NEWS MONITOR
(March 25,2002)
1. PLUNDER CASE
(Tribune, Page 1 )
A grievous error is how
administration Sen. Joker Arroyo describes the continued refusal of ousted
President Joseph Estrada to accept the services of government-appointed lawyers
in an apparent attempt to delay the proceedings of the plunder and other graft
cases against him before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan."Well, he
committed one of the serious mistakes since he was deposed last year," the
senator said over the weekend of Estrada's move.Senator Arroyo, one of Estrada's
prosecutors during the lattter's impeachment trial in December 2000, belittled
what he noted could be part of the legal tactics of the deposed leader, saying
such move is a big loss on his part specially since plunder is a non-bailable
offense.
(Manila Times, Page 1)
DEPOSED president Joseph Estrada is
set to meet this afternoon with the chief of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO),
signaling a thaw towards the four state lawyers appointed by the Sandiganbayan
Special Division to represent him in a string of criminal charges.
(Inquirer, Page 2 )
CEBU CITY – Cebu Archbishop
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal on Sunday defended a fellow Cebuano, Chief Justice
Hilario Davide Jr., who has been the subject of verbal attacks by jailed
ex-President Joseph Estrada. The Cardinal said he did not believe the serious
accusations leveled at Davide by Estrada and his senator wife, Luisa Ejercito,
who accused the Chief Justice of, among other things, being biased against the
disgraced leader and his family. "I cannot believe such a thing knowing the
person of our chief justice," Vidal told reporters after saying Mass here
during the feast of Blessed Pedro Calungsod on Saturday.
(Philippine Star, Page )
Police and the military authorities
in Zamboanga City braced for possible terrorist attacks by Abu Sayyaf terrorists
this Holy Week in retaliation for the death of some of their comrades in clashes
over the past week in the island province of Basilan. This developed as
government troops overran an Abu Sayyaf camp near Lantawan town in Basilan
following Saturday’s fighting that left at least five suspected terrorists
killed. Intelligence reports have it that Abu Sayyaf hit men have slipped into
Zamboanga City to carry out the attacks on government installations and public
places, including Catholic churches.
Abu fields
suicide squad
(Manila Times, Banner)
(Today, Banner)
ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Abu Sayyaf has sent a suicide squad to
this city on a mission to wreak havoc this Holy Week, a military intelligence
report here disclosed. The report said a team of rebel explosive experts has
penetrated the city and is preparing to carry out bomb attacks in Christian
places of worship.
(Tribune, Page 1)
HUNT REACHES
CRITICAL POINT- AFP; ABU CAMP OVERRUN; BURNHAM’S FAMILY APPEALS FOR RELEASE
(Inquirer, Page 3)
Philippine troops have overrun an
Abu Sayyaf guerrilla camp on the southern island of Basilan following a clash
that left five gunmen dead, an official said yesterday.Army soldiers stumbled
onto the camp near Basilan's Lantawan town last Saturday, Col. Roland Detabali
said.By nightfall, the soldiers had forced their way into the camp and recovered
the bodies of five Abu Sayyaf rebels after their comrades fled into surrounding
jungle, Detabali said."Pursuit operation is ongoing and we expect more
clashes any time," he added. There was no sign of three hostages held by
the Moslem guerrillas: US Christian missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham
and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.
(Manila Times, Page 1)
(Manila Standard, Page 1)
The people claiming there were
human rights violations committed during the Balikatan in Mindanao are insulting
the military, the Filipino people and the country’s allies, President Arroyo
said yesterday. Speaking at
the graduation of the Philippine Military Academy
Banyuhay Class 2002 in Baguio City, Mrs. Arroyo said it was unfair to
“sweepingly accuse” that the joint military training exercise in Basilan
have been occasioned by violations of human rights.
