lines may still struggle to post profits. “It’s only a matter of how much they are going to lose,” said Gideon Lo, a DBS Vickers Hong Kong Ltd. analyst. “It isn’t likely they can cover costs in 2009 or 2010.”

Neptune Orient Lines Ltd., Southeast Asia’s biggest container carrier, is seeking to raise rates for carrying a 20- foot box from Asia to Europe by $250 from April 1, it said in a Feb. 19 statement. Rates have fallen “drastically” for more than a year, added the company, which expects a full-year loss. A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container line, Evergreen Marine Corp. and Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. have also announced similar increases. “We hope rates return to normal,” said Katherine Ko, acting spokeswoman for Taiwan’s Evergreen Group, parent of Evergreen Marine, Asia’s largest container line.

The vessels in Subic Bay, which also include car carriers and commodity ships, are typically anchored for a couple of months awaiting charters, said Capt. Perfecto Pascual, general manager of the seaport. Companies use the bay to lay up vessels as it’s secure and offers protection from the elements, he added. As many as 22 ships were anchored there recently, compared with an average of about 10 before the economic crisis began, he said.

Globally, 9.1 percent of container ships, or 427 vessels, have been idled, Lloyd’s List said on Feb. 13, citing Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit, a shipping-data provider. Thousands of containers are also going unused worldwide, leaving ports struggling to find space for them. For instance, Busan International Terminal Co., a wharf-operator in Busan, South Korea’s busiest port, is holding at least 30,000 empty boxes. “The removal of so much capacity should see a restoration of rates,” said Ken Cambie, chief financial officer of Orient Overseas, Hong Kong’s largest container line. “Rate increases are needed on all trades,” he added.

Container lines traditionally raise rates in the second quarter after a first-quarter slowdown caused by the Chinese lunar new-year holiday and reduced demand from U.S. and European retailers selling off excess Christmas stock. Any increases this year may be smaller than past ones as the global container fleet grows amid slowing demand. New ships with a combined capacity of 3.9 million boxes are due for delivery this year and next, about a third more than in the past two years, according to AXS-Alphaliner data. Shipyards are now completing vessels ordered two to three years ago when trade was booming.

This year, global container traffic may fall 3 percent, according to Morgan Stanley, as U.S. and European consumers slash spending. China’s exports to the European Union tumbled 17.4 percent in January. The World Bank forecasts a 2.1 percent decline in global trade this year, the first drop since 1982. Container lines won’t be “able to raise rates much as demand hasn’t returned to previous levels,” said Jack Xu, an analyst at Sinopac Securities Asia Co. in Shanghai.

Lower fuel costs are helping shipping lines, with prices having tumbled about two-thirds from a record in July. Orient Overseas may spend 49 percent less on fuel this year than in 2008, if prices stay at current levels, Cambie said. Still, while a drop in fuel prices has lowered costs, it’s not enough to return the industry to profit. Container lines still “have to increase freight rates because they are below cash costs,” said Ryu Je-Hyun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities Co. “If they don’t, their cash will start to burn out.”

Business as usual despite FedEx departure, says local franchisee
FedEx is moving its Asia-Pacific delivery center to southern China. � AFP
Jose Bimbo F. Santos, with a report from Rey Garcia
Feb 10, 2009

THE CLOSURE of hub operations by American logistics giant Federal Express Corp. (FedEx) in Subic won’t have a major effect on the Philippine business, but low demand caused by the global economic slowdown have forced the local FedEx franchisee to reduce flights in the coming months. "There will be no substantial effect," said Alberto D. Lina, owner of FedEx franchisee Airfreight 2100, Inc., when asked if there would be changes with the departure of the Memphis, Tennessee firm from the former US naval base.

In statement yesterday, FedEx said Manila and Cebu would remain part of the "FedEx AsiaOne" overnight delivery network. The network covers the region’s major trading centers: Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Penang, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, and Tokyo.

The last FedEx plane flew out of the Subic free port, the regional hub for the logistics firm since 1995, last Friday. The last batch of FedEx planes, composed of eight Airbus-A310 and four MD-11 planes, took off starting 2:08 in the morning. Five hundred FedEx employees lined up on the side of the runway of the Subic Bay International Airport and waved goodbye in an emotional send-off for the last scheduled FedEx flight, at 6:15 a.m. Friday, on the taxiway-C of the airport.

FedEx is moving its new Asia-Pacific delivery center to the Guang-zhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China.  "The hub in Subic Bay, however, will remain in operations until the hub in Guangzhou is fully operational," FedEx said. Slated to open by the first half of the year, the new FedEx hub in China, the company’s largest outside the US, will service 30 Asia-Pacific countries.

Mr. Lina said FedEx deliveries in the country would still be carried on by Airfreight 2100. FedEx made the decision to discontinue its Asia-Pacific hub in Subic and move to China in 2004. This was brought about by the much larger market in mainland China compared to the Philippines, as well as better and larger facilities offered by the Chinese government.

The new hub in Guangzhou is expected to speed up service with 11 flights weekly through three major gateways: Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. FedEx’s lease contract for its Subic hub ended in 2007. Around 800 workers in Subic lost jobs with the departure of FedEx. But more than the exit of FedEx, Mr. Lina said weak demand brought by the global economic slowdown spells more worries for Airfreight 2100.

Mr. Lina said Airfreight 2100 was undergoing "route consolidation," or flight frequency reductions based on current demand. He declined to be specific.  Airfreight 2100 may also trim down its spending for this year. "We are really scrutinizing our costs line by line now. If the market really gets weak, we will cut costs, especially on things that are unnecessary but nice to have," Mr. Lina said.

Mr. Lina, who expects Airfreight 2100’s operations to normalize after six to nine months, added that the company is also starting to invest in "green technology" to cut electric bills. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is bound to lose about P150 million in annual revenues from payments for leased airport facilities, daily aircraft landing fees, and others.  SBMA Administrator Armand C. Arreza said the free port is negotiating with other foreign companies to replace FedEx.

Fed Ex Flies out to China
2/10/09

SUBIC BAY�The mighty FedEx birds have flown, and Subic might never be the same again. On Friday, February 6, starting at 2 a.m., a fleet of eight Airbus-A310s and four MD-11 aircraft made a beeline to Taxiway C of the Subic Bay Airport. Hours before, the planes were topped off with fuel, checked by technicians and loaded by hub operations agents with cargoes bound for destinations like Taiwan, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

It was a reprise of what has become a daily routine in Subic since the air cargo giant Federal Express (later to become FedEx Corp.) established its Asian hub here in 1995. Except that this time, the planes were not coming back, perhaps for good. As the aircraft taxied for takeoff, their familiar bulk nosed through a curtain of water sprayed by a fire truck on standby�a farewell gesture that signaled the end of an era at the Subic Bay Free P wort.

The last cargo flights out of Subic on Friday actually started the transition period for FedEx’s transfer of its Asia-Pacific hub from here to Guangzhou, China, said Armand Arreza, administrator and CEO of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). FedEx, Arreza said, has started to test-run its new facilities at the Baiyun International Airport, the main airport of Guangzhou, the capital of China’s Guangdong province, after operating in Subic for 13 years.

