Philippine Sweepstakes Office Accused Of Spending Money For Lavish Concert

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 02, 2007) – A lawmaker on Friday accused the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) of spending millions of pesos for a show on board a luxury liner.

Rep. Joseph Santiago said the PCSO spent the money in subsidizing a show by American singer David Pomeranz on board the 76,800-ton SuperStar Virgo, a five-star luxury cruise ship that provides five-day "escapades" across Southeast Asia.

“Why did the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office spend millions of pesos to sponsor a show on board an international luxury cruise ship, when the agency does not sell lottery tickets overseas? Did PCSO officials simply want an excuse to go on a junket, a pleasurable excursion at public expense?” he asked.

Santiago said PCSO executives were among those treated to front row seats in one of Pomeranz's shows in the SuperStar Virgo off Singapore.

“This is ridiculous and wasteful on the part of the PCSO and its officials. They definitely have a lot of explaining to do,” he said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

“We are dumbfounded as to why the PCSO is sponsoring these costly overseas events, when it does not sell online lottery tickets abroad,” Santiago added, but he did not say how much PCSO spent for the concert.

Santiago has been highly critical of the "needless and lavish spending" of the PCSO and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) on advertising and other promotional activities, even if they are “virtual monopolies.”

The Catanduanes lawmaker previously criticized the PCSO and Pagcor for spending hundreds of millions of pesos every year on publicity when they have no local competitors.

“This is something that should be promptly looked into by the appropriate congressional committees, if only to ensure the more prudent use of public funds,” Santiago said. “Both the PCSO and Pagcor are obviously wasting a lot of badly needed financial resources on publicity spending.”

“We are dealing here with staggering sums that could be better spent to directly subsidize more community hospitals and patients, or to boldly support basic as well as higher education in the provinces. Besides, the best way for the PCSO and Pagcor to promote their activities, considering they face no real competition here, is simply to help more underprivileged communities and charitable institutions,” Santiago said.

Pagcor is the country's third most profitable corporation and government's third biggest revenue generator. In 2006, Pagcor posted a total income of P25.4 billion, the firm's highest ever in its 23-year history.

Pagcor alone is believed to be allocating at least P1.25 billion annually for advertising, marketing and public relations.

Inside the Ring: The Washington Times

Pacific terrorism

U.S. special operations forces in the Pacific have made significant progress in the past year battling the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf terrorist group in the Philippines.

"Abu Sayyaf ... has been mitigated very successfully by the government of the Philippines and their security forces," said a senior officer of the Special Operations Command-Pacific, known as SOC-PAC, which is supporting operations against the Islamist group.

"In the past year, several of their key leaders have been killed."
The officer said during a background briefing in Honolulu, where the SOC-PAC has its headquarters, that the remaining Abu Sayyaf members are divided and fighting among themselves over who will replace leaders who have been killed.

Additionally, electronic "chatter" picked up from the group about plans for attacks against Filipino and U.S. targets revealed that "it's just that, chatter," the officer said, noting that in the past such chatter has led to actual attacks.

"So their ability to turn chatter into action has been substantially mitigated in the past year," the officer said.

The officer would not say that the group has been defeated, but another sign of its growing weakness as an Islamist terrorist force is that many members of Abu Sayyaf are turning themselves in to Philippines authorities.

"This is a great success for the Philippine government," he said, noting that many were disarmed, debriefed and reintegrated back into society. Some received cash rewards for giving up their Abu Sayyaf membership.

The success against Abu Sayyaf is an indirect result of U.S. special forces troops — Army, Air Force and Navy commandos — who helped train and assist Filipino security forces. A key element of the assistance has been the provision of military equipment and intelligence.

A second major U.S. special operations effort in the Pacific is support to the Indonesian government in battling another al Qaeda-linked group, Jemaah Islamiyah, that operates throughout Southeast Asia.

Jemaah Islamiyah "is a little tougher target because Indonesia, unlike Philippines, is a Muslim country," the officer said.

"In Indonesia the difficulty is that the government is playing hardball against this group but at the same time is catering to the ideological bent of the society," the officer said, noting that a lot of "empathy" for the group exists in Indonesia, making countering it more difficult.

Pacific Command-based special operations commandos currently are working with local forces in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Pakistani commandos

Recently retired Pakistani Gen. Ehsan ul-Haq, the former No. 3 officer in the military, said Pakistan has increased both the numbers and quality of its commando forces in the war against Islamic extremists.

