Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from March 2009

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from March 2009

Abus threaten to behead one hostage today.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Tarra Quismundo DINNER OF RICE AND FISH WAS served as usual last night, but the three abducted workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) refused to eat in the forested Indanan hideout of their Abu Sayyaf...

Tuition freeze in 178 C. Luzon schools.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon CITY OF SAN FERNANDOMAJORITY OF 200,000 college students and their parents in Central Luzon will enjoy a respite from increases in tuition and other fees in school year 2009-2010. This...

Govt allots P58.5-M to NPA-freed villages.
March 31, 2009... NAGA CITYTHE NATIONAL government has allotted P58.5-million for villages recently cleared by the military of New Peoples Army (NPA) influence. Tomasito Monzon, presidential assistant for Bicol, and chair of the Regional Kalahi...

Palace backs CHR probe.
March 31, 2009... MALACANANG YESTERDAY vowed full support for the Commission on Human Rights in its effort to end the vigilante-style killings in Davao City, and prosecute those behind them. It said President Macapagal-Arroyo had instructed both the...

Pointers for peace and humility.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Recah Trinidad MUHAMMAD ALI WAS APTLY called a one-man festival during his prime. Ali, the greatest, was not exagerrating when he said he could stop the world whenever he fought. So, where does this put Manny Pacquiao,...

Keep foreigners from trouble spots until stable.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan A HONG KONG WRITER HAS DRAWN FURIOUS protests here after he wrote that the Filipinos claim to the Spratlys should not be taken seriously as they come from a nation of servants thriving on low wages abroad....

Cocky Hatton fires warning shot.
March 31, 2009... MANNY PACQUIAO WILL BE IN FOR A shock in his May 2 showdown with Ricky Hatton as the British Hitman claims hes in the best shape of his life. Ive got a little bit more finesse and Im thinking about what Im doing instead of steaming in...

Battle of Grandmasters: Wesley virtual champ.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Roy Luarca Standings after 10 rounds: MEN: 16.0 pointsW. So; 13.0R. Antonio; 12.0E. Torre; 11.5D. Laylo; 11.0J. Gomez, J. Sadorra; 10.0M. Paragua, R. Bitoon; 8.0R. Nolte; 7.0J. Gonzales; 5.5B. Villamayor; 5.0R. Dableo ...

Cop who killed amok asked to explain.
March 31, 2009... Byline: DJ Yap THE CHIEF OF THE PASIG CITY Police has asked for a written explanation from the officer who shot dead a 17-year-old suspect who ran amuck in the police headquarters and stabbed eight persons, including the desk officer...

Cops nab ex-inmate for starting fire.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Marlon Ramos THE POLICE HAVE ARRESTED a man who had just been released from prison after he allegedly started a fire that left more than 40 families homeless and five people injured in a slum area in Las Pinas City the other...

DA to build roads, irrigation system for jobs.
March 31, 2009... NAGA CITYTHE DEPARTment of Agriculture has to focus on farm-to-market roads and irrigation projects to generate employment, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Saturday. These two are the critical components in generating employment...

DENR to hire 3,700 farmers in E. Visayas.
March 31, 2009... TACLOBAN CITYTHE REgional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Eastern Visayas will hire more than 3,000 persons under its various programs, Regional Executive Director Regidor De Leon said on Saturday. De...

Did you know.
March 31, 2009... THE LATE MUSICIAN Lucio San Pedro and painter Carlos Botong Francisco had many similarities. Both were born in Angono, Rizal (San Pedro in 1913 and Francisco a year later), both were National Artists, and they passed away in their hometown on...

DOE orders oil firms to open books.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Amy R. Remo ENERGY SECRETARY ANGELO T. Reyes has ordered big oil companies as well as independent oil producers and importers to submit their 2008 audited financial statements to show that they were earning reasonably. On the...

Duterte tells CHR: Prove death squad.
March 31, 2009... DAVAO CITYCHARges and stout denials flew as the Philippines top human rights watchdog body yesterday launched an unprecedented inquiry into what it called one of the most audacious violations against the right to life in our times. The...

Vigilante rule.
March 31, 2009... AT A MULTISECTORAL MEETING IN DAVAO CITY last month, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said: If you are doing an illegal activity in my city, if you are a criminal or part of a syndicate that preys on the innocent people of the city, for as long as I am...