GMA DEFENDS SOLDIERS , SAYS CHARGES OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AN INSULT
(Inquirer, Page 1 )
FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City –
President Macapagal-Arroyo on Sunday defended "the great Filipino
soldier" from accusations of human rights violations, saying the charges
were "an insult" to the Armed Forces and to all Filipinos. "I
consider it the height of misrepresentation for anyone to characterize the great
Filipino soldier as a violator of human rights when so many of our soldiers have
made the supreme sacrifice of death to protect our people from terrorism,"
she told the newest graduates of the Philippine Military Academy and their
guests here. A 14-member international peace mission is visiting Basilan,
Zamboanga and Central Mindanao to probe possible human rights violations.
(Philippine Star,Banner)
FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City —
Fight the twin scourges of terrorism and poverty. These were the marching orders
of President Arroyo to the 138 male and female graduates of the elite Philippine
Military Academy (PMA) "Banyuhay" Class of 2002. The
commander-in-chief also directed the newly commissioned second lieutenants and
ensigns — the first batch of PMA graduates since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks in the US — to join global efforts to fight what she described as a
"transnational threat."
(Philippine Star, Page 1 )
FORT DEL PILAR, Baguio City –
Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes told the obscure "Indigenous People’s
Federalist State Army" (IPFSA) yesterday to properly air their grievances
instead of planting bombs in public places and scaring innocent people. Reyes
said that while no one has been harmed nor any property destroyed by the eight
bombs the IPFSA planted in various places in Metro Manila last week, the
incidents have damaged the country nonetheless.
(Manila Times, Page 1)
PASSENGERS at a crowded bus
terminal in Pasay City waited for several tense hours as police searched for a
bomb believed to have been planted there. A caller had warned that an explosive
device had been left in one of the buses in the Jam Transit terminal on Taft
Ave.
(Philippine Star, Page 8 )
Senate President Franklin Drilon
has called on the international community not to sacrifice human rights in the
fight against terrorism. Speaking at the 107th International Parliamentarians’
Union Conference (IFU) in Morocco recently, Drilon said the war against
international terrorists would be successful if states do not violate the human
rights of their citizens.
(Philippine Star, Page 1 )
About three million youth between
the ages of 15 and 18 cannot vote in the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections on
July 15 if no special registration is held next month. Commission of Elections (Comelec)
Commissioner Resurreccion Borra said Commissioners Luzviminda Tancangco, Mehol
Sadain, Ralph Lantion and Rufino Javier refused to sign a poll body resolution
which calls for a special registration of voters from April 22 to 27. Comelec
bickering endangers SK polls (Malaya, Page 2) At least three
million youth voters risk being disenfranchised should the Commission on
Elections fail to carry out a special registration for Filipinos eligible to
participate in the July 15 Sangguniaang Kabataan elections.Commissioner
Resurreccion Borra, Comelec officer-in-charge, said a resolution that will allow
the holding of a special SK registration from April 22 to 27 remains
unpromulgated.
(Philippine Star, Page 8 )
Five 20-year-old members of the
Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) in barangays have asked the Supreme Court to allow
them to run for re-election on July 15 despite a new law disqualifying them as
candidates for being overage. Republic Act 9164, the law which synchronized
barangay and SK elections this year, reduced the age of SK members from 15-21 to
15-"less than" 18 years old. In their 40-page petition, Antoniette
Monteclaros, Maricel Caranza, Josephine and Ronald Atangan, and Clariza Decena
said they are "actually more experienced and matured" to be in public
service than the under-18 SK members .
Gloria's choice of next AFP chief
stirs military ;She is urged to follow ban on extension
(Malaya, Banner)
President Arroyo's plan to name
Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu as the successor of Armed Forces
chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and then extend his service is meeting opposition
among generals.Three generals who asked they not be identified so their chances
of promotion are not jeopardized yesterday said extending Cimatu's service would
run against a constitutional provision that allows for extension only during an
emergency.Villanueva is retiring upon reaching 56 in May. Cimatu, Southern
Command chief, is due for retirement in July.
(INquirer, Banner)
CONSUMERS must brace themselves for
much bigger power bills not because of higher electric consumption as they
switch on electric fans and air-conditioners to ward off the heat this summer.
