Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from March 2002, page 16

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from March 2002

Red Bull tames Hapee-RP.
March 10, 2002... Byline: June Navarro GAMES TODAY: (Ynares Center) 4p.m.-FedEx vs Alaska 6p.m.-Shell vs San Miguel BATANG Red Bull erased the stigma of a lopsided setback against Alaska after beating Hapee-RP Team in overtime, 90-82, last...

A continuing struggle.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David MGA kababayang tunay na kapatid,/tunghayan ang aming tapat na paghibik,/tapunan ng awa't mahabag sa tingin/nang mga babayeng dito'y nagsititik. (Countryfolk and true siblings/pay heed to our sincere...

Gov't driver for his wife? So what? says Roco.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Donna S. Cueto YES, his wife uses a Department of Education driver assigned to him. And yes, he used a private helicopter to visit schoolbuilding constructions once last year. But these are not significant issues according to...

Red tide clarification.
March 10, 2002... MATI, Davao Oriental-Shellfish traders in the protected Pujada Bay have urged the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to clarify its report on red tide contamination here. Sales of shellfish from the bay have significantly dropped...

Human rights violations.
March 10, 2002... LUCENA CITY--The Task Force Tanggol-Karapatan, an alliance of cause-oriented groups in Southern Tagalog, accused the military of committing at least 42 cases of human rights violations last year. Nancy Rada, Karapatan spokesperson, said the...

Cebu mayor collapses.
March 10, 2002... CEBU CITY-Mayor Tomas Osmena was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed while attending a wedding at the Metropolitan Cathedral at about 3 p.m. yesterday. Nagiel Banacia, city public information officer, said the mayor suffered from...

Seaba meet starts today.
March 10, 2002... THE TRUE strength of RP-Spring Cooking Oil will be known when it battles Aspac-Texmaco of Indonesia at 4 p.m. today at the start of the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (Seaba) Champion's Cup for Men at the Cebu City Coliseum. Led...

God's reminder.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Al S. Mendoza AFTER the third round of the Ericsson Philippine Open in 1998, Frankie Minoza was the leader by one over a 25-year-old, 6-foot-1 American named Christian Chernock, a 177-pounder from Plano, Texas. Back then,...

'Miracle worker' teaches deaf-mute kids to speak.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Tina Arceo-Dumlao FOR the 150 students of the Philippine Institute for the Deaf, Julie Esguerra is something of a miracle worker. As Jesus Christ made the blind see and the lame walk, Esguerra is making the deaf-mute speak....

QC 'terror' killed with his own gun.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Agnes E. Donato A MAN who allegedly terrorized a Quezon City neighborhood on Friday night was shot and killed with his own gun, which he used to threaten people. Edilberto Malinao, 31, of Sta. Lucia Village, Las Pinas City,...

Can Erap run in 2004?
March 10, 2002... YES, he can, says Miriam Defensor Santiago, former chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes and laws. Santiago is responding to a "Talk of the Town" questionx "Can Erap run in 2004 if the Sandigabayan has...

Going ga-ga over Gibson in 'We Were Soldiers'.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Leah Salterio I HARDLY enjoyed Vietnam war movies. Oliver Stone's "Platoon" may have won best picture and best director honors at the Oscars in 1986, but I don't remember raving about the film. Even when Stone returned to the...

UST, FEU spikers wallop opponents.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Dennis Eroa UAAP standouts University of Santo Tomas and Far Eastern University debuted in overpowering styles as they whipped their respective foes yesterday at the start of the much-awaited 6th Nestea Beach Volley University...

Hollywood goes to war again.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Nestor U. Torre "BLAME" it on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C., but war movies are once again the rage in Hollywood. After "Pearl Harbor," "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Black Hawk Down," now comes...

Water crisis in Baguio to worsen this summer.
March 10, 2002... BAGUIO CITY-Because of lack of rains since December, the city's water reserve has gone down by 40 percent, prompting the Baguio Water District (BWD) to resort to drastic measures like water rationing. The city's water requirement is...

Who'll get TV rights to RP wedding of year?
March 10, 2002... Byline: Leah Salterio IF IRENE Marcos-Araneta and Jackie Ejercito-Lopez, and even Richard and Lucy, and Aga and Charlene, could do it, why couldn't Mikey Arroyo? An insider of a giant television network told the INQUIRER that the...

