Local News 6

Mango's Local News and Info

Archive 6

March 2002 - July 2002

Note: These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the Management, Staff and Employees of Mango's.

MLSA denounced as new bases pact
Posted: 0:33 AM (Manila Time) | Jul. 30, 2002
By Juliet L. Javellana
Inquirer News Service

THE COUNTRY will most likely be turned into a jumping board for American anti-terrorism operations in Asia as the proposed Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) grants permanent basing rights to the United States, Ilocos Norte Rep. Imee Marcos said Monday. Marcos said the final draft of the MLSA sought to give US forces access to all seaports and airports in the country.

In a privileged speech titled "Beware the Trojan Horse," Marcos attached what she said was the final draft of a 10-year MLSA, which is being prepared for signing in time for the visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell to Manila on Aug. 3. "First there remains uppermost, our concern that this copy of the final version of the MLSA, which is sadly all we have on hand to judge, grants permanent basing rights to the American armed forces that violate our Constitution," the daughter of the late President Ferdinand Marcos said.

But Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye denied that the MLSA would grant the United States basing rights in the country. Bunye also said that there was no final draft yet of the MLSA. "Although the final draft of the MLSA is not yet in, Malacañang is saying that there are no basing rights involved in it," he said. Bunye said the MLSA was a mere "accounting" agreement that will cover, among other things, military equipment brought in by the United States and infrastructure projects built by US forces in the course of the Balikatan 02-1 exercises.

Marcos said there was more to the MLSA. "Although defined as 'support services,' there can be no doubt that 'billeting . . . medical services, use of facilities, training services, repair and maintenance services . . . port services' do not entail mere manpower resources and servicing, but more accurately and candidly, this enumeration refers to permanent housing, operations construction and infrastructure, a 10-year access to all Philippine sea and airports - all explicitly prohibited by the Constitution," she said.

The final draft also shows that the MLSA is a treaty requiring ratification by the Senate and not an executive agreement to be signed by defense officials of both countries, according to Marcos. But Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said the MLSA did not need Senate approval. He said at a press conference that the original "intention" in drafting the MLSA was "to make an executive agreement" between the country and the United States. "And therefore, there is no need of ratification by the Senate," Perez said. "While apparently covering only logistics support, this executive agreement in actual fact expands the applicability of the Mutual Defense Treaty far beyond its original content," Marcos said.

Marcos said the MLSA would allow the entry of American armed forces into Philippine territory at "almost any time, under virtually all conditions, whatever the prevailing circumstances." The MLSA states that the agreement applies "in times of international tension, national emergency of either party or actual hostilities" and during "unforeseen circumstances or exigencies."

"In the Philippine context, replete with unforeseen exigencies and tensions, when would the MLSA not apply?" Marcos said. Nobody rose to interpolate Marcos. Even as Marcos spoke, her colleagues demanded to know the contents of the MLSA after Malacañang said the draft would be shown to senators. Negros Occidental Rep. Jun Lozada, chair of the House committee on foreign relations, and Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzalez said the draft should be made known to policymakers for the sake of transparency.

"If the criticisms against the MLSA are baseless, then why do they keep it secret?" said Lozada, an official of the ruling Lakas-NUCD. Marcos distributed copies of the "final draft" of the "Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (RP-US-01) between the Department of Defense of the United States of America and the Department of National Defense of the Republic of the Philippines."

The eight-page document indicates that the commander in chief of the USPacom (US Pacific Command) and the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines are signatories to the agreement. In her speech, Marcos tied the MLSA to the "treacherous gift" of military aid to the Philippines granted by the US Congress last week.

She said the MLSA was not what Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes had claimed - a "low-level agreement which only involves the facilitation of exchanges" between US and Philippine forces. "Indeed, a quick perusal of the final version's contents, barely changing from the first draft discussed last January, will reveal that these are indeed onerous conditions in exchange for logistics support and 55 million dollars," Marcos said.

She said there were "potential violations lurking" in the MLSA and that these and the 55 million dollars in military aid was a "Trojan horse sent to allow the US forces to launch their global war against terrorism from Philippine soil." She said the MLSA would allow the Philippines to be a participant in the US operations against Iraq, Iran, North Korea and others considered by Washington as the "Axis of Evil."

"When the MLSA converts our country into the American base of operations in Asia, the location from which acts of aggression are launched, we too, by aiding and abetting through provisions of support, services and supplies, become guilty of acts of aggression," she said. She asked if the Philippines was ready for reciprocal attacks by America's enemies on its territory and on Filipinos everywhere. "Must we prepare to go to war against Indonesia, a founding member of the Asean family, simply because it contains the largest Islamic population in the world and the Americans say so?" she said. Marcos also asked: "How long must we, representatives of the people, be kept in the dark?"

Lozada said it was very important that the government clear the issues against the MLSA. He said reports about US disapproval of sovereignty clauses in agreements like the MLSA should be clarified. Incoming Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said he would make sure that the provision on respect for sovereignty was included in the MLSA. In a talk with Senate reporters before delivering his valedictory speech, Ople said that while he did not take part in the drafting of the MLSA, he said he would insist that this provision be respected in the final draft.

Bush seeks $25-M military aid for RP, but gets $55M
Posted: 11:52 PM (Manila Time) | Jul. 26, 2002
By Jennie L. Ilustre
Inquirer News Service

WASHINGTON – President George W. Bush, in appreciation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's early and all-out support for the US-led global war against terrorism, had asked Congress to approve 25 million dollars for the Philippines in the emergency supplemental budget for 2002. Instead, said Philippine Ambassador Albert del Rosario, the US Congress approved a bigger amount of foreign military financing: 55 million dollars.

"On top of this, the Bush administration had asked an additional 15 million dollars in economic support fund ... for Mindanao," Del Rosario said in a report to Ms Macapagal last Tuesday. Del Rosario said in a teleconference with the President and 11 other ambassadors that the US House of Representatives and Senate bicameral conference further directed that 30 million dollars of the military aid be designated as an "emergency" for budgetary purposes.

"This means that its release should be expedited," he said in a report released to the press, adding that he had "asked the Bush administration to support this increase." This support from the Bush administration and the US Congress, plus Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's visit to Manila on Aug. 2, signals America's desire for sustained military cooperation in the Asia-Pacific in the war against terrorism. Del Rosario left for Manila Tuesday to help prepare for Powell's visit.

Powell will arrive in Manila in the evening of Aug. 2 and leave the following day. He will visit Asian nations after attending the July 31-Aug. 1 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum in Brunei. The Department of State said Powell would discuss "key bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual concern, including counter-terrorism, security, and promotion of economic cooperation and global prosperity" in the countries he would visit.

In the Philippines, Powell will likely discuss with President Macapagal continued US military presence in the country, including the resumption of the joint military exercises in October and the controversial logistics support. He will also discuss the 55-million-dollar foreign military financing. Inquirer sources said Powell would also present Ms Macagapal with a deed for a 500,000-dollar annual grant from US Veterans Administration secretary Anthony J. Principi to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for Philippine-based Filipino veterans of World War II. Ms Macapagal is expected to urge the United States to increase its military aid for the modernization of the Philippine armed forces.

