Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from May 2002

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from May 2002

CA orders arrest of GMA's adviser.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Rocky Nazareno AFTER missing four consecutive hearings of the Commission on Appointments with an allegedly "lame excuse," a presidential adviser has been ordered arrested by the powerful bicameral commission. Rep. Rafael...

Angara: President plotted to bring down Lacson.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Cynthia D. Balana OPPOSITION leader Sen. Edgardo Angara said yesterday President Macapagal-Arroyo had met with government lawyers after the May 2001 elections to plot moves to pin down Sen. Panfilo Lacson to the Kuratong Baleleng...

Ateneo battles La Salle today.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Dennis U. Eroa PART Three of basketball's most enduring rivalry comes alive today as leader Ateneo-Hapee-Negros Navigation collides with ICTSI-La Salle in the PBL Chairman's Cup at the Makati Coliseum. Judging from their past...

Mayor, vice mayor ordered arrested.
May 31, 2002... JONES, Isabela-A judge in Echague town has ordered the arrest of the top two officials here for their alleged involvement in the ghost purchase of P180,000 worth of office supplies for the municipal government in 2000. Judge Bonifacio...

Ayala Avenue closed for 'Araw ng Makati'.
May 31, 2002... MOTORISTS today should steer clear of Ayala Avenue, which will be closed to vehicular traffic starting at 11:30 a.m. to give way to a parade in celebration of "Araw ng Makati." Ayala Avenue will be closed from the RCBC Building on Gil...

The shape and size of ageless adventure.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Recah Trinidad (MVP VOTE: The party's over, trophies and incentives have been awarded. But we all have to pause and listen. One seasoned, knowledgeable mother, poet, editor, chronicler of games, has just made her personal choice....

Bandits say $5-M reward boosts their egos.
May 31, 2002... ONE of the five targets reacted with sarcasm and Malacanang wistfully noted that no representative of the Philippine government was present when the US Embassy announced Wednesday its $5-million reward offer for the capture of Abu Sayyaf...

Slasher Cup.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Manolo R. Inigo I SAW old friends Bobby Jones of Texas and pony-tailed John Philips of Georgia at the Big Dome last Monday and Wednesday watching closely the ongoing National Cockers Association 7-Cock Derby, which means they are...

Cop's relief puzzles Capiz folk.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Gerry T. Pagharion, PDI Visayas Bureau ROXAS CITY-The relief of Senior Supt. Allyn Evasco Jr. as acting Capiz police chief effective May 27 continues to puzzle a number of Capicenos. Evasco was barely three months in his post...

Cotabato bombing suspects arrested.
May 31, 2002... COTABATO CITY-Police in Midsayap, Cotabato yesterday said the two men they arrested in a remote village on May 20 were the main suspects in the explosion inside the town's public market about two weeks ago. Chief Insp. Raul Supiter,...

Davadilla wins FedEx 1st stage.
May 31, 2002... TOP FINISHERS: 1. Davadilla (Min) 4:17.35, 2. Reynante (Rizal) 4:17.40, 3. Feliciano (NE) 4:17.45, 4. Primero (NE) 4:17.50, 5. Calosa (Ilocandia) same, 6. Mendoza (NCR) same, 7. Alagano (NV) same, 8. Valdez (NE) same, 9. Dela Cruz (Min) same,...

Senate OKs death for drug trafficking.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Cynthia D. Balana THE SENATE yesterday ratified a bicameral conference committee report re-imposing the death penalty for drug possession and trafficking. In his sponsorship speech, Sen. Roberto Barbers, chair of the...

Drilon 'pork' to build schools at half price.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Rocky Nazareno SENATE President Franklin Drilon yesterday took the first step toward eliminating corruption associated with pork barrel funds, when he assigned to a private organization the task of implementing his P100-million...

Money talks.
May 31, 2002... THE US offer to reward tipsters with as much as $5 million for "information leading to the arrest or conviction" of Abu Sayyaf leaders can be understood in two ways: First, as an admission that the military option is not working, or second,....

Talking points.
May 31, 2002... THE OFFER of reward, as Acting Press Secretary Silvestre Afable correctly explained the other day, is not an infringement on our sovereignty or a reckless intervention in our national affairs. American hostages are involved, and the US...

