Archive for January 2008
JI bomb expert Dulmatin eludes capture–military
But Abu Sayyaf sub-commander slain
MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE) A Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant who allegedly masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings eluded arrest during a military raid at dawn on Thursday, the spokesman for the military said.
But an Abu Sayyaf sub-commander, Radi Upao, was killed in the encounter in Balimbing town, Tawi-Tawi province, said Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro, Armed Forces public information officer.
A composite team of Marines from the Force Reconnaissance Battalion, Navy commandos, and intelligence operatives swooped down on the extremists’ lair at 5:10 a.m., Bacarro said in a text message to reporters.
“The encounter resulted to the killing of ASG [Abu Sayyaf Group] sub-leader Radi Upao, while Dulmatin was able to escape,” Bacarro said, citing initial reports.
Upao carries a $160,000-reward for his capture. Dulmatin, on the other hand, carries a $10-million bounty.
Bacarro could not confirm if Dulmatin was with another fellow suspect in the 2002 Bali attack, Umar Patek, who is also affiliated with the JI, the Southeast Asian arm of the Al Qaeda global terror network.
Earlier, the military said that Dulmatin, Patek, and the remaining Abu Sayyaf leaders were holed up on Jolo Island.
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Palace: Record GDP growth proves ‘correct economic strategy’
MANILA, Philippines — The record-breaking 7.3-percent economic growth in 2007 is proof President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is leading the country with the “correct economic strategy and fundamentals,” Malacañang said Thursday.
At the same time, deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said the economy is strong enough to weather the looming recession in the United States.
“The 7.3-percent GDP growth in 2007 is a clear manifestation that President Arroyo is leading the country using the correct economic strategies and fundamentals, making sure that a new level of economic maturity and stability have been achieved,” he said.
Golez said the Philippines could sustain economic growth by investing in “people and projects,” particularly in infrastructure that would boost the country’s competitiveness.
“President Arroyo will continuously lead the country until 2010 with a bigger stride in economic growth, surge of more foreign investments, more jobs for our people, strong currency and better delivery of basic services that will also be benefiting the poorest sector of our society,” he said.
The 7.3-percent economic growth for 2007 was the highest in 31 years, and beat the government’s forecast.
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Palace, Senate in backchannel talks on Neri, Lozada arrests
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang is holding backchannel talks with the Senate, which had ordered the arrest of two government executives who failed to appear before an investigation into bribery allegations surrounding the botched national broadband network (NBN) project, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s lawyer said Thursday.
“Meron [There is],” said Chief Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol when asked about the Palace response to the warrants issued by the Senate against Romulo Neri, former socio-economic planning secretary, and Rodolfo Lozada Jr., whom Neri had designated consultant for the NBN project.
“We knew that only Senators [Alan Peter] Cayetano and [Rodolfo] Biazon were behind it. The other senators don’t share the same stand,” Apostol told reporters.
Cayetano and Biazon are chairmen of two of the three committees investigating the $329 million telecommunications agreement signed by the government with China’s ZTE Corp., which the President eventually cancelled.
On Wednesday, the Senate issued arrest warrants for Neri and Lozada for ignoring the subpoenas to appear in the hearing at the upper House on the same day.
Apostol said Neri, now chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, would file an appeal before the Senate to recall the arrest order. Lozada is abroad, Apostol said.
In his testimony before the Senate late last year, Neri said former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos tried to bribe him to favor the bid of ZTE Corp. for the NBN project.
But Neri declined to discuss his conversation with the President about the NBN project, citing executive privilege.
Businessman Jose de Venecia III, son of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., also claimed that Abalos tried to bribe him, so that his company, Amsterdam Holdings, would give up its bid for the broadband project.
The controversy forced Abalos to resign and prompted Arroyo to scrap the ZTE deal.
“It’s finished. The ZTE deal has been rescinded. So what more? The Senate does not respect us. They have no respect for Malacañang,” Apostol said.