She will also relay her concerns over a US trade bill seeking to give duty-free access to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru as a means to encourage farmers in those countries to stop producing crops that can be turned into illegal drugs. If the bill is approved, the Philippine canned tuna industry stands to lose 40 million dollars a year and 117,000 jobs. Ms Macapagal will also urge the United States not to aggravate the Philippines' economic woes and to ease up on overstaying Filipinos with deportation orders in the United States, except in cases of those who have been convicted of crimes.

Philippine embassy officials have been lobbying American lawmakers to delete a provision in the proposed Andean Trade Preference Expansion Act that seeks to grant duty-free access to the canned tuna exports of Andean countries to the United States. As an alternative, the Philippine is urging the US Congress to give the same preferential treatment to the Philippines and to the other ASEAN tuna-exporting countries. During the teleconference, the President congratulated Del Rosario for gathering the support of several US senators and congressmen on the matter.

U.S. charges Abu Sayyaf leaders in kidnappings
July 24, 2002 Posted: 2:44 AM EDT (0644 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Justice Department has released a five-count indictment against five members of the Philippine Islamic Abu Sayyaf rebel group in connection with the kidnappings and deaths of Americans and Filipinos. The charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy include the deaths of U.S. missionary Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap, killed during a gun battle between their captors and Philippine troops in June. Burnham's wife, Gracia, was wounded but survived the clash. The Burnhams had been held for more than a year, and another American kidnapped with their group, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded in June 2001.

Abu Sayyaf has been linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda organization and the U.S. State Department designated it a terrorist organization in 1997. None of those charged are in custody, Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson said. Those indicted were two Abu Sayyaf commanders, Jainal Antel Sali Jr. and Hamsiraji Marusi Sali; the group's spiritual leader, Khadafi Abubakar Janjalani; deputy commander Isnilon Totoni Hapilon; and Abu Sayyaf spokesman Aldam Tilao. Each is charged with conspiracy to commit hostage-taking resulting in death, hostage-taking, hostage-taking resulting in death and aiding and abetting.

Tuesday's indictment was first returned in February, but had been sealed in order to protect those who were still held by the guerrillas. It was revised this week to include the killings of Burnham and Yap. According to the indictment, from August 2000 to early June 2002, the men knowingly and intentionally conspired to seize, detain, threaten to kill and injure victims, including four U.S. nationals.

According to the indictment, the deaths of Sobero and Burnham, both U.S. citizens, and non-Americans Sonny Dacquer, Armando Bayona and Ediborah Yap resulted from the conspiracy to commit hostage-taking. The charges also cover the August 2000 kidnapping of Jeffrey Schilling, an American living in the southern Philippines. He was held captive seven months before escaping in April 2001. Before he fled, his kidnappers had demanded a $10 million ransom and the release of certain U.S. prisoners. After those kidnappings, the indictment says the men sought ransom, demanded that the Philippine government cease military operations against them, demanded the release of prisoners in the United States and called for other actions.

Bishop tells lawmakers: Face truth, stop blaming US envoy
Posted:0:14 AM (Manila Time) | Jul. 18, 2002
Inquirer News Service

A High official of the Catholic Church in the Philippines Wednesday called on legislators to stop yelping at American Ambassador Frank Ricciardone and acknowledge the truth of his statement that corruption is widespread in government. "Corruption has been in the Philippines since I was born, which was sometime in the 1930s," said Archbishop Oscar Cruz, past president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. "It is endemic in the government structure and is inherited from administration to administration. It’s just a matter of ‘more’ or ‘less’ in each administration."

Ricciardone had said Monday that the Philippines was losing out to Asian neighbors due to perceptions of widespread corruption and constitutional barriers to foreign investment, top of which was "corruption, not just regarding the courts but also officials outside" the judiciary. "Foreign investors have complained about that to me and to other ambassadors here (that) we have a real problem here," he told a gathering of foreign correspondents.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conceded in a radio interview Tuesday that the problem of corruption was discouraging investments, saying that not only the US ambassador but also businessmen had raised the matter to her. On Wednesday, she directed the Department of Justice and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission to submit their reports on what they were doing to stamp out corruption.

But legislators rapped Ricciardone for speaking in the words of oppositionist senator Blas Ople like a "two-cent radio commentator". Ople, touted to become the next foreign secretary, said Ricciardone must apologize to the President and the Filipino people for what he described as undiplomatic remarks.

Senator Manuel Villar on Wednesday called on Washington to recall Ricciardone for openly criticizing the state of corruption in his host country. House of Representatives Speaker Jose de Venecia said he would file a bill seeking the abolition of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, one of the government agencies perceived to be corrupt.

The Philippine Consultative Assembly (PCA), a critic of Ms Macapagal, said the President should start its anti-corruption drive by investigating the alleged rice smuggling by her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo. Deputy customs commissioner Ray Allas denied the First Gentleman was involved in smuggling.

Cruz, head of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan in the northern province of Pangasinan, said the reaction of some legislators to Ricciardone’s statements was understandable. "Their pride was hurt," he said. "It’s very human to be hurt when told by another person that you are corrupt, more so when told by a foreigner." He advised government officials to look at themselves and do better because "what the ambassador said was true although difficult to accept."

Villar said Ricciardone had no right to air such criticisms. "What is his motive for saying that?" he asked. "He is an ambassador and a guest here. It’s highly unusual for him to commit that blunder. You don’t criticize your host country. That’s very elementary in diplomacy." Villar said corruption in government was bad but insisted it was not an issue for foreign investors. He said investors were concerned more about policies and incentives.

Ople said Ricciardone must make "make an expression of regret and to make it on behalf of his government." On the other hand, Senator Robert Barbers said the comments by the ambassador should not be taken as an insult but as a "constructive" statement of concern on the adverse effects of corruption. "It is not the first time our attention was called with regard to the problems of our bureaucracy particularly on corruption," he said. "Even some sectors like the business community have often been critical of this matter and have been suggesting solutions," Barbers added. Barbers said Ricciardone meant well when he made those remarks.

Senator Loren Legarda said her fellow legislators should "set aside their emotions and look at the substance" of what Ricciardone’s statement. Ms Macapagal said Wednesday she had asked officials "to be very vigorous against the campaign against corruption," and vowed to work closely with legislators on a special law dealing with corrupt officials.

She declared her confidence that Supreme Court Chief Justice Davide "will do as he has been doing what must be done in order to fight corruption in the judiciary." Supreme Court records showed that the tribunal had penalized 352 judges for various offenses since 1999. The high court also launched last year a five-year, 4.3-billion-peso project aimed at improving the delivery of justice by "re-engineering court management systems."

'Peaceful' elections claim 87 lives
July 16, 2002 Posted: 6:30 PM HKT (1030 GMT)
Staff and wires

MANILA, Philippines -- Political violence linked to community elections described by the military as "peaceful" has claimed a total of 87 lives, including those of at least 10 candidates. Most of the deaths took place during a one-and-a-half-month campaigning period but election day itself on Monday was comparatively uneventful. Vice Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gregorio Camiling said Tuesday that only a few incidents, in which four people were killed, marred election day.

Elections in the largely impoverished, mainly Roman Catholic country of 76.5 million are often tainted by violence, especially in provincial areas where well-armed clans are pitted against one another. Last year, 116 people died in congressional elections.

