Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from August 2009

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from August 2009

Lumad go home after AFP pullout.
August 31, 2009... DAVAO CITYMORE THAN 1,700 Manobo evacuees from the upland villages of Lianga in Surigao del Sur returned home on Sunday, a day after Commission on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima visited them and investigated allegations of military abuses. ...

Southeast Asian caging launched tomorrow.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Cedelf P. Tupas BASKETBALL IN THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN REGION turns a new page tomorrow when the Asean Basketball League (ABL) launches its maiden season at the Renaissance Hotel in Makati. The leagues logo will be unveiled and the six...

BFAR mulls fishing ban in Manila Bay.
August 31, 2009... COMMERCIAL FIshing in Manila Bay would be subjected to seasonal closure, and could become a thing of the past, unless measures proposed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to the Supreme Court take hold and restore fish life...

No cheating in 2010, poll aspirants vow.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Philip C. Tubeza BURYING THEIR POLITICAL RIVALRIES for a moment, 13 prospective candidates for president and vice president yesterday walked arm in arm in Taguig City for clean and honest elections next year. The aspirantswho...

GMAs climate change plan: Reforestation, garbage reduction.
August 31, 2009... BAGUIO CITYPRESIDENT MACAPAGAL-Arroyo endorsed on Friday a climate change mitigation plan that requires drastic cuts on garbage generation in cities and provinces to reduce carbon emissions. The plan calls for massive reforestation, the...

Expats unite! Help elect Erap!
August 31, 2009... Byline: W. Scott Thompson AN ADMONITION TO ALL EXPATS: THE PHILIP-pine electionif there is one comingis not our business. Its solely for the people of the Philippines. However, we have a right, surely, to express our opinions, because it...

Delgado family, witness ask SC to reverse ruling.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Norman Bordadora THE FAMILY OF FEDERICO DELgado has filed a motion for reconsideration with the Supreme Court, asking it to reverse its decision ordering the dismissal of murder and physical injuries charges against Luisito Gonzalez...

Did you know.
August 31, 2009... IN NOVEMBER 1870, students at the University of Santo Tomas formed a committee to demand school reforms and boldly identified themselves with the cause of making the Philippines a province, not a colony, of Spain. The committees head, Felipe...

For Neri, it does not pay to keep quiet.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Amando Doronila THE OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN has dismissed graft charges against President Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Mike Arroyo in connection with the canceled $329-million NBN-ZTE project while recommending the...

Dreams keep their hopes alive.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Nikko Dizon AT LEAST IN THEIR DREAMS, they get to be reunited with their loved ones who have been missing for years. Ipe Soco, a 22-year-old University of the Philippines student, said his mother often appeared to him in his dreams...

Eagles clinch Final 4 bonus.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Jasmine W. Payo ATENEO CLAIMED THE FIRST FINAL Four bonus even as University of Santo Tomas shored up its semifinal bid with a 79-58 trampling of ousted National U in the UAAP mens basketball tournament yesterday at the FilOil Flying...

Ombudscam 2.
August 31, 2009... IN 2002, THIS NEWSPAPER CONDEMNED A DECEITful series of legal maneuvers by Ombudsman Aniano Desierto as an ombudscamthe preparation by his powerful anti-graft office of cases that were designed to fail. In a privilege speech, then-Misamis...

Farm expansion a sign of greed.
August 31, 2009... LA TRINIDAD, BENGUETAN ENVIRONment official has blamed conflicting laws on forest and property and greed for the rapid deterioration of the Cordilleras watersheds and mossy forests. Primitivo Galinato Jr., director of the Department of...

When the candles cost as much as the cake.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Ramon J. Farolan YESTERDAY I GOT AN OVERSEAS CALL FROM MY granddaughter who lives in Woodridge, Illinois. She wanted to be the first to greet me on my birthday, and therefore she decided to call a day earlier. After saying how much...

Homesick RP pugs raring for action.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Recah Trinidad AMSTERDAMTHEY ARE NOT CRAMMING BUT THE MEMBERS OF the Philippine team seeing action in the world amateur boxing championships took no day off and resumed training on Saturday despite a tiring 14-hour trip from Havana to...

Con-con: A step at a time.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J. HOW DOES A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION come into existence? And how does it get organized? Let us begin with the 1935 Constitution. It said: The Congress in joint session assembled, by a vote of...

GMA takes lean delegation on hectic trip.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Jerome Aning and Christian V. Esguerra PRESIDENT MACAPAGAL-ARROYO WILL have a hectic schedule but a lean delegation in her trip to Libya, where she is set to address a summit of the African Union, Department of Foreign Affairs...