Tancangco fights back on 2 fronts.
May 31, 2002... THREATENED with impeachment, Election Commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco is fighting back on two fronts. Yesterday, she and three other allied commissioners asked the resident auditor of the Commission on Elections to investigate the...

Iloilo coalition formed vs power rates.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Nestor P. Burgos Jr., PDI Visayas Bureau ILOILO CITY-Ilonggos opposed to high power rates on Wednesday formed a broad coalition to demand the scrapping of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reforms Act of 2001 and...

Kidnap raps filed vs 2 Cebu cops.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Jhunnex Napallacan, PDI Visayas Bureau CEBU CITY-Charges of kidnapping-for-ransom were filed yesterday against the chief of the police Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) here and his subordinate before the Office of the Ombudsman in the...

Friendship and opportunities.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Kris Aquino ALLOW me to share with you what friendship is in the words of Susan Polis Schutz, from "The Language of Friendship." "Friendship is . . . someone who is concerned with everything you do . . . someone to call upon...

Kuratong judge a widow with no fear in her heart.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Volt Contreras "I JUST ride a tricycle going to market or to Church. I don't know how to drive and I don't have a maid at the house-but I have 10 pet dogs." So says Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Ma. Theresa Yadao, who...

Lightning kills 6 in Aklan.
May 31, 2002... LIBACAO, Aklan-Six persons, including a seven-year-old girl, were killed while 10 others suffered burns on Wednesday noon after they were hit by lightning while on their way home after attending a fiesta. Killed were Roland Zabala, 19;...

Progay hits 'ungrateful macho Church leadership'.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Armand N. Nocum FOR calling homosexuality an "abnormal condition," a Catholic bishop has earned the ire of a militant gay organization. The Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines (Progay) said Sorsogon Bishop...

Mayor faces suspension.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Tina Santos GOVERNMENT prosecutors on Wednesday filed a motion seeking the preventive suspension of Malabon City Mayor Amado Vicencio and four other local officials in connection with the 1999 awarding of the P122-million new...

Burned in Caloocan.
May 31, 2002... A STORE helper identified only as Al was killed in a fire in a furniture shop in Caloocan City early yesterday morning. Two others were also hurt. Al's body was found on his bed at the Joseph John Furniture shop on Kapanalig Street, C-3 Road,...

Suspected in Rodriguez.
May 31, 2002... POLICE suspect that a businessman was behind Tuesday's murder of SPO4 Manuel Alberto, the head of the police intelligence unit in Rodriguez, Rizal. Sources at the Rizal Provincial Police Office headquarters in Taytay, Rizal said investigators...

Cleared in Manila.
May 31, 2002... PO1 FERDINAND Cajipe, the Manila policeman who on Monday shot and killed a suspected snatcher, has been cleared, according to Chief Insp. Juanito Taluban of the Western Police District. Taluban said there was nothing irregular in the account...

Run over in Sta. Mesa.
May 31, 2002... AN UNIDENTIFIED woman believed to be a hit-and-run victim was found dead at the foot of the Nagtahan flyover in Sta. Mesa, Manila Tuesday night. The woman, clad in a blue T-shirt and jeans, was about 20 to 25 years old and had fair skin,...

'Las Vegas of Asia' on reclaimed area.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Neal H. Cruz THE HEAD of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the gaming and gambling firm, is against addiction to gambling? Doesn't Pagcor make money, lots of it, out of people addicted to gambling? So the more gambling...

Nurse's slay witness still can't be found.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Christian V. Esguerra THE PRIMARY witness in the killing of private nurse Belma Abella in Las Pinas City last month could not be found at the Quezon City address he gave. A subpoena sent to the address of Wensis Tablang, 31,...

Gloria eyes PAL takeover.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Carlito Pablo PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday said she is considering letting the government take back control of Philippine Airlines from tycoon Lucio Tan, as one of the measures to boost the country's tourism industry. ...

Peace caravan Launched.
May 31, 2002... SURIGAO CITY-Following the example set by President Macapagal-Arroyo in promoting tourism in the country, local government officials in Mindanao launched the Mindanao Caravan for Peace here yesterday. The government-initiated caravan...

Whistleblower judge faces perjury raps.
May 31, 2002... BAGUIO CITY-The regional trial court judge, who blew the whistle on alleged immorality and corruption implicating six of his colleagues in Baguio, is now facing one of four counter suits from the people he had accused. Judge Ruben Ayson...