The Pakistan military's Special Services Group numbers more than 10,000 troops and is on the front line in fighting terrorists operating throughout the country, especially in remote border areas.

"These are very, very professional forces, elite and highly trained," Gen. Ehsan said during a meeting with reporters and editors of The Washington Times.

The general said the commandos are experts at what the British once called "frontier warfare."

The commandos were supported by training and equipment provided by the U.S., he said.

Al Qaeda in Iraq

The commander of international forces in Iraq said yesterday that significant progress has been made against al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq.

"It's clear that they no longer have significant sanctuaries and logistics capabilities to support numerous simultaneous attacks against large portions of the population," Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno told reporters via televideo conference.

Gen. Odierno said the group still has some capability to conduct deadly and "vicious" attacks against civilians in parts of Iraq.
But he noted that "the top levels of the leadership have been taken, either killed or captured."

"Some of them have been replaced, but those who replace them are not as good as those who were there before," Gen. Odierno said. "And we continue to see a slow degradation in al Qaeda's capability here in Iraq."

He said U.S., allied and Iraqi offensive security operations contributed to the success.

"But the real change has been that the populace rejects al Qaeda," Gen. Odierno said. "They no longer have the passive support of the community.

They've been rejected by their actions, and the people do not want to support them. In fact, what we find for the most part is that people will do anything to keep them out of their area, and they want to work closely with us to ensure that remains."

New Afghan tactics

Insurgents and terrorists in Afghanistan are entering the country without weapons and are being armed for attacks once inside the country, a U.S. Army commander in Afghanistan said this week.

Brig. Gen. Rodney Anderson, deputy commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force-82, told reporters by teleconference Wednesday that insurgents infiltrate Afghanistan without weapons and "then conduct their attacks or link up with their equipment once inside the country."

Afghan border police have detected and detained some of these infiltrators, he said.

Suicide bombing attacks in Afghanistan have been carried out by a combination of foreign fighters as well as some Afghans, Gen. Anderson said.

CIA interrogations

CIA Director Michael V. Hayden revealed this week, in defending agency interrogations of terrorists, that more than 70 percent of the intelligence used in a recent national estimate came from questioning captured terrorists.

"The last six years have shown us that the best sources of information on terrorists and their plans are the terrorists themselves," Mr. Hayden said in a speech Tuesday in Chicago.

Calling the intelligence "simply irreplaceable," he also noted that the elicited information "is the sole reason we have rendition, detention and interrogation programs."

Fewer than 100 of the most hardened captured terrorists have been put through interrogation since 2002.

"Of those, less than a third have required any special methods of questioning," Mr. Hayden said.

The CIA director said the National Intelligence Estimate confirmed that the danger of another major al Qaeda attack against the U.S. is real. Al Qaeda aims "to execute a spectacular attack that would cause mass casualties, massive destruction and economic harm," he said.

Mr. Hayden noted that the estimate was less certain about one key element of al Qaeda plans: the presence of group operatives inside the U.S.

The CIA director's comments are a tacit admission that the agency continues to have a difficult time planting spies inside or close to al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. (Bill Gertz)

RP Poll Body Gets New Muslim Member

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 01, 2007) - President Gloria Arroyo on Thursday named a prominent Muslim judge from the southern Philippines to sit at one of seven commissioners at the Commission on Elections.

The Philippine News Agency said Arroyo appointed Iligan City Judge Moslemen Macarambon Sr. to fill a post that has been vacant for nearly a year. The last Muslim poll commissioner was Mehol Sadain, a professor of Asian studies at the University of the Philippines.

The appointment must still pass the scrutiny of and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, which convenes next week.

But this early, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he would oppose Macaranbon's appointment because of the judge's close association with former poll commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who was accused of cheating in the last presidential elections in favor of Arroyo.

Macarambon's appointment completes the six slots for commissioners. The seventh slot, that of chairman, has been vacant since October 1, when Benjamin Abalos resigned.

Abalos resigned after he was accused of bribery over a government broadband deal favoring a Chinese firm. Senior Commissioner Resurreccion Borra has replaced ABalaos.

Commenting on the appointment, Comelec commissioner Rene Sarmiento said he was "quite surprised" since Macarambon's name was not in a purported list recently circulated to the press.