Maids and mothers.
March 31, 2009... THE OTHER DAY, AKBAYAN REP. RISA HONTIveros condemned as disgusting, derogatory and vile an article written by a Hong Kong columnist and broadcaster calling the Philippines a nation of servants. Writing about the Philippines and Chinas...

Even inmates join Earth Hour campaign.
March 31, 2009... BAGUIO CITYTHE CITYS ONLY jail switched off its lights at 8:30 p.m. Saturday to join the Earth Hour campaign, allowing its inmates to spend two hours listening to the Cordilleras top country performers. Salvador Tubedan, president of the...

PNP experts tell how to catch a hacker.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Tarra Quismundo JUST AS CRIMINALS ARE identified through clues left on the scene, computer forensic experts may trace infiltration into computer networks and sites through digital fingerprints hackers leave in a targets hard...

From protracted to perpetual struggle.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jocelyn R. Uy (Second of two parts) THE WAR THAT THE BESPECTAcled English teacher Jose Maria Sison launched 40 years ago has become a perpetual, rather than a protracted conflict. The battleground is not only in the...

3 hearing-impaired men figure in brawl over girl.
March 31, 2009... Byline: DJ Yap JEALOUSY OVER A WOMAN led to a fight among three hearing-impaired men in a house in Pasig City on Sunday afternoon, according to the police. Rommer P. Banaag, 21, and Wilfredo A. Geronimo, 28, both deaf-mutes, were...

HK mag apologizes for column calling RP nation of servants.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jerome Aning THE PUBLISHERS OF A HONG KONG MAGAzine yesterday apologized for an article that labelled the Philippines a nation of servants. The apology was issued by Asia City Publishing Group (ACPG), publisher of HK...

Home-made monsters.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Juan L. Mercado THE RE-INVESTIGATION OF THE 2000 MURder of PR man Salvador Bubby Dacer and his driver has two persons twisting in the wind: Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Bigote (whoever he is). Theres now buck-passing. But isnt the...

Lawmaker says 185 for Con-ass.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. ITS A DONE DEAL. Up to 12 senators are likely to join a House bandwagon to call a constituent assembly (Con-ass) and amend the Constitution, Nueva Ecija Rep. Eduardo Nonato Joson said yesterday. ...

Lawyer: Jamby not entitled to aunts estate.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Allison W. Lopez and Christine O. Avendano SEN. ANA CONSUELO JAMBY MADRIGAL has no stake whatsoever in the properties of her late billionaire aunt as her controversial will, deemed valid by the Court of Appeals, covered the entire...

Life terms for 2 men who sold drugs to cops.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Julie M. Aurelio A QUEZON CITY COURT HAS found two men guilty of selling illegal drugs to undercover policemen on the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City in 2003. In a 10-page decision, Judge Severino...

Man stabbed in Malabon.
March 31, 2009... A MAN who was watching a beauty contest in Malabon was stabbed to death over the weekend. Alvin Manansala, 25, a resident of Sitio 6 in Catmon, Malabon, was declared dead on arrival at the Pagamutang Bayan ng Malabon on Sunday after he was...

Jobless man shot dead.
March 31, 2009... A JOBLESS man was shot dead as he was walking home in Barangay Gulod, Novaliches, Quezon City. Police identified the victim as Conrado Legarda, 37, a resident of St. Anthony Street in the barangay. Supt. Gerardo Ratuita of the Quezon City...

Cops to tap bgy watchmen.
March 31, 2009... WITH more burglaries carried out by criminals who rent apartments beside their targeted establishments, the Quezon City Police District said it was considering tapping barangay watchmen to monitor the presence of new faces in a community....

Draft Ordinance 7177 still on agenda.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Erika Sauler A CONTROVERSIAL MEASURE SEEKING TO amend Manilas zoning ordinance, thus allowing the so-called Big 3 oil firms to continue operating the Pandacan oil depot, would still be taken up by the city council despite an...

The diminishing of Alex Magno.
March 31, 2009... Byline: John Nery ONE MORE WORD ABOUT THE TONY BLAIR speaking tour. It may have been the most complete triumph by a British dignitary on Philippine soil since, well, Brig. Gen. William Draper landed unopposed, somewhere in Malate, in...

Gonzalez confirms Mancao not coming.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Norman Bordadora THE REOPENING OF THE DACer-Corbito double murder case will have to wait some more. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez confirmed yesterday that the scheduled arrival today from the United States of the star...

400 PDEA personnel tested for illegal drugs.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Tarra V. Quismundo APRIL FOOLS DAY CAME early for some 400 employees of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). They were earlier told to report for work yesterday to attend a personnel indoctrination session. It later...