"The overall assessment of the conduct of election is generally peaceful marred only by isolated incidents that can be attributed to intense political rivalry and the presence of armed groups," Camiling said in a statement reported by Reuters news agency. Despite the deaths, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also thanked the people for the "peaceful and happy atmosphere" that prevailed during the elections.

As of noon on Tuesday, while manual counting of votes was still going in some areas, there have been 183 incidents of election-related violence around the country since campaigning began. Camiling said election day was marred by shooting incidents, harassment, protests against vote buying, ballot-snatching and the burning of a ballot box. A school building used as a polling center was burned by unidentified attackers.

Voters elected community leaders to run neighborhood affairs in about 42,000 "barangays" or districts in the country's more than 75 provinces. The elected officials serve three-year terms and supervise peace and order in their neighborhoods. The elections are supposed to be non-partisan, with political parties banned from putting up candidates.

But politicians are known to quietly finance candidates who can deliver them votes in bigger political contests, such as in congressional and provincial elections and in the presidential polls, due to take place in 2004. More than 330,000 posts were at stake in Monday's polls, with each barangay entitled to elect eight officers. However, elections in more than 200 districts were postponed owing to floods.

Asia Brewery, Anheuser Busch end Budweiser deal
Posted:10:37 PM (Manila Time) | Jul. 11, 2002
By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Inquirer News Service

TYCOON Lucio Tan’s Asia Brewery Inc. and Anheuser Busch, the world’s largest beer maker, have ended a five-year deal on brewing and marketing Budweiser beer in the Philippines on a bitter note, after the local brewer declined the US company's demand for a bigger royalty. Asia Brewery chief executive James L. Yu said Asia Brewery and Anheuser Busch had agreed on the terms of a fresh deal except for an increase of one percent in the annual royalty.

The negotiations began in October and there was agreement on renewing the deal for five years, on the sales target, on spending for advertising and promotion, and on improving product quality, Yu said. Asia Brewery was willing to increase royalty payments if sales increased by a pre-agreed volume, such as one million cases, in a year, Yu said.

He said Asia Brewery rejected the Americans’ demand because a bigger royalty rate would mean that they would get a bigger piece of revenues regardless of whether sales were good or bad. Yu said Asia Brewery shouldered all the start-up and marketing costs since Budweiser was introduced here in 1996 while Anheuser Busch ran the show.

He said Anheuser Busch had initially agreed to accept Asia Brewery’s compromise offer in December last year but changed its mind in February, when the Americans made a take-it-or-leave-it offer specifying a one-percent increase in royalty rate. “We had no choice but to terminate our licensing and brewing agreement Asia Brewery stopped selling Budweiser in April 30 because of the shabby treatment we are getting from Anheuser Busch," Yu said. "We wanted to continue selling Budweiser here but we knew we reached the end of the road when our partners clearly don’t want us anymore."

Yu said that in a final demand letter to Asia Brewery, Anheuser Busch projected a dismal outlook for the Philippine beer industry and its strategy to focus on China, the second-largest beer market in the world. Yu also dismissed speculation that Budweiser was disappointed with Asia Brewery’s failure to give Budweiser at least two percent of the Philippine beer market the fifth-largest in Asia and the biggest in Southeast Asia at the end of the five-year agreement.

“We told them as early as 1999 (or three years into the contract) that there was no way we could reach our target of two-percent market share and they agreed with us," Yu said. "But we continued to believe on the potential of Budweiser in the country which is why both of us agreed to sit down and discuss a renewal." Yu noted that Budweiser’s launch in the Philippines was affected by the 1997 financial crisis and the Philippines’ sluggish economic growth. “The local beer market, which is a good economic barometer, is down by 10 percent to 15 percent since 1996," he said.

Anheuser Busch itself took note of Asia Brewery’s success in ensuring widespread distribution of Budweiser in Metro Manila, the most competitive of the Philippine beer markets, and large provincial cities on the main Island regions of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. “With excellent penetration of bars, restaurants and clubs, Budweiser sales in 1999 increased 24 percent versus 1998, continuing Budweiser's strong growth trend as the largest-selling premium beer brand in the Philippines," Anheuser Busch said on its website.

Yu said: “This is no doubt a setback for us. But we have survived 20 years of intense competition and we look forward to continue with our struggle with no letup."

Population reaches 80M; 32M are considered poor
Posted:11:48 PM (Manila Time) | Jul. 04, 2002
Inquirer News Service

THERE are now 80 million Filipinos, and 32 million of them are considered poor. According to the Commission on Population (Popcom), the country’s population has reached "an estimated 80 million (and) the number of poor Filipinos has also expanded to nearly half of it 40 percent are now (living) below the poverty line."

A government census completed in May 2000 showed that 76.49 million people lived in the Philippines and that the population was increasing by around 1.7 million annually. "With the increase in newborns and new families comes an increase in people’s basic needs to continue human life," warned a Popcom news release Thursday.

It quoted the National Statistical Coordination Board as saying last year that four in 10 Filipinos lived on less than 38 pesos a day, the poverty threshold set by the government. Popcom executive director Tomas Osias said poverty was a condition that strips people of their dignity. "Poverty is not only about income," he said. "It is not merely a statistical probability, but a reality that sets in with cruel consequences."

On July 11, the Popcom and the United Nations Population Fund will lead the observance of World Population Day by sounding off the call "Action Against Poverty: Empower, Protect, Educate". The two agencies are urging Filipinos to be informed, to make the right decisions, and to seek ways of planning their families to stop poverty.

Osias stressed the importance of thinking ahead and studying ways to improve one’s life so the future generation could have a better life. He said couples should learn the importance of having a family that they planned and making the environment healthy for their family. "The country will have a chance of reducing poverty when couples attain their aspiration to have the number of children they want," he said. "If all couples realize this, it will be a good start for a better life."

Osias said the government was committed to making couples become responsible parents by keeping them informed and helping them choose a family planning method they want. About two million Filipino couples had expressed in the 1998 National Demographic and Health Survey of the National Statistics Office their desire to have a family consisting of not more than three children to nurture, educate and bring up as responsible adults. At present, couples have an average of four children.

The harsh effects of poverty and increased population may complicate the already difficult social conditions if families cannot afford even the most basic needs, such as food. If this situation persists, there will be little or no resources at all for health, education and housing, Popcom said.

The Punisher: Hard-riding, tough-talking Mayor Rodrigo Duterte keeps the peace in what was once the Philippines' most lawless city. But his brand of order comes at a price.
BY PHIL ZABRISKIE/DAVAO CITY
With Reporting by Nelly Sindayen/Davao City
EDWIN TUYAY FOR TIME

Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor of Davao City, is sitting in his favorite bar, After Dark, a glass of brandy in front of him, a .38 pistol tucked in his waistband. He's wearing jeans and a short-sleeved shirt loudly adorned with wine bottles and bunches of red and green grapes-the same outfit he wore to work. While other guests take turns singing along with the piano player, Duterte tells a strange and disturbing story. In 1993, Davao's San Pedro Cathedral was hit with three grenades during an evening Mass. Six parishioners were killed. The attackers were Muslim militants, the sort easily found in Davao, a time-honored haven for kidnappers, bandits, communist rebels and roaming private armies. Four of the attackers were quickly arrested. Just as quickly, Duterte relates, "They went missing." Disappeared. Dead. "Then," the mayor says flatly, "it got ugly." Further killings? "More like assassinations," he says. The targets-other militants-didn't receive the courtesy of arrest, much less a trial. Were they dispatched on his orders? "Oh no," he responds. "I don't believe in state-sponsored killing." A pause. "I can't say any more, but I taught them a lesson."