"Honestly, I do not know the person, his professional background, his competence… but he is a Muslim and for me it is a welcome (move) because it is consistent with the peace agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the government, that Muslims be appointed (to high posts) in government," said Sarmiento, a former undersecretary in the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

The purported list, however, mentioned another Muslim, Alioden Dalaig, Comelec's director of the law department, as among the candidates from whom the President picks her choice.

Macarambon was reportedly recommended by former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and now ambassador to the Philippine mission in the United Nations. He belongs to the well-known and highly-regarded Macarambon clan of Lanao province.

The rest of the commissioners are Florentino Tuason, Romeo Brawner, and Nicodemo Ferrer.

Fire Hits Slum In South RP

Fire fighters battle flames Thursday Nov. 01, 2007 in Cotabato City in southern Philippines.

(Mark Navales/Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 01, 2007) – A fire broke out Thursday at a slum area in Cotabato City in southern Philippines, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries, officials said.

The fire left hundreds of people homeless. Arson investigators said the fire swept through the neighborhood which was once a cemetery.

It was unknown if the fire was deliberate or accidental. (Mark Navales)

Soldier’s mother: ‘He was proud of his country’: The Examiner

US Army Staff Sergeant Joseph F. Curreri.

BALTIMORE - When Army Staff Seargent Joseph Curreri realized his Saint Christopher’s medal had slipped from his neck during a scuba-training mission on Siet (Lake Seit) Lake near Panamao (town in Sulu province) in the southern Philippines, he jumped back into the water, anxious to retrieve the pendant.

But the former champion swimmer apparently misjudged the water’s depth, blacked out and drowned last Friday while trying to return to the surface.

“This was so unexpected,” said Keith Schertle, coach of the Loyola Blakefield High water polo team, which Curreri founded as a senior. “I have known Joe since he was 10, and he could do anything in the water.”

Curreri, 27, and a native of Towson, had been deployed to the Philippines as part of the war on terrorism and was on his first overseas mission. St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers.
“He was very proud of his country,” said his mother, Karen Mittemeyer of Redondo Beach, Calif., who added that her son had earned the Army’s Special Operations Scuba Diver badge. “He was intelligent, religious and extremely adventurous.”

Mittemeyer said her son was anxious to return to Los Angeles, where he lived with his wife, Athena, to further his education.

“Joe had so much integrity and such a desire to succeed,” said Jenn Lohse of Towson, who swam with Curreri at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. “He was happy to be involved in the Army.”

Curreri, who started swimming for the NBAC when he was 9, graduated from Loyola High.

He swam for the University of Southern California, where he captained the team his senior year. In the Army, he was a Special Forces communications sergeant assigned to Fort Lewis, Wash.

“Joe enjoyed camaraderie and hard work,” said Murray Stephens, the NBAC’s founder and director. “He demonstrated leadership by being a team captain.”

“I remember looking at Joe’s [Army] photo and recalling his determination,” Schertle said. “Whenever Joe put his mind to something, he accomplished it.”

(Laura Duffy/http://www.examiner.com)

Pinoy Film "The Islander" Joins US Film Fest

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 01, 2007) – A Filipino film by acclaimed director Mirana Medina has been selected for showing at the Chopin Theater for the 4th annual Chicago Filipino American Film Festival (CSAFF).

Her 97-minute film, “The Islanders,” about life of Filipinos and Americans before the war in Corregidor island, was first shown in Greenbelt Cinema in the Philippines in 2003 during the Cinemanila International Film Festival.

The CSAFF has this to say about the film: "Told in exacting detail with archival photography and eyewitness testimony, THE ISLANDERS, directed by Miranamedina, is a fascinating look at the fortress island of Corregidor, the U.S. military stronghold that was all but decimated in World War II. While Corregidor is often noted for its strategic significance in the Pacific Theater of World War II, THE ISLANDERS provides a rare look at the people that lived there, through the eyes of Filipino and American residents and their descendants."

Medina, an independent filmmaker, has recently shown her digital documentary, “Alyana,” a study of autism in the Philippines, in Davao City.

The CFAFF has been scheduled for the second weekend of November.

This unique festival showcases the best works by Filipino and Filipino-American filmmakers. For the third straight year, the film festival will be held at the Chopin Theater at 1543 W. Division St., in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood.
The festival will begin November 9 and run through November 11.

