Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from May 2002, page 3

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from May 2002

Reyes to leave jail today.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Tina Santos and Armand N. Nocum THE JAIL cell is very hot and he has to share it with at least 20 other inmates, but "running priest" Robert Reyes said his detention at the Quezon City jail has been "very enriching." "The...

SC remands Kuratong case to Quezon City court.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Norman Bordadora, Michael Lim Ubac and Rocky Nazareno SEVEN years after 11 suspected Kuratong Baleleng gang members were killed in an alleged police "rubout," the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision on the fate of the...

Opposition vs Alvarez mounts.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Rocky Nazareno ENVIRONMENT Secretary Heherson Alvarez's fate will finally be known on Monday after the Commission on Appointment's committee on the environment and natural resources agreed to vote on his confirmation then. ...

Log on, flame the Marcoses.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Cristina Arzadon LAOAG CITY-If human rights victims can't get their money claims from the estate of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, they may vent their spleens by logging on to the Marcoses' new website on the Internet. ...

The case of the two Alvarezes in the Cabinet.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Neal H. Cruz TRANSPORTATION Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez again goes before the Commission on Appointments today. So the release of a letter of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the Department of Transportation and...

New cops for school opening.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra ABOUT 1,700 new police recruits will be deployed in key areas in Metro Manila when classes open next month, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The new recruits of the...

Pagadian cop chief implicated in journalist's death sacked.
May 29, 2002... PAGADIAN CITY-Philippine National Police Director General Leandro Mendoza has ordered the relief of city police chief Supt. Asuri Hawani, who was implicated in the killing of journalist Edgar Damalerio. Senior Supt. Pedrito Reyes,...

PAL union joins protest vs Terminal 3.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra AVIATION and Nayong Pilipino employees have joined forces to denounce the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3, which they expect to result in a massive lay-off. Leaders and members of the...

Palaro-bound delegates get big discount on fares.
May 29, 2002... SOME 8,000 student athletes and officials will get hefty discount on land, sea and air fares when they go to Naga City for the Palarong Pambansa on June 3-10. According to Chair Eric Buhain of the Philippine Sports Commission, Air...

Ironic.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Conrado de Quiros I WAS fascinated by the discussion on "Talk of the Town" last Sunday. The question was, "Why are women attracted to priests?", and it was ably answered by "Rosette," Fr. Alberto Salonga and Ed de la Torre. ...

Freedom is also an incentive.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David HERE'S a clarification of that column item on a "questionable DepEd policy." What the elementary school principal was complaining about was not the Department of Education policy, but rather a Department of...

Roco commends teacher for honesty.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Donna Cueto LAST week, several days before classes had even started, a public school teacher gave the most important lesson of her life. Making a withdrawal from an automated teller machine, Marilyn Bien-Bongiad of Calabanga,...

Ateneo vs Kutitap; Shark fights for life.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Dennis U. Eroa GAMES TODAY (Makati Coliseum) 3 p.m.-Ateneo-Hapee-Nenaco vs Kutitap 5 p.m.-ICTSI-La Salle vs Shark Energy Drink FRONTRUNNER Ateneo-Hapee-Negros Navigation collides with dangerous Kutitap even as Shark...

Shifting to shark fishing.
May 29, 2002... WITH THE LOW income derived from fishing, several fishermen in the remote coastal town of Maconacon, Isabela, have shifted to shark hunting as an alternative source of livelihood. Every week, several fishermen in Maconacon in the Northern...

Ex-mayor, aide shot dead.
May 29, 2002... NAGA CITY-A former mayor and his aide were shot dead inside his house while another aide was wounded when they were attacked by eight heavily armed men suspected to be communist rebels early yesterday morning. Senior Supt. Roberto...

Bad omen for Cimatu?
May 29, 2002... AFTER the falling chair incident during the installation of Gen. Roy Cimatu as the 29th Armed Forces chief of staff last week, now it's the retreating "white carabao" incident. While trooping the line during the incorporation of 438...

40 solons sign impeach complaint vs Tancangco.
May 29, 2002... IT LOOKS like the impeachment complaint to be filed against controversial Commission on Elections commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco may end up going directly to the Senate. This after 40 congressmen were reportedly to have endorsed the...