But the pullout, Arreza explained, was borne out of competition�not by the ongoing global recession. “The decision was made as early as 2004, even before the global economic slowdown last year began to affect Asian economies,” Arreza pointed out. “The market condition in China dwarfs that of the entire Southeast Asia combined,” he said, citing that China accounts for some 60 percent to 70 percent of Asia’s cargo traffic.

Moreover, China dangled to FedEx the incentive of cabotage, which would allow the American firm to handle domestic cargo in China. “Here, the Philippine Constitution allows cabotage for domestic companies only,” added Arreza.

The decision, nonetheless, would result in the contraction of SBMA’s income by about P150 million annually�the fees paid by FedEx for landing rights and warehouse rentals. Landing fees by FedEx, in particular, made the bulk of revenue generated by the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA), which was practically rehabilitated in 1994 to accommodate FedEx’s cargo flights.

According to SBIA records, FedEx logged in an average of 1,000 flights a month, with international flights almost double the domestic runs. At its heyday here, the cargo firm had 12 inbound and 12 outbound flights on a regular night, with its fleet of Airbus A310s carrying as much as 35 tons each and the wide-bodied MD11s loaded with up to 89 tons of cargo each.

FedEx’s transfer to China also displaced more than 500 workers, mostly from Olongapo City, who were variously employed in sorting documents and freight, warehousing, ramp operations, as well as in aircraft maintenance, logistics distribution and ground support. Earl Esmane, a part-time hub-operations agent from Olongapo, said the part-timers, who composed of about 70 percent of the FedEx hub crew, were paid P60 an hour for the usual four-hour nighttime shift.

The full-timers, however, received higher base pay, he said, adding that some regular employees had received offers to relocate to FedEx hubs in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Esmane, who had completed his clearance with the company as early as last month, has yet to receive his separation pay. However, a FedEx official said on Friday some officials would remain in Subic to oversee the completion of the firm’s reintegration program for its workers.

As the last FedEx plane took off on Friday, FedEx assistant chief pilot Joel Edmondson expressed some regrets about pulling out of Subic, saying that the FedEx hub here has been “very successful” since it was established in 1995. He reiterated, however, that global economics dictated that FedEx had to relocate to China. “It’s not a matter of Subic being not good enough to [FedEx],” Edmondson said. “This is an economic decision that puts us in a better position to move forward in the market.”  Ironically, it was the same market force that had brought FedEx to Subic Bay in the first place.

Noting the significant increase in the cargo market in Asia in the late ’80s and early ’90s, FedEx reportedly decided to establish a strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region, with the strategy to build an “Asia One” hub in Subic and, thereafter, adding more “spokes” to the hub. In 1993 FedEx began negotiating with the SBMA for the use of the former US Naval Air Station in Subic�a year after it closed down as a result of the Philippine Senate’s rejection of the treaty extending the stay of US bases in the country.

The following year, FedEx signed a contract with the SBMA and the latter began rehabilitating the airport runway and procuring international-standard navigational equipment to meet its client’s requirements. On September 1, 1995, FedEx launched the Asia One network in Subic, thereby setting up an overnight intra-Asian delivery network connecting 11 major Asian centers.

The following year, FedEx expanded its operations to include regular all-cargo flights directly linking Shanghai with its Asia-Pacific hub, thus getting the first taste of the burgeoning Chinese market. FedEx would soon expand in 1999, adding eight more aircraft to its 12-plane fleet and signing an extension of its lease agreement from 2002 to 2007.

By 2001 the FedEx Asia One network in Subic has grown to include 19 destinations in Asia, so that in May 2004, it opted to extend its contract with the SBMA for up to August 2010, with options for three successive renewals of one year. However, in July 2004, FedEx announced it has opted to transfer to Guangzhou by 2008, a decision that, it said, was based on an exhaustive series of feasibility studies that recognized the tremendous business potentials in China.

Taiwanese cry foul vs SBMA
Philippine Star
Wednesday, July 4, 2007

President Arroyo was asked yesterday to intervene in the eviction case against a group of Taiwanese businessmen holding a 50-year lease on a 105-hectare property occupied by the Subic Bay Golf and Country Club (SBGCC). Last June 8, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) took over the SBGCC after its officials failed to pay back rent amounting to P17 million.

In a letter to Mrs. Arroyo, the Subic Bay Taiwan Chamber of Commerce (SBCC) protested the action of SBMA administrator Armand Arreza to seize a large portion of SBGCC, which was operated by the Universal International Group Development Corp. (UIGDC). "The takeover violated every basic law of diplomacy," read the letter signed by 21 members of SBTCC. "We are afraid the same thing may be done to us."

The Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Manila, Taiwan's unofficial embassy, headed by Dr. Hsin-Hsing Wu, also made a separate appeal to Mrs. Arroyo through Trade Secretary Peter Favila. In a letter, dated June 14. Wu appealed for Favila's "kind intercession for the early resolution of the case as we continue to pursue our commitment to make Subic Bay Freeport as an investment haven for Taiwanese and other foreign locators."

SBGCC vice president Jack Hu said they entered into a 50-year lease contract with the SBMA during the Ramos administration in 1995 to develop the 105-hectare property inside the former US naval base into an 18-hole golf course. The UIGDC, one of the pioneer investors in Subic Bay, has invested P2 billion in the property, he added.

Hu said in December 2006, Arreza issued a demand letter to SBGCC and UIGDC to settle their debts or face closure. The SBGCC and UIGDC sought relief from the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court branch 71, which stopped eviction and ordered SBMA to seek an amicable settlement of the debts, he added. Last June 8, SBMA security personnel took over the golf club, Hu said.

Meanwhile, the lawyer of the Taiwanese investors said yesterday they will file criminal and administrative charges against the SBMA officials for taking over the SBGCCl. Speaking to reporters at Sulo hotel in Quezon City, Vic Millora said SBGCC officials Susan Ho and Jack Hu will file charges of theft, grave threats, grave coercion and violation of the anti-graft law.

"We will be filing the charges at the Office of the Ombudsman," he said. Nonpayment of rental is not a valid ground for the forcible takeover of their facility, he added.

On the other hand, SBMA officials said yesterday the agency's takeover of the SBGCC last June 8 was simply a case of a lessor exercising its right to terminate a lease contract after the lessee failed to fulfill its obligations. Speaking to reporters, SBMA Chairman Feliciano G. Salonga and SBMA Administrator and Chief Executive Offier Armand Arreza said the takeover did defy any court order.

The takeover came after a lengthy process and after the SBMA had given the company "a lot of concessions" to be able to settle its obligations, the officials said. Salonga said contrary to several media reports there's nothing illegal about the takeover of the SBGCC.

"What we did was pre-terminate the lease and development agreement (LDA) of the Universal International Group because it has failed to pay its debts and honor its commitments under its development contract," he said. Arreza said the SBMA "only protected the interest of the government" in implementing the takeover. "It would be a gross mismanagement on our part if we let the previous management continue operating while it was not paying rentals due the government," he said.

Flight frequencies up at Clark Airport
By Marianne V. Go
Monday, July 2, 2007

The development of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) is beginning to speed up with more and more airlines increasing their flight frequencies and the country's flag carriers formally expressing their interest in eventually operating out of the former US airbase. According to Victor Luciano, president of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC), Asiana Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines and Thai Airlines are increasing their flight frequencies to the DMIA, while Cebu Pacific has decided to make Clark a hub for its regional flights to Korea, Taipei and possibly even to Japan.

