Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from December 2009

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from December 2009

Bigger catch lures fishermen: Cocaine.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Joey A. Gabieta and Rachel Arnaiz, Inquirer Visayas TACLOBAN CITYA BIGGER catch is luring fishermen these days in Eastern and Northern Samarcocaine drifting at sea. Residents of villages near where cocaine bricks had drifted said...

Another bomb found in power pylon in North Cotabato site.
December 31, 2009... KIDAPAWAN CITYAUTHORIties foiled another attempt in North Cotabato to topple a power pylon on Tuesday. Police said an improvised explosive device was found attached to one of the pylons in Carmen town. Experts removed the bomb which...

Full blast Beethovens Fifth instead of firecrackers.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan TWO WEEKS AGO, CECILE ALVAREZ AND I SUCceeded in luring Sec. Heherson Alvarez, presidential adviser on global warming and climate change, to the dzRH program we co-hostdespite his jet lagto talk about...

A gift of story.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Ma. Ceres P. Doyo DURING A QUIET MOMENT THIS CHRISTMAS week, I pulled out from the shelf and read again the tiny book The Gift of Story: A wise tale about what is enough by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. It looked so small beside the big,...

Deadly calm over Mayon.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Rey M. Nasol ,Inquirer Southern Luzon and Alcuin Papa LEGAZPI CITYALTHOUGH the anticipation of a major eruption is still there, resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta said yesterday that based on the past 16 days activity of Mt....

Dublin mayors home now houses Pampanga lantern.
December 31, 2009... CITY OF SAN FERNANDOThe distinctive Pampanga lantern adorns the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin in Ireland. This was after Mayor Oscar Rodriguez gifted Lord Mayor Cllr Emer Costello with the lantern that has become world famous...

The bloody truth.
December 31, 2009... KEEP YOUR FINGERS ON. YOUR OTHER BODY parts, too. Today, in a shameful and nationwide orgy of destruction, many otherwise reasonable, right-thinking Filipinos will risk both life and limb to mark the passing of the old year and the coming of the...

Cop fast on draw now in hot water.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Nina Calleja A POLICEMAN DETAILED AT THE NAtional Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) could lose his job after allegedly poking a gun at a bus driver during a traffic row in Quezon City on Monday. NCRPO chief Director Roberto...

Gambling debts angle eyed in QC cops slay.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Nancy C. Carvajal A MAFIA-STYLE GROUP OPERating in casinos could have ordered the killing of Michael Coo, the deputy commander of a police station in Quezon City who was gunned down late evening of Monday, according to his live-in...

Common dream.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Juan L. Mercado ON NEW YEARS EVE, ONE ASKS: DID THE 57 women, journalists and passers-by massacred in Maguindanao share a common dream with Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr, his gunmeneven with the backhoe operator who shoveled dirt over their...

LGUs give anticracker bids another try.
December 31, 2009... IN A CAMPAIGN THAT PREVIous New Year revelries had proven futile, local governments nationwide started raiding firecracker stores or regulating their sale in a bid to stop or reduce firecracker deaths. In Lucena City, authorities allowed the...

Lost (and found) motorcycle subject of complaint.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Tina G. Santos A BARANGAY CHAIR IN MANIla is in hot water after a stolen motorcycle was allegedly recovered in his possession the other day. According to Senior Insp. Randy Maluyo, chief of the Manila Police Districts...

A love affair with Vietnamese noodles.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Maricar Cinco, Puerto Princesa City IT IS ONLY IN PALAwan where a bowl of Vietnamese rice noodles is fondly called chaolong. The warm and slightly sweetened noodle soupwith chicken, beef or pork flavors and served with mungbean...

Makati hospital opens new annex.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Allison W. Lopez MORE OUTPATIENTS WILL BE accommodated by the Ospital ng Makati (Osmak) in Pembo after an eight-story annex building was opened Tuesday by the Makati city government. Mayor Jejomar Binay led the inauguration of the...

Mini shabu lab raided in Pasig City.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Tina G. Santos A MINI SHABU LABORATORY WAS RAIDED IN Pasig City Tuesday night by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) who found a still undetermined amount of illegal drugs inside the abandoned unit. Armed with a...

Move over Quirino, here comes Rizal, the monument.
December 31, 2009... VIGAN CITYNO PROPER MONUment to Dr. Jose Rizal available? No problem, one will be hauled in. President Macapagal-Arroyo led the Rizal Day ceremony here yesterday with a borrowed statue of the national hero taking pride of place at Plaza...