Take over Meralco, 2 solons urge gov't.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Juliet L. Javellana FED up with Manila Electric Co.'s unauthorized charges and high electricity rates, two members of the House of Representatives want the government to take over the Lopez-controlled utility firm. Iloilo...

A more passionate Rannie returns as singer-magician.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Leah Salterio SINGER Rannie Raymundo has no regrets about his five years of self-imposed hiatus. He had opted to stay out of the limelight when bands started to dominate the local music scene and revivals became the recording...

TV and children.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Nestor U. Torre PARENTS and educators worry about the quality of TV programming, and its effect on young viewers. To raise the discussion to a more informed and thus more productive level, here are some relevant figures, courtesy...

3 youths hunted for doc's killing.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Jerome Aning ONE of three young men wrestled him to the ground and hit him with a hard object, but Edmundo Dayag was able to get up and run. They also tried to shoot him, but Dayag said he was able to take cover in the dark. ...

Working mom wants to pursue career growth.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Tita Datu Puangco I AM glad to find your column in the "INQUIRER." It is a sort of refuge for "anxious people at work" where we can air our concerns and hope for feedback on different job matters. I would like to share my anxiety...

Digitel profit hits P67M on strong revenue growth.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Abigail L. Ho GOKONGWEI-OWNED Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. posted a consolidated net income of P66.9 million in 2001, 1,423 percent higher than the P4.7 million profit the year before. Its operating revenues...

Imported vehicles seen flooding RP starting 2003.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry has told the local automotive industry to get ready for an influx of imported vehicles next year as tariffs on both assembly or completely knocked down (CKD) packs and...

Food companies urged to use non-GMO inputs.
May 29, 2002... GREENPEACE International has urged local food manufacturing firms such as General Milling Corp. and San Miguel Foods Corp. to shift to non-genetically-modified raw materials and ingredients. Greenpeace resident international markets...

Mindanao livestock seen bucking El Nino.
May 29, 2002... DAVAO CITY-Mindanao could be the answer to the possible depletion of Luzon's source of livestock because of the worsening El Nino weather phenomenon. Southern Mindanao is Mindanao's huge supplier of livestock products, with 30 percent...

Meralco joins Union Bank in new credit card venture.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao UTILITY giant Manila Electric Co. is diversifying into the financial services business to boost its sagging revenues over the long term, starting with a new credit card venture with Union Bank of the Philippines....

MWSS to secure $100M in new loans to pay for Maynilad debts.
May 29, 2002... THE METROPOLITAN Waterworks and Sewerage System said yesterday it would acquire loans worth over $100 million from Germany's Deutsche Bank AG to pay for Maynilad Water Services Inc.'s unpaid concession fees. In a news statement, the MWSS...

Restraining order on UOB case stays.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Elena R. Torrijos THE MANILA Regional Trial Court has extended indefinitely the temporary restraining order stopping United Overseas Bank Ltd. and local subsidiary United Overseas Bank Philippines from pursuing an arbitration...

Manufacturing output down 1.2%.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao THE COUNTRY'S manufacturing output reverted to a contraction of 1.2 percent in March from a year ago after posting a 3.3-percent growth in February, suggesting that foreign demand has not sufficiently improved to...

Possibilities can become realities.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Moje Ramos-Aquino HERE is an old parable from the book "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund Stone and Benjamin Zanders: The Monk's Story. A monastery has fallen on hard times. It was once part of a great order which, as a...

Pension fund keen on privatizing insurance business.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Clarissa S. Batino THE GOVERNMENT Service Insurance System is planning to put up a spin-off company to pave the way for the possible privatization of its insurance business. GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia...

Universal Robina earmarks P3B for expansion projects.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao THE GOKONGWEIS' consumer goods unit Universal Robina Corp. is spending P3 billion this year mostly to build new manufacturing plants here and abroad. URC president and CEO Lance Gokongwei told reporters after...

Sophos eyes bigger market share.
May 29, 2002... TWO years after the Filipino-created Love Bug disrupted computer operations all over the world, Sophos Anti-Virus of the United Kingdom has laid out plans to expand its sales base in the Philippines in a move to corner 5 to 10 percent of the...