The island of Mindanao remains troubled. A Muslim separatist rebellion has raged there for decades. Al-Qaeda members have roamed the island. Foreign businessmen and missionaries must constantly be on guard there against kidnappers. But Davao, a sprawling port city on the southern coast, has emerged as the exception-an oasis of peace in the middle of the Philippines' lush center of chaos.

Residents have a simple explanation: the mayor. First elected in 1987, Duterte was returned to office twice until term limits made him to move to Manila as a Congressman. Last year he returned, running for the Davao mayoralty on his eternal platform: to bring peace and order the Duterte way. The city's 1.3 million residents swept him back into office, and no wonder. On his watch, Davao's per capita crime rate has sunk to the nation's lowest. The local tourism board calls it "the most peaceful city in Southeast Asia." People once fled the place in fear; now they flee other trouble spots in the Philippines-for Davao.

"If we had 20 more mayors like Duterte," says Fred Lim, an ex-mayor of Manila who is no stranger to tough tactics, "the peace and order situation in the Philippines would improve." That's one way of looking at it. Others say Duterte has achieved his results at a grim price, disregarding due process and anointing himself legislator, judge, jury-and possibly executioner-all at once. Justice in Davao, says Senator Rodolfo Biazon, a highly decorated former armed forces chief, is "not about following the law; it's about who's willing to go further."

Duterte is unapologetic about his willingness to venture beyond what legal niceties might permit. Criminals and rebels, he says menacingly from his perch at the bar, "do not have a monopoly on evil." A long, hard stare leaves little doubt that this is not idle talk. One day his methods might be unnecessary, he says. But for now, he insists on what most people from this town have also come to believe: "The only reason there is peace and order in Davao is because of me."

The convoy rolls down San Pedro Street, with Duterte in the lead on one of his beloved motorcycles. He is followed by two other bikes and a pickup bearing M16 toting bodyguards. Now and again, he lets loose a siren, in part to clear traffic, in part to signal that the mayor is on the prowl. Some people stare. Others wave. A few duck swiftly into the shadows. Duterte says he "patrols" twice a week, usually late at night, stopping at precinct houses to see who's in the holding cells and why, and to make sure his police are doing their job. He has made a policy of doling out groceries to cops as a way of curbing their temptation to elicit bribes, but that doesn't mean he's always in a benevolent mood. When he finds a cop drunk on duty, Duterte admits, he personally doles out a thrashing.

Duterte suffers from none of the charges that dog most Philippine politicians: that he is beholden to vested interests, obsessed with retaining power, or bent on accumulating its spoils. He is accepted and welcomed because he has delivered Davao from the bloody days of the 1970s and 1980s when the city was known as the murder capital of the Philippines. During the 21-year rule of strongman Ferdinand Marcos, the military spared neither the rod nor the gun to battle a spate of insurgencies, including one by the communist New People's Army (NPA). By the end of Marcos' reign, many in Mindanao were sick of the government and sided with the NPA-even when it sent hit squads, called "Sparrow Units," to assassinate policemen and soldiers in Davao. But the Sparrows got cocky and started bumping off suspected informants and civilians. As a counter, a vigilante group called Alsa Masa emerged in the mid-'80s, armed in part by the military and set on wiping out local communists. The vigilantes were popular until they too ran amok. A mini civil war erupted. One notably violent area called Agdao was rechristened "Nicar-agdao."

Duterte, who graduated as a lawyer in 1972-the year Marcos proclaimed martial law-rose to prominence against this backdrop of vicious mayhem. As a city prosecutor he made his reputation by targeting military and rebel abuses with equal fervor. The son of a former provincial governor, Duterte says his father taught him that elected officials must serve the greater good no matter what it takes, like a father protecting and disciplining his family. And Duterte was fearless: even as a teenager, he refused to back down from fights-or whippings from his mother-despite being a self-confessed skinny weakling.

In his first term, Duterte's challenge was to rehabilitate Davao's reviled police department, which was running scared after years of NPA attacks. Shortly after Duterte took office, he heard that some kidnappers were trying to skip town with their just-collected ransom. Duterte led the pursuit, beating the cops to the scene and stationing his car on a bridge at the city line. When the kidnappers arrived, they started shooting. Duterte and his security detail returned fire, killing three of the four suspects. It was like a scene from the Philippine movies, which are replete with Dirty Harry loner-heroes. Here, it seemed, was a man who did what he promised, a man willing to die-and kill-for Davao.

Has he, in fact, killed people? Duterte says he doesn't know, noting blithely "I didn't use tracer bullets." At 57, he remains the swaggering new-sheriff-in-town. He wants outlaws to know, he says, "that if I'm going out, I'm going out with my guns blazing." Guided by his temperament, not the constitution, Duterte gave his cops license to shoot anyone who resisted arrest. He drove into the hills, into the camps of the NPA and other rebel groups ravaging Mindanao and told them he understood their grievances and respected men who fought for their beliefs. But, he added, "Don't f___ with my city." If they did, he warned, "they should be prepared to die."

By the early 1990s, the threat within Davao from communist rebels and Muslim guerrillas had faded. Duterte's vigilance had not. Urchins caught picking pockets have got beatings with a belt or a cow's tail from the mayor himself, often in City Hall. Rich kids who hot-rodded down the city streets were warned that they'd be paraded naked around town. And throughout, he let it be known that he would never relent in his fight against rapists, petty thieves and particularly drug pushers. "If you sell drugs to destroy other people's lives," he threatened, "I can be brutal."

On Sept. 20, Ryan Martinito, 18, and P.J. Taporco, 19, were walking down Ponciano Reyes Street, one of Davao's main thoroughfares. Both were known cell- phone thieves who had been arrested several times and were out on bail. As several witnesses looked on, two men riding a motorcycle drove up, killed Martinito and Taporco with bullets to the head, then sped away. It was 2:30 in the afternoon. Suspicions immediately focused on the so-called Davao Death Squad, a vigilante outfit the city has come to know well over the past decade. According to press and police reports, more than 100 thieves and drug pushers-some convicted, some charged, others not even formally arrested-have been killed in the city during that time, almost always with the same modus operandi: two men on a motorcycle with a .45 or a 9-mm firing at close range.

Such killings were heavy in 1996 and 1997, then sporadic during Duterte's time in Congress. The pace picked up during and after his mayoral campaign last June, spiking last fall after Duterte ordered all drug dealers to leave town by Nov. 30, or else. The DDS is commonly referred to as the "Duterte Death Squad"-even, jokingly, by Duterte himself. The mayor formally denies any involvement, saying the killings may be gang related. But, characteristically, he points out that most of the victims were repeat offenders who got what they deserved. "From day one," he says, "I told people there are consequences for not abiding by the law." A task force appointed by the mayor to investigate the roughly 40 suspected vigilante killings in the past two years alone has not made a single arrest: no witnesses would come forward.