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Abu Sayyaf officer linked to Roda murder slain in clash
MANILA, Philippines — An Abu Sayyaf sub-commander allegedly involved in the murder of a Catholic priest to weeks ago was killed in an encounter with government troops Tawi-Tawi province on Thursday, the commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps said.
At around 5:30 a.m., troops from the 2nd Marine Battalion Landing Team encountered the group led by Wahab Upao in sitio (sub-village) Lubok-Lubok, Buwan-Buwan village, Panglima Sugala town, said Major General Ben Dolorfino.
Upao, who carries a P2.5-million reward for his capture, was killed in the hour-long firefight, Dolorfino told reporters.
“He is among those involved in the killing of Father Jesus Roda,” the Marines chief said.
Roda was killed trying to resist armed men who barged into the Notre Dame School in South Ubian town, Tawi-Tawi, apparently to kidnap him.
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Arroyo orders release of P1B for teacher training
Half of amount to improve English proficiency
MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said government would spend P1 billion this year for teacher training, of which half of the amount would go to improving teachers’ English proficiency.
Without making direct reference to the reported decline in the teachers’ knowledge of the English language, the President said: “We want all teachers to have 24 units of English, whether you get it in the course of getting your degree, or if you were not able to, you get it while in the service.”
“Now we can afford P1 billion for teacher training this year, but P500 million of that will go to English training,” the President said in a speech at the opening of the Philippine Education Congress at the Manila Hotel on Thursday.
Arroyo told the teachers in the audience that the second installment of their P10,000 bonus was “coming soon.”
She also called on Congress to pass a bill for a third round of salary increases for government workers, which would include teachers.
The President said the government would expand its scholarship program for high school students.
“We have a lack of public high schools, but we have a surplus of private high schools… That’s why instead of building more public high schools, we are expanding high school scholarship for private schools,” she said.
To improve school attendance, Arroyo urged local governments to adopt the “bikes for school” program, in which students whose schools were at least 10 kilometers away from their houses could avail of a bicycle that their parents could pay off at P1 a day.
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Soldier hurt in NPA attack on Air Force detachment
MANILA, Philippines — A government soldier was wounded after suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels attacked a detachment of Air Force combatants in Nasugbu town, Batangas province, south of Manila on Thursday, a regional military spokesman said.
The rebels attacked the headquarters of the 733rd Combat Squadron in Clayo village at around 1:30 a.m., said Major Randolph Cabangbang, public information officer of the Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command (Solcom).
The identity of the wounded soldier, who holds the rank of Airman second class, was not immediately released. He was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment, Cabangbgang said in a text message.
The NPA guerillas were believed to have suffered an undetermined number of casualties, the spokesman said.
Empty shells from M203 grenade launcher, and M16 and M14 rifles were recovered from the scene, he said.
The attack came even as the government claimed to have gained momentum against the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which the military estimated to be at 5,700 in strength at the end of 2007.
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Palace: Arrest orders vs Lozada, Neri ‘politics-as-usual’
MANILA. Philippines — The arrest warrants issued against two government executives by the Senate for failing to appear in its investigation of an alleged anomalous transaction was in aid of “politics-as-usual,” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s spokesman said Thursday.
At the same time, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye chided the Senate for not coming up with a proposed legislation on the center of the legislative body’s inquiry — the National Broadband Network (NBN) project.
On Wednesday, the Senate ordered the arrests of socio-economic planning secretary Romulo Neri and a government consultant for the NBN project, Rodolfo Lozada, for ignoring the summons.
“We deplore the continued moves of the Senate in issuing warrants of arrest against executive officials. This is clearly not in aid of legislation, but in aid of politics-as-usual,” Bunye said in a statement.
“After all the hearings and the hoopla, we have yet to see what legislation the Senate intends to propose at the expense of the privacy, dignity and rights of Cabinet secretaries and government functionaries,” he said.
Bunye added that the NBN project has “long been cancelled” and the witnesses that senators were seeking “have said all they have to say.”
The investigation “distract[s] the nation from its urgent business and disturb the momentum for growth and social reforms,” Bunye said.