MVP pay.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Victor C. Agustin MANUEL V. Pangilinan, who at one point was the highest paid Filipino executive in the region, has slashed down the compensation package of the new president/CEO of the real estate biggie Metro Pacific Corp. ...

BSP urges banks to form asset management units.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Clarissa S. Batino THE BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas is preparing a set of incentives aimed at encouraging banks to form their own asset management groups in lieu of special purpose asset vehicles. BSP officials said the bill...

Coniotics 101: Deconstructing a hybrid language.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Catherine Young, 2bU! Correspondent "OUCH...grabe, it's so init! Like being made sunog in a microwave! Manang, can you make me paypay before I get himatay on the yucky ground? Please..." Laugh all you want, but these days,...

What to do with a dead end hairdo.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Kinny Salas MY 10-year high school reunion is up next month. On the fifth year, my batchmates told me in a not-so-subtle way I was stuck in a time warp. Although it was nice that I pretty much maintained my weight, they were...

Prince Charming-hunting with Judy and Mandy.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Bunny Anne Gapit, 2bU! Correspondent 'AKALA Ko' (Viva Films) Young independent filmmaker Lyle Sacris' first feature movie is a romance comedy about a young female security guard and her crush on a pretty bachelor-tenant....

'Spider-man's' music is full of depth and flavor.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Tiu, 2bu! Correspondent A MOVIE this big certainly has made its audience curious about its soundtrack. Both the movie and the soundtrack offer only a handful of familiar personalities. But even if the movie has been...

Underneath Shakira's clothes.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Tim Yap BANGKOK-Enter this generation's latest pop icon. Shakira, the Latin singing sensation whose name means "the graceful one," has sold millions of records worldwide, won a couple of Grammys, and successfully crossed over to...

Remembering the boy who made my knees quiver.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Tammy David, 2bU! Correspondent REWIND to November 1999. The Battle of the Bands was raging in my school. My good friend Cereb, was co-hosting the event, so I brought my video camera to document her hosting gig and my friends...

She's wondering why she always meets the wrong guy.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Carlos Garchitorena & September Mahino DEAR Sep and Caloy, I've had six ex-boyfriends (which I'm not proud of), four of whom I had bad breakups with. I caught them cheating on me. My first boyfriend dumped me on our prom...

Havens for Italian and Spanish foodies.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Melissa R. Lim, 2bU! Correspondent NOT having enough money to go to the mall every day has made me a hangout connoisseur of sorts. Not knowing how to cook has made me appreciate food even more. Imagine my great delight at finding...

Get a new kind of high literally.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Allison W. Lopez FLYING, fear, fun and freedom. All this in one extraordinary machine that makes you leap up to 8 meters kicking and screaming in the air and praying for quick death. After a while, though, you actually begin to...

Play Underground gives the kid in everyone of us an airing.
May 29, 2002... WE set aside a Tuesday afternoon to try out Play Underground's facilities. Never mind that most of us got home at 4 a.m. from the office and hardly had any sleep. We were ready and willing to give our all. Some of us succeeded, some failed,...

Miss Universe 2002 forecast.
May 29, 2002... Byline: Jason Doplito, 2bU! Correspondent TOMORROW, 75 of the most beautiful women in the world will compete for the title of Miss Universe. For two years in a row, it will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where Latinas may win the...

Accords to be implemented despite objections-GMA.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Carlito Pablo READ her lips: The two interim agreements signed by back-channel negotiator Norberto Gonzales with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will be implemented despite objections by some lawmakers. Barely concealing...

Alvarez faces CA for 10th time.
May 28, 2002... PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday quashed rumors that Environment Secretary Heherson "Sonny" Alvarez is on the way out of her Cabinet, even as he faces the Commission on Appointments for the 10th time today. Alvarez is having a...

Ateneo, La Salle whip PBL rivals.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Dennis Eroa GAMES TOMORROW (Makati Coliseum) 3 p.m.-Ateneo vs Kutitap 5 p.m.-ICTSI-La Salle vs Shark LEADER Ateneo-Hapee-Negros Navigation outlasted Shark Energy Drink, 67-60, to keep the solo lead, even as ace...

