I promised you the news and here it is....
Magandang Tanghali Bayan ! Goooooooooooood Morning…. Philipppppppines !
Hey I know I’m not Robin Williams but hey that’s my new trade mark.
Hey what’s been happening in the land of Salted fish, cute babes, and the Spaghetti girls !
There seems to be a new warmth in Philippines-American relations. Presidents Arroyo and Bush sat in animated conversation over dinner during the recent APEC summit in Santiago, Chile.
Bush reiterated his promise for more military aid to the Philippines as he thanked Arroyo for her initiatives against the terrorist insurgents in Mindanao. He said he wants closer relations between both countries.
With the US spearheading the global war on terror, the Bush administration needs its former ally almost as much as the Philippines needs US assistance. Astute politicians would say now is the perfect time for the Philippines to do some arm-twisting of its own. The Philippine Veterans Equity Bill is one that immediately comes to mind--and with the Republicans now in control of both houses of congress, the passage of this bill should be nothing short of a slam-dunk for this US President.
The Philippines must be more forceful in its quest for economic and social progress: externally, as it interacts with other nations such as the US, China and Japan; as well as internally by making an honest effort to stamp-out graft and corruption. And the success of the external initiatives will depend greatly on the successes of the internal ones. Getting foreign governments and businesses to aid or invest in the country will be extremely difficult if not impossible if it is mired in graft and corruption; and even if we somehow do get aid or funding from abroad, any positive effect it may have will be greatly reduced if those funds are tied-down by a corrupt, incompetent bureaucracy or worse still, diverted into the pockets of a few dishonest individuals.
Both Presidents are now in the glare of public scrutiny on these issues. Can Bush show the Filipinos that American aid and assistance will be there during his second term in office, and can he right the decades-long injustice heaped on our aging Filipino veterans? And can Arroyo show the world that her country is a nation that prosecutes and jails thieves and plunderers, be they presidents, generals, and the high and mighty.
Corruption, here there and just about everywhere in Philippine Life.
We've touched on this topic many times in the past however, we find it hard to stay away from it for long. According to many observers corruption is now an integral part of Philippine society.
But why it is, and how things deteriorated to this point is what many Filipinos both at home and abroad are asking themselves.
Take the case of Major General Carlos Garcia, it seems inconceivable that he was able to legally amass such personal wealth on his government salary alone. His position as comptroller of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) however, gave him a sure-fire ticket to staggering wealth and riches...well, for as long as corruption was allowed to seep into the various "nooks and crannies" that surrounded the job.
And what about deposed President Estrada: where did he get the money to build all those exotic mansions for his mistresses? In the Philippines, a government post is now seen as an easy way to acquire great wealth, not as a way to serve the public.
All this of course bodes ill for our country. Filipinos are harming themselves in the long run if they condone such practices. We cannot continue to look the other way. Why, because if greasing palms is perceived as a the only way to do business in the Philippines, most foreign businesses will simply go elsewhere. And in today's highly interconnected world, the Philippines has nothing extraordinary to offer that can force international firms to do business there if they don't want to.
Our current economic standing against most of our Southeast Asian neighbours already provides ample proof that many businesses have skipped the Philippines altogether and gone elsewhere.
Filipinos can continue to stick their heads in the sand. We can give the General Garcia’s and the President Estrada’s a slap on the wrist for all plundering they've done. As individuals we can continue to slip a few pesos into the open desk drawers of corrupt civil servants. We can refrain from rocking the boat as it heads towards the edge of a cliff. Or we can take a stand and try to change things... Only time will tell if Filipino’s have what it takes to make the changes required to allow FDI inward f lows to the Philippines.
Detained Former President Joseph Estrada pleads to be allowed to take a junket to Hong Kong for his Knee Op.
In a four-page motion filed through his lead counsel Rene Saguisag yesterday, Estrada expressed fear that his travel petition might be mooted if the court’s resolution would come late.
He appealed to the Special Division’s "sense of sympathy, understanding and compassion" by issuing an early resolution in his favor as the US-based surgeon who will operate on him would be staying in Hong Kong on a limited time only.
Last Oct. 22, Estrada asked the Special Division to give him a second chance to have a knee surgery, since he was not able to leave for the United States when the court allowed him in December last year, due to his failure to secure a US visa and the escalating cost of the operation.
Estrada invoked "humanitarian and compassionate grounds" in seeking the court’s permission.
He then said that his operation was tentatively scheduled on Nov. 24 to Dec. 12 so he asked the court for a 24-day travel authority, from Nov. 22 to Dec. 15.
On Nov. 18, Estrada first moved for an early resolution of his motion to give him time to prepare in case the court grants his petition.
Since then, however, the court has not issued a resolution, prompting the former leader to file a second motion for early resolution.