Woman slain by 2 inside Quiapo motel.
March 10, 2002... AN UNIDENTIFIED woman was strangled to death by a couple inside a motel in Quiapo, Manila on Friday. Police described the victim as between 30 and 35 years old, clad in a striped red, blue and white shirt and denim shorts. A nylon...

This CEO used to sell ham in Quiapo.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Margie Quimpo-Espino PHILAMLIFE president Jose L. Cuisia stands out in a crowd because of his blond hair and very fair skin. His features come from a mother who is part German and a father who is part Spanish. He admits he...

34 doctors, 4 businessmen get vital lifeline from banks.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Myrna Rodriguez-Co CABANATUAN CITY-The Logo of Premiere General Hospital of Nueva Ecija Inc. has 34 loops in it. These stand for the 30 doctors and four businessmen who, in 1995, got together-against many odds-to put up the...

GI Joe's reading stuff gives rise to a very popular bookstore.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Tina Arceo-Dumlao THERE is a saying in the activist community that you cannot claim to be a revolutionary or a leftist if you do not know Popular Bookstore. Popular Bookstore, after all, is the only bookstore in town that...

Don't just survive, go and dominate.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Dante M. Velasco "The Agenda" By Michael Hammer Crown Business, 2001 AFTER reading this new book of Michael Hammer, author of the famous "Reengineering the Corporation"-I recall this announcement rendered into a...

Spanish chamber orchestra wows audiences.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Jaime Picornell MORE than 500 music enthusiasts filled the ballroom of Casino Espanol de Cebu for the performance of La Orquesta de Camara de El Ampurdan, brought from Spain by Instituto Cervantes and Agencia Espanola de...

Is the beautiful Filipina no longer world-class?
March 10, 2002... EDGAR ALLAN, fashion designer Beauty pageants have become big business with major multinational conglomerates as sponsors. Sponsors are interested in highly populated areas where their products can be widely promoted. And since the...

Traveling on plastic.
March 10, 2002... IF YOU'RE one of those credit card holders who rarely spend on what are called big-ticket purchases (appliances, furniture, computers and their accoutrements), then travel is something you can splurge on, especially with summer dancing in....

Queenless and winless for a generation.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Alex Y. Vergara WHEN was the last time a Filipina won an international beauty title? Feminists may howl in protest over such a question, but like it or not, beauty contests will remain part of Pinoy culture, much like politics,...

Once upon an enchanting garden.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Cathy Babao Guballa ENCHANTED is the first word that comes to mind when you step into Fernwood Gardens (tels. 925-0020 or 926-2493). Stepping into this 7,000-sq-m property tucked away in a nondescript and quiet section of...

St. Joseph Shrine in Batangas marks 237th year.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Josephine Darang THE MAGNIFICENT church of St. Joseph in San Jose, Batangas is 237 years old. Established in 1765, it was only last year that we knew about it when we wrote on the canonization of Bishop Joseph Marello. St....

Virginia Garcia's memories of Jolo.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Best These days it would be hard to imagine middle class children playing on the beach at Jolo, hunting for shells and playing the games kids love to play. Before World War II, the water around Jolo was clear, free of...

The Mavens of Malate.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Gina Abuyuan-Llanes IT IS way past one in the morning, and Malate is gearing itself up to welcome another wave of revelers. Over at Cafe Havana on Adriatico St., expats and Latino-lovers shimmy to Bo Razon. Along Julio Nakpil,...

A new day for Sarah.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Pennie Azarcon-dela Cruz NO, she'd rather not talk about that ignominious day. It's all in the movie, starring Vina Morales, she says. "Ganong-ganon ang nangyari (That's exactly what happened)," says Sarah Balabagan, her...

Flying solo.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Eric S. Caruncho WILL the real Lynn Sherman please stand up? Those who know her as the lead singer of jazz group Ugoy-Ugoy, as well as those johnnies-come-lately who know her primarily from her role as Monique Wilson's...

In the swim of things.
March 10, 2002... Byline: Chet M. Espino HE'S the most qualified among 61 applicants, and the only one who didn't lobby for the position. Thus did President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo herself explain her choice of Eric Buhain as chair of the Philippine...