American fugitive captured.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Philip Tubeza MANILA policemen, with the help of Bureau of Immigration and Naval Intelligence agents, arrested a 49-year-old American wanted for large-scale fraud in the United States. Frederick Joseph Carrier, alias Carlos...

Understanding Filipino space.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Bambi L.Harper ONE of the most striking discoveries the unaware can make is that the Filipino language has no word for "privacy," a word derived from the English "privy," meaning outhouse and which can also mean secret. ...

Supreme Court decision keenly awaited.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan BEING awaited any day now is the Supreme Court decision on whether or not to allow the reopening of the Kuratong Baleleng case in which Sen. Panfilo Lacson, then task force chief of the now defunct...

P21B of budget lost to graft, says solon.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Juliet L. Javellana A WHOPPING P21 billion of the government's P104-billion procurement budget last year went to the pockets of legislators, officials and contractors, according to a leader of the House of Representatives. ...

Move Manila City Jail, mayor urges.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Jerome Aning AS THE number of deaths among inmates at the Manila City Jail reached nine after three weeks, Mayor Lito Atienza urged the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to decide quickly on the transfer of the facility to...

Cops offer P1M reward for kidnap gang head.
May 28, 2002... GENERAL SANTOS CITY--Police authorities are dangling a P1-million bounty for the capture, dead or alive, of notorious kidnap-for-ransom gang leader Tahir Alonto. The Philippine National Police came up with the reward offer after...

Films, music, fashion in 'French Spring'.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Dolly Anne Carvajal THE FRENCH Embassy, in cooperation with the Alliance Francaise de Manille and the Association Francaise d'Action Artistique and with the support of the French and Filipino business communities, has introduced...

Nationwide pilot test.
May 28, 2002... WHEN classes open next month, thousands of teachers and millions of students will try to adjust to a restructured basic education curriculum. The new curriculum will have five learning areas: English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science and...

Erap camp presents 'errand girl' of Dichaves.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Volt Contreras THE CAMP of Joseph Estrada yesterday presented a woman who claimed she was simultaneously a member of the household staff of the deposed President and a P20,000-a-month errand girl for his crony Jaime Dichaves. ...

90-day extension for Southwoods exit.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Romulo O. Ponte, PDI Southern Luzon Bureau COMMUTERS from Cavite and Laguna yesterday welcomed the decision of the Toll Regulatory Board to extend by 90 days the use of the Southwoods exit but said the tollgates should be open...

Farmers say quarrying threatening their lands.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Jun Malig, PDI Central Luzon Desk PORAC, Pampanga--Despite farmers' massive opposition and repeated appeals to local and environmental officials, illegal quarrying threatens to erode and dry up the natural irrigation system of...

Flight 387 memorial to be unveiled.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Grace Cantal-Albasin, PDI Mindanao Bureau CLAVERIA, Misamis Oriental-More than four years after Cebu Pacific Flight 387 slammed into Mt. Sumagaya, a P7-million shrine in memory of the 104 passengers and crew who died in the...

GMA supports clamor to abolish SK units.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Dona Pazzibugan THE ABOLITION of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) is a good idea, President Macapagal-Arroyo said yesterday, but "it's up to Congress." Speaking during her weekly radio interview, the President said the funds...

Garcia stays on at GSIS.
May 28, 2002... WINSTON Garcia stays on as president of the Government Service Insurance System, President Macapagal-Arroyo said yesterday. With the announcement, the President put to rest persistent talks that Garcia was on the way out and that...

Malabon official stabbed dead near police station.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Tina Santos A MALABON City Hall official was stabbed dead yesterday as he was having breakfast in an eatery a few meters away from the city police headquarters. Police said Josefino Hequibal, of the Public Order and Safety...

Intersection speakers to make a comeback.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Alcuin Papa THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority plans to revive the use of loud speakers at busy intersections to warn errant pedestrians and motorists. MMDA Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. announced this in a news...

GMA unsettles journalists.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Carlito Pablo HE DID not know what hit him. Radio journalist Rey Bayoging yesterday tried to unsettle the President by reminding her point-blank of her promise to crush the Abu Sayyaf a year ago. Instead, it was the President who...