For the past three years, the mission of the film festival has been to highlight and celebrate the works of emerging Filipino-American filmmakers, as well as cutting-edge cinema from the Philippines.

Previous years have included acclaimed features, such as Cavite, Imelda, Panaghoy Sa Suba (Call of the River), Slow Jam King, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Crying Ladies, Magnifico and Leave It to Chance.

The CFAFF is presented by the Filipino American Network (FAN). FAN is a not-for-profit organization that calls, challenges and supports Filipino American young adults by providing resources, connections and opportunities to enrich their lives, support their growth and deepen their self-awareness of their Filipino heritage.

In addition to hosting the Chicago Filipino American Film Festival, FAN also sponsors the Holiday Gift Basket Drive for Senior and hosts other events for Chicago's Filipino American community.(Mindanao Examiner)

RP Troops Kill Sayyaf Leader

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 01, 2007) – Government soldiers clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, killing a sub-leader and wounding several others, officials said on Thursday.

Officials said the fighting erupted in the hinterland village of Kapayawan near Isabela City after troops stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout late Wednesday.

There were no reports of military casualties and officials said troops were still tracking down other militants who escaped the fighting. The body of the slain militant, believed that of Ayong Ikung, had been recovered by soldiers, including several weapons and explosives.

“The killing of the Abu Sayyaf shows the government is winning the war on terror and we will continue our operation against the Abu Sayyaf and other lawless groups,” Major Eugene Batara, a regional army spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Little was known about Ikung or whether he was involved in previous attacks on soldiers in Basilan, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City, also targeted in the past by Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.

Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf and the two other groups as foreign terrorist organizations and has offered tens of millions in dollars in rewards for the capture of its known leaders.

President Gloria Arroyo also set aside more than one hundred million pesos in bounties for the capture of Abu Sayyaf leaders dead or alive. The US is helping Manila defeat terrorism and sent soldiers to train Filipino troops in anti-terrorism warfare. (Mindanao Examiner)

Japan Renews Commitment To Peace In Mindanao

Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura and Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema. (Abdullah Cusain/Mindanao Examiner Photo)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 31, 2007) – Japan on Wednesday renewed its commitment to support the peace process in Mindanao island in the southern Philippines.

Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura flew to Cotabato City and met with the local mayor Muslimin Sema, also the Secretary General of the former Muslim rebel group, Moro National Liberation Front which signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996.

Katsura also inaugurated a center that offers women training on mat weaving.

“The Ambassador stressed that they are here to help in peace-building and that their assistance is open to all and not just limited to conflict-affected areas. Ambassador Katsura stated his admiration for the natural wealth of this place and said that it could have been richer if not for the armed conflict,” Sema said.

Katsura was also accompanied by Yasunori Nakayama, the Embassy’s political minister; Yoshihisa Ishikawa, the Embassy’s First Secretary and Nagaishi Masafumi, senior advisor for reconstruction and development of Mindanao program and also a member of the International Monitoring Team (IMT).

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which is fighting the past three decades for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao. (Abdullah Cusain)

The Mindanao Examiner Oct. 29-Nov. 04, 2007

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Poll Watcher Killed In South RP

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 31, 2007) – A volunteer poll watcher was found murdered Wednesday inside a gymnasium in Butuan City in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said Geraldine Cabardo's body was discovered by civilians at around 5.30 inside the gym at the San Vicente Elementary School. The body of the 25-year old Cabardo bore stab wounds, it said.

It was not immediately known if the murder was related to the elections, police said.

Other reports said Cabardo worked for the Bombo Radyo's poll watch during Monday's Barangay (village council) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council).

"We are still investigating the murder. According to the SOCO (scene of crime officers), the body had multiple incise wounds," Police Officer 2 Ethel Labi told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Butuan City.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the killing, Labi said.

More than two dozen people have been killed in poll-related violence in the country, according to the police, but it said the elections were peaceful compared in 2002 where 49 people had died. (Mindanao Examiner)

Barangay Chairman, Itinumba Sa Kabunsuan

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 30, 2007) – Patay ang isang Barangay captain matapos itong pagbabarilin ng di-kilalang salarin ilang oras ng siya'y tanghaling panalo sa Barangay elections sa lalawigan ng Shariff Kabunsuan sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Sinabi ng pulisya na hindi na umabot ng ospital si Samsudin Lumbos dahil sa tinamong balas a katawan matapos itong barilin sa Barangay Balut.