Priest to renew wedding vows.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Ma. Diosa Labiste, PDI Visayas Bureau ILOILO CITY-To dramatize their demand for optional celibacy among the clergy, a priest will renew his marriage vows today before a fellow priest who himself is a father of two. Fr. Hector...

State of emergency.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Conrado de Quiros ON THE FACE of it, it's the wisest thing in the world. You give President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo emergency powers, as Fidel V. Ramos recommends, and she should be able to deal with the energy crisis more...

'Much hated ROTC' remains, says NUSP.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Jerome Aning A MILITANT student group yesterday warned that the Reserved Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program would still be compulsory for college male students in some schools despite the government's announcement that it...

RP boxers seek s'final slots in Greece.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Edwin Villanueva ATHENS, Greece-Two Filipino boxers gun for semifinal seats as Team Caltex Philippines gets its bid going Thursday in the 2002 Acropolis Cup International boxing championships at the Platon Stadium here. ...

Iloilo solon at it again.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Juliet L. Javellana AFTER being expelled from the floor Wednesday, Iloilo Rep. Augusto "Boboy" Syjuco Jr. yesterday returned with a vengeance. He raised his fist in triumph as the session was adjourned when he questioned the...

Boob-tube booboos.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Nestor U. Torre HOST: Do you still believe in film awards? Guest: No more, they've become too mixed-up, with different winners coming out. Hindi na credible yang mga award-winning bodies na yan! (Award-winning bodies?...

The sex scandals rocking the Church.
May 31, 2002... (Voices on INQ7.net is a weekly round-up of comments selected from those posted by thousands of Filipinos, here and overseas, on the Discussion message boards of INQ7.net, the online news website of the INQUIRER and GMA-7. To participate,...

Win-win: Alvarez critic gets new post.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Carlito Pablo WAS IT a rebuff of Environment Secretary Heherson "Sonny" Alvarez? Or was this the touted win-win solution to get his stalled confirmation approved at the Commission on Appointments? Yesterday, President...

Bakeshop cooks up success from 'old ways'.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Tina Arceo-Dumlao MENTION the name "Reyes" and Filipinos automatically associate it with good food. There is the famous Aristocrat restaurant founded by the equally famous Aling Asiang, Alex III, the Mama Sita line of food...

Bidding war looms over PLDT.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao A BIDDING war has erupted over the 24.4-percent stake held by the Salim group's First Pacific Co. Ltd. in local telecommunication giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. after the Hong Kong-based...

Injustices against OFWs.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Josephus B. Jimenez WOE unto us, hypocrites. We call the OFWs heroes only for their dollar remittances. But we've neglected them, allowed them to be exploited and oppressed. Some government officials even allegedly misused the...

MVP fights for survival.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Victor C. Agustin THE SALIMS of Indonesia have agreed to sell their controlling shareholding in PLDT and Fort Bonifacio in favor of taipan John Gokongwei apparently over the objection of the Salims' point man in the Philippines,...

Economy expands 3.8% in 1st quarter.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao THE PHILIPPINE economy expanded by 3.8 percent in the first quarter, up from the 2.9-percent growth a year ago, as robust consumer spending perked up the services and agriculture sectors. While the three-month...

RP presses delisting from FATF list.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Clarissa S. Batino THE PHILIPPINES is going to court the influential members of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to support the country's removal from the list of countries seen as uncooperative in the fight against money...

Filinvest Land draws penalties for late disclosure.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Elena R. Torrijos THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange is fining Filinvest Land Inc., property arm of the Gotianun family, for late disclosures regarding P1.2 billion worth of convertible bonds that it issued to a unit of the...

HSBC expects upgrade in RP credit rating.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Clarissa S. Batino FOREIGN bank HSBC said the country's improving economy and political environment should convince foreign credit rating agencies to raise the Philippines' debt rating to investment grade or to give it a...

Megaworld gets $25-M IFC loan for IT projects.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao THE MEGAWORLD group has obtained a $25-million long-term loan from the International Finance Corp. to fund information technology projects in its flagship Eastwood City Cyberpark. In a disclosure to the...

Meralco seeks gov't help on Napocor penalties.
May 31, 2002... Byline: R. W. Domingo POWER distribution giant Manila Electric Co. has called on the Department of Energy to intervene in the current impasse on a P5.7-billion "penalty" imposed by the state-owned National Power Corp. "We urge the...