At the very least, the mayor has created an atmosphere in which the death squads feel free to operate with impunity. Last October, Duterte went on television and read out a list of suspects wanted for drug offenses, including policemen. Two of those named were killed within a week. Jun Pala, a former Alsa Masa spokesman and now one of Duterte's fiercest critics, was ambushed last July and shot four times. Pala has suspicions-but no evidence-about who ordered the attack. (Duterte denies involvement.) Pala argues that Duterte deserves no credit for Davao's rebirth. "How can he say Davao is safer when children"-that's to say teenagers-"are being killed indiscriminately?" It is, he adds, "a reign of terror."

Yet part of the fascination of Duterte's personality is that he also has an incongruously soft and liberal streak. He lives in a modest house on a quiet street. He sends food to Muslim communities during Ramadan and to Catholic communities at Christmas. Almost every day in his office he receives constituents seeking assistance. In one 10-minute span, he gives a mother the bus fare to her home village, counsels a woman seeking a job and tenderly tells a young, badly scarred burn victim that he will pay for her operation and follow-up treatment. (Duterte is known to deliver on such promises.) He is politically correct in other ways too: his party slate during the past election included a Christian, a Muslim, a gay man and a disabled candidate.

But it's Duterte's zero tolerance-for both crime and the judicial system-that resonates. "They can't rely on the justice system, so they rely on Duterte," says former Misamis Oriental Governor Homobono Adaza. Looking to exploit Duterte's appeal, former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada both asked him to take national posts. And Duterte's way is spreading. Presidential adviser Jesus Dureza, who has known him since high school, says voters in other cities also crave Duterte-type security. Copycat vigilante killings have cropped up in Digos City to the south and Cagayan de Oro to the north. Locally, criticism from Muslim leaders, the Catholic church, and libertarian groups has been muted. Only child welfare and human-rights bodies have complained about the deaths of too many teens.

The locals' views are all too clear. Duterte has never lost an election. Everyone in Davao seems content-if a little scared. Duterte leaves his brother's birthday party after midnight. He sends his security home and leads a walking tour of Davao's shadier streets. It's late but the mayor wants to prove that Davao is safe, anywhere, any time. He ambles past small shops, vendors, restaurants and street corners favored by local hookers. Some of the girls greet him with handshakes and hugs, which he returns with jokes, kisses on the cheek, and some pocket money. "I wanted to end prostitution," he says, "but I had no jobs to give them."

But some of the young working girls react more nervously. Today he's going after drug addicts and pickpockets. Tomorrow, they fear, it could be them. Who, after all, has the power or will to stop him if he chooses to broaden his list of undesirables? The city may be more secure for some, but for the girls peering nervously from across the street, life in Duterte's Davao seems more perilous than ever.

US troops to stay longer in RP, says US defense chief
Posted: 11:35 PM (Manila Time) | Jun. 27, 2002
Inquirer News Service

WASHINGTON -- US Special Forces are likely to continue training small units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines even after the end of the six-month Balikatan training exercise, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Wednesday. But the bulk of the US forces will pull out by July 31 when they are scheduled to wind up their counterterrorism exercise with Filipino troops, according to Rumsfeld.

He told reporters that US forces would begin training Filipino troops at the company level later this month or next. Rumsfeld said this company-level training would likely be carried over under a new phase of the counterterrorism exercise. "We very likely will continue -- not continue -- but have some arrangement with respect to operating with somewhat smaller levels," he said.

The Pentagon earlier announced the approval of a plan to send American troops on combat patrol with Filipino soldiers fighting Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan. Defense officials, however, said then that the plan would not allow US troops to stay beyond July 31. Asked about the patrolling, Rumsfeld said, "I mean, in training and exercising, you end up being around. And if that's a patrol, it's a patrol. And if it's not, it's not."

About 660 US troops have been deployed in Basilan and other parts of Western Mindanao since early February to train and assist Filipino soldiers hunting down the Abu Sayyaf, a Moro bandit group with loose links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.

Abu Sabaya, a spokesperson for the Abu Sayyaf, was reported killed in a gun battle with Filipino commandos off the coast of Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte. His body, however, remains missing. Sabaya's group held hostage for more than a year American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Edibora Yap. In a military operation earlier this month, Gracia Burnham was rescued but her husband Martin and Yap were killed.

Shortly before the Sibuco encounter, four Indonesian seamen were kidnapped off the coast of Basilan. Suspicion fell on the Abu Sayyaf after one of the Indonesians escaped. It was later established that a band of pirates was responsible. In Zamboanga City, the chief of the military's Southern Command said the pirates were demanding a ransom of 100,000 pesos for the three remaining Indonesians kidnapped from a tugboat last week.

Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina said the kidnappers had told local negotiators that the 100,000 pesos they were demanding represented what they spent detaining the Indonesian sailors in the mountainous hinterlands of Jolo island. "They apparently just want their expenses reimbursed," Carolina said.

"Even so, the kidnappers are now talking. I think that is a good sign," he added. He said that Luuk Mayor Munir Arbison and his son Rep. Abdurahman Arbison had been spearheading the negotiations. Despite the negotiations, efforts by the military to rescue the captives were continuing, he said. "Our Marines soldiers are there in case the negotiations collapse. Their option would be to launch a military operation," Carolina said.

The Indonesians were taken at gunpoint on June 17 by 11 men in military fatigues riding in three speedboats off Basilan. The gunmen stopped the tugboat, fired warning shots and abducted the captain and three other officers, leaving six junior crewmembers behind, Navy officials said. One of the kidnapped Indonesians escaped after the abduction.

The Indonesians, on a two-week journey to transport coal to the central Philippines, apparently took a shortcut and traveled closer to Basilan to save on diesel fuel, which they planned to sell, Carolina said. That route "made them targets of opportunity" for the pirates, he said. Pirates, smugglers, Moro bandits, drug dealer and gun traffickers have roamed the vast seas in Western Mindanao near the border with Malaysia and Indonesia for centuries.

MANILA, Philippines — U.S. and Philippine officials have agreed to bring American troops closer to the front lines in the campaign against Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Saturday. U.S.-trained troops are believed to have killed the group's most visible leader, Abu Sabaya, during a gunbattle at sea on Friday. Navy divers were searching for the body, and the military offered a $1,000 reward for its recovery.

Sabaya reportedly led kidnapping raids last year that captured dozens of hostages, including two American missionaries. U.S. Special Forces troops are on Basilan island in the southern Philippines on a six-month mission to train and advise Filipino soldiers fighting the Abu Sayyaf, which has been loosely linked to al-Qaida. The Americans are prohibited from engaging in combat and are currently confined to battalion headquarters.

But Arroyo received a message from President Bush "giving clearance to the American forces to get closer to the combat lines with the Filipino soldiers for training purposes," a statement from Arroyo's office said. The U.S. troops will still be barred from combat operations. The terms of the exercise allow American troops to carry firearms but only to fire in self-defense.

Arroyo said Friday that the U.S. mission would end as scheduled July 31, despite clamoring by many Basilan residents to extend the U.S. presence on the island to ensure the Abu Sayyaf is wiped out and U.S. military infrastructure projects are completed. Arroyo added, without elaborating, that more exercises would be scheduled.

Military officials said Filipino special forces – with surveillance and communications help from American troops – tracked down Sabaya and six of his men as they appeared to be fleeing Mindanao island, next to Basilan, in a boat before dawn Friday. The military said four guerrillas were captured and Sabaya and the two others were shot and killed while trying to swim away.