Dr. Christopher Mow of Stanford University Medical Center in Polo Alto, California will operate on Estrada’s knee.
The operation will be performed at the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital located at 40 Stubbs Road in the former British colony.
Julian Chang, cardiologist Joseph Chow, and physical therapist Connie Leung, will assist Mow, who will act as Estrada’s chief surgeon.
Estrada said the estimated professional fees for all physician services will reach US$55,000 compared to the US$1.2-million he may spend if the operation will be done in the US.
PGMA Talks with diplomat over Phone.
Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan who was kidnapped by militants in Afghanistan has been released to Afghan authorities yesterday morning, the Philippine permanent representative to the United Nations has confirmed.
Ambassador Lauro Baja said he was informed by the UN Security Coordinator (UN Secoord) of the release of Nayan who was working for the UN mission in Afghanistan before he was kidnapped last October 28 along with two female colleagues.
"I got a call from the UN Seco ord informing us that the three hostages, including our own have been released to the Afghan authorities. Mr. Nayan and his two companions are safe and are now on their way to the British embassy in Kabul," Baja said in a statement.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was elated over the safe release of Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan, nearly a month after armed men abducted him and two other United Nations election workers in Afghanistan.
The President thanked the United Nations and Afghan government for securing, "as promised," the freedom of Nayan and his colleagues.
"We prayed earnestly for his safety and worked hard to support efforts to negotiate his release and God has once again answered our call," she said in a statement.
"We also thank the numerous people, here and around the world, including world Muslim leaders, for their prayers and support," she added.
Mrs. Arroyo also got the chance to talk with Nayan over the telephone, half an hour after she learned about his freedom while visiting Mexico, according to Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye.
"The President was in touch with Angelito Nayan by phone. Expectedly, the President was very glad about turn of events," Bunye, who was accompanying the President’s three-nation tour, said in a television interview.
Bunye said the President learned about the "successful" conclusion of the hostage crisis at around 10 a.m. yesterday (8 p.m. Mexico time) while she was having dinner.
He said the President also recognized the critical role played by Team Nayan headed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Jose Brillantes with Office of Communications Director Undersecretary Mike Reyes and Ambassador Jorge Arizabal who now returns to his post in Pakistan after this successful mission.
Malacañang officials insisted no ransom was paid and no Afghan prisoners were released from US custody in exchanged for the freedom of the three UN workers.
Palace communications director Silvestre Afable, however, gave no further information as to the terms for the hostages’ release.
Junior Philippine Officer sent home in disgrace for alleged “Shoplifting”
A junior Philippine officer has been sacked from a US Army academy and sent home in disgrace for alleged shoplifting.
Second Lt. Rolly Joaquin was placed under arrest on his return home on October 28 and could face a court-martial, Philippine Army spokesman Maj. Bartolome Bacarro said in a statement on Tuesday.
Joaquin, the valedictorian of the 2004 graduating class at the Philippine Military Academy, was dismissed from the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning in Georgia, where he had been sent for an officer-training course, Ba.carro said.
The shoplifting case is the latest blot on the Armed Forces’ image. A general is on military trial for unexplained wealth and a second officer is under investigation for allegedly soliciting oral sex from military recruits.
Bacarro said that on October 26 the Army was informed by the Joint US Military Assistance Group (Jusmag)-Philippines that Joaquin would be deported.
The Jusmag reported that Joaquin removed a 50-cent discount tag from a sale item and attached it to a $12 compact disc that he bought from a store in Fort Benning.
Bacarro said that after arriving from the US, Joaquin was ordered restricted to his quarters. He is being investigated.
“If probable cause or a prima facie case is established based on evidence, the case will be recommended for legal proceedings,” Bacarro told reporters.
He said Joaquin could face a court-martial for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman and conduct prejudicial to the service.
Bacarro also said Army Maj. Ferdie Ramos, who was accused of sexually molesting recruits, has been transferred to the custody of the Mechanized Infantry Battalion, based in Fort Bonifacio.
He said the incidents involving Joaquin and Ramos “are not representative of the entire Philippine Army.”
“Let this not be the benchmark for the people to judge the organization. Your army remains a professional organization and focused on its mandate of being protectors of the Filipino people,” Bacarro said.
Flash floods strike eastern
part of RP, at least 14 dead
Flash floods triggered by a powerful typhoon left at least 14 people dead Tuesday in the north eastern Philippines, bringing the toll to nearly 40 since the weekend, officials said.
Typhoon “Violeta,” which passed over the eastern province of Aurora on Tuesday, caused flash floods that swept away at least 11 people before dawn and caused some 2,000 people to flee their homes, civil defense officials said.
Rescue teams including one helicopter, military trucks and rubber boats have been dispatched to the area to help with the rescue, the office added.
Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Restituto Padilla, said heavy rains prevented two military helicopters from reaching the flooded shorelines near Dingalan town in Aurora province, where rescue officials said at least 14 residents died early Tuesday.