NPA rebels surrender.
December 31, 2009... A TOTAL of 2,506 New Peoples Army rebels turned themselves in this year without a single shot being fired as a result of the governments Social Integration Program (SIP), according to Annabelle Abaya, presidential peace adviser. The rebel...

OFWs told to sue recruiters.
December 31, 2009... THE DEPARTMENT of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has advised Filipino workers repatriated from Lebanon to file cases against their recruiters here for their ordeal as there was still a ban on the deployment of workers to that country. Philippine...

A doggone campaign vs rabies in Negros.
December 31, 2009... DUMAGUETE CITY AUTHORITIES ADMITTED FALLING short of their target in the antirabies campaign in Negros Oriental after a bid to vaccinate at least 80 percent of an estimated 97,000 dogs in the province resulted in the vaccination of only 49...

Ban on fires sought after SCTEx mishap.
December 31, 2009... CITY OF SAN FERNANDO THE SUBIC-CLARK Alliance for Development Council (SCADC) on Tuesday sought a ban on the burning of sugarcane, other crops and grasses near the government-owned Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx). The move came after...

Ecija cops recruit 6,000 multipliers.
December 31, 2009... CABANATUAN CITY THE NUEVA ECIJA police recruited at least 6,000 volunteers to service as so-called multipliers in the campaign to keep peace and order in the province. Senior Supt. Ricardo Marquez, provincial police chief, said the...

Docs burned body found in apartment.
December 31, 2009... CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna A FEMALE doctor was found burned in her apartment in Silang, Cavite, early yesterday, police said. Senior Supt. Alfred Corpus, Cavite police chief, said the charred body of Dr. Engracia dela Cruz, 75, was found in...

New Calabarzon cop chief takes over.
December 31, 2009... THE FORMER chief of the Intelligence Group of the Philippine National Police was installed police chief of Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) at turnover rites on Tuesday. Chief Supt. Rolando Anonuevo, of Class 1979 of the...

Coping mechanisms.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Manuel L. Quezon III A COUNTRY THAT HAS UNDERGONE REPEATed national traumasthe defeat of the 1896 revolution; the defeat of the First Republic and the Filipino-American War; the Japanese occupation; the depredations of the Huks and...

Sounds of silence.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Conrado de Quiros A COUPLE OF ENVIRONMENTALIST GROUPS have a bright idea. Gathering at a churchyard last weekend, they begged their compatriots to greet the New Year with as much noise as they could muster but with as less toxicity as...

RP ships average age: 34 yrs.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Kristine L. Alave ALL OF THE COUNTRYS ABOUT 200 passenger and cargo ferries are almost 30 years old and should have been replaced a long time ago or sent to the scrap yard, according to maritime officials. All of them are aging,...

A simple New Year welcome.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Nina Calleja A NO-FRILLS YEAREND CELEBRATION, this time. Unlike the Makati City government, which earlier decided to cancel its New Year street parties, the city of Taguig will push through the traditional yearend countdown and...

Suspect in barangay chair slay nabbed.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Tina G. Santos ONE OF THREE SUSPECTS WHO ALlegedly stabbed dead a barangay chair in Manila Tuesday was arrested by authorities during a follow-up operation in Nasugbu, Batangas province Chief Insp. Erwin Margarejo, head of the...

How to make your wish come true.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Ramon Tulfo ACCORDING TO THE SOCIAL Weather Stations (SWS), most Pinoys welcome the New Year with hope rather than fear. The Filipino is an enigma. He is a pessimist. But he is an optimist as well. The following complaints are...

Up to court to call GMA on alibi of Ampatuans.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Jocelyn R. Uy, Norman Bordadora and TJ Burgonio MALACANANG YESTERDAY SHRUGGED off the Ampatuan familys denial of involvement in the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao. These are matters subject to rules of evidence and...

Riot.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Racquel Therese C. Valencia A RIOTWHAT ELSE COULD IT BE? THE YEAR 2009 WAS such a terrible year that I cannot find a better word to describe it. For me, the year started with a terrible break-up. Not that I wasnt aware it was going...

Abacus sells Pacific Online stake.
December 31, 2009... PUBLICLY LISTED ABACUS CONsolidated Resources and Holdings Inc. will sell its entire stake in another publicly listed firm, Pacific Online Systems Corp., to raise funds for a planned gas pipeline venture. In a disclosure to the Philippine...

Money woes.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Conrado R. Banal III TO COVER FOR THE ENLARGING budget deficit, our beloved government is likely to borrow at least $2 billion from abroad next year. That is the latest from international credit rating firm Moodys Investors...