The NBN project was scrapped in late 2007 amid allegations that former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos tried to bribe Neri and businessman Jose De Venecia III, son of Speaker Jose de Venecia, so that China’s ZTE Corp. could bag the multi-million dollar project.
The scandal has forced Abalos to resign as Comelec chairman.
In his testimony before the Senate last year, Neri confirmed the bribe attempt but refused to issue further statements regarding the President, citing executive privilege.
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Resto-grocery in Zurich keeps Filipinos closer to home
Adobo, green mangoes on offer
ZURICH, Switzerland (via PLDT) — For Filipino workers and immigrants here, the Philippines is just a train ride away.
Their link to their homeland is this enterprising Filipina’s store-cum-restaurant.
Either they discover it through fellow immigrants and workers, or while passing by on board the tram, a train that cuts through the Zurich city proper and suburbs.
At the Golden Asian Store, Filipinos, and sometimes, even the Swiss, satisfy their cravings for Philippine cuisine such as adobo, caldereta, kare-kare, and pancit.
Beside the restaurant counter is a mini grocery that sells green mangoes and Filipino brands of canned goods, instant noodles, condiments, and even beer, like Red Horse.
“It does not feel like a business, because here, I meet with my kababayan [countrymen]. We’re like family in this place,” said storeowner Eppie Balagasay-Escopete.
Over meals and karaoke sessions (the restaurant has a “magic sing” set up), patrons talk about their problems, mostly financial and cultural differences with their Swiss spouses, Escopete said.
Posters of the Kris Aquino film “Sukob” and the Vic Sotto starrer “Enteng Kabisote” are plastered on the store’s walls. Escopete also helps distribute subscriptions to The Filipino Channel (TFC) as well as audio and video compact discs by Filipino artists.
Escopete moved to Switzerland in 1991 to take up her masters in political science upon the prodding of her sister. It was also here where she met her husband. She opened the store in 2000.
“This was a grocery for the first two years, but because of the demand from Filipinos, I opened the restaurant,” she said.
“Here, it’s like you’re in your own country. You’re at ease,” said Elizer Lorina, a regular customer who hails from Palawan province.
Escopete’s customers sometimes serve themselves, and even help in the cooking.
Another regular at the Golden Asian, Joy Felder, who is married to a Swiss man, scooped some rice and poured adobo over it while Escopete was talking to reporters.
“They put their payment in the cash register by themselves too,” Escopete said.
Felder later helped Escopete’s two Filipina staff, Lucy Cordizal and Amparo Octubre, prepare some “palitaw,” or boiled rice cakes, in the kitchen.
Escopete said her Swiss customers liked adobo, pancit, caldereta, kare-kare, and ginataang gulay.
“The Swiss people like their food spicy, so we put a little chili,” she said.
Aside from food, religion also binds the Filipino community here. Many of Escopete’s patrons are members of the Jesus Is Lord Movement of evangelist Eduardo Villanueva.
Escopete, a relative of Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone, said she plans to return to the Philippines by 2013, possibly to pursue a career in politics.
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OFWs in Lebanon told to stay indoors
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon have been advised to stay indoors as riots hit the streets of the capital Beirut, the Philippines Special Envoy to the Middle East, Roy Cimatu, said.
While there is no need to evacuate the estimated 25,000 Filipinos there yet, the government has a standby evacuation plan via commercial or military C-130 planes, Cimatu told reporters here.
“The advisory is [to] stay indoors, don’t go out for the moment in the streets, don’t go to crowded places, especially where there protests in the streets,” said the envoy, who also heads the government’s Middle East preparedness team.
The envoy said he would go to Lebanon to inform OFWs there of the advisory. He said some Filipinos there could not be aware of the violence in the streets, since they are working mostly as household help.
Cimatu read to reporters a text message he received from Philippine charge d’affaires to Lebanon Mark Domia that read: “It’s street demos and violence, and they report [the riots are] ongoing with casualties, [and they are] monitoring developments.”
Cimatu said there were no confirmed Filipino casualties in the street violence.