Patuloy naman ang imbestigasyon sa pagkakapaslang kay Lumbos, ayon sa pulisya. Umabot na umano sa 9 ang nasawi sa Barangay at SK polls sa naturang rehiyon.

Ngunit sa kabila nito ay sinabi ng pulisya at militar na mapayapa ang Barangay at Sanguniang Kabataan elections nuong Lunes.

Mahigit sa isang milyong kandidato ang tumakbo para sa 600,000 puwesto sa buong bansa. Huling ginanaop ang elections nuong 2002 matapos na mabalam ng ilang ulit dahil sa kakulangan ng pondo. (Mindanao Examiner)

Alkalde Ng Zamboanga Del Sur, Isinabit Sa Maling Paratang

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 30, 2007) – Itinanggi ng pulisya kanina ang balitang 74 mga teenager na umano’y nasa educational tour ang dinetene ng isang alkalde sa lalawigan ng Zamboanga del Sur.

Naunang nabalita na nahaharap sa kaso si Mayor Nestor Loquias ng bayan ng San Miguel matapos na magreklamo ang ilang magulang ng mga bata sa pulisya nuong Biyernes.

Ito rin ang naging laman ng mga pahayagan ditto ngayon, ngunit mismong si Supt. Angelito Casimiro, intelligence chief ng pulisya sa Western Mindanao, ang nagsabing pawing mga tagasunod ng alkalde ang mga teenager.

“Mga followers ni Mayor ang mga yun. Hindi totoo na dinetene niya ang mga teenagers,” ani pa ni Casimiro sa Mindanao Examiner.

Hindi naman mabatid kung sino ang mga kandidato ng alkalde sa Barangay at SK polls.

Ayon pa sa ulat ay nailigtas umano ng mga parak at miyembro ng Department of Social Welfare and Development ang mga teenager matapos na magreklamo ng tatlong magulang ng mga bata na sina Leonardo Balbatro, Emiliano Alcurin Mondido at Leonides Dagaan. Sa bahay umano ni Loquias sa Barangay Tuburan sa Pagadian city natagpuan ang mga teenager.

Hindi naman natagpuan doon ang alkalde ngunit walo umano sa mga tauhan at kasama nito sa bahay ang diumano’y inaresto – sina Bonifacia Urro, Carlos Urro, Rolando Paragas, Leny Rosa Vergas, Ronald Pregino, Analiza Martinez, Alien Sumiling at Leonilo Calinaol – ayon pa sa ulat.

Nagtungo naman sa pulisya sa Pagadian City ang alkalde kasama ang kanyang abogado upang itanggi ang lahat ng paratang. Posibleng pakana lamang umano ng mga katunggali sa pulitika ang nasa likod ng ulat na pinigil nito ang mga teenager. (Mindanao Examiner)

Erap’s Pardon is Cheap Grace: Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture

Official Statement of the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture.

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 30, 2007) - On the surface, granting former President Joseph Estrada executive clemency may seem like an act of compassion. In reality, it is cheap grace.

A pardon is an act of grace. It is a concept borrowed by jurisprudence from the biblical idea of ‘unmerited favor,’ meaning that the offender is spared the penalty for ‘sin’ or breaking the law, not because of any merit in him nor of any circumstance that might lighten his case, but because the punishment has been paid for in his behalf by someone else – the Son of God himself. For God to forgive, his own son had to be sent to the cross.

The demands of justice had to be met before God could pardon our sins. Because he is just, he did not seek reconciliation by simply sweeping things under the rug. He did not issue a general amnesty and bury our guilt and grievances under a show of bonhomie.

Instead, in his mercy he stripped himself of immunity, took upon himself our humanity, and suffered the full horror of what it means to die the death that we deserve. As the writer to the Hebrews put it: “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

Forgiveness is costly. It is premised on repentance, on acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Estrada goes scot-free without bowing to the court’s judgment that he is guilty. We do not expect from our leaders a ‘moral revolution’; only that those who profess to have seen the light should, like Zaccheus, show signs of true repentance by admitting wrong, asking for pardon and making the necessary restitution.