Even Philippine Airlines, Luciano said, is planning to make Clark its base for its regional flights to China where PAL is eyeing more destinations. At the welcoming ceremonies for the DMIA's one millionth passenger arrival Friday evening (June 29), Luciano announced that Asiana Airlines is increasing its current five times a week flights to daily flights starting in July.

Asiana, Luciano said, may also start using bigger aircraft from its current Boeing 767 and Airbus A321 to the Boeing 747 for its daily flights. The Boeing 767 accommodates 230 passengers, while the A321 carries up to 180 passengers only. The Boeing 747 carries up to 433 passengers. Apart from increasing its passenger load, Luciano said, Asiana is also looking at more cargo business as well.

Asiana is investing $2 million in the Philippines alone for new equipment and has already spent $5 million in Korea for promotion and marketing of its flights to Clark, Luciano said. Asiana, which currently arrives at night in the Philippines, will start daytime flights that will allow connections to its destinations in the United States and Europe, Luciano said.

Hong Kong Airlines is also increasing its current once a day flights to twice daily by September. Cebu Pacific will also start flying in September to five regional cities out of Clark. In October, Luciano said, Thai Airlines will start flying from Bangkok to Clark. Construction for the expansion of the existing terminal is scheduled to start next week and work is projected to be completed by December this year. Construction of a second terminal will commence by December and is expected to be completed by December 2008. Expansion of the DMIA, Luciano said, would further convince PAL to start operating out of Clark to China.

Subic builds biggest ship in the world
By Joyce Pangco Pa�ares
With Elaine Ruzul S. Ramos

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said yesterday the biggest tanker in the world, a $150-million floating mammoth, is now being built in Subic by the Korean firm Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co.  “They are now building the biggest boat in the world right here in Subic,” said Mrs. Arroyo who visited Hanjin’s shipyard in the free port zone to check on the first 12 container vessels being built there.

“Indeed, this shipyard of Hanjin will transform Subic into one of the four largest shipbuilding facilities in the whole world,” she said.  Hanjin officials declined to give more details on the tanker, but sources said it would be bigger than the 260,851-ton Seawise Giant that was built by the Japan-based Sumitomo Oppama Shipyard and measures 1,604 ft. long and 226 ft. wide.

Hanjin’s shipyard in Subic cost $1 billion, and it made South Korea the single biggest source of foreign direct investment in the Philippines last year.  Mrs. Arroyo also opened the P653-million Subic-Cawag-Balaybay access road to the Hanjin Group’s shipbuilding facilities, which stretches for 16.15 kms. and is expected to create more jobs for the residents of Subic, Zambales and Olongapo City.

Hanjin is expected to gross $3.6 billion from its shipyard, which can make 60 ships worth $60 million each every year.  The Korean firm has also opened a $40-million training center for shipyard workers and hired 2,400 Filipinos to build its dry dock. It is expected to hire 30,000 more Filipinos in the next five years.

Floating dry dock back in Subic Port
June 12th, 2007

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT ZONE, Philippines -- Fifteen years after it was towed out following the dismantling of the US naval base here, the floating dry dock that used to handle repairs of US Navy ships arrived here last week and will be operational in two months, its operator said. This time, the facility will be used for commercial purposes, said Subic Drydock, a subsidiary of the US-based ship repair service provider Cabras Marine Corp.

The company said the arrival of the AFDM-5 floating dry dock would revive operations of the defunct Ship Repair Facilities (SRF) here. Negotiations for the AFDM-5's return started in May 2004 when the head of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) at the time, Felicito Payumo, met officials of Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp.

Malayan Towage, a sister company of Cabras Marine Corp., bought the AFDM-5 dry dock from Guam. In October 2005, SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga and SNMS Administrator Armand Arreza signed a long-term lease contract with Subic Drydock president and chief executive Catalino Bondoc on setting up a P275-million ship repair facility.

The return of the dry dock will open more job opportunities, Salonga said. The company said the floating dock, which was commissioned strictly for military use, would now serve inter-island ships, ferries and other vessels. Another dry dock is to arrive in two months to augment company operations.

Malayan Towage chairman Donald Marshall said that when the negotiations for the return of AFDM-5 began, the company zeroed in on Subic because it was one of the country's top economic zones and because the AFDM-5 had been stationed there. "It's like bringing back something that meant a lot to the former base workers," he said.

Kodak Closes Operations In Philippines, Employees Will Now Work With Replacement Firm Tech Trends Corp.
May 23, 2007 7:19 a.m. EST
Komfie Manalo - AHN Correspondent

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Kodak will no longer be taking pictures in the Philippines beginning June 1 as the world famous brand closed shop in Manila. However, sacked employees of the firm have set up Tech Trends Corporation, a distribution firm that will take over the company's operations in the Philippines. Raymond Albert, president and CEO of Tech Trends said the new firm will be conducting its affairs in the old Kodak office in Makati City, but Kodak will no longer hold sales office in the Philippines.

Albert was the former country general manager for Kodak Philippines. Albert said, "We've retained the status quo. Almost nothing has changed because all the functions of Kodak Philippines will be taken over by Tech Trends, including sales, marketing, training, advertising and distribution of products." He said all local business partners and retail firms have been notified of the new set-up and the response was "positive," he adds.

At least 80 percent of Kodak employees have been absorbed by Tech Trends and they will continue doing their old job.  Tech Trends will also directly deal with Eastman Kodak's Southeast Asian regional office in Singapore. The new firm will also handle the management of over 400 Kodak Express photo developing shops and Kodak-branded digital printing kiosks.

Chip Plant in Philippines Marks Challenge to China
By JAMES HOOKWAY
Wall Street Journal
May 4, 2007

The Philippines' success in beating out China for the site of Texas Instruments Inc.'s new $1 billion assembly plant highlights the country's economic revival and challenges the conventional view that China is Asia's most cost-effective factory floor. The semiconductor giant's investment also is a vote of confidence in the Philippines' recent financial stability. And shows how international companies are now looking at alternatives to investing in China.

Texas Instruments' executives visiting Manila Thursday said the highly skilled workers at its existing chip plant in the Philippines persuaded the company to open a second plant there, despite intense competition to attract Texas Instruments' investment from other Asian nations. While China continues to be a major draw for technology companies -- Intel Corp. in March said it was planning a $2.5 billion chip-wafer manufacturing facility there -- Texas Instruments' decision to build another semiconductor testing and assembly plant in the Philippines may also reflect how rising costs in China are encouraging investors to consider other locations.

Land prices on China's industrial coastal belt are rising, and wages have been seeing double-digit growth for several years -- bringing them closer to, and in some cases, higher than -- the cost of hiring skilled workers in countries such as the Philippines. Intel is also increasing its investments outside China, partially to secure its global supply chains in case of disruptions from any one location. Intel announced plans earlier this year to build a $1 billion chip-testing and assembly plant in Vietnam, and has also increased its investments in Malaysia.

"It seems that for some companies, the cost differences aren't enough to justify going to China," says Luz Lorenzo, an economist with ATR-Kim Eng Securities Inc. in Manila. Texas Instruments' existing Philippines plant, high in the rugged mountain town of Baguio, accounts for 40% of the semiconductor company's global output of assembled chips. It is considered a success, despite persistent concerns about the cost and reliability of the electrical power supply in the Philippines and, for years, higher average wage costs than China. As recently as 2005, officials at the Baguio plant were concerned about how they would be able to compete effectively with Texas Instruments' other assembly and testing plants around the world because of decaying infrastructure in the Philippines.