Abalos 'exploring all angles' in trash deal.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra THE METRO Manila Development Authority is still negotiating with Jancom Environmental Corp. even as the Supreme Court is studying an appeal to junk the allegedly anomalous garbage deal between the government...

Aeta women lead anti-US caravan in Central Luzon.
March 8, 2002... CLARK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE-Aeta women from Pampanga, Zambales and Tarlac are going to do the unusual today, International Women's Day. They will perform the "matubag," a tribal war dance reserved for men, to protest the Philippine-US...

No lack of materials on 19th century Philippines.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Ambeth R. Ocampo WHILE e-mail and texting have changed the way in which we live, I see these as challenges or even handicaps for future historians studying our life and times. One of the reasons I made a whole career that began...

Housing plan for athletes up.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Marc Reyes NATIONAL athletes "squatting" at the age-old Rizal Memorial Sports Complex may finally sigh with relief. That is after Philippine Sports Commission chair Eric Buhain yesterday announced that he started talks with...

Estrada suffers another legal blow for perjury.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Volt Contreras DEPOSED President Joseph Estrada suffered another blow at the Sandiganbayan yesterday, a week after dismissing his defense lawyers over his loss of faith in the justice system. The anti-graft court's special...

Basketball Hall of Fame.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Manolo R. Inigo ELEVEN outstanding players of the past will be eyeing final slots in this year's third induction ceremony of the National Basketball Hall of Fame. The nominees (in alphabetical order together with their stints in...

Danding can still keep control of SMC.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Donna S. Cueto EVEN if he loses, he wins. San Miguel Corp. chair Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco could still retain majority control of the country's biggest food conglomerate even if the Sandiganbayan rules that the contested...

Gloria calls Davide Filipino for all seasons.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Carlito Pablo PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday extolled Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. as "a Filipino for all seasons" as she defended him against charges hurled by deposed President Joseph Estrada. President Macapagal...

4 top leaders out to defuse Erap 'crisis'.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Rocky Nazareno and Juliet L. Javellana FOUR senior political leaders met yesterday to find ways of getting the Sandiganbayan to allow ousted President Joseph Estrada to seek medical help abroad "without necessarily creating...

Foundations for real political parties first.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Amando Doronila WITH DUE respect to Speaker Jose de Venecia's good intentions, his bill seeking to reduce corruption in the electoral system through state financing of political parties is an idea for which the political...

Drive against red tape.
March 8, 2002... TO "CLEANSE the Land Transportation Office of red tape and corruption" and to prevent the opening of illegal drug test centers for drivers, drug testing operators yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement with LTO chief Roberto Lastimoso....

Lamitan folk honor Ediborah as a heroine.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Julie S. Alipala LAMITAN, Basilan-The celebration here of International Women's Day today is focused on Ediborah Yap, the Filipino nurse taken by the Abu Sayyaf during the June 2 siege of this town and held hostage since. ...

The wrong war?
March 8, 2002... FOREIGN journalists covering the Balikatan war exercises in Basilan have been wondering aloud if the US Special Forces are not fighting the wrong war. Time magazine's Anthony Spaeth, for instance, reported recently that while the Abu...

Filipinas now live longer, get better education.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Gerald G. Lacuarta FILIPINO women are living longer, more of them are able to finish college, their numbers are increasing in the judiciary and in elective positions in government. These were some of the findings culled by...

Gloria off the air, but not for long.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Dona Z. Pazzibugan PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo will not be off the air for long, after all. Her media planners have already come up with a replacement for the weekly program "May Gloria ang Bukas Mo." The President axed...

Group opposes Bohol reclamation project.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Chito A. Fuentes, PDI Visayas Bureau TAGBILARAN CITY--A broad multi-sectoral coalition has been formed to oppose the proposed P1.6-billion Tagbilaran Bay Reclamation Project (TBRP). The Concerned Coalition Against...

Neighbors.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Naty Lapuz-Templo BEING social creatures, people cannot live without neighbors-the ones next door, the ones you like to smile at or nod to, the ones you bat the breeze with over the fence, the ones you can borrow a head of onion...

GMA scraps heritage bodies.
March 8, 2002... BAGUIO CITY-Officials manning two inscribed World Heritage sites were caught unaware by a directive of President Macapagal-Arroyo that abolished the Banaue Rice Terraces Task Force (BRTTF) and the Vigan Heritage Commission (VHC) along with 59...