Likewise, we deplore the undue haste with which Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has pardoned Estrada, betraying a gross moral callousness over the seriousness of his crime. Hot on the heels of the revelation that the President is implicated in the ZTE scandal, the timing.

Leaders set a moral benchmark for the nation. The President’s free-and-easy pardon, coming just a month after the Sandiganbayan declared him guilty of plunder, mocks our justice system and further erodes faith in the rule of law. It sends the signal that the powerful can commit a heinous crime and run free just because they can threaten mayhem on those who uneasily sit in power.

Justice and mercy go together. This is what the cross tells us. Without justice, compassion becomes collaboration. We call on our people to resist the drift towards indifference and moral corrosion and make our leaders accountable for the corruption of this nation. (ISACC is a research and training organization specializing in development, missiology and cross-cultural studies within an Asian context aimed at social transformation)

US, Philippine City Sign 10-Year Waste Management Program

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 30, 2007) – US and Philippine officials have signed an agreement that would strengthen the local solid waste management program.

Mayor Muslimin Sema, of Cotabato city, signed the agreement with representatives of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Growth for Equity in Mindanao (GEM) and the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Foremost in the agreement is the reconstitution of the City Solid Waste Management Board for the proper implementation of a Ten-Year Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan.

“The project has been most awaited for. It will serve the interest of the local government of Cotabato City, particularly in the efforts to address environmental problems,” Sema, a former Moro rebel leader-turned politician, said.

Just this year, Sema also signed a 3-year contract worth P40 million for waste management project with Accion Contra El Hambre and Handicap International-Philippines. The project is bankrolled by the European Commission thru its Asia Pro-Eco Programme. (Abdullah Cusain)

US Army Finally Names Dead Soldier In Southern Philippines

Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, 27, died in an accidental drowning incident at Lake Seit in Panamao town in Sulu province on Oct. 26, 2007. (Army Photo/Mindanao Examiner)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 30, 2007) – The US Army Special Operations Command has finally released Tuesday the identity of an American soldier who died in the southern Filipino province of Sulu.

It said Staff Sgt. Joseph F. Curreri, 27, died in an accidental drowning incident at Lake Seit in Panamo town on October 26. He was a Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha team communications sergeant assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Lewis in Washington.

Curreri, a native of Maryland, volunteered for military service and entered the Army in July 2004 as an infantryman. He volunteered for and completed U.S. Army Airborne training, and then volunteered for Special Forces training at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

He was assigned to the 1st SFG (A) at Fort Lewis in 2006.

Hundreds of US soldiers under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines are deployed in Sulu province and training local soldiers in various military tactics.

In February, a US Marine, Cpl. Timothy Lewis, suffered a heat stroke and eventually died from cardiac arrest in Sulu. It was the first reported death of a US soldier participating in this year’s joint military drill.

Lewis was part of a contingent from the Okinawa-based 3rd Marine Expeditionary Forces.

In February 2002, a US MH-47 Chinook helicopter with eight American crew and two soldiers on board crashed during a night flight in Bohol Strait in central Philippines. There were no survivors. The American troops were taking part in a joint military training with Filipino soldiers.

The helicopter was on a routine transit from the southern island of Basilan to the island of Mactan where the U.S. maintains a logistics air base.

In October of the same year, a US soldier was also killed after an Abu Sayyaf bomb exploded on a roadside restaurant outside a Philippine Army base in Malagutay village in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)

OPINION

Rated PG By Ike Seneres

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT

It is interesting to note that even the American companies that are doing business here in the Philippines are bound by their own laws to comply with Equal Opportunity Employment (EOE). America is several thousand miles away, but the power of their laws reach all the way up to here. In contrast, we do not seem to have EOE laws of our own, and if we do, nobody seems to be minding it.

In my work as Chairman of the Inter-Charity Network (ICN), I am always confronted with the challenge of finding jobs for people who are above 30. That’s right, 30 is not really old, but in this country, workers who are above the “calendar days” are already considered “old”, and therefore above the so called “age limits” here.

Again in contrast, even the local employment agencies that are recruiting for American clients from over here do not impose “age limits”, knowing that it is against American laws. The same is true for those that are recruiting for Canadian companies, indicating that these two countries are far more advanced in their respect for equal opportunity.