On Thursday, Kevin Ritchie, Texas Instruments' senior vice president of technology, said the Philippines' pool of educated, English-speaking workers tipped the company's decision. The new plant is expected to provide jobs for around 3,000 people. It isn't clear what tax breaks or other incentives the Philippine government may have offered Texas Instruments. The new facility, however, will be located in a special economic zone, which typically does provide investment incentives.

Norberto "Bing" Viera, managing director of Philippine operations for Texas Instruments, said the new plant will be sited in the Clark Freeport Zone, 100 kilometers north of Manila, and that he expects it will become "a flagship for the company in terms of quality and output." The new investment comes as the Philippines is experiencing an economic resurgence of sorts after years in the doldrums. Buoyed by remittances from more than 10 million Philippine workers overseas and by tax legislation that has eased concerns about the country's financial stability, business is thriving.

The Philippine government forecasts gross domestic product will grow in a range of 6.1% to 6.7% this year, compared with 5.4% growth in 2006. That compares with growth rates as low as 3.3% in 2001. An influx of new business-processing, call centers and other outsourced business services have also fueled the country's revival. That has helped make the Manila stock market one of Asia's best performers last year; it is up 9.7% so far this year.

Economic analysts say Texas Instruments' decision to pump $1 billion into a second Philippines plant could help encourage other manufacturing industries to follow, just as Intel's $1 billion commitment to build a semiconductor packaging plant in Vietnam unleashed a flow of new investments to that country.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo told reporters in Manila that "competition for this investment was fierce among the different possible sites in Asia, all wanting Texas Instruments to put their $1 billion in their places." She described the company's decision to come to the Philippines as "a sign of continuing confidence" among investors in the country's recent economic uptick.

Texas Instruments had considered other locations for its new plant, including sites in Thailand, Vietnam and China. China and the Philippines comprised the final shortlist. Company officials said the new factory at Clark Freeport Zone -- a former U.S. air base that has been transformed into a sprawling industrial park with its own international airport -- will soon have its own dedicated power-generation plant, reducing its dependence on the shaky Philippine power grid.

The factory will also feature new technologies developed in the U.S. to reduce water and energy consumption. Construction is scheduled to begin later this year. "I think Texas Instruments' investment is an indication of how much investors -- and not just portfolio investors, but foreign direct investors -- now view the country more positively," said Ms. Lorenzo at ATR-Kim Eng Securities. "It's been a long time since we've seen something this big coming to the Philippines in preference to China."

Taiwan losing control of Subic Bay to South Korea, China
Apr 25, 2007, 7:15 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan, the main player in developing the Subic Bay Export Processing Zone of the Philippines, is losing its competitiveness to South Korea and China, a newspaper said on Wednesday.  The China Times said that while Taiwan helped launch the Subic Bay free zone and made huge investment, it is now being edged out by later comers, especially South Korea and China.

'A South Korean hotel is being built in front of Taiwan's Wistro Corp and China's Jingniu glass company will start building a 320-million-dollar glass factory in May,' the daily said.  South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industry and Construction Co is building a 1.4-billion-dollar shipyard across the bay from the Taiwan Industrial Zone.  'Hanjin said it will hire 20,000-30,000 workers by 2010. It will certainly look like a Korea Town,' the paper quoted Wistro Manager More Chuang as saying.

The paper said the biggest threat was that the competition could eventually drive out Taiwan, whose investment has been dwindling. Subic Bay, 110 kilometres north of Manila, used to be a US naval base but was returned to the Philippines in 1992. Taiwan moved into Subic Bay in 1994 by forming a joint venture with the Philippines to develop it into a free port, agreeing to develop 300 hectares in three stages.

The project was politically motivated because former president Lee Teng-hui wanted to develop unofficial ties with the Southeast Asian nations and was encouraging Taiwan manufacturers to invest in Southeast Asia under the 'Go South Policy.' However, due to changes in Taiwan's policies and the difficulty in attracting Taiwanese manufacturers to open plants in Subic Bay, Taiwan's development reached only the second phase, and the number of Taiwan factories has dropped from 300 to 50.

'China's investment in Subic Bay has strategic considerations. But the Subic Bay is close to Taiwan and is our gateway to ASEAN countries. Taiwan should have a more open-minded view when considering investing in the Subic Bay,' the paper quoted Wu Hsin-hsing, Taiwan's trade representative to the Philippines, as saying.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Dell to expand Philippine call center operations; opens second facility
By Cecilia E. Yap
Last Update: 5:38 AM ET Mar 1, 2007

Thursday Dell opened its second customer support center in the Philippines and said it has plans to substantially expand its workforce in the country. Dick Hunter, Dell's vice president for customer experience, told a press conference that the company intends to hire about 1,000 more people in the Philippines to bring its projected employment to about 2,600 people.

"We're growing quite rapidly," Hunter said at the press conference. He added the company is hiring about 100 people per month until it reaches the target. "Our expansion is evidence of the quality and talent of professionals here in the Philippines." Dell has customer contact facilities in more than 25 locations globally.

Company officials declined to discuss details of its investments in the country, although Trade Secretary Peter Favila said Dell has invested PHP466 million for the second call center. In 2006, Dell poured in PHP366 million for its first facility, located in Pasay City in metropolitan Manila.

Dell's Philippine units provide both technical and customer support. Its first customer support facility now employs 1,400 workers from just 100 when Dell launched Philippine operations in January 2006. Its new contact center in Quezon City, also in metropolitan Manila, will employ more than 1,200 people.

The call center industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the Philippines. Industry estimates show the sector will be hiring over 506,000 and generating around $7.3 billion in revenue by 2010.

Dell Opens Second Call Center In Philippines
March 1, 2007 5:28 a.m. EST
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Correspondent

Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Computer giant Dell on Thursday opened its second call center facility in Eastwood Cyberpark in Quezon City, Philippines with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as guest of honor at the launch. Richard Hunter, Dell Customer Experience and Support Team vice president said the opening of the second call center is part of the company's global expansion of customer support centers to keep up with Dell's growth.

The new call center in Eastwood is expected to generate a total of 1,200 new jobs which would bring the total number of Dell's workforce employed in the region to 2,600. The facility currently employs 200 agents and Dell plans to hire 1,000 more employees this year. Dell's other call center facility is located at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City and was opened in February 2006. The facility provides service and technical support to Dell consumer customers in the United States.

Dell operates facilities in 25 locations, including the Philippines and India. Asked how Dell's call center operations locally compare with India, he replied, "We are also growing rapidly in other locations. But in terms of percentage basis, growth in the Philippines is higher than anywhere else in our global network." Hunter declined to divulge how much Dell has invested so far in its Philippine operations.

Texas-based Dell Inc. is one of the world's largest computer companies. In a statement, Dell said the company selected the Philippines for its customer contact centers "because of the strong language and communication skills of its high-quality workforce."  "With its English-savvy population, about 100 similar facilities in place and 650,000 students, the Philippines is fast becoming the contact center location of choice in Southeast Asia," the company said.