'Illusione' best seen in an intimate venue.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Alex Y. Vergara WHAT happens when a supposedly well-loved, sure-fire gay musical revue, which "Illusione" purports to present, is transported to the big stage? You get a disjointed production that at times appeared flat for...

Answered prayers.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Kris Aquino CONGRATULATIONS and best wishes to Kim and Felicia Atienza, my first matrimonial inaanak. The reason I was chosen to be their godmother is quite simply because Kim joined my Baclaran praying group the day after he...

'Lumads' lift protest outside radio station.
March 8, 2002... BUTUAN CITY-Tribal protesters in front of the Bombo Radyo station here on Tuesday peacefully dispersed after a dialogue with police officials. Before the protesters lifted their barricade, Bombo Radyo personnel were already preparing to...

MMDA probes 'secret dumpsite'.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra METRO Manila Development Authority chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. yesterday ordered an investigation of a "secret dumpsite" near Metro Manila where garbage from the metropolis is supposedly being dumped. "We...

Still no trial for 29 Moro detainees nabbed during Erap's 'all-out war'.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Ferdinand O. Zuasola, PDI Mindanao Bureau MATI, Davao Oriental-They have been detained much earlier than deposed President Joseph Estrada whose declaration of an "all-out war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) two...

Napocor debts to hit P310B, says Psalm.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo THE POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. yesterday said National Power Corp.'s total debts reached about P310 billion ($6.07 billion) last year, up 6.16 percent from P292 billion in 2000. ...

Remembrance of things past.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Neal H. Cruz THE PHILETS Foundation, an association of alumni of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Sto. Tomas, gave a testimonial dinner last March 2 for two of its members in the foreign service,...

I paid P1M, hostage tells lawmakers in joint hearing.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Rocky Nazareno and Carlito Pablo SEN. Sergio Osmena III yesterday produced an attache case filled with bills and asked a witness whether it was similar to what she saw when the military supposedly accepted ransom payment for the...

Palace to scrap anti-smuggling body; Customs to do the job.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Dona Z. Pazzibugan MALACANANG will soon abolish the anti-smuggling task force of the National Anti-Crime Commission. President Macapagal-Arroyo said she wants to give Antonio Bernardo, the newly appointed Customs chief, a...

Probe Napocor auditors-bishop.
March 8, 2002... BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya-A Catholic bishop here has urged National Power Corp. officials to investigate members of an internal audit team that supposedly cleared the Napocor regional manager here of graft and abuse charges. Bishop Ramon...

Proposal to put Congress under 1 roof revived.
March 8, 2002... Byline: C. Balana THE SENATE has formed a committee that would pursue an old proposal to put the Senate and the House of Representatives under one roof. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pi-mentel Jr. said that upon his suggestion, the...

Silent terror.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Conrado de Quiros I'VE gotten several messages on the e-mail about it, but nothing has driven home the point more than the images on TV. Images of sere earth, dotted only by tufts of obstinate weeds, cracked in many parts, the...

11 radio stations allowed to operate.
March 8, 2002... CAUAYAN CITY-The National Telecommunications Commission has lifted the suspension of operations of 11 radio stations of Newsounds Broadcasting Network, an affiliate of Bombo Radyo-Philippines, pending a hearing of the case. In a...

Giving voice to all our words.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David A HAPPY International Women's Day to all! I'm running in this space a message I sent to be read at the symposium yesterday sponsored by "Bantay Familia," an inter-agency network based in Legazpi, Albay. The...

Roco shuns luxury cars, flies instead.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Donna S. Cueto EDUCATION Secretary Raul Roco has shunned the use of luxury vehicles for his travels here, but he has found a better and faster way to visit schools in the provinces-by helicopter. His two-day use of a...

Agriculturist appointed.
March 8, 2002... TAGBILARAN CITY--The Civil Service Commission has upheld the appointment of provincial agriculturist Liza Quirog whom Gov. Erico Aumentado refused to accept as part of his official family. Quirog was appointed by Aumentado's predecessor, Rene...

IRRI medical aid.
March 8, 2002... LOS BANOS, Laguna-The International Rice Research Institute said it has extended medical services to 1,263 patients in different villages in Laguna. Of this total, 351 patients were tested for blood sugar level and 77 for cholesterol and...