Imagine that if workers in their 30’s are already discriminated against, how much more for our senior citizens who are past their 60’s? The truth is, senior citizens are not the only ones discriminated against in this country, because the list also includes handicapped persons, cultural minorities and even women, yes women!

In the darkness of these very discriminatory practices, I have seen the light of day in the now booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industries. I think there is a lot of potential in having outsourced services provided by these marginalized sectors, in cooperation with companies that are committed to the fulfillment of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives. Right now, I have a group of handicapped people who are ready to take on jobs as encoders, after being trained by a foreign foundation. Do we have any takers out there from the CSR programs?

For more information about public governance, email: iseneres@yahoo.com

Moro Renegades Still A Big Problem In South RP

Moro rebels show their might in Al-Barka town in Basilan island in southern Philippines. (Mark Navales/Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 29, 2007) - Rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have become a major headache for the armed revolutionary group which is currently stepping up efforts to arrive at a peaceful solution to the centuries-old Moro problem in southern Philippines.

Major Benjamin Dolorfino, in a recent interview here, said renegade guerrillas have resorted to banditry, kidnapping, and extortion, criminal acts which are condemned by the fundamentalist MILF.

"Their devolution into banditry, kidnapping and extortion – all of which often end in murder – is not only and embarrassment to MILF but also undermines everythingit is attempting to achieve," Dolorfino said citing the seriousness of the MILF peace panel to end the conflict in Mindanao.

"That is why the MILF is not merely helping the government tracks down these deserters, but in some cases is actually leading the effort to suppress them," he said.

Dolofino said the MILF also joined government troops in searching for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi taken from his parish by Moro renegades on Mindanao in June. "They were leading the search," he said.

The MILF is not the only Moro group to be plagued and embarrassed by former members who have turned to crime but also some lost commands of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), as well, which signed a peace agreement with the government after 30 years of fighting.

Unfortunately, not all of the MNLF unit commanders are ready to give up their arms, including Datukan Samad whom the MNLF refers to as the "lost command."

In May, Samad and nine of his men kidnapped German treasure hunter named Thomas Wallraf, his wife and a Filipino couple they were entertaining, in Pikit town in North Cotabato province.

Even before police could intervene, the MNLF asked rival MILF chief Murad Ebrahim to send his men after Samad who was operating near the MILF territory around Pikit.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the MILF fighters tracked and surrounded Samad near Pagalungan and asked him to surrender his hostage who refused at first but changed mind after MILF fired a rocket-propelled grenade near his position.

Norodin Matalam, vice mayor of Pagalungan town, praised the Moro groups for what he called their "spontaneous involvement" in recovering the hostages.

Samad's Lost Command is but one of many such groups of former guerillas and terrorists that have left their parent organizations to turn independent contractors; they no longer fight for a cause –if they ever did – but for profit and to survive; some, like the notorious "Commander Kiddie," who have turned to be professional kidnapper.

Commander Kiddie, or Abusalam Akiddin, as he is known when he led a Moro guerilla column, has a reputation for taking hostages and holding them for ransom. That reputation is so pronounced that even the Moro leadership believed it was he who had abducted Father Bossi, although the MILF leadership "pointed the finger" at Commander Kiddie, as Agence France-Presse noted, he had since denied playing any role in this particular incident

Major General Nehemas Pajarito, who as commander of forces in the area is well acquainted with the rogue commander, believed Akiddin did not hold the priest saying that authorities are "still investigating his possible involvement" in the kidnapping.

Commander Abubakar leads another Lost Command, lamented an MILF spokesman; Abubakar's group is believed to be behind the bus and bus terminal bombings in May and June.

Major Randolph Cabangbang of the Eastern Mindanao Command told reporters that Abubakar's lost command has sought to extort money from the Weena bus company, a family-owned business that operates at least 200 buses.

Abelerdo Gamilla, the company's operation manager in Davao City, says the group has carried out 17 attacks on his company since 2002; at least nine people have been killed ang 48 others injured in three such bombings since May
In each case, said Major Cabangbang, "extortion was the reason behind the attacks." (Candido Aparece Jr.)

RP Polls Peaceful

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo casts her vote Monday Oct. 29, 2007 at Lubao Elementary School in her hometown Pampanga province during the Barangay and SK elections. (Rey Baniquet)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 29, 2007) – Philippine authorities said Monday's polls were generally peaceful in the southern region of Mindanao, although there were some reports of killings and failure of elections over a few areas.