US Navy Subic Bay Visit
Feb 23, 2007

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT � The USS Juneau (LPD 10), an Austin-class amphibious transport ship, will be arriving here today (Feb. 23) for a scheduled port visit and a series of goodwill activities in Olongapo City and the rest of Zambales province. Capt. Burrell Parmer, public affairs officer of the United States Marines’ 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, said more than 600 American sailors and marines will participate in civil-military projects like free medical and dental clinics for indigent patients.

"The visiting servicemen will also deliver Project Handclasp materials and items donated by US Marine and Navy families in Okinawa, Japan," Parmer told The STAR. The visit, Burrell also said, is being made possible by the cooperation of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet and the US Embassy in Manila.

The arrival of the USS Juneau will be marked by the appearance of marines and sailors manning the rails in full dress uniform. Parmer said this "has not been done in a long time." "I believe it would be something interesting for your audiences to see," he added. The USS Juneau will pull into dock at 9:30 a.m.

today at the Alava Pier of the Subic Bay Freeport to implement "Project Friendship," which is part of ongoing humanitarian programs by the US 7th Fleet covering community relations projects for and with schools, orphanages and barangays. While in Subic, the crew of the USS Juneau and Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit

(MEU) will participate in two-day community refurbishment projects � including the painting and cleaning of a local school, donating goods for charity organizations, and hosting a basketball clinic for local children. Project Handclasp is a US charity that collects donations that are loaded aboard Navy ships for worldwide delivery.

After arrival, the senior officers on board the USS Juneau will conduct a media briefing at 11 a.m., followed by a ship tour for schoolchildren at 12 noon. Parmer said the schoolchildren will be allowed to see a static display of the equipment aboard the ship, an amphibious transport dock ship under the US Navy’s Task Force 76.

U.S. Allows Nursing License Exams in the Philippines
Feb 16, 2007
MANILA, Philippines, AP

Thousands of Filipino nurses hoping to work in the United States will no longer have to travel abroad to take licensing exams after winning approval to sit the tests in their home country, the government announced Thursday. "This is very good news for Filipino nurses, nursing students and the nursing profession," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said in a statement. "This is a landmark in the history of the Filipino nursing profession."

Bunye said approval from the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing to hold its licensing exams in Manila, would mean "huge savings and great convenience" for Filipino nurses hoping to land a job in the U.S. Nurses from the Philippines -- the largest source of foreign-registered nurses in U.S. hospitals and healthcare facilities -- have to travel to Hong Kong or other Asian cities to take the exams, Bunye said.

The top six countries that employ Filipino nurses are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Taiwan, Ireland and the United States. Jennifer Gonzales, deputy executive director of the Council for Overseas Filipinos, said the first exams would likely be held in six months.

About 25,518 Filipino nurses holding combined immigrant visas and work permits traveled to the United States to work between 1988 and May 2006, according to the council. Adding those holding only working visas would push the number much higher, Gonzales said. An earlier plan to allow Filipinos to take the exams at home was aborted following a cheating scandal in the local nursing board exams last year, in which questions from two of five test subjects were leaked.

More than 17,000 of the over 42,000 who took the exams in June passed, but the Court of Appeals ordered 1,600 to retake the tests in December, said Leonor Rosero, head of the Professional Regulation Commission. Only 1,200 took the exams again and about 1,000 passed, she said. At least 19 people -- two nursing board examiners and 17 officers of test review centers -- are facing criminal charges in connection with the leaks, said Elfren Meneses, chief of the anti-fraud and computer crimes division of the National Bureau of Investigation.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration reported 7,768 nurses went abroad to work in 2005, down from 12,822 in 2001.

Opposition Growing Against Coal Plant In Pristine Subic Bay
February 6, 2007

SUBIC BAY -- Opposition is growing to the construction of a 300 megawatt coal power plant on the pristine beaches of Subic Bay, one of the Philippines' top tourist destinations. The power plant, being built by Taiwan Cogen, a subsidiary of Taiwan Power Corp., primarily to serve the needs of Korean shipbuilder Hanjin, will bring the controversial form of power generation to one of the country's most diverse environments.

Subic Bay is home to more than 70 species of fish, including important varieties of reef fish. The world's rare and endangered Olive Ridley turtle and Hawksbill dwell still survive in Subic Bay. The area is also blanketed by a 9,000 hectare virgin triple-canopy rainforest that provides the area with some of the highest air quality in the region.

Under the current proposal, this spectacular natural setting will be host to one of the most polluting types of energy production available. According to the environmental group, Greenpeace, coal is a form of energy that pollutes comprehensively, from the time the coal is extracted, to its transportation across the sea or land, to the pollutants it pumps into the atmosphere.

"Fly ash samples taken from coal fired power plants in the Philippines and Thailand over the course of the last three years have shown the presence of hazardous substances such as mercury and arsenic," the group said in a statement. "Laboratory and technical analysis indicate that a far greater amount of these toxins is likely being released to the environment and thus pose huge risks to population centers."

"Mercury is capable of causing severe brain damage in developing fatueses, tremors, mental disorders and death," the group continued. "It is so toxic that it takes only 1/70th of a teaspoon to contaminate a 10.11 hectare lake to the point that fish caught in the lake are considered unfit for human consumption."

Business groups and resort owners in the area have reacted with outrage to the proposal to bring such a facility into an area that counts tourism as its lifeblood. The Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, the Subic Bay Resorts Association, as well as other groups have said that the plant's operation would cause irreversible damage to the area.

"It will pollute the air, the land and the water, removing the key ingredients in Subic Bay's prime assets--clean air, clean water and the proximity to nature," the groups said in a statement.

Only 400 U.S. Service Members will go to Balikatan 2007
By Jennifer H. Svan, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Friday, January 26, 2007

About 400 U.S. servicemembers, mostly from Hawaii and Japan, will take part in this year’s scaled-down, Feb. 18-March 4 Balikatan exercise in the Philippines, according to a U.S. Army spokesman. Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer, Balikatan public affairs officer, said Wednesday from Hawaii that U.S. participation would consist mostly of sailors and Marines from Hawaii and the III Marine Expeditionary Force.

They’ll team with about 300 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to conduct civic action projects in the Philippines’ volatile southern region. The troops will focus efforts on Jolo Island, where two of the country’s most-wanted terror suspects recently were killed in a months-long, U.S.-backed offensive. The annual war games typically involve from 3,000 to 5,000 U.S. troops, but the field-training portion was canceled for this year. The entire exercise initially was called off amid a custody dispute in 2006 about convicted rapist Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith. But after the Philippine government intervened and authorized transferring Smith in late December to the U.S. Embassy, the 23rd annual Balikatan was back on.

The field training requires a lot of planning, Zimmer said, and once the exercise was canceled, “we basically had to turn it (the field portion) off.” Balikatan’s opening ceremony will be Feb. 19 in Manila. Also planned is a tabletop exercise in Manila with military planners from both countries, U.S. Navy ship visits and a joint/combined exchange training exercise in several locations. Civic action projects include road improvement and medical clinics on Jolo Island, in Zamboanga City and in other towns and villages in the greater Mindanao area, Zimmer said.

The projects will complement similar activities carried out during Balikatan 2006 in the Sulu region, as well as ongoing operations by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, according to a U.S. Pacific Command press release. The medical clinics will include both Philippine and U.S. military medical personnel treating the local population — and in some cases, pets and livestock — for minor ailments, while handing out medicine and preventive health information.