Powerful bomb defused.
March 8, 2002... MONKAYO, Compostela Valley-Ordnance experts in Southern Mindanao recovered a powerful homemade bomb near a bridge in Sitio Liboton, Barangay Baylo here on Tuesday. The Explosive Ordnance Device (EOD) team defused the bomb, which was made up...

Land for hybrid rice.
March 8, 2002... BATAC, Ilocos Norte-To realize the government's agricultural modernization program, President Macapagal-Arroyo launched the propagation of hybrid rice. The Mariano Marcos State University here received 1,000 hectares of land in grant for the...

Bayan Muna leader missing.
March 8, 2002... CABANATUAN CITY-The wives of the abducted organizer of the party-list Bayan Muna and his friend appealed to authorities to intensify their search for their husbands who have been missing for a month now. Cristina Orcino and Aleli...

Ex-workers air appeal.
March 8, 2002... MARIVELES, Bataan-Some 200 former employees of the Bataan Economic Zone (BEZ), who were forced to retire from the service following a reorganization at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), are pressing for the release of their...

68 new school buildings.
March 8, 2002... MALOLOS, Bulacan-Sixty-eight new school buildings and a modern provincial jail will be inaugurated in the province this month. Funding for the new buildings was covered by a P300-million budget of the provincial government. The buildings are...

Slain Ermita man 'a known tourist thief,' police say.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Jerome Aning A WESTERN Police District official yesterday said the dead man whose body was dumped in front of a mall in Ermita, Manila Tuesday night was a "known tourist robber." Supt. Manolo Martinez, chief of WPD Station 5,...

Three charged with killing of student.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Nelson F. Flores BINANGONAN, Rizal police have filed murder charges against three suspects in the killing of a 17-year old high school student in the town two weeks ago. Charged before the Rizal provincial prosecutor's office...

Opportunity knocks twice for Pip.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Leah Salterio WHO WOULD have thought the other half of the mega-popular and romantic Guy and Pip duo would one day play contravida and be extremely good at it? But even Tirso Cruz III himself did not imagine himself playing...

Sharon Cuneta, so happy and 'gay'.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Nestor U. Torre LAST Sunday on her TV show, Sharon Cuneta let her hair down (and changed from one colored wig to another) as her entire program focused on "Illusione," the hit impersonation musical, revue at Onstage Greenbelt, as...

Wait for court decision on border dispute, Pasig told.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Nelson F. Flores SHUT UP and just wait for the court to decide. This was what Cainta Mayor Nicanor Felix told Pasig City Mayor Soledad Eusebio in connection with their ongoing border dispute. Eusebio countered that Felix...

Women's group raps gov't for 'misusing' gender funds.
March 8, 2002... BAGUIO CITY-Militant women workers assailed government agencies and local government units for not using the gender and development (GAD) funds to finance women-related programs. Tonette Dizon, secretary general of the Confederation for...

'Worst over,' Mindanao folk told.
March 8, 2002... "THE WORST is over," Raymundo Punongbayan, the government's chief volcanologist, yesterday said to allay fears of a volcanic eruption and a huge tidal wave following a strong earthquake in Central Mindanao. Hundreds of villagers in...

US discussing multilateral open skies deal with Apec.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Abigail L. Ho THE UNITED STATES is "informally" discussing with member-economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum a multilateral open skies agreement that will give signatories full open skies access, according to...

Ayala to sell stake in Makro, MRT.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao PROPERTY giant Ayala Land Inc. wants to divest its minority stakes in retailer Pilipinas Makro Inc. and Edsa MRT-3 operator Metro Rail Transit Corp. in order to focus on its core property businesses. ALI...

DBP musical chairs.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Victor C. Agustin IT LOOKS like the contract of DBP president/CEO Remedios Macalincag, which expires today, may be extended anew. Malacanang apparently has to schedule the timing, more than the choice of candidate, for the...

GMA urged to support foreign investments in mining sector.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. FOREIGN chambers are urging President Macapagal-Arroyo to declare her unequivocal support to foreign investments in the mining industry, which have the potential to generate $1.2 billion in exports and $640...

The meaning of due process.
March 8, 2002... Byline: Josephus B. Jimenez VOLUNTARY arbitration, along with mediation and conciliation, is one of the voluntary modes of labor dispute settlement, which under both the Philippine Constitution and the Labor Code, is the preferred mode...