Still, Panlilio for president.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Conrado de Quiros WHEN I WROTE THAT COLUMN, PANLILIO for president, last Tuesday, I didnt know Among Ed was running for president. I had heard rumors he was, but didnt know whether he would or not. Well, he seems to be open...

Fr. Reuters home sold to mall.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Doris Dumlao, Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Jerome Aning XAVIER HOUSE, A PROPERTY of the Society of Jesus on Pedro Gil Street in Sta. Ana, Manila, that served as a broadcast hub of the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, has been sold to...

Reyes urges smokers to sue cigarette firms.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Allison W. Lopez SAYING HIS BROTHER VINcent has finally given a face to smokings ill effects, Fr. Robert Reyes and anti-smoking advocates yesterday urged other victims to file cases against tobacco companies. Reyes said the...

Women bearing brunt of the crisis.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David DURING THE ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1997, Filipino women bore the brunt of the economic consequences. Aida Jean Manipon, a faculty member of Miriam College, speaking at the Womens Summit of the Provincial...

RP, Papua New Guinea ink pacts on fishing, corals.
March 31, 2009... THEY COULDNT HAVE PICKED a more appropriate setting. Amid a backdrop of sun and sand on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea yesterday agreed to develop their respective fishing industries...

SMC assures PCGG on coco funds.
March 31, 2009... THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON GOOD Government (PCGG) said yesterday it was pleased with San Miguel Corp.s recent string of substantial investments, particularly in the energy sector, and expects handsome returns from these business ventures....

Tubid too big to be ignored.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jasmine W. Payo A CAREER-HIGH PERFORMANCE FROM the fiery Ronald Tubid propelled Barangay Ginebra back into the winning track in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup. He gave us a lift, making big spot-up shots, defending the best he...

Trail of beheadings.
March 31, 2009... AS A BIRTHDAY GIFT TO then President Joseph Estrada, the Abu Sayyaf beheaded hostages Dante Uban and Nelson Enriquez on April 19, 2000. The soldiers-turned-teachers were among 53 civilians abducted from two schools in Basilan the previous...

POC: TRO cant stop billiards polls.
March 31, 2009... Byline: June Navarro DESPITE THE THREAT OF A TEMPOrary restraining order, the elections in the Billiards and Snookers Congress of the Philippines will push through, as ordered by the Philippine Olympic Committee. An Inquirer source...

Citizens will outgrow vigilante-worship.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ramon Tulfo WHEN LAW AND ORDER BREAK DOWN and the police and the courts dont do their job, good citizens form themselves into a group and take the law into their own hands. That was what happened in Americas Wild, Wild West....

Use it or lose it, Andaya says of funds.
March 31, 2009... LEGAZPI CITY under a new policy of the Department of Budget and Management, a government agency should fully expend its monthly budget or the DBM would take the money back. Use it or lose it, in short, is the new policy on fund releases...

RP govt websites vulnerable to hacking.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra and Jerome Aning WITHOUT A NATIONWIDE CYbersecurity program to keep hackers at bay, government websites in the Philippines are vulnerable to computer attacks, an official of the National Computer Center (NCC)...

Where history, architecture meet.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Sr. Mary Sarah Manapol, SPC, Contributor THE JESUITS HAVE BEEN OCcupying Xavier House since 1947 or for 62 years now. What is remarkable about this building is its architecturethe pillars on the ground floor facing the Pasig...

Winning the war without bullets.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jocelyn R. Uy ITS NOT A CASE OF AN EYE FOR AN eye, and a tooth for a tooth. Army Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy had every reason to wipe out encampments of the New Peoples Army, having been ambushed by communist guerrillas in the...

Wear and tear.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jen T. Tuazon I CONSIDER ONLY TWO THINGS IN LOOKING FOR A JOB: clean comfort rooms and no uniforms. Luckily my first job came with an office furnished with a decent bathroom (yes, an actual toilet and bath) which I had to...

Stimulus spending bloats budget deficit.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo STIMULUS SPENDING PUSHED THE GOVERNments deficit to P67 billion in the first two months of the year, or almost equal the P68.1-billion shortfall for the whole of 2008, according to Finance Secretary Margarito B....

Clark Electric sees rise in power demand.
March 31, 2009... CLARK ELECTRIC DISTRIBUtion Corp., a power distribution firm operating at the Clark economic zone, is allotting P200 million this year to beef up its system and prepare for future demand increases in its franchise area. In an interview...