The projects’ objective is the same as it’s always been, Zimmer said: Improving both militaries’ ability to work with each other in providing humanitarian aid. But that these projects are held in the same region where the Philippine military conducts most of its anti-terrorism work is no accident, Zimmer said. One way to deny sanctuary to terrorists is to get local residents on your side, he said. Adm. William J. Fallon, new Central Command head, decided while still PACOM commander that “he wanted to do these projects in the south for these types of reasons,” Zimmer said. “There’s 7,000 islands in the Philippines … a lot of places to hide.”

Manila Court finds U.S. Marine Guilty of Rape
By Manny Mogato Mon Dec 4, 6:54 AM ET

MANILA (Reuters) - A Philippine court found one of four U.S. Marines guilty of raping a Filipino woman inside a van at a former U.S. navy base last year, sentencing the 21-year-old sailor to life in prison for "bestial acts."  The three other Marines were acquitted on Monday after a seven-month trial, which had prompted small protests against U.S.-Philippine military ties and intense local media interest.

The Philippine government hailed the result but said the verdict would do nothing to harm close relations with the United States, which provides funding, equipment and training to Filipino troops fighting Muslim and communist rebel groups. "The court is morally convinced that Lance Corporal Daniel Smith committed the crime charged," a clerk said, reading the decision of Judge Benjamin Pozon to a hushed, packed courtroom.

The verdict, which included an order for Smith to pay 100,000 pesos ($2,000) in damages to the victim and her family, will automatically go to a higher court for review. Less than two hours after the ruling, a U.S. navy plane whisked the three acquitted Marines out of the Philippines to rejoin their unit in Okinawa, Japan. "This has been a difficult and emotional matter for all involved, and for their families and friends," the U.S. embassy, which had kept custody of the four Marines during the case, said in a statement.

Smith did not flinch when the verdict was read out but a quick volley of applause broke out inside the court. The victim, a 23-year-old management accounting graduate given the pseudonym "Nicole," burst into tears and said "Thank God." "I am saddened the three got acquitted," the woman said, adding she was "willing to endure everything" in what was likely to be a prolonged legal battle during Smith's appeal.

QUESTION OF CUSTODY

The judge ordered Smith to be temporarily held at a jail in Manila while the two governments, bound by a Visiting Forces Agreement, resolve where he should serve his sentence. Before sun down, local police brought Smith to the Makati City jail where he will spend the night while his lawyers petition a higher court to reverse Pozon's order. Citing the Visiting Forces Agreement, U.S. embassy officials argued that Smith could remain under U.S. custody until after a final decision was made by the Supreme Court, which will review the lower court's ruling.

On the streets outside the court, 300 protesters, mainly women, cheered and punched the air triumphantly. Placards read "Jail the Rapists" and "U.S. troops out now." During the controversial case, critics argued the Visiting Forces Agreement gives U.S. soldiers too much protection. But the executive director of the agreement, Zosimo Paredes, said the verdict -- the first legal test of the seven-year-old pact -- could actually strengthen security and diplomatic ties between the United States and its only former colony in Asia.

"I think this decision works on both sides," Paredes told reporters, adding it would serve as a warning to U.S. troops coming to the Philippines to uphold local laws. "The chance of this incident happening again is reduced." From 1981 to 1988, when the United States had two huge military bases in the Philippines, at least 82 cases of sexual abuse of women by U.S. troops were recorded but none of the accused was punished because the complaints were dismissed.

The woman accused Smith and the other Marines of raping her in November 2005 after she drank with them at a bar while the sailors were on shore leave at the end of two weeks of military exercises with Filipino soldiers.  The Marines said only Smith had sex with her and that it was consensual. They claimed the woman was being manipulated to incriminate them. Pozon said Smith knew the woman was drunk and could not have consented to sex.

Armed Civilians
International Herald Tribune
Oct 30, 2006
MANILA

The idea sounds simple. The Philippines needs more people to fight Islamic terrorists and the country's longstanding communist insurgency. To supplement the armed forces, why not recruit civilians who live in areas where such threats are present, arm them and form them into militias?

To the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, civilian militias make perfect sense. These "force multipliers," as Arroyo calls them, are central to an ambitious plan to cut the strength of the Communist New People's Army, still waging an armed struggle in the countryside, in half by 2010, and to keep a smoldering Islamic insurrection in check.

Not everyone in the Philippines is convinced. Armed civilian militias have existed here before, most notably during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Human rights groups say the militias were responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the era.

Others suspect the militias are part of a plan by the Arroyo administration to influence the elections scheduled for next year. In the Philippines, politics is still dominated by the "three G's" - guns, gold and goons. During the Marcos period, critics say, the militias often served as local muscle for the regime and its regional benefactors.

Reviving the civilian militias was the brainchild of Ronaldo Puno, the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which supervises the national police and local government officials. Puno is also seen as one of Arroyo's most trusted political strategists and analysts say he is responsible for coordinating political support for the president around the country. Puno persuaded the president to sign an executive order this year that calls for the police to fight the communist and Islamic insurgencies alongside the military. The order, signed by Arroyo in July but the details of which surfaced only recently, also authorized the deputization of civilian volunteers - local residents in the villages who were already helping the police and military.

Armed with nightsticks and flashlights, they patrol the streets at night and sometimes staff military checkpoints. Most of them are farmers or jobless Filipinos untrained in military or police work. Under the new plan, these civilians would be given firearms and would help in gathering intelligence against enemies of the state, although funding would come from municipal and provincial governments.

Officials said their presence would augment the police and the military to defeat the New People's Army and the terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. These village "security officers," Arroyo said this month, "are called to alert as force multipliers in the implementation of our public safety.

Fields Closed to Traffic
Oct 17, 2006

ANGELES CITY — The tourist district along Fields Avenue were closed to traffic yesterday amid fears of terrorist car bombings that could occur for the duration of the US-RP Talon Vision exercises at the nearby Clark special economic zone and Crow Valley in Capas, Tarlac. Scores of heavily armed, uniformed members of the regional mobile group (RMG) from Camp Olivas have taken over security in the tourist district, which used to be known as a red light district frequented by US servicemen before the US Air Force abandoned Clark in 1991.

Central Luzon police director Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan said some two kilometers of the avenue, flanked by restaurants and nightclubs, were closed to traffic starting Thursday upon the request of Mayor Carmelo Lazatin. Armed Forces Northern Luzon Command spokesman Maj. Ferdinand Casalan cited reports that though members of the Balik Islam movement "are not (terrorist) suspects but could be contacted and used by extremists."

Rafanan, however, downplayed threats from the Balik Islam movement, saying that it has already been wiped out years ago by police operatives and it’s organizers arrested in Tarlac. Casalan said the military has always been on alert for possible terrorist operations, especially in densely populated areas such as markets, malls and churches.

Lazatin could not be immediately contacted, but Angeles police director Senior Superintendent Policarpio Segubre said he received verbal instructions "from higher authorities" to close the street but declined to elaborate.