No bodies have been found, but southern military commander Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina showed reporters camouflage uniforms, a driver's license, a pistol, ammunition, medicines and a pair of Sabaya's trademark sunglasses from a backpack recovered in Sibuco Bay. Sabaya's personal belongings and reports from the guerrillas and soldiers involved in the clash confirm he died, Carolina said.

"In other words, there is no iota of doubt anymore that one of the dead bodies we are looking for right now belongs to Abu Sabaya," he said. Carolina said one of the captured men complained of chest pain Friday and later died of a heart attack at a military hospital.

He also said troops arrested a village chief in Sibuco, Abbas Samson, on suspicion he gave sanctuary to Sabaya's group. Samson could face a conspiracy charge for complicity in the Abu Sayyaf kidnappings. Carolina said Sabaya's group stayed at Samson's house while they waited for a boat to take them to safety.

The U.S. military presence is a sensitive topic in this former American colony. Left-wing groups have mounted small but boisterous protests to oppose the exercise. The Americans allowed the use of sophisticated surveillance equipment to help local troops track the rebels and their last three hostages – Wichita, Kan., missionaries Gracia and Martin Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

Troops clashed with the captors in the jungles of southern Zamboanga del Norte province, near Basilan, on June 7. Martin Burnham and Yap were killed; Gracia Burnham was wounded but rescued and had has returned to the United States.

US soldiers clash with Abu Sayyaf
Posted: 1:17 AM (Manila Time) | Jun. 19, 2002
By Julie S. Alipala and Norman Bordadora
Inquirer News Service

ZAMBOANGA CITY - For the first time since joint Philippine-US military exercises started five months ago, American soldiers on the southern island of Basilan clashed on Monday afternoon with suspected Abu Sayyaf terrorists. At least two US Marines and one Filipino soldier exchanged heavy gunfire with 10 unidentified men, military officials from both countries said. The five-minute firefight started when the bandits fired on American soldiers guarding US Navy Seabees, engineers building a road in the village of Maligue, about 10 kilometers from the capital town of Isabela.

"The Marines were looking for high ground and were about 1.6 kilometers away from the (Seabees) when the harassment occurred around 3:45 p.m.," Colonel Alexander Aleo, commander of the Philippine Army's 103rd Infantry Brigade, told the Inquirer. Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis, a spokesperson for the Pentagon, said in Washington that "two US Marines who were guarding the perimeter of a construction site along with Philippines Armed Forces personnel came under fire. They returned fire."

At the US embassy in Manila, spokesperson Frank Jenista emphasized that the Marines fired back in self-defense. "They were not on patrol but on a routine security check. There were two US Marines and one AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) soldier, who were on a routine perimeter security of the engineering site," Jenista said in a telephone interview. Aleo said one of the Marines was named Corporal Jones.

"The security personnel returned fire in self-defense," Jenista added. "They were not injured. They reported to their respective commands." Davis said at the Pentagon there "were casualties among the attackers, but they've not sorted out the number." Rebel snipers AFP Southern Command chief Major General Ernesto Carolina told reporters the Americans "were fired upon at a distance by the rebel snipers. We have not identified with certainty if they were really Abu Sayyaf or other groups but we can only surmise that they might be Abu Sayyaf." Carolina said infrastructure projects being undertaken by US troops, as part of a 20-million-dollar civil works component of the "Balikatan" (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) joint exercise, "will not be affected."

Brigadier General Donald Wurster, co-training director for Balikatan, said the Seabees would continue their projects in Basilan. Some 500 American military personnel are in Basilan providing training and logistical support for government soldiers fighting Abu Sayyaf bandits. US Navy construction crews are building roads, bridges, ports and helicopter landing zones to help the AFP move around the rugged jungle island and foster goodwill among the island's 300,000 residents. Wurster, commander of US forces in Basilan, earlier said the Abu Sayyaf group was blocking its road projects to protect its hideouts.

"They don't want the military to be able to drive trucks up there," Wurster told reporters June 3. AFP officials said the bandits were led by commanders Kalaw Jaljali and Mauran Ampul. Lieutenant Colonel Rodolfo Atendido, commander of the 55th Infantry Battalion, said the American military engineers were packing up after a day's work when the armed men started shooting. Resident Absker Arabaen said that after hearing gunfire on Monday, she saw American soldiers running "as if chasing somebody." Later, 10 pickup trucks loaded with US soldiers in full battle gear and four truckloads of Filipino soldiers arrived at the scene, she said.

Carolina said the action was part of the Abu Sayyaf's "harassment" strategy. He said the Abu Sayyaf had long wanted to attack US servicemen in Basilan but were deterred by the heavy security being provided by Filipino troops. But on Monday, the bandits finally found an opportunity to strike, he said.

Monday's attack was apparently intended only to frighten the soldiers and not to overrun them, as the attackers immediately fled. The Abu Sayyaf, linked to the al-Qaeda network of top terror suspect Osama bin Laden, suffered a major setback two weeks ago when Philippine Army Scout Rangers recovered American hostage Gracia Burnham in a bloody rescue during which her husband Martin and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap were killed.

Major Richard Sater, spokesperson for US troops deployed in Mindanao, said the encounter was being investigated. He did not elaborate. Top regional military officials in Mindanao held a closed-door meeting after the clash. At the AFP's Camp Aguinaldo headquarters in Metro Manila, AFP spokesperson Melchor Rosales said: "The Americans acted well within the terms of reference. They can protect themselves when under attack." Shortly after the clash, two US Army Chinook helicopters flew out of the AFP air base in Zamboanga City toward Basilan on an unknown mission. Security was beefed up for US forces Tuesday. US Marines in a Humvee personnel carrier temporarily blocked the road to Maligue. "The security has been beefed up around all construction sites in Basilan to protect the US Seabees," a source said.

A soldier from the Army's 32nd Infantry Battalion was killed and a barangay official was seriously wounded when armed men ambushed them in the village of Calago in Tipo Tipo town on Monday. Aleo identified the slain soldier as Corporal Reno Perez. The wounded village official was identified as Abni Isnal, chairperson of the Calago local community government. He said the attack occurred near an American bunker in Tipo Tipo. But he quickly denied it had something to do with the deployment of US forces on the island. "This is politically motivated," Aleo said.

Troops work to corner Abu Sayyaf kidnappers
June 17, 2002 Posted: 6:06 AM EDT (1006 GMT)

TABIAWAN ARMY BASE, Philippines (AP) -- Soldiers are trying to corner a handful of Muslim extremists who are on the run in the southern Philippines after holding an American missionary couple hostage for over a year, a military commander said. Major General Ernesto Carolina said Monday his troops have been working methodically against a group of less than a dozen Abu Sayyaf guerrillas, led by rebel chief Abu Sabaya, who melted into the jungle after a gun battle 10 days ago that freed one of the Americans but cost her husband and another hostage their lives. "We need patience and he needs luck," Carolina said.

Christian missionary Gracia Burnham of Wichita, Kansas was wounded in the June 7 shootout but survived. Her husband, Martin, and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap were fatally shot in circumstances that remain unclear. Since the clash in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, in which at least two guerrillas were killed and seven soldiers wounded, the Philippine army has intensified its campaign against the Abu Sayyaf, a group that has been linked to the al-Qaida terror network.