PSE adopts safeguards against unfair trading.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Elena R. Torrijos THE PHILIPPINE Stock Exchange has assured the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was strengthening safeguards to prevent another BW Resources insider trading scandal. The SEC early this month closed...

Boyet is still my idol, says Sharon.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Leah Salterio EVEN after making nine movies with Christopher de Leon, megastar Sharon Cuneta confesses she still gets star-struck every time she works with the award-winning actor. They first worked together in "Bituing...

Getting a crocodile to kill mosquitoes.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Tina Arceo-Dumlao TROPICAL countries like the Philippines are target markets of companies selling insecticides, and for more than 40 years, companies like Bayer Corp. and SC Johnson ruled it over the lucrative market of 70...

Dumaguete gears up for increased business.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Romy G. Amarado, PDI Visayas Bureau DUMAGUETE CITY-Despite the dismal projection on the future of the business in the country this year, this city looks forward to better business opportunities. Small and medium enterprises are...

Grand Clio winner is 'ordinary' sale ad.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Roger Pe, Contributor HAVE you been to a midnight madness sale lately? How does it feel to rummage through piles of designer things you've been itching to buy? Did you get yourself stepped on, elbowed, kicked, bodily pushed and...

Learning business ethics from the Dalai Lama.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Karen V. de Asis, Contributor NOT a few with the corporate world fail to see the fit and relevance between business, viewed as temporal and material, and ethics, a discipline largely associated with the scientific study of moral...

A simple guide to leasing in Makati.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Emmylou G. Patnugot, SGV & Co. MAKATI CITY is the premiere business district of the country, thus, every little space within it is coveted. It follows that most of those who own real property enter into the lucrative business of...

The sailing life.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Jules Alcantara, Contributor THE LOUIS Vuitton Cup must be won before the America's Cup can be conquered." With this declaration, the sixth edition of one of the most prestigious and most fashionable yachting events of the...

Thinking of Jeannie.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Thelma SiosonSan Juan NEVER thought I'd be touching on death in two successive weeks, but I am now. Last Friday I got a text from Lulu Tan-Gan saying that Jeannie's daughter Natasha just died. Even on a tiny screen I saw and...

White light!
May 31, 2002... Byline: Tim Yap AWAY from the dark, Manila's fashion denizens have shifted to the white light, opting for this cool color to beat the heat and humidity. You see, white has this healing touch that just makes things feel light. Either that...

Will this list make you want to leave the country?
May 31, 2002... Byline: Tita Dulce I WONDER why our fellow Filipinos, many of them professionals, leave our country. I think there are reasons, and I have made a list-I call it my "I hate it in the Philippines when..." list. I hate it in the...

Furniture that's the stuff of legend.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Alex Y. Vergara ITS FURNITURE pieces may have been inspired mostly by foreign legends, but the design and technology that have gone into each piece are proudly Filipino. Legends (tel. 752-8334) incorporates kiln-dried...

A not-so-ugly duckling morphs into a glamorous swan.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Alex Y. Vergara IT'S hard to imagine that Pia Guanio had once favored grungy outfits over slinky attire. Blessed with a slim build and a luscious pair of runway legs, the dusky ABS-CBN broadcaster seems right at home in the...

Zeolite enriches soil and protects environment.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Doris Gaskell Nuyda WE have received some feedback on the use of zeolite since we reported on it last January. People want to know what zeolite is and how it works. We explained it as simply as we could that first time, but...

Sense of place.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Cathy Saldana-Nolido IN Salcedo Village, at the heart of Makati's business district, is a new enclave of serviced residences. Thoroughly planned from facilities to operations, uniquely detailed and thoughtfully designed from room...

Warehouse club for gardeners, hobbyists opens.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Tita V. Giron TIMES are evidently changing in the world of gardeners. Now there's even a new warehouse club, the first of its kind in the Philippines, where card-holding members can shop for garden supplies, bodega-style, with...

Alvarez: I will be confirmed.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Gerald G. Lacuarta ENVIRONMENT Secretary Heherson Alvarez has expressed confidence that he will be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments despite a last-ditch stand being made by his oppositors in the House of...