Leviste asks SC for bail.
August 31, 2009... FORMER BATANGAS Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste has taken to the Supreme Court his request for bail pending the appeal of his conviction for homicide. In a petition filed in the high tribunal Thursday, Leviste said the Court of Appeals erred in...

Gen. Lim calls for heroes.
August 31, 2009... DETAINED ARMY Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim yesterday urged Filipinos to find the hero within themselves and set the country right. In a statement, Lim said it was time to mark National Heroes Day with a deeper reflection on the state of the country,...

Lions, Bombers take on also-rans.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Cedelf P. Tupas ALREADY IN A SOLID POSITION TO clinch Final Four berths, San Beda and Jose Rizal University seek to solidify their hold of second and third places when they take on the two worst-ranked teams in the 85th NCAA...

Manila among worlds cheapest citiesUBS.
August 31, 2009... MANILA IS AMONG THE WORLDS cheapest cities but is also one of those that pay the lowest hourly wages, according to a study comparing the purchasing power of 73 cities around the globe. Prices and Earnings, a study conducted in March this year...

1 dead in fight over stuffed toy.
August 31, 2009... A FIGHT over an old discarded stuffed toy left a scavenger dead and another wounded yesterday afternoon. PO2 Norlan Margallo of the Quezon City Police Districts Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit identified the two men as Jimson Navarro...

Cop gunned down in Quiapo.
August 31, 2009... A QUEZON City policeman was gunned down on Saturday afternoon by still unidentified men in Quiapo, Manila. PO3 Nilomemar Abarquez, 35, assigned at the Quezon City Police District Station 10 and a resident of Sta. Ana, Manila, died instantly due...

Cuerpo bows to suspension order.
August 31, 2009... Byline: DJ Yap AFTER WEEKS OF TENSION, ITS BUSINESS AS usual once again in the town hall of Rodriguez, Rizal, with suspended Mayor Pedro Cuerpo finally giving way to acting mayor Jonas Cruzat least for the time being. I have not gone to...

Mike A to snub Senate hearing, says lawyer.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra TALK TO THE HAND. Senators seeking to question First Gentleman Jose Miguel Mike Arroyo will have to do without him when they resume hearings on the scuttled $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal...

People have exclusive right to choose.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Neal H. Cruz (Continued from last Friday, Aug. 28) WITH THE PROSPECT OF FORMER PRESident Estrada running again for president becoming more imminent, the debate on whether or not he is banned by the Constitution from contesting the...

Negros Occ. to amend ordinance banning GMO products.
August 31, 2009... BACOLOD CITYTHE PROVINcial board will amend an ordinance banning the entry of products with genetically modified organisms (GMO). Vice Gov. Emilio Yulo III said on Wednesday that the board had reached a consensus to amend the ordinance after...

New Red leadership caused snag in peace talksRazon.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra THE RESUMPTION OF PEACE talks with the communist rebels hit a snag due to a reorganization in the local communist movement which relegated Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP) founder Jose Ma. Sison to the...

Miriam: Renegotiate or abrogate VFA.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Christine O. Avendano LIFE WILL GO ON IN THE EVENT THE COUNtry junks the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said yesterday. Santiago said in a dzBB radio interview yesterday that...

Archers in unfamiliar waters.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Sev Sarmenta FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 15 SEASONS(and except when they did not play in 2006), the La Salle Green Archers face the possibility they wont be in the UAAP Final Four party. They need to snap a five-game slide and score big...

Pangasinan political, civic leaders join calls for Noynoy to run in 2010.
August 31, 2009... BINMALEY, PANGASINANA GROUP OF Pangasinan political and civic leaders has joined the clamor for Sen. Benigno Noynoy Aquino III to run for president in the 2010 elections. On Sunday, the Noynoy Aquino for President Movement-Pangasinan was...

Pinoy teacher in Taiwan gets new trial.
August 31, 2009... THE TAIWAN SUPREME COURT DID NOT REstore the death sentence on a convicted Filipino teacher but instead set it aside and granted her appeal for a retrial, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (Meco) said Saturday. Meco resident...

POC may form cycling, billiards team.
August 31, 2009... Byline: June Navarro IF THE LEADERSHIP PROBLEM in cycling and billiards is not settled soon, the Philippine Olympic Committee might take over in picking the countrys bets for the two sports in the Southeast Asian Games this December in Laos....