Budget carriers seen doing better.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Paolo G. Montecillo BUDGET CARRIERS MAY soon rule the worlds skies as more and more travelers choose thrift over luxury, a local industry official said. Old-fashioned legacy carriers, he said, were expected to put up low-cost...

BIR sees losses of up to P7B in 1st quarter.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo THE EFFECTS OF DEVASTA-ting storms on the countrys economy continued to reflect on the tax take of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which reported that it expected to lose some P7.2 billion in collections in the first...

CICC wants rules on digital TV out by May.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Paolo G. Montecillo THE COMMISSION ON INFORMATION and Communications Technology (CICT) is rushing to come out with the guidelines to govern the rollout of digital television in the country before the current administration ends its...

3 New Years wishes for farmers, fisherfolk.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Ernesto Ordonez IN FORMULATING THE THREE most important New Years wishes for farmers and fisherfolk, we consulted the Alyansa Agrikultura common agri-fishery action agenda. This was formulated by 38 federations and organizations in...

DA still hopeful on farm growth despite storms.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRIculture maintains that the farm and fisheries sectors will grow in 2009 despite the onslaught of typhoons during in the second half of the year. In a statement, the department said that...

Dairy, livestock sectors join hands.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra THE DAIRY CONFEDERATION of the Philippines (DCAP) has forged an alliance with the non-dairy cattle industry to prepare the local industry for the influx of imported milk products with the removal of tariffs. DCAP...

RP expects $200-M ADB fund for energy plan.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Amy R. Remo THE DEPARTMENT OF ENER-gy and the Asian Development Bank are preparing a $200-million multitranche financing facility to support the long-term energy efficiency and renewable energy investment program of the country. ...

Q3 financial, capital accounts down by 69%.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo THE COUNTRYS FINANCIAL and capital accountswhich record the inflow and outflow of foreign currencies arising from direct and portfolio investments, placements in derivatives and other investmentsfell sharply in the...

Flying V plans expansion in 10.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Amy R. Remo DESPITE FACING A DIFFICULT YEAR IN 2009, Flying V Philippines plans to invest P500 million to build 80 new service stations next year, as it aggressively expands its retail network. For 2010, Flying V said it plans to...

FMIC leads mutual fund pack with 50% yield in 09.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Daxim L. Lucas ALL BUT ONE LOCALLY REGIStered mutual funds yielded positive returns in 2009, with the equity fund of First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) posting the highest earnings for the year. According to data compiled by the...

Groups eye local online game marketing.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Abigail L. Ho THE GAME DEVELOPERS ASSOCIATION of the Philippines and I-Cafe Pilipinas have teamed up to explore the possibility of developing and marketing locally made online games. In a statement, GDAP executive director Cesar...

GSIS earmarks P1.29B for pensioners Christmas cash gift.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo THE GOVERNMENT SERVICE Insurance System (GSIS) said it had approved the allocation of P1.291 billion for this years Christmas cash gift for active pensioners. The amount is 9.4 percent higher than the P1.18...

Solid recovery not needed for a profitable 2010.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Den Somera HAPPY NEW YEAR! When you look back at the two-year record of the Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi, the market pattern is no longer as baffling as when the financial crisis broke out. And it doesnt look that...

PPA pushes for review of Charter restrictions.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Paolo G. Montecillo THE PHILIPPINE PORTS AU-thority (PPA) is pushing for the review of a constitutional provision that prohibits foreigners from gaining control of local shipping lines. This law is blocking the entry of new...

Trade missions, business matching events lined up for 2010.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Abigail L. Ho TO HELP EXPORTERS STAY afloat and, eventually recover from the market slump, the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion, an attached agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, has lined up business missions and...

DA weathers stormy, critical events of 09.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra DURING A RICE CONFERENCE in October, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, normally tightlipped on issues concerning rice prices and imports, surprised delegates with a warning that a perfect storm of price factors was...

Foods and culinary terms I discovered in 2009.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Micky Fenix FIVE THINGS I LEARNED THIS YEAR. This was the yearend assignment Lifestyle columnists were given by our editor. Because I dont keep a journal, I had to go through pieces I wrote to remember. Here they are: 1. Kibit...

My best bilog finds of 2009.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Reggie Aspiras TO WELcome 2010, I am sharing my best finds for the last quarter of 2009. The theme is bilog or somewhat bilog, para suerte. The circle symbolizes unity, so this is what I wish for you and your family. Infinite joy,...