Me, too, says the other Alvarez.
May 30, 2002... LEADERS of the so-called Mindanao bloc yesterday assailed members of the Commission on Appointments for what they called an apparent "regional bias and discrimination" in conducting their hearing for the confirmation of Transportation...

Ang See becomes Manila's top cop-buster.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Jerome Aning ANTI-CRIME crusader Teresita Ang-See has been appointed chief of the Manila city body that goes after erring policemen. Mayor Lito Atienza yesterday announced that See will be the new executive director of the...

Bayan launches anti-PPA protest.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Tina Santos THE PUBLIC outcry against the controversial Purchases Power Adjustment continues to rage. Yesterday, the militant group Bayan-NCR launched the Metro Manila People Opposed to Warrantless Electricity Rates or...

Kuratong Baleleng case.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan THE SUPREME Court ruling on the Kuratong Baleleng case involving Sen. Panfilo Lacson appears to be a classic case of the half-empty, half-full glass, depending on who's looking at it. Many people...

Bus plows through fiesta dance, kills 3, injures 4.
May 30, 2002... MILAOR, Camarines Sur-Three persons were killed and four others were injured when a passenger bus plowed through a throng of people at a fiesta dance about 2 a.m. yesterday in Barangay Flordeliz, Milaor, Camarines Sur. Police identified...

Church defends priest in illicit affair.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Villamor Visaya Jr. ILAGAN, Isabela-The top Catholic Church official in the province has defended a priest who was allegedly involved in an eight-year illicit affair with a woman in Alicia town, saying the priest is innocent of...

Dam project now an empty fishpond.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Juan Escandor Jr., Caramoan, Camarines Sur AS THE EL NINO approaches and threatens agriculture in the country, some rice farms in far-flung Caramoan town in Camarines Sur are showing signs of drying up. But somewhere in its midst...

Urban Missionaries at 25.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Ma. Ceres P. Doyo The Church considers it her task always to call attention to the dignity and rights of those who work, to condemn situations in which that dignity and those rights are violated."- Pope John Paul II in "Laborem...

Officials deny encounter between US troops, bandits.
May 30, 2002... ZAMBOANGA CITY-Philippine and US military officials yesterday denied that, as earlier reported by the Philippine military, two US Navy helicopters opened fire Monday night on suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf after being shot at during a...

DOJ downgrades rap vs mayor to homicide.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Ma. Diosa Labiste, PDI Visayas Bureau ILOILO CITY-The Department of Justice has downgraded the murder and attempted murder charges filed against former San Joaquin town Mayor Sebastian Serag who had been charged with killing his...

I didn't accuse solons, says solon.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Juliet L. Javellana and Armand N. Nocum CAMARINES Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. has clarified his recent allegation that some P21 billion of the government's P104-billion procurement fund was lost to graft committed by officials and...

DOLE faces suit for P20.9M bouncing check.
May 30, 2002... BACOLOD CITY-The Binalbagan Isabela Planters Association (BIPA) said on Monday that a check worth P20.9 million issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to the group had bounced. BIPA president Enrique Montilla said the...

2 cops held for seizing drug suspects, demanding ransom.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Jhunnex Napallacan, PDI Visayas Bureau CEBU CITY-The head of the police Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) here and his subordinate were arrested on Tuesday night for allegedly kidnapping two cousins and demanding P5 million in exchange...

Bobby carries on with his and Rico Yan's business.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Dolly Anne Carvajal I ENJOYED pigging out on merienda with Bobby Yan last weekend. Bobby made me sample all the yummy pica-pica of Fry This, the business venture his brother Rico Yan and Bobby were supposed to launch as soon...

Disappointing decision.
May 30, 2002... THE SUPREME Court's 13-0 decision remanding to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court the 11 murder charges against Sen. Panfilo Lacson in connection with the May 1995 Kuratong Baleleng massacre pushed the cases to a stalemate. The...

GMA: No to takeover of Meralco, extra powers.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Dona Pazzibugan, Christine Avendano and Cynthia D. Balana NO to a takeover of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and no to emergency powers to bring down the cost of electricity. President Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday took this...

'Gay priests OK if they don't engage in sex'.
May 30, 2002... THE CATHOLIC Church does not frown upon gay priests so long as they don't engage in homosexual acts, Sorsogon Bishop Jesus Varela yesterday said. "Priests who are homosexual, if they are merely so oriented but not practicing, have a...