On the cusp of redemption.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Manuel L. Quezon III ITS INTERESTING THAT THE PRESIDENT AND her people have reserved their most venomous attacks for two senators: Manuel Roxas II and Benigno Aquino III. She seems less concerned about her other critics or potential...

Noypi ako.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Conrado de Quiros THERES NO BETTER TIME TO COME OUT with this than National Heroes Day. Youll soon probably be seeing stickers and T-shirts that say, Noypi ako. Ikaw? Noypi ako is a movement I have in mind thats open to any...

RM awardee: Cheap drugs for poorest.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Ma. Ceres P. Doyo THAI PHARMACIST KRISANA KRAI-sintu vividly remembers coming to the Philippines many years ago and visiting a large Filipino-owned drug manufacturing facility. Someone generously shared with her the formula for a...

Runaway OFWs increase at Ramadan, group notes.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Jerome Aning and Marlon Ramos AN OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS GROUP yesterday called on Philippine diplomatic and labor offices in the Middle East to prepare to take in more runaway domestic helpers as the Muslim world observes Ramadan....

SBP hands-off on Aguilar controversy.
August 31, 2009... Byline: June Navarro and Cedelf P. Tupas THE SAMAHANG BASKETBOL NG PILIPinas is keeping its hands off the Japeth Aguilar-Burger King issue. Amid calls by a Philippine Basketball Association official for the countrys ruling basketball body...

Solcom admits it cant wipe out NPA.
August 31, 2009... LUCENA CITYWITH BARELY A YEAR left before the end of President Macapagal-Arroyos deadline to state security forces to crush communist insurgency by the end of her term in 2010, the top official of the Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command admitted...

GMA sons acquire homes in California.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Vera Files PAMPANGA REP. JUAN Miguel Mikey Arroyo has not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) for the last two years a $1.32-million (P63.7-million) beachfront property in the San Francisco Bay area...

Taguig folk get free X-ray, dental checks.
August 31, 2009... INDIGENT RESIDENTS OF Barangay Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City got a chance to undergo digital chest X-ray and dental exams on Saturday. The local chapter of Junior Chamber International, a group of 200,000 young leaders and entrepreneurs...

Belle, Sinophil settle preferred stock row.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao LEISURE ESTATE DEVELOPER Belle Corp. will turn over about P1.2 billion worth of assets, in the form of land and Tagaytay Midlands Golf Club shares, to stockholder Sinophil Corp. to settle outstanding obligations. In...

Buildings in RP get on the green bandwagon.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Abigail L. Ho BORROWING A PHRASE FROM THE fashion world, green is the new black. This goes for energy, transportation, and yes, even buildings. Globally, there is now a trend of putting up green buildings, or buildings that adhere...

BPI to get P1.35B from Ayala Life sale.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISlands is getting P1.35 billion from Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philamlife) for the sale of a 51-percent stake in its life insurance subsidiary Ayala Life Assurance Inc....

RP to export yellow corn to Vietnam.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra THE PHILIPPINES WILL EX-port yellow corn for the first time and the maiden shipment is set for Vietnam. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said in a statement that the National Food Authority (NFA) already had talks...

DA sees 09 rice production hitting target.
August 31, 2009... BARRING A COMBINATION OF STRONG typhoons in Luzon and the Visayas, and a drought in the Zamboanga Peninsula, rice production this year is expected to meet, if not surpass, the target of 17.48 million metric tons (MT). Based on current...

Disclosures.
August 31, 2009... PHILIPPINE BANK OF COMMUNICATIONS announced on Aug. 27 the resignation of Evelyn D. Vinluan as first vice president and head of risk management group effective Sept. 30. It also announced the reorganization of the Audit Committee with the...

How green is green?
August 31, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo THE NEED TO ADDRESS THE ENVIRONmental problems caused by industrialization has long been overdue. In the case of the Philippines, buildings are estimated to account for 40 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions,...

GSK heeds call to cut medicine prices.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo THE CALL for cheaper medicine has been deafening given the huge number of Filipinos who could not afford even the most simple of medical treatments. One of the pharmaceutical firms that heeded the call is...

Landbank expects 3.1% growth in remittances.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo LAND BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES, which aims to become one of the top remittance banks in the country, said it was expecting remittances from overseas Filipino workers to grow by between 3 and 3.1 percent this year...

Where did the growth come from?
August 31, 2009... Byline: Cielito F. Habito GOOD NEWS: THE ECONOMY APPEARED to show overall improvement in the second quarter, bucking recessionary trends worldwide. The second-quarter growth figures released last week indicate that we have managed to avert a...