The hefty sum will be due to Manila Electric Co.’s insertion of a 3.97-peso
per kilowatt-hour increase in basic charges which translates to a steep 116
percent increase in electric bills of residential consumers, according to a
militant group.
CAYETANO SURE HE’LL BE YEAREND
SENATE CHIEF
(Today, Page 1)
Sen. Renato Cayetano expressed
confidence that he will be the Senate leader in December when Senate President
Franklin Drilon and other
pro-administration senators abide by their commitment to the power-sharing
agreement.
(Philippine Star, Page 1 )
(tribune, Page
1)
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — The
Philippines has appealed to Malaysia to help reduce the impact of the
deportation of thousands of its citizens in a major crackdown on illegal
immigrants. Ambassador Jose Brillantes said "timely information" from
Malaysia on the deportations would reduce the burden on authorities in the
poverty-stricken southern Philippines who are being swamped by deportees.
Brillantes said the large-scale deportations from Sabah state on Borneo island
would be a financial strain on the Philippines’ local authorities.
‘Church
disallows flagellation, nailing to the cross’
(Philippine Star, Page 2 )
All pain but no gain? The Catholic
Church said yesterday it does not encourage the time-honored Lenten ritual,
usually practiced by provincial folk, of having oneself nailed to the cross to
repent for one’s sins. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
secretary general and spokesman Msgr. Hernando Coronel said the Church also
discourages self-flagellation, a practice wherein penitents whip themselves with
bladed scourges in the belief that the self-inflicted torture would wash off
their sins. "It is a misrepresentation of our Catholic faith," Coronel
said in an interview over the Catholic station Radio Veritas.
(Inquirer, Page
1)
A "VERY embarrassed"
ambassador of Mexico apologized Sunday to Vice President and Foreign Secretary
Teofisto Guingona Jr. for the "terrible discourtesy" he suffered last
week. Ambassador Enrique Hubbard said Guingona should not have been turned away
from a luncheon meeting tendered on March 21 for heads of state who attended an
international summit in Monterrey, Mexico
(Philippine Star, Page 9 )
Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA)
general manager Nixon Kua called yesterday for the establishment of an
independent power source for the world-famous Boracay island resort in
Aklan.Last Monday, the National Power Corp. (Napocor) cut off power in Boracay
and the rest of Aklan after the local electric cooperative failed to pay its
dues totaling P105 million. Power to Boracay and other parts of Aklan was
recently restored by Napocor. Kua warned that the power crisis in Aklan is far
from over and bound to get even worse in the coming years, as he raised the
alarm over the power supply problem.
(Tribune, Banner)
Families of government officials
are not spared from kidnappings and have to pay ransom to secure release of
their kidnapped relatives. This much was proved by the recent abduction of a
daughter-in-law of Agustin Bengzon, a Department of Transportation and
Communications (DoTC) undersecretary. Sources yesterday told the Tribune that
the victim’s family subsequently paid P8 million in ransom to buy her freedom.
MORE QUESTIONS ON ‘MISSING’
EXPLOSIVES
(Today, Page 1)
The four tons of explosives seized
by the police and reported earlier missing have never been shipped out of the
country, as feared. Neither have they landed in the hands of terrorists. It
turned out that the explosives, kept in police warehouses, we “sold” to
operators of ill;egal mining, illegal fishing and those engaged in road
construction.
(Tribune, Page 1)
Concerns over personal security
have deepened among foreign business executives in the Philippines, India and
Indonesia partly due to crime and a rise in religious militancy after Sept. 11,
a regional survey showed.In the latest survey conducted by the Political and
Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) in the region's 12 economies, Singapore, in the
overall rating, was also voted the country offering the best quality of life for
expatriate families for the second year in a row since wresting the title from
the Philippines.On a scale from zero to 10, with zero the best possible grade,
Singapore got 2.26.Thailand came in second 3.45, followed by China 3.76,
Malaysia 3.84 and Taiwan 3.98. Hong Kong was in sixth place with 4.04, trailed
by South Korea 4.09, Japan 4.14, the Philippines 4.84, and Vietnam 5.42.India at
5.68 and Indonesia 6.59 rounded up the last two places.