Old favorites live: Dessert Souffle, Ho To Tay soup.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Restos at a glance PERHAPS ONE SHOULD NEVER be carried away by lavish reports of new restaurant openings because they are likely to be in some sort of a dry run. But then, dining in a timeless favorite most often satisfies. ...

Embracing tradition.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Lea Salonga ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR FOR promises and resolutions that we know well never keep. How did I do with the list I made last year? Pretty dismal. I still havent finished knitting the scarves I started in New York in 2007...

A brighter, chummier Batman.
December 31, 2009... Byline: Oliver M. Pulumbarit, Contributor BASED ON THE DC COMICS team-up book from several decades back, the animated TV series Batman: The Brave and the Bold has a friendlier, more easy-going Dark Knight. His adventures arent strictly...

NPA targets pols with dirty money.
December 30, 2009... SOMEWHERE IN MINdanaoPoliticians deriving their campaign funds from illegal activities will become targets of the New Peoples Army (NPA), a communist spokesperson said at a press conference in a rebel hideout. Jorge Madlos, of the National...

The road to Bagumbayan.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Ambeth R. Ocampo ONE OF THE RELICS OF THE 1996 CENTENNIAL of Rizals birth is a series of brass shoe marks that begin from the Rizal Shrine in Fort Santiago and end in a forgotten corner of Rizal Park where the national hero was shot...

Ampatuans deny hand in massacre: We were not there.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Norman Bordadora THE SONS OF ANDAL AMPATUan Sr. have sought the dismissal of the multiple murder charges against them, denying that they had a hand in the planning of the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao, according to documents...

Baywalk hot issue in mayoral race.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Tina G. Santos THE BAYWALK, THAT SEASIDE stretch along Manilas famous Roxas Boulevard, is getting to be a hot election issue in Manila, with Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and his predecessor, former Environment Secretary Lito Atienza...

Better late than never for Mandaluyongs poor.
December 30, 2009... Byline: DJ Yap SOME 60,000 FAMILIES RECEIVED BELATED Christmas presents yesterday morning from the Mandaluyong City government, as part of its yearly gift-giving program. Each family received a bucket containing basic commodities like rice...

Bicol mentor is RPs best reading teacher.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Philip C. Tubeza A GRADE V TEACHER FROM THE BICOL Region topped the Department of Educations (DepEd) search for the countrys most outstanding reading teacher. Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said Grace Rabelas was declared the...

Bus hits taxi cab on Edsa; 17 persons hurt in mishap.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Nina Calleja SEVENTEEN PERSONS, INCLUDING A 4-year-old child, were hurt after a taxi cab collided with a passenger bus on Edsa in Makati City early Tuesday morning. SPO1 Christopher Millares, Makati traffic investigator, said the...

Rehabilitating riverside settlements.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Anna Marie A. Karaos, Institute on Church and Social Issues THREE MONTHS AFTER STORM ONDOY wreaked havoc on Metro Manila, a workable solution has yet to be found for rehabilitating the riverside settlements whose inhabitants suffered...

Santa in Balintawak.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Denis Murphy IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW IT feels to be a presidential candidate, a movie star or even a pope, just dress up as Santa Claus and go to a poor area of Metro Manila. You will need bodyguards to protect you, not from...

RP foreign debt rises to $53.1B.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo THE COUNTRYS FOREIGN debt rose as of end-September from the end-June level due to the governments heavy reliance on foreign borrowings. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday reported that the countrys...

Did you know.
December 30, 2009... WHILE Jose Rizal was not hurt prior to his execution, his brother Paciano was tortured by authorities to force him to connect his younger brother to the Katipunan. But Paciano did not implicate Jose Rizal. Cyril L. Bonabente, Inquirer Research

Disasters, crisis cut Central Luzon gains.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon DISASTERS SPAWNED BY floods and the economic crisis have set back efforts in Central Luzon to sustain its rise from the destruction wrought by Mount Pinatubos eruptions almost two decades ago. ...

DOH readies ghoulish tools for revelry: bone saws.
December 30, 2009... BAGUIO CITYIT MAY BE A ghoulish practice worthy of popular Internet character Dr. Horrible, but government doctors have already unpacked bone saws and drills in anticipation of new burn casualties from the New Year revelry, Health Secretary...

Consecration.
December 30, 2009... THIS MAY BE THE LAST TIME THE COUNTRY observes Rizal Day on December 30. The National Historical Institute supports bills moving the date from the anniversary of Rizals execution to that of his birth, June 19. It is more convenient because it...