Soldiers have captured one guerrilla and killed two. About 200 rebels are believed to be scattered in the southern provinces of Zamboanga, Jolo and Basilan -- down from more than 1,000 after a yearlong offensive by the Philippine army. Carolina said that he would prefer to capture Sabaya, among the top five Abu Sayyaf leaders, but doubted that he would allow himself to be taken alive. "What is important is we get him," Carolina said. "Our boys are really motivated because we are not going to leave that place until we get" Sabaya, he said.

The United States has offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the capture of any or all five of the leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, who want to carve out an Islamic homeland in the majority Muslim southern Philippines. About 1,000 U.S. military personnel are in the southern Philippines for a six-month mission to train and advise the Philippine military in their fight against the Abu Sayyaf. Carolina said that U.S. spy planes have taken pictures of the area in Zamboanga del Norte where Sabaya is suspected to be hiding. But the pictures have been of little use in the thick jungle, he said.

ANGELES CITY — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has blacklisted an American national who was reported to have had sex with at least eight local girls despite his awareness that he was positive for the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) which leads to the fatal acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo told The Star yesterday that the black listed HIV carrier, Roy Henry Coleman, 40, of Oklahoma voluntarily left the country last Friday after the Angeles police arrested him on the complaint of another American expatriate who was afraid for his businesses here.

City health officer Dr. Joven Esguerra said that American businessman Mark Smith complained to the police that Coleman had been frequenting nightspots along Fields Avenue, a tourism district near Clark Field, and that his presence could adversely affect local entertainment business.

Many foreign expatriates in this city have learned of Coleman’s illness after Dr. Froilan Canlas confirmed that the latter was indeed positive for HIV. Coleman was a patient of Canlas last year. Coleman had been staying at the Orchid’s hotel here for quite sometime.

Esguerra said that his office will conduct health tests on hundreds of girls working in local night spots, particularly at Fields, as some of the eight girls with whom Coleman was reported to have had sex could not be immediately identified

AIDS scare grips Angeles red-light district
Posted: 0:40 AM (Manila Time) | Jun. 14, 2002
By Tonette Orejas
Inquirer News Service

ANGELES CITY -- The specter of the deadly Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) gripped anew Fields Avenue, this city's main red-light district, with an estimated 2,000 commercial sex workers. This came following the sexual trysts here of an American tourist who was confirmed positive for the HIV virus.

Health officials immediately ordered a search for two women bar workers whom the American maintained as sexual partners since he arrived in May and until his voluntary departure last Friday. The tourist could have infected his partners, said Dr. Teresita Esguerra, the city's social hygiene clinic director.

The American, who hails from Oklahoma, was convinced to leave the country after a test administered by the Department of Health confirmed him positive for the virus, Rodrigo Pedrealba, chief of the Bureau of Immigration in Central Luzon, said. Pedrealba clarified that the American was not deported. ''We convinced him to go since we do not have adequate AIDS treatment facility in the country,'' he said.

The government, for lack of funds, relies on preventive measures, mainly on safe sex education and condom use promotion. Esguerra said Mayor Carmelo Lazatin had ordered a mass screening of sex workers on Fields Avenue to detect new HIV cases following the activities here of the tourist. Pedrealba said the American was identified by a bureau's asset at Fields. A local doctor confirmed having treated the tourist last year for symptoms of HIV.

The city government, out of sensitivity for persons with AIDS, does not require foreign or local tourists or even expatriates to present health certificates. Neither does it compel regular tourists to undergo HIV testing. However, this policy puts at risk commercial sex workers at Fields, many of whom are young women, according to Susan Pineda, a former councilor who with two other city officials in 1999, worked for the passage of the ordinance on AIDS prevention.

Before the pullout of American servicemen and the closure of Clark Air Base in 1991, the city, which hosted the base for almost a century, recorded almost 30 full-blown AIDS cases. The US military financed the AIDS testing and prevention program prior to the pullout. Of the identified persons with AIDS, a number have died, some have left for their home provinces and a few are being tracked down for treatment and other assistance, Esguerra said.

Philippines steps up fight after hostages die
June 8, 2002 Posted: 3:39 AM EDT (0739 GMT)
From CNN Correspondents Andrea Koppel and Maria Ressa

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- Philippine officials have vowed an all-out military assault on remaining Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the southern part of the country after a year-long hostage crisis came to a tragic end. Two of three Philippine and American hostages held by the rebel group were killed on Friday, following a gun battle between the Abu Sayyaf and government troops.

The rebels used their captives as human shields during Friday's firefight with troops, who had tracked the group through the dense jungle for almost two weeks, Philippine military officials say. U.S. missionary Martin Burnham was killed while his wife, Gracia Burnham, was the sole surviving hostage. Deborah Yap, a Philippine nurse captured after the Burnhams, also died.

The hostages were held for more than a year by Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic separatist group in the southern Philippines that U.S. officials say is linked to al Qaeda. U.S. President George W. Bush said Friday that Abu Sayyaf would be held accountable for the hostages' deaths.

The Burnhams, from Wichita, Kan., were kidnapped while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at a beach resort in western Palawan province last year. Philippine Army Southern Commander Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina told CNN that Filipino Rangers had been on the rebels' trail for 12 days when they came upon the group resting by a creek in heavy rain Friday.

The rebels spotted the Rangers, who suspected the three hostages were with the group, and the gun battle erupted. A half-hour later, the battle was over and two hostages and some of the rebels were dead. Gracia Burnham, who was shot in the right leg, was airlifted to a Manila hospital. She did not learn that her husband was dead until after she got out of surgery. Martin Burnham's father, Paul Burnham, told CNN's Newsnight with Aaron Brown that he learned about his son's death from the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, who called at 3:15 a.m. Friday morning.

"I thought it would be a good call. I thought they would be released and I thought that they would be coming home to us soon and it was quite a shock to us," he said, adding that he had talked to Gracia Burnham twice since her rescue and said she sounded very strong. His daughter-in-law was looking forward to being home with her three children, he added.

"She said she wouldn't want to spend a minute longer there, she wanted to be home with her children just as quickly as possible and she was really looking forward to them," he said. Doug Burnham, Martin Burnham's brother told CNN the children were doing "pretty well." "They are not falling apart, obviously they are grieving, but that's to be expected," he said.

A foreboding premonition had prompted Martin Burnham to write a good-bye letter to his three children just days before his death. The letter -- given to Gracia Burnham by her husband -- was lost in the firefight, but soldiers found it again. Earlier, Doug Burnham said Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo telephoned the family to give them the news. President Bush also expressed his sympathies to the Burnham family and said he had spoken with Arroyo.

"She assured me that the Philippine government would hold the terrorist group accountable for how they treated these Americans, that justice would be done," Bush said. A plane bearing Martin Burnham's body arrived at the U.S. Air Force's Kadena Air Base on Okinawa early Saturday morning.

Pentagon officials said U.S. military helped plan the operation, but U.S. troops were not involved in the mission, or the rescue, which they said was the result of a "chance encounter." For the last few months, U.S. Special Forces have joined Filipino patrols in the jungles of Basilan island in a mission aimed at wiping out the Abu Sayyaf as part of the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

The Burnhams were taken hostage on May 27 last year along with American Guillermo Sobero and 17 Filipinos. The remains of Sobero, a Californian native, were uncovered months later by Filipino troops near the Abu Sayyaf's jungle lair in Basilan province. He had been beheaded. The other 16 Filipinos were later released.