Filipinos cast their ballots for the Barangay (village council) and Sanguniang Kabataan (youth council) elections. More than a million candidates ran for various electives posts for the country's 42,000 villages, but over 600,000 only would be chosen.

The last elections were held in 2002 after several postponements due to lack of funding.

"The elections were generally peaceful and orderly, although there were some reports of violence in Basilan province and a failure of elections in some areas in Sulu and Lanao," Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga city, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said there was a failure of elections in Panglima Estino town in Sulu province because government teachers acting as poll officers boycotted the elections.

The teachers earlier warned they would boycott the elections to force the Muslim autonomous region to pay their salaries. Thousands of teachers said they have failed to receive their salaries for many months now and others claimed payments they made for state pension were missing.

Supt. Salik Macapantar, Basilan police chief, said one candidate was killed, but his attacker had been arrested after a long chase on Malamawi island. Another candidate was also shot and wounded in Isabela city by his political rival. Both men were running as village chieftain.

Elections in the towns of Al-Barka, Ungkaya Pukan and Tipo-Tipo, where Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels were active had been peaceful also, Macapantar said.

The three areas were closely guarded by policemen, he said.

"Overall, elections in Basilan are peaceful and there were less poll-related incidents. The people have been very active in guarding the elections to ensure honest polls and that's what we had in Basilan," Macapantar said in a separate interview.

Elections were also peaceful in central Mindanao, but there were reports that gunmen harassed poll officers in some areas in the region, according to Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army's 6th Infantry Division.

"We are waiting for reports, but so far, there have been few poll-related incidents," he said.

Philippine police chief Avelino Razon said the polls were successful with few election-related incidents. He said there were only 29 reported deaths compared to 75 in 2002. And only 48 poll-related incidents from 159 five years ago. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels Free Captured Soldier In South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 29, 2007) – Communist rebels on Monday freed an army soldier after more than three weeks in captivity in the southern Philippines.

Aris Francisco, spokesman for the New People’s Army (NPA) Alejandro Command in Southern Mindanao, said rebels freed Sgt. Raul Reyes at around 12 p.m. in the remote village of Casoon in Monkayo town in Compostela Valley province.

“The decision to release POW Sgt. Raul Reyes is based on humanitarian grounds particularly the request of his family. Also the investigating body of the NPA found no grave crimes that are individually attributable to the said prisoner of war,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Reyes was seized with two other militiamen Glorieto Mahumas and Ruddy Villaflor, also a village chieftain, in October 7 after NPA forces raided a government post in the village of Canidkid in Montevista town. The rebels carted 16 assorted automatic weapons.

The two militias had earlier escaped from rebels.

Francisco previously said the three would be tried for crimes committed against civilians. He said the two militias were active in local paramilitary recruitment and had been instrumental in putting up military detachments in the Montevista villages.

“The Philippine military units deployed in the area - the 72nd and the 60th Infantry Battalions had been notorious in committing grave human rights abuses and violations,” Francisco said.

He said Reyes was released to representatives of Compostela Valley Gov. Arturo Uy and Rep. Manuel Zamora.

The rebels earlier sought a suspension of all military offensives in the province in exchange for the release of the hostages, but this was flatly rejected by the government.

“The refusal of the Eastern Mindanao Command-Armed Forces of the Philippines to implement a suspension of military operations is a clear manifestation of its negligent treatment towards their own rank-and-file personnel, paramilitary elements and non-commissioned officers captured as POWs and to the demands of their families. Had the SOMO been implemented, the POW would have been released earlier,” Francisco said.

There were no immediate statements from the military.

The rebels are fighting the democratic Filipino government for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Juan Magtanggol)

Philippine Media Identify Dead US Soldier

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 28, 2007) – US authorities have finally released late Sunday the name of an American soldier who died after he went diving in a lake in the southern Philippines.

Local media identified the soldier as Master Sergeant Joe Curreri. The US military has not issued any press statement about the soldier's death.

The Southern Californian soldier was reported missing on Friday in Seit Lake in Panamao town. His body was found the next day.

Curerri belonged to the JSOTF-P, in-charge of training Filipino troops in southern Philippines.

The cause of the death remains unclear and it was unknown whether the soldier drowned or had a heart attack. (Mindanao Examiner)