Tell Meralco to cut rates, GMA urged.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo, Cynthia D. Balana and Christine Avendano MILITANT groups yesterday urged President Macapagal-Arroyo to "order" the reduction of Manila Electric Co.'s power rates after the INQUIRER reported that an independent...

Ark ethics.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Michael L. Tan I THOUGHT I should comment on the exchange of letters here in the INQUIRER over GMA's recent "I-Witness" "askal" episode. (Askal is asong kalye or street dogs, actually used in a wider sense to refer to dogs that...

Militants score Monsanto meeting with local policy makers.
May 28, 2002... NAGA CITY-At least two militant groups in Bicol yesterday scored Monsanto for alleged influence peddling by hosting a cocktail party for local policy makers and known advocates against the propagation of genetically modified organisms (GMO)...

Military appeals for trust, says Abu problem 95% solved.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Julie S. Alipala, PDI Mindanao Bureau "PLEASE trust us, we are doing our best," said Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, chief of the Armed Forces' Southern Command. "Please understand us. It is not an easy job. We need the support of...

Napocor gives co-op breather.
May 28, 2002... BACOLOD CITY-The National Power Corp. (Napocor) has agreed not to push through with cutting off power supply to the Central Negros Electric Corp. (Ceneco) on Monday pending negotiations over a payment scheme for the co-op's April bill...

RP bids to be struck off money laundering list.
May 28, 2002... THE COUNTRY'S top finance and justice officials are to meet with the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in a bid to be removed the Philippines from a list of money laundering havens. Rafael Buenaventura, Bangko Sentral ng...

'Stranded costs' more cruel than PPA.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Neal H. Cruz THERE is a new controversy over a new birth control pill called Postinor (generic name: Levonorgestrel). The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has banned its use on the ground that it has an abortifacient effect (it...

NGOs blamed for Negros CARP mess.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Alex V. Pal, PDI Visayas Bureau DUMAGUETE CITY-A cooperative of farm beneficiaries has scored the involvement of non-government organizations in the implementation of the government's Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)...

Demoralizing loss by Kings.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Henry Liao IT'S down to a two-of-three-games affair in the best-of-seven West Finals series after the two-time defending NBA champion LA Lakers scored a dramatic, come-from-behind 100-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Game...

Obstacles removed for P2.1-B power interconnection project.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Vicente S. Labro, PDI Visayas Bureau TACLOBAN CITY-The implementation of the P2.1 billion Leyte-Bohol power interconnection project will now go full blast after the problems that caused its delay were threshed out in a meeting...

Pinoy tracksters see action in Kazakhstan.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Marc Anthony Reyes TO further raise their level of performance, Eduardo Buenavista, John Lozada and several other Filipino tracksters who won medals in the recent Asian track and field Grand Prix third leg are set to see action...

Police resume hunt for Cardeno.
May 28, 2002... A QUEZON CITY court gave the go-signal for police to resume their hunt for fugitive Supt. Rafael Cardeno, who was charged with masterminding the murder of government informant Baron Cervantes. "If he's (Cardeno) seen (in public), he will...

Power firms padding PPA, says Gloria.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Dona Pazzibugan PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday admitted that certain power firms had been padding their purchased power adjustment charges, including items in the controversial cost-recovery mechanism that are not even...

Protestants review ministerial code to fight sex abuses.
May 28, 2002... BAGUIO CITY-The Protestant Church in the country will review its ministerial code of ethics to guard against sexual abuse of women and children in its communities, and is urging the Catholic Church to do the same. The review was decided...

Purefoods vs Alaska: 1 injured.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Alcuin Papa JOSELITO Andaya, a fan of the Alaska Aces basketball team, felt bitter when his team lost in the Philippine Basketball Association championship game and he took his frustration out on Jesus Malogan, a supporter of the...

Don't bring out the champagne yet.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Conrado de Quiros THE GOOD news is that Congress has passed a bill that will give tax incentives to moviemakers who make good movies. The bill, creating the Film Development Council of the Philippines, provides for a Cinema...

A way to honor Brocka.
May 28, 2002... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David WRITING from La Mirada, California, Dante Gutierrez says the column on "Tinimbang ka Nguni't Kulang," the Lino Brocka opus that preceded "Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag," evoked memories of the first time he...