“That is what I’m worried about, because a Filipino is working with this group, another Filipino is working for this group. If these groups clash, they will be caught in between,” he said.
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Arroyo launches hedging facility for OFWs
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched a hedging facility for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), to cushion the impact of the strengthening peso and the weakening dollar on their remittances.
Speaking before the Filipino community here on Sunday night, the President also announced that long-term negotiable certificates of deposit will be available to OFWs, through the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) by March.
During the same gathering at a packed ballroom of the Jumeirah luxury hotel here, the LBP also launched the OFW Cash Card, which allows Filipinos abroad to remit money back home through their cellular phones, using the Smart Communications Inc. network.
While the strengthening of the peso is a sign that the economy is recovering, the President acknowledged that this has caused the value of dollar remittances to go down.
“We recognize that the strong peso has reduced the buying power of the remittances sent home by many of our Overseas Filipino Workers,” Arroyo said in a speech.
“But having said that, we know that we have to cushion the effect, the impact of the strength of the peso on our overseas Filipinos’ earnings. So our administration is addressing the strong peso, or maybe, better said, addressing the weak dollar very aggressively,” she said.
While the stronger peso has reduced the value of remittances, Arroyo said, that in the long run, OFWs would benefit from economic growth.
She said the strong peso brings down interest rates, cushions the impact of rising oil prices and holds off transport fare increases.
“So we are committed to this, so that when you go back home, you can have a country that you can come home to with pride,” she said.
There are two options under the hedging facility, which is being handled by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP): peso insurance and forward.
An OFW can chose to avail of a peso insurance, wherein a “protection rate” will be set. The more pesos an OFW wants for every dollar remitted, the higher the cost of the peso insurance.
For example, if an OFW wants to set a protection rate of P41:$1, for his $10,000 remittance, he or she has to pay an insurance fee rate of 1.42 percent of the money remitted or $142.
The protection rate can be set for a minimum of one month up to a maximum of 12 months. The insurance rate fee varies every time the OFW hedges, depending on the prevailing exchange rate.
Under the forward option, an OFW will not pay to ensure a certain exchange rate, but he or she will agree to a market-determined rate, regardless of whether or not the dollar appreciates or depreciates at the time of maturity.
Like the peso insurance option, an OFW can hedge using the forward for a minimum of one month up to a maximum of 12 months.
The hedge facility will be available at the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) where the OFW is based.
The LTNCDs will be issued in P20,000 denomination with five and a half and 10-year tenors. The notes will yield 6.25 percent for the five and a half-year tenor, and 6.88 percent for the 10-year tenor.
If an OFW avails of a P20,000 LTNCD, it will earn P8,056 in five and a half years or P12,760 for 10 years.
The President also encouraged OFWs to invest in the government’s “Tindahan Natin (Our Store),” which promotes products from the different regions.
Before the President’s speech, officials from the Philippine Stock Exchange briefed the OFWs on how they can invest in the equities market.
“The Philippine Stock Exchange is with us to promote financial literacy among OFWs and their families so that you can turn your hard-earned money into capital and as I said, become overseas Filipino investors, aside from being overseas Filipino workers,” the President
said.
To remit money via SMS (short messaging service), an OFW must avail of the Land Bank OFW Cash Card. The package includes a cash card and a SIM card for the OFW, and a cash card for his beneficiary.
A menu is preloaded in the OFW’s SIM so there is no need to memorize key words, Smart spokesman Mon Isberto said in a presentation.
To send money, he has to load his cash card and follow the instructions on the SIM menu. An acknowledgement receipt will be sent to him through SMS, confirming the remittance. Afterwards, the beneficiary can withdraw the money from any ATM machine, on all ATM networks, Isberto said.
Each transaction costs P5 and a roaming fee of P20. Another P2.50 is charged to the sender’s airtime load.
Arroyo related to the OFWs gathered at the hotel how their employers were all praises for them.
“All the emirati that I met during my trip salute you. Sabi nila sa akin, kayo ang pinakamagaling, pinakamabait at pinakamalinis [They say you're the most efficient, the kindest and the cleanest],” she said.
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