Efren "Bata" Reyes wins 2006 World Open 8-Ball Championship
Reno, Nevada
Sept 12, 2006

FILIPINO BILLIARDS ace Efren "Bata" Reyes won the biggest prize in his sport on Sunday, earning $500,000 (P25.5 million) after ruling the International Pool Tour 2006 World Open 8-Ball championship at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. The 52-year-old former World 9-Ball champion from Angeles City beat American Rodney "Rocket" Morris, 8-6, in a showdown between two survivors from a starting field of 200 players representing 27 countries.

Trailing 2-4 at the start, the man known in the world of pool as "The Magician" elevated his game to win six of the last eight racks. He avenged his 8-7 loss to Morris a day earlier in the Final 6 stage of the $3-million tournament. Reyes, who made it to the title duel as No. 2 in the Final 6 behind the American, reached the hill at 7-6 as he cleaned up after Morris scratched on the break.

He clinched it with a run-out after the No. 15 ball sent the No. 2 ball flying into the right pocket on the break. The explosive victory came two weeks after Reyes and his close friend, Francisco "Django" Bustamante, captured the inaugural staging of the World Cup of Pool over Morris and his American partner, Earl Strickland, in New South Wales.

Reyes and Bustamante split the $60,000 first prize in the World Cup. Reyes also picked up $65,000 in July by placing fourth in the IPT North American Open. This time, Reyes captured a prize surpassed only by the purses of world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao. Was it the money or the title that was most important, Reyes was asked during the awarding ceremony. "Both the money and the title. They're expecting us to win in our country," was Reyes' reply.

The IPT website account said Reyes, who was inducted into the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2003, talked about the break as posing plenty of challenge for both players during the title match. "I missed two No. 8 balls, I think, but they were both corner pockets. It made me feel nervous when I was shooting that, I was shaking a little. That's why I missed the eights," he said.

Neither of the finalists pocketed a ball on the break in the first four frames. Morris snapped the trend with a run-out on the fifth to lead, 4-2. But luck was on the side of the Filipino as Morris scratched on the break three times -- the last when Reyes reached the hill. Morris, who won the US Open in 1996 at the expense of Reyes, settled for the runner-up prize of $150,000 and thanked the organizers for holding "a great event."

"Everything was top of the line, from the masseuse to the food to the venue, everything was top-class, and I'm really happy that I'm alive to play for this much money in this event," the Honolulu-born Morris said. The victory also underscored Reyes' uncanny knack for dominating inaugural tournaments.

Reyes won the World 9-Ball Pool championship when it was finally handled by Matchroom Sports and aired internationally in 1996. He ruled the first staging of the International Billiards Championship in Japan where he pocketed $150,000, and topped the first tournament of the IPT dubbed "King of the Hill" to win $200,000 last year.

Reyes, who also successfully represented the country in the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games, emerged overall champion of the first year of the SMB-Asian 9-Ball Tour three years ago. The win was a big improvement over the runner-up finish of Marlon Manalo in the North America Open, the first of six tournaments in the IPT schedule this year.

Dennis Orcollo, one of 13 Filipinos in the starting field who placed third to Reyes in the North America Open, wound up fifth this time to win $66,000. Mika Immonen of Finland finished third, which was worth $92,000, Oliver Ortmann of Germany was fourth for $80,000, and American Corey Deuel brought up the rear of the Final 6 to bag $50,000.

Airlines bewail rampant baggage pilferage at NAIA
By Rainier Allan Ronda The Philippine Star
June 30, 2006

International airlines operating out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) bewailed the growing number of baggage pilferage cases victimizing their passengers. It was learned that because of the persistent cases of pilferage, the Airline Operators Council and their 29 member-airlines, have submitted a formal complaint before the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

The AOC filed the complaint after the recent case of baggage pilferage victimizing the son of the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the Philippines. The passenger reportedly lost an expensive gold Rolex watch and other valuables placed in one of his checked-in bags during a flight to Saudi Arabia last June 20. The AOC recalled that one other major pilferage case involved the theft of a laptop computer from a bag of a Saudi Arabian carrier's passenger last January.

According to their figures, the AOC said that there have been at least three pilferage cases that take place at the NAIA each month for the past year. This, they said, was lamentable, considering that other international airports record that number of pilferage cases for the entire year. The AOC recommended to MIAA that it look into the assignment of security guards from private security agencies manning the baggage conveyor belts and other areas at the NAIA, where the baggage of passengers go through.

AOC said these areas could be manned by uniformed PNP personnel to prevent the pilferage. It can be recalled that MIAA had recently enforced measures to prevent baggage pilferage at the NAIA, including the reduction of airport personnel allowed at the ramp areas where cargo unloaded from aircraft of the different flights go through.

15 years on, Life returns to Mt. Pinatubo
The Philippine Star
05/05/2006

Life is rapidly returning to Mt. Pinatubo nearly 15 years after it blew its top in an eruption that killed more than 1,500 people and sent a cloud of ash into the atmosphere, cooling world temperatures for years. At dawn wild roosters crow lustily around Mt. Pinatubo's summit, affirming the triumph of life over death in a region laid waste by the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

Fireflies race for the safety of the sparse scrub and tall grass by the crater's edge, just before the first batch of tourists arrive from an uphill trek, breathless and gasping in awe at the scenery. Among the group is porter Randy Dumunot, who was 14 when the volcano buried his family's thatched hut home and their three-hectare farm of rice and tubers, a potato-like vegetable, in the village of Sta. Juliana, about 30 kilometers to the northeast.

The family rebuilt their home after the June 1991 eruption but the farm was no more, permanently covered in lahar, a fine dust of volcanic debris. "Overnight we turned into P80-a-day landless farm hands," Dumunot, now 29, tells Agence France Presse. An estimated 500,000 people were made homeless when, after more than four centuries of slumber, Pinatubo erupted so violently that more than five billion cubic meters of ash and debris were ejected from its fiery bowels 30 kilometers into the atmosphere.

Millions of tons of sulfur dioxide shot into the stratosphere, blocked sunlight and cooled the entire Earth by up to 0.6 degrees Celsius for years afterwards. Over the next six years the volcanic material called "lahar" flowed down nine river channels during the annual wet season, bringing misery to about two million residents in low lying areas over a region covering 4,000 square kilometers. These clogged major waterways and unleashed floods and mudflows that destroyed homes, farms, roads, bridges and dikes built to defend communities from lahar. Fifteen years later, property developers in Central Luzon "certified lahar-free" homes to potential buyers.

Sta. Juliana is now experiencing a rebirth as a tourist gateway. Spas and resorts are sprouting up to cater to mountain trekkers, including South Koreans who climb the mountain daily by the dozens during the dry months. Tourist destination Lugging an inflatable kayak, a coil of fat rope capable of lifting a two-ton elephant, and a bag of squashed hamburgers, Dumunot now earns an extra P1,000 a week as part of a team of locals who serve as porters and guides to well-heeled visitors drawn to this mountain of death.

"This is a big help," the father of four says. "My brother-in-law, my cousin and my uncle are also porters." Dumunot hopes he can save enough money to buy a sleeping bag and a tent like the colorful, ultra-light types set up for the night along the crater rim here. Having none, he and the other porters sleep atop cardboard boxes in the space beneath the crater's lake view deck.

At Sta. Juliana, visitors rent out battered all-terrain jeeps that barrel up the broad, flat bed of the O'Donnell River for an hour toward Crow Valley, a vast wasteland of volcanic sand and spent shell casings. The valley had served as a bombing range for the 7th US Air Force, which was driven off for good from its Clark Air Base home to the south of Sta. Juliana during the eruption.