“The area is inaccessible by road and the weather is not getting better. The rain continues and we can’t land at the moment,” Padilla told The Associated Press, adding that casualty and damage reports from the remote area were sketchy.
The Office of Civil Defense reported at least 14,000 people were evacuated from their homes.
Meanwhile, weather forecasters warned another tropical depression made landfall on Monday on the same area as typhoon “Muifa.”
Typhoon Muifa slammed into the Philippines over the weekend with winds of 110 kilometers an hour and gusts up to 140 kph, capsizing boats, damaging farm lands and leaving at least 24 dead and up to 79 injured, the civil defence office said.
Sixty-one others, mostly fishermen, went missing in the provinces of Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Quezon and Romblon.
Officials said the death toll would probably rise as hopes for finding any more survivors faded.
The typhoon toppled trees, electricity and telephone lines as it sliced through the Bicol region before blowing westward on its way out of the country toward Vietnam on Monday.
The National Electrification Administration said on Tuesday that it has set up two task forces composed of engineers and linemen to help in the rehabilitation of lines and restore power in Oriental Mindoro and another for Camarines Sur after typhoon “Unding” devastated Camarines Sur and Oriental Mindoro electric cooperatives.
Some 500 distribution poles were broken causing blackout in Camarines Sur. Also affected were Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative and the four electric cooperatives of Camarines Sur province—Casureco I, II, III and IV.
“Based on field reports, power situation at electric cooperatives in the Bicol region are in normal situation except for Casureco I, II, III and IV that have experienced blackout up to this date owing to damaged transmission lines of Transco and electric cooperatives’ distribution lines,” Edita S. Bueno, NEA administrator, said.
In the Southern Tagalog region, Bueno said six towns in Oriental Mindoro also suffered blackouts owing to damaged distribution lines of Ormeco. In Occidental Mindoro, three municipalities are experiencing a blackout while 61poles in the backbone line were broken.
After assessing the damage, the NEA will provide a calamity loan to the affected electric cooperatives.
Coordination has been made with electric cooperatives participating in the task forces—Batangas I Electric Cooperative (Bateleco I), Camarines Norte Electric Cooperative (Canoreco), Albay Electric Cooperative (Aleco), Sorsogon II Electric Cooperative (Soreco II), and Quezon I Electric Cooperative (Quezelco I). Their engineers and linemen with all their equipment are expected to be in Naga by Wednesday to start the operation of restoring power. The NEA ensures that power will be restored as soon as possible.
Cybersex shop run by American and his Filipina wife.
SAN FERNANDO CITY—The La Union police arrested on Monday night an American and his Filipino wife who allegedly employed three high-school girls for “cybersex” activities out of an Internet café in Barangay Catbangen here.
Chief Insp. Raymund Sterling Blanco identified the suspects as Clifford Hackett and his wife Jacquiline Tendencia-Hackett, the alleged operators of the Internet café, which supposedly offers cybersex for foreign customers.
The Internet café was installed in one room of the house being rented by the suspects at the Country Homes Subdivision here.
The three high-school girls, two of whom were only 15 years old, are students at a public high school here and were allegedly employed as computer programmers of the Internet café.
Police said they caught the high-school girls chatting with foreign customers at around 11 p.m.
Police seized during the operation three computers with complete accessories, three web cameras and speakers, assorted diskettes, VCD’s and CD’s with pornographic materials, CD writer, payrolls and daily time records of employees.
The suspects and the evidence were brought to Camp Diego Silang pending the filing of appropriate charges.
They are facing criminal charges for violations of Republic Act (R.A.) 9208, or the Antitrafficking in Persons Law, and R.A. 7610, or the Antichild Abuse Law.
One of the girls, Marilyn (not her real name) told The Manila Times that they work eight-hour shifts and get paid P50 for working from 5 p.m. to 12 midnight. She goes to school during the day.
Marilyn was recruited in October by her friends. She admitted that her coemployees would pose in front of the computer cameras for customers from abroad who would ask them to do sexual acts and pay the café through credit cards.
“Some of my co employees are naked and they are made to do several sexual acts in front of the computer by their customers. I’m not doing that because most of the customers are foolish,” she explained.
Senior Supt. Samuel Diciano, the provincial police director, said he coordinated with the US Embassy to check the records of the American suspect.
“I’ve made an initial coordination with the US Embassy and they assured us of full cooperation and assistance in the prosecution of the suspect,” he said.
Diciano said he hopes to get more information from the suspects and the minors.
Well that’s it folks for this week, the usual stories from around the Philippines, nothing really happened I’m afraid, the usual level of muggings, knifings, assaults, shootings, kidnapping’s palm greasing, and prostitution apart from that nothing really happens.
Check back next week.