(Tribune, Page 1)
Notwithstanding criticisms over
supposed Malacañang's continuing efforts to woo the support of even those known
to be strong followers of the previous administration, President Arroyo
yesterday proceeded with her plan and attended the Palm Sunday celebration of
the Catholic charismatic group El Shaddai.At 2:30 a.m., Mrs. Arroyo, before
thousands of the group's members led by their leader Bro. Mike Velarde in San
Dionisio, Parañaque City, gave an assurance of her continued support.Velarde's
group had supported the candidacy in the 1998 presidential elections of ousted
President Joseph Estrada although Mrs. Arroyo, who was then seeking the vice
presidential seat with now Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., also sought its
assistance.
(Malaya, Page 1 )
El Shaddai servant leader Bro.
Mariano "Mike" Velarde yesterday finally referred to Gloria Arroyo as
the President. Velarde, however, took a few digs at Arroyo by drawing a
distinction between "civil society" and the "masses" and
cracking a joke on her decision to allow entry of American forces into conflict
areas under Balikatan 02-1.Arroyo was guest at the Psalm Sunday mass of the El
Shaddai at its new venue in Barangay San Dionisio in Parañaque. She brought
along housing czar Michael Defensor and Social Security System chairman
Bernardino Abes.
(Malaya, Page
1)
A German company, one of the 10
largest in the world in the field of electricity generation, has been
disqualified from a bidding for a project of the National Power Corp. for
reasons that appear to be indefensible. Sources in the Napocor said the
evaluation and contract committees of the agency have recommended the
disqualification of Siemens, one of four all-foreign firms that qualified for
the setting up of a "wholesale electricity spot market (WESM)."The
project is partly funded by the World Bank.
(Manila Times, Page 1 )
A Department of Agriculture
official has warned that the El Niño, which is expected to hit the country
starting in July, might lead to a serious water shortage in Luzon. Dr. Rogelio
Concepcion, director of the DA-Bureau of Soils and chairman of the Presidential
Task Force on El Niño said the mild but prolonged weather aberration would
adversely affect the agriculture sector and the water supply.
(Manila Times, Page 2)
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Saying they were
bypassed, senior officials of the Moro National Liberation Front rejected the
election of the organization’s new chairman Hatimil Hassan, fanning division
in the Misuari-led front. They described Hassan’s election as arbitrary and
was done without consultation with the majority of the members.
(Manila Times, Page 2)
BECAUSE of the reported anomalies
at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez
reportedly admonished Bureau of Corrections director retired Col. Ricardo Macala.
An unimpeachable source at the Justice department told THE MANILA TIMES that
Perez summoned Macala apparently to reprimand him for the supposed rigging of
food bidding, perks-for-pay, and other irregularities at the prison facility.
(Manila Times, Page 2)
An honest lady non-uniformed
personnel became an instant source of pride for the National Aviation Committee
on Anti-Hijacking and Anti-Terrorism when she returned a handbag containing some
P53,000 to a departing Korean national at the Manila Domestic Airport in Pasay
City early this month.
Solon
wants BIR chief in anti-money laundering council
(Manila Times, Page 2)
Should Congress decide to amend the
newly enacted Anti-Money Laundering Law, Negros Oriental Rep. Hernando Teves
said he would push for the inclusion of the Commissioner of the Bureau of
Internal Revenue in the council tasked to investigate suspicious financial
transactions.
HOUSE EXECS DENY PLAN TO STOP
JIMENEZ EXTRADITION
(Inquirer, Page 6)
House leaders denied knowledge of
any plans by the chamber to pass a resolution to block the extradition of Manila
Rep. Mark Jimenez, as alleged by civil society groups. But they admitted that in
the previous 12th Congress some colleagues did propose endorsing such
a resolution although nothing came of it.