City competitivenessa flawed concept.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Niceto S. Poblador THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUMS Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 puts the Philippines in a very uncomfortable 74th place (out of 137 economies surveyed), behind such countries as Botswana (59th), Indonesia (58th),...

PDIC wants owners of failed banks barred from biddings.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo PHILIPPINE DEPOSIT INSURance Corp. wants owners of a failed bank barred from participating in biddings aimed at selling the closed financial institution. The deposit insurer is also proposing that it be allowed to...

Singapore firm eyes Shells CNG unit in RP.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Amy R. Remo SINGAPORE-BASED CALLANDRA LCNG Fuels Corp. is planning to acquire Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.s lone compressed natural gas (CNG) refilling station in Mamplasan, Laguna, to prove that the use of CNG can be viable in the...

Traders see profit-taking.
August 31, 2009... LOCAL STOCKS ARE SEEN AT RISK OF succumbing to profit-taking this week after the strong run-up fueled by rosier global economic prospects last week. The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped 6.02 percent last week to close at...

Youth saving more for a rainy day.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Penelope P. Endozo Penny-pinching Filipino yuppies are poised to outdo their older counterpartseven their parentsin saving more for the proverbial rainy day. According to the MasterCard survey on consumer purchasing priorities, 89...

Femme too fatale in Dulaang UPs Lulu.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Gibbs Cadiz AT VARIOUS TIMES THROUGH Frank Wedekinds Lulu, which Dulaang UP recently staged for three weeks at Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater in UP Diliman, the central character was described as an angel, a miracle (isa[ng] himala sa...

MSO, UST Singers triumph anew.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Pablo A. Tariman, Contributor THE 19-YEAR-OLD VIOLINIST Diomedes Saraza Jr. electrified Philamlife Theater as the impeccable soloist in Paganinis D Major Violin Concerto, and got a rousing standing ovation on the first part of a...

Trumpets NOAH is new musical by Jaime del Mundo.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Walter Ang, Contributor JAIME DEL MUNDO ONCE TRIED HIS hand at doing administrative work for a school. It was the time rehearsals were ongoing for a musical he had just co-written with Luna Inocian and composed by Lito Villareal. ...

Art that obliterates form and meaning.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Rachel Mayo, Contributor RYAN RUBIO PAINTS AND sculpts ghostly figures in his fourth solo, Forms and Satisfaction, at Avellana Gallery (until Aug. 31). The show represents a visual evolution from his first one-man at the Cultural...

Discourse disconnect in the National Artists row.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Antonio J. Montalvan II NEITHER CECILE Guidote-Alvarez nor Carlo Caparas is getting the picture, nor, for that matter, Malacanang, in the brewing National Artists awards controversy. But, oh well, since when has Gloria...

Jinggoy Buensuceso reinvents the canvas.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Constantino C. Tejero JINGGOY BUENSUCESO IS A young artist who is already perfecting an artistic process uniquely his own, which he calls painting on aluminum sheet. He started in 2003 with a piece called Element (now in the...

National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin now a fashion force.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Dexter R. Matilla, Contributor YOU CAN NOW WEAR NAtional Artist Nick Joaquin with Freeways Collectors shirts recently launched at The Row in Glorietta 5. The launch was both a fashion and literary event as Freeway made sure...

Pazcoguins extraordinary paintings.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Cid Reyes, Contributor THROUGH OVER A DECADE OF PARTICIPAtion in numerous group shows, Azor Pazcoguin now takes a formal bow with his first solo exhibition. The significance of such an event cannot be underestimated: It is an...

No cheesy tribute in Ogies bash.
August 31, 2009... Byline: Dolly Anne Carvajal OGIE ALCASID CELEBRATED his birthday with a bang at the clubhouse of Ayala Hills Estate. Regine Velasquezs gift to her honey is a state-of-the-art recording equipment. The songbird was sans makeup and not in a diva...

Secret war.
August 30, 2009... UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION, THE NATION REnounces waging aggressive war for the purpose of aggrandizement or conquest, but requires every citizen to do their part, including military service, in defending the state. The Constitution obligates our...

The VFA in 2 hours.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Isagani A. Cruz LAST TUESDAY, I RECEIVED A FAX LETTER from the executive director of the Legislative Oversight Committee of the Visiting Forces Agreement, one Fatima Panontongan, inviting me to act as a resource person and to submit...