Convergys plans to open 2 more BPO sites.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Abigail L. Ho RIDING ON THE CONTINUED BUSIness process outsourcing boom, Convergys is expected to open two more sites in the country within the year. In a statement issued yesterday, the company said it would remain true to...

Japanese-inspired village to rise in Tagaytay Highlands.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao UPSCALE LEISURE ESTATE DEVELOPER Belle Corp. is investing up to P400 million on a pioneering Japanese-inspired subdivision within the plush Tagaytay Highlands complex. The new residential community called...

Manila Water posts record income of P2.8B in 2008.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra THE MANILA WATER CO INC. posted its highest ever net income of P2.8 billion in 2008 from P2.4 billion in 2007, officials said. Company officials yesterday reported the figures during Manila Waters...

PNB generates P3.25B from sale of deposit notes.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK, the banking unit of taipan Lucio Tan, has raised P3.25 billion from the sale of high-yielding deposit notes. The long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCD) were priced at...

Sun Life reports increase in profit.
March 31, 2009... SUN LIFE OF CANADA (PHILIPPINES) INC., the life insurance arm of Sun Life Financial Philippines (SLFP), yesterday reported a 44-percent rise in net profit last year on the back of stable premium revenue and strong investment income despite...

Govt urged to release P1-B export fund.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Abigail L. Ho THE PHILIPPINE EXPORTERS CONfederation Inc. is urging the government to release as soon as possible the P1-billion export development fund that President Macapagal-Arroyo herself had committed to late last year. ...

World Bank sees OFW remittances shrinking 4%.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Michelle V. Remo THE WORLD BANK SAID THE PHILIPPINES may finally see an end this year to the trend of rising remittances, expecting inflows to decline by 4 percent from the 2008 level because of recession-induced job cuts in...

Psychic skills are not evil.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Jaime T. Licauco ALMOST EVERY PERSON has experienced spontaneous manifestation of psychic perception or power. When it happens, it is usually dismissed as mere coincidence not worth paying attention to. But when such...

Sugar-free food drives one to consume more fat.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Cory Quirino ACCORDING TO DR. EARL MINDELLS Vitamin Bible For The 21st Century, people who drink diet sodas or eat food with sugar substitutes end up eating an average of 11 percent more fat. Dr. Mindell says the body has a...

Job stress is not an excuse to gain weight.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Mitch Felipe, Contributor THE MOST STRESSFUL SITUAtions are often encountered at work. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, one experiences stress when the requirements of a job do not match the...

Why these beautiful bodies are into squash.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Cheche V. Moral TWEETIE DE LEON GONZALEZS friends are hooked. As the supermodel and wellness advocate prepares for her 2nd Celebrity Squash Cup project at Manila Polo Club on April 18, she has signed up some of her...

Sarah gets hefty bonus.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Dolly Anne Carvajal BOSS VIC DEL ROSARIO OF VIVA FILMS refutes allegations that their major star Sarah Geronimo got only 500K as talent fee for her two blockbuster movies, A Very Special Love and You Changed My Life, both joint...

Timid no more.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Marinel R. Cruz AS A COLLEGE STUDENT, LUCY TORRES was so shy, she would shake when asked to speak before an audience. During school presentations, I would hide behind my classmates, recounted the TV host, who is also the wife...

Welcome departure from cynical TV shows.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Nestor U. Torre LIFE HAS BECOME SO CHALlenging and complicated that some people have stopped believing in miracles. Instructively, however, others believe fiercely in miracles because life has become so challenging. When all else...

Sister courage.
March 31, 2009... Byline: Bayani San Diego Jr. To catch up with Womens Month and in celebration of a landmark movies 25th anniversary, the UP Film Institute (UPFI) mounted a screening of Mike de Leons Sister Stella L. Led by actors Vilma Santos and...

Abus insist on total AFP pullout.
March 30, 2009... TIME IS TICKING ON A THREAT by Abu Sayyaf kidnappers to behead three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held hostage on Jolo Island. A stalemate ensued yesterday even as the military was set to complete in the...

Bill to split Camarines Norte into 2 districts.
March 30, 2009... DAET, CAMARINES NORTECiting a population of more than 500,000, Rep. Liwayway Vinzons Chato of the lone district of the 12-town Camarines Norte has proposed the division of the province into Tagalog-speaking towns and Bicol-speaking ones, to...