From the valley, the last third of the three-hour hike is through a gently ascending mountain pass, watered by a brook that feeds into O'Donnell. Some now take the climb on horseback, and others even use their own trail bikes. A few people stay overnight, rappelling down an 80-foot section of the crater wall wearing helmets to protect themselves from the rocks dislodged by the rope. They also bathe or ride canoes at the 2.5-kilometer diameter caldera, a turquoise-colored soup bowl of rain water that has collected through the years to a depth of up to 800 feet.

"There won't be another eruption in this generation because based on carbon dating samples, previous ones occurred at intervals of hundreds, to thousands, of years," says Jaime Sincioco, a senior scientist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. "The mudslides are gone. The only problem left is the flooding in the low-lying areas because the rivers that radiate out from the crater are heavily silted," he adds. Safety concerns The government opened Pinatubo to the public in the mid-1990s, launching a new form of tourism where visitors were treated to a vision of hell on earth, featuring a moonscape of canyons and deep gullies in uniform grey.

All the plants and the animals that could not run, crawl or fly fast enough were vaporized by the superheated gases from the rim. Gradually, by the late 1990s, the vegetation, along with songbirds and fireflies, had returned, stabilizing the remnants of the loose volcanic material deposited by the eruption onto the slopes of the Zambales mountain range.

However, the deeply scarred south side of the crater wall remains shorn of plant cover, destabilized by constant landslides that boom across the crater lake like prolonged claps of thunder. The post-blast top of the 1,485-meter mountain remains off limits to climbers. Sincioco is worried about the rapid pace of development around Pinatubo, fearing that visitors could blunder into their deaths through ignorance or sheer carelessness. "We actually discourage tourists from venturing into the crater lake," he says. "The crater wall is fractured, so there is a lot of landslide activity there."

Regulators are also critical of the recently opened dirt road on the ridge above Crow Valley, which shortened the climb by about 75 minutes but which officials fear could unsettle the still fragile post-eruption ecosystem. Sincioco says the new road, built by the local government with the aid of a legislator representing the district, would also cut off the tourism revenue streams to Dapili, an impoverished village at the end of the old trail populated by hunter-gatherer tribesmen called Aetas who were almost wiped out by the eruption.

Local officials were unavailable for comment when AFP visited the area during a holiday weekend. "When we drafted the (Pinatubo rehabilitation) master plan, we stressed that the road should end at Sta. Juliana," Sincioco says. "If you allow motor vehicles beyond that area, they displace the (volcanic) deposits and contribute to erosion," he warned.

Manila game show stampede kills 73
Thousands lined up to see 'Wowowee," which offers big prizes
Saturday, February 4, 2006; Posted: 2:37 a.m. EST (07:37 GMT)

MANILA, Philippines -- A crowd of people awaiting entrance to a stadium in Manila stampeded Saturday, killing at least 73 people and injuring 322, an official said. A report carried by the Associated Press quotes the Philippine Red Cross Chairman Senator Richard Gordon as saying the toll was at least 88 people. Some of the 20,000 people who were lined up outside the arena had been waiting for days to gain access to the stadium, where a game show was to be videotaped, Philippines Congressman Robert Jaworski told CNN.

At 7 a.m., five hours before the show was to begin, people were being admitted to the stadium at such a slow pace that one member of the crowd apparently decided to hasten the process, he said. "Someone shouted and screamed that there was a bomb," Jaworski said.  "It was just a prank by one of those irresponsible people who wanted to get in first. Sadly, it caused a panic. It was a down-slope road and they started running down the hill ... they just started trampling each other."

Most of the casualties were women, he said. The people in the crowd were packed so closely together that it took police and rescue workers until 9 a.m. to reach those who were hurt, resulting in a number of deaths that a faster response could have prevented, he added. "The gates were being partially opened then shut," said Myrna Britania, 42, who spoke at a hospital where the injured were being treated, AP reports.

"The raffle tickets can be obtained at the gate so everyone was in a hurry. There was pushing and people in front of the gate were crushed." Britania, who had spent all night in line, said "people at the back of the line were pushing not knowing there were already people dead lying on the ground in front." Police Superintendent Gerry Galvan told AP at least 50 people died at the stadium and the rest at hospitals where they were taken.

Radio DZBB reported that hospitals were overwhelmed with the scores of injured and were using parking lots to accommodate them. Gordon blamed poor organization of the event for the tragedy. "If you predict that there's going to be a huge crowd, you should be ready with ambulances and communications," AP quotes him as saying. "You should plan for the worst. We have a lot of people who wanted to help but could not get in immediately."

US rebuffs Philippines rape call
Manila
January 18, 2006

The US has refused to give up the custody to Philippine authorities custody of four US marines charged with raping a local woman. The refusal is in line with a treaty between the two sides, which allows the US to keep custody of suspects until judicial proceedings are concluded.

The alleged rape took place in November inside a van at Subic Bay, a former US base north-west of the capital, Manila. The four Marines deny rape, with one man saying he had consensual sex.
About 30 protesters chanted anti-US slogans and burned the US flag on Tuesday outside the US embassy in Manila, where the soldiers are being held.

"The US government has decided that it will retain custody of the four US marines accused of the crime of rape," the embassy said in a statement. It said the US government would "continue to co-operate" with Philippine authorities as the case moves to trial.

The Subic Bay authority said earlier that the alleged victim had been visiting a karaoke bar when she met the marines who then reportedly invited her to get into a rented van with them.
At least one of them has acknowledged having sex with the 22-year-old but said it was consensual.

US issues ‘driving advisory’ on RP
By Joyce Pangco Pa�ares
January 1, 2006

VISITING American diplomats have been warned � not about terrorist attacks or other security threats but about the dangers posed by Manila drivers. “For most Americans, the most frustrating aspect of traffic is the uniquely Filipino style of driving, which is often erratic and unpredictable,” says a recent post report sent by the US embassy in Manila to Washington. “Those with orderly driving habits may find it difficult to adjust to the chaos of Manila’s streets... In Manila, caution is the golden rule.”

Manila traffic, the embassy says, can only be appreciated by experiencing firsthand the unique environment combined with Filipino’s driving skills. “Lane markings and crosswalks are mere suggestions, and stop signs might as well be in Braille. Of the few working stoplights, they are too long when obeyed and too dangerous when not. Buses stop in the middle of the streets, allowing passengers to exit into oncoming traffic,” the report continues.

The embassy also described Filipino drivers’ predilection for changing lanes without warning as a game of “chicken” � where the first to give way to an overtaking vehicle or a pedestrian trying to cross the street loses. “Drivers also turn into oncoming traffic when the proper lane is too congested, while pedestrians and cars play a dangerous game of ‘chicken’ to see who will get to the intersection first.”

The report doesn’t vilify Filipino drivers, however, giving them credit for being “remarkably polite and less prone to road rage than their American counterparts.” The embassy post report also included a security reminder.

“Everyone should be reminded that since security has increased at official US facilities, terrorists may seek ‘softer’ targets. Such targets could include, but are not limited to, places where Americans and other Westerners live, congregate, shop or visit, including hotels, clubs, restaurants, shopping centers, identifiably Western business, housing compounds, transportation systems, places of worship, schools or public recreation events.”