Experts to meet to prepare RP economy for global rebound.
December 30, 2009... FOREIGN AND LOcal experts are set to meet here next month to help prepare the Philippine economy for a global rebound and improve its competitiveness as it makes the transition into a new set of national leaders, the British Embassy has...

Firecrackers harmful to animals, too.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Tina G. Santos ENVIRONMENT WATCHDOG ECOWASTE Coalition and animal rights advocates People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) and Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) have appealed to the public to forego the use of...

God spoke in Ilokano to us 100 years ago, says Bible translator.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Maurice Malanes, Baguio City IMAGINE JESUS CHRIST AS AN Ilocano preaching in the language commonly used in northern Luzon. This was one advice Protestant Bishop Juan Marigza had to bear in mind when he and other members of an...

New horseracing rule to hasten prize release.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Musong R. Castillo THE PHILIPPINE RACING COMMISsion (Philracom) will hand down a new directive next week ordering all entities that sponsor and hold special races to pay owners of winning horses their prizes no more than 30 days after...

Manny adored only inside the ring?
December 30, 2009... Byline: Beth Celis BEFORE THE Manila Film Festival entries were shown in 800 cinemas nationwide, I was already sure Wapakman would be a big box office hit. And why not? To start with, leading man Manny Pacquiao is the idol of the entire...

Lakas head says shift in voters choice to favor Gibo in long run.
December 30, 2009... ALABEL, SARANGANITHERE will be a significant shift of choice among voters in favor of administration presidential candidate Gilbert Gibo Teodoro because of his qualifications, Sarangani Gov. Rene Miguel Dominguez said yesterday. Dominguez,...

Lights of his life dont know fate of lighthouse keeper.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Jeannette I. Andrade WHILE SEARCH AND REtrieval operations are continuing for the bodies of the 24 passengers of the MV Catalyn B, the family of a lighthouse keeper who reportedly hitched a ride on the vessel have no idea what...

Low turnout in extended voters registration.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Cathy C. Yamsuan THE COMMISSION ON ELECtions (Comelec) reported a generally low turnout in its five-day extended voter registration that ended yesterday, save for some urban areas where local offices were swamped by last-minute...

Luzon bettor wins P111-M lotto jackpot.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Julie M. Aurelio A LONE BETTOR FROM LUZON will have a bang-up new year after he or she correctly picked the right six numbers to win the P111-million 6/49 SuperLotto jackpot last night. The winning combination 15-27-17-37-18-11 won...

Makers say its OK to give firecrackers to cops.
December 30, 2009... CAMP GEN. ALEJO SANTOS, BulacanIts alright for police to accept firecrackers and other pyrotechnic products from manufacturers as Christmas and New Year gifts but they should not demand. Members of the Philippine Pyrotechnic Manufacturers and...

Marine colonel faces physical injuries rap from fellow detainee.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Julie M. Aurelio A DETAINED ARMY MAJOR HAS FILED A complaint in the Quezon City Prosecutors Office against a Marine colonel, also a detainee, for allegedly attacking him in Camp Aguinaldo early this month. Maj. Jason Aquino filed...

Metros top cops face evaluation.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Nina Calleja METRO MANILA POLICE DISTRICT DIRECTORS and station commanders will soon undergo an extensive evaluation of their capabilities, after which they will be graded accordingly in order to raise standards in the service. ...

A nation in waiting.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Michael L. Tan ONE DAY A FEW MONTHS BACK, WHILE TRAPPED IN A traffic gridlock, I thought I should write about how so much of our lives as Filipinos involves waiting. I would have wanted the ideas to percolate more, but the other day,...

Mother Lily wants to know why Panday is Best Picture.
December 30, 2009... Byline: Marinel R. Cruz PREDICTABLY, NOT EVERYones happy with the results of the annual Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Producer Mother Lily Monteverde, whose films Mano Po 6: A Mothers Love and Shake, Rattle and Roll 11 are entries to...

Chuaquico, Custodio power MTBA.
December 30, 2009... LOUIE CHUAQUICO ESTABLISHED a national youth record to power his partnership with Kevin Custodio to the boys doubles title yesterday in the 17th PBC National Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships in Manila. Representing the Manila Tenpin Bowling...

Mudflow warning aired; 3 evacuees die in camps.
December 30, 2009... LEGAZPI CITYWEATHER EXperts yesterday warned villagers of the danger of mudflows from rains that may hit Mayon Volcano this weekend, as the first reports of deaths filtered out of evacuation camps sheltering nearly 50,000 people. Two elderly...