Atienza shocked at dirty, murky Marilao River.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Carmela Reyes, Inquirer Central Luzon MARILAO, BULACANENVIRONment Secretary Lito Atienza went to this town on Sunday to lead the celebration of the Philippine Water Week. But he did not like what he saw in the Marilao River,...

Baguio church groups wage fight against John Hay casino.
March 30, 2009... BAGUIO CITYBISHOP CARLITO CENZON and Christian churches belonging to the Baguio Multisectoral Group (BMG) are marching to City Hall today to protest a casino agreement that was hidden from the public in a new lease contract covering Camp John...

CHR probes 800 kills by Davao death squad.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Nikko Dizon THE KILLINGS HAVE GONE ON FOR TOO LONG and its time to hold those responsible to account. With this message, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Chair Leila de Lima is set to open today a public inquiry into a wave...

It pains me that local equestrian is dying.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Manolo R. Inigo MULTI-AWARDED RIDER TONI LEVISTE IS SET to announce her plans for equestrian in 2009. The only Southeast Asian rider to see action in the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup Finals, Leviste will...

Crack Japan karters dominate Pagcor races.
March 30, 2009... THE PHILIPPINES MISSED OUT ON A TOP PODIUM finish as young Japanese karters swept the second leg of the 2009 Pagcor Sports KF2-KF3 Series recently at the Carmona Circuit Philippines in Carmona, Cavite. Tsubasa Takahashi and Kyohei...

Davao quintets dispute NBTC Minda crown.
March 30, 2009... CAGAYAN DE OROBENJAMIN ZOSA fired 17 points and Reden Celda shot 14 as Davao champion Megavia routed Oro Grande, 85-64, to forge an all-Davao championship clash with Energen in the Nokia National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) D-League...

Did you know.
March 30, 2009... THE UNIVERSITY of the East started out as the Philippine College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1947. The school on R. Papa Street in Sampaloc, Manila moved to the main campus on Claro M. Recto Avenue in 1948. In 1951, PCCBA was...

Panlilio bid new Church intervention.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Amando Doronila THE CLERGY IS ONE OF THE most underrepresented sectors in the formal power structure in the Philippines, although the Catholic Church has wielded considerable unofficial political power and influence in the...

Earth Hour transforms Makati Citys skyline.
March 30, 2009... Byline: DJ Yap FOR 60 MINUTES, THE MAKATI skyline was a skyline transformeddimmer, stiller and quieter as the city switched off its lights in the spirit of global cooperation to save planet Earth. The financial district, normally...

Directed by Mikey.
March 30, 2009... ADD ONE MORE REASON TO WHY THE NATION ought to reject Charter change before the 2010 elections: We wont have to waste any more time listening to Rep. Mikey Arroyo, the Presidents eldest son and alter ego in the House. It is a terrible...

Of senior citizens and the disabled.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Ramon J. Farolan THIS COMES FROM ONE OF OUR PARISH LECTORS. Patient awaiting surgery: Doc, Im really worried about my coming bypass operation. It will be my first. Doctor: Not to worry. This will also be my first...

Bill filed banning street gangs.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. A BILL HAS BEEN FILED BY TWO congressmen outlawing all street gangs and fraternities with their big bosses and members facing jail time of between 15 and 30 years or life imprisonment. House Bill 5827 or...

RP gives $10,000 for Gaza relief effort.
March 30, 2009... THE PHILIPPINES HAS DONATED $10,000 to the United Nations Flash Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza, according to Ambassador Erlinda F. Basilio, Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva. In a dispatch to the Department of Foreign...

Global warming meet set.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Michael Lim Ubac EXPERTS ON GLOBAL WARMing and other environmental activists are coming to Manila in July for the 2009 International Renewable Energy conference. Sen. Edgardo Angara said the meeting would highlight the...

House bill would protect fresh nursing graduates.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Leila B. Salaverria A LAWMAKER IS SEEKING TO STOP THE practice of some hospitals of making nursing graduates pay for training to let them get the work experience necessary to qualify for jobs abroad. Laguna Rep. Edgar San...

Population size of congressional districts.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J. WHAT SHOULD BE THE MINIMUM POPULATION of a representative district? The Constitution is clear that a city can become a representative district if it has a population of at least 250,000. The...

Between the devil and whatever.
March 30, 2009... Byline: Noralyn Mustafa THE KIDNAPPING OF THE THREE ICRC workers by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu was featured on the BBC World News Saturday morning, with the appeal of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the [Philippine]...