Shut dumps before cleaning Manila Bay, govt told.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Alcuin Papa THE GOVERNMENT could start the cleanup of Manila Bay by closing down or rehabilitating dumpsites located near it, an environmental group said yesterday. Taking a cue from a recent Supreme Court decision ordering...

Mayor left town for America.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Sylvia Europa Pinca, Contributor JUST THINK ABOUT THIS: YOU ARE THE MAYOR of an exotic town. You are enjoying your job. People appreciate what you do and you love the fact that you are doing a lot of good things for your community....

Balao still missing.
August 30, 2009... BAGUIO CITY MILITANT groups renewed their calls for the surfacing of missing activist James Balao on the observance of the International Day of the Disappeared on Friday. Members of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance wore shirts with...

Landbank Visayas loans reach P5B.
August 30, 2009... BACOLOD CITYThe total amount of loans approved by the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) in Western Visayas has reached P5 billion this year. Manuel Jose Mari Infante, LBP vice president and Western Visayas head, said on Wednesday that P3.67...

From the heart.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD THIS STORY IS TOLD ABOUT A BISHOP who made a pastoral visit and was impressed to see his picture hanging in the rectory. Not only that, his picture was clean, while all the other pictures were full of cobwebs....

Treat yourself to Kimmy Dora.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David GIVE YOURSELF A TREAT AND RUSH TO THE nearest theater to catch Kimmy Dora: Kambal sa Kiyeme, which opens on Sept. 2. Id always felt sorry for anyone who has to share the screen with comedienne Eugene Domingo,...

Senate invites Mike Arroyo, Cabinet execs.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Michael Lim Ubac JOSE MIGUEL MIKE ARROYO, PRESIdent Macapagal-Arroyos husband, and certain members of the Cabinet have been invited to appear on Tuesday at the Senate blue ribbon committees final hearing on the National Broadband...

Warriors nip Archers.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Jasmine W. Payo W L Ateneo 10 1 Far Eastern 10 2 UE 7 4 UST 5 5 La Salle 4 7 UP 3 8 Adamson 3 8 National U 2 9 GAMES TODAY (FilOil Flying V Arena) 2 p.m.UST vs NU 4 p.m.Ateneo vs Adamson ...

Singer is LA competition champ, representing Saudi.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Annelle S. Tayao SHE WORE A SAUDI ARABIAN jacket, waved not the Philippine flagbut she is Filipino and proud of it. Kimverlie Molina, the 18-year-old singer who won at the World Championships of Performing Arts in Los Angeles,...

Why we are where we are.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Rigoberto D. Tiglao THE ELECTION SEASON finds many Filipinos thinking not only of who should be the next president, but also of why the countrya nation of rich natural resources and talented peoplecant seem to get its act together,...

Hinulugang Taktak gets a P100-M makeover.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Edson C. Tandoc Jr. EFREN VILLON REMEMBERS IT wellchildren playing as their mothers rinsed the laundry upstream, various kinds of fish visible in the water so clear that even the colors of fluttering butterflies were reflected on the...

Dogs go gourmet.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Kenneth M. del Rosario Dont feed your dog what you wont feed your child. In a country where many pet dogs diet still consists of scrap and leftover food from the dinner table, it is essential to reintroduce to their owners the...

Viloria defends title today.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Dennis Principe, Contributor THERE ARE TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES for world light flyweight Brian Viloria in his title defense today and one of them is to chase his Mexican foe Jesus Iribe. Viloria said he would be literally hunting down...

A big dream come true.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Abigail L. Ho AS WITH MOST BUSINESSES, OR any other venture for that matter, this one began with a dream. And what more fitting homage to what inspired this six-month-old restaurant than naming it precisely thatthe dream. Osonho...

Merging heart and sole.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Jo Anne E. Padiernos IT IS A BUSINESS WITH A heart and sole started six months ago by Filipino-American Alastair Onglingswan and his partners Iris Chau and Stephen Chen. The idea to go into business struck Onglingswan as early as...

Principle-centered planning.
August 30, 2009... Byline: John C. Maxwell If youve ever gone whitewater rafting, then you know the importance of planning. Whenever the raft approaches rapids, the guide has to plan the best route to navigate safely through them. If the guide fails to plan,...

Ms Universe leads a truly glamorous life.
August 30, 2009... Byline: Annelle S. Tayao (BUY) A HOUSE AND LOT, BECAUSE THATS the most important thing right now and I cant afford it, was 1973 Miss Universe Margie Moran-Floirendos answer when asked what she would do with a million dollars during the...