Rescue raid ends in hostage deaths
Jungle action leaves missionary, nurse, some troops dead
June 8, 2002 Posted: 1:51 AM EDT (0551 GMT)

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- A Philippine commando raid meant to free two Americans and a Philippine citizen held hostage by the Islamic rebel group Abu Sayyaf ended with two of the hostages dead Friday. The hostages were held for more than a year by Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic separatist group in the southern Philippines that U.S. officials say is linked to al Qaeda. President Bush said Friday that Abu Sayyaf would be held accountable for the hostages' deaths.

The rescue attempt early Friday led to a two-hour firefight and the deaths of hostages Martin Burnham, an American missionary from Wichita, Kansas, and Deborah Yap, a Filipina nurse. The third hostage -- Burnham's wife, Gracia Burnham -- was wounded in her right leg and is out of danger, Philippine Marine Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio said. Officials said that several Filipino soldiers and rebels also died in the rescue attempt.

Authorities said Gracia Burnham was being brought to Manila to be reunited with her sister, Cheryl Spicer. Martin Burnham's body will be taken to Okinawa for transport to the United States, they said. In Kansas, Doug Burnham, Martin Burnham's brother, said Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo telephoned the family personally to give them the news.

"Obviously it hasn't turned out the way we were expecting it to turn out," he said from Rose Hill Bible Church. "We are thankful that Gracia is alive, and our faith in the Lord is still the same. It doesn't change, and that's what we're going to hold onto."

Bush expressed his sympathies to the Burnham family and said he had discussed the raid with Arroyo. "She assured me that the Philippine government would hold the terrorist group accountable for how they treated these Americans, that justice would be done," Bush said.

The president later phoned Burnham's parents to "personally express his condolences," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. A premonition of violence had led Martin Burnham to write a letter several days ago to his three children, a senior Philippine military official said. That letter was recovered after the rescue.

The Burnham children remain with their maternal grandparents, Doug Burnham said. He declined to express an opinion about the rescue attempt, saying there were not enough details available to form one. "We are grateful for everyone who tried to rescue them," he said. "I'm sure in the future, we'll get more details." The three were the last held among a group snatched over a year ago by Abu Sayyaf kidnappers from a beach resort in western Palawan province. The rescue attempt took place in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga.

During a news conference in Brussels, Belgium, U.S. Gen. Richard Myers confirmed the rescue operation had taken place. He said United States troops were not involved in the rescue attempt, but did provide a military helicopter to fly Gracia Burnham to safety. The Burnhams were snatched on May 27, 2001, along with American Guillermo Sobero and 17 Filipinos. Yap was taken a month after the Burnhams. Sobero, a Californian native, was later found to have been beheaded after his remains were uncovered by Philippine troops near the Abu Sayyaf's jungle hideout on Basilan Island. The other 16 Filipinos were later released.

Abu Sayyaf recently admitted to having links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network, seemingly confirming U.S. suspicions that the kidnappers were tied to the group blamed for the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Arroyo expressed sympathy to the families and vowed to pursue the Abu Sayyaf until they were eliminated.

"This has been a long and painful trial for (the families of the hostages). Our soldiers had tried to hold fire for their safety. We had hoped and prayed for their safe return. Gracia is safe; this is our blessing," Arroyo said in a statement issued Friday. "The terrorists shall not be allowed to get away with this. We shall not stop until the Abu Sayyaf is finished."

$5M US bounty 'struck fear' among Abu leaders
Posted: 10:08 AM (Manila Time) | May 31, 2002
By Fe B. Zamora
INQ7.net

THE FIVE million dollar bounty offered by the US for the capture of five top Abu Sayyaf leaders have struck fear in the hearts of the targets, according to National Security Adviser Roilo Golez. "They're whistling in the dark. You know, when one is scared, you just whistle in the dark," Golez said, reacting to self-styled Abu Sabaya's statement the reward shows their "importance" to the US.

Golez, in a radio interview, said the huge amount -- equivalent to 250 million pesos -- should sow distrust within the ranks of the Abu Sayyaf, who continue to hold American couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap. "There will be Judases ... so if I were in their place, I would be losing sleep," he said, adding that leaflets announcing the reward will be airdropped over Basilan in the next few days.

He also maintained there was nothing wrong with the reward offered by the US for Sabaya and his co-horts Khadaffy Janjalani, Abu Sulaiman, Hapilon Isnilon and Hamsiraji Sali. "This is complementary to our own reward," he said, referring to the 5-million peso reward offered each for Sabaya, Janjalani and other Abu Sayyaf leaders.

Phone calls flood US embassy on $5M Abu Sayyaf bounty
Posted: 4:56 PM (Manila Time) | May 31, 2002
INQ7.net

PHONE calls are flooding the United States Embassy two days after it announced a 5-million dollar bounty offer for the capture of five Abu Sayyaf leaders, a media report said. At least 200 calls have been received by the embassy from civilians volunteering information on the whereabouts of the bandits, newly designated Armed Forces spokesperson Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion was quoted as saying.

He said the information given by the callers are being verified, adding some of them match the intelligence reports earlier gathered by the military. On Wednesday, the US Department of State's Reward for Justice Program announced the reward in efforts to wipe out the bandit group that is still holding Amercian couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Ediborah Yap.

The reward was put up for the heads of Khadaffy Janjalani alias Abu Muktar, Jainal Antel Sali alias Abu Solayman, Aldam Tilao alias Abu Sabaya, Isnilon Hapilon alias Abu Musab, and Hamsiraji Marusi Sali alias Jose Ramirez.alias Abu Musab, and Hamsiraji Marusi Sali alias Jose Ramirez.

Ambasador Francis Ricciardone urged tipsters to call the US Embassy toll-free at 1-800-10-739-2737 or at (+63 2) 526-9832, 526-9833 or 526-9834. The Philippines and the US are engaged in joint military training in Basilan and Zamboanga City as part of an international cooperation to fight terrorism.

U.S. offers $5 million Abu Sayyaf bounty
May 29, 2002 Posted: 5:30 AM EDT (0930 GMT)
From Maria Ressa CNN correspondent

MANILLA, Philippines (CNN) -- The United States offered a reward of up to $5 million Wednesday for the arrest or conviction of five leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremist group who kidnapped three Americans last year, killing one of them. The reward is being offered under the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice, the program that led to the arrest of 1993 World Trade Center bombing mastermind Ramzi Yousef in the Philippines.

"Today the United States Department of State is launching an initiative under the Rewards for Justice program that will offer ordinary people in the Philippines and around the world an opportunity to contribute to the battle against terrorism," said Francis J. Ricciardone, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines.

Martin and Gracia Burnham were snatched nearly a year ago from a beach resort in western Palawan province along with American Guillermo Sobero and 17 Filipinos. Sobero, a Californian native, was later found to have been beheaded after his remains were uncovered by Filipino troops near the Abu Sayyaf's jungle lair in Basilan province. The other 16 Filipinos were later released.

For the last several months, U.S. Special Forces have joined Filipino patrols in the jungles of Basilan island. The joint mission, aimed at wiping out Abu Sayyaf, is part of the U.S.-led war on terrorism. Abu Sayyaf recently admitted to being part of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network, confirming U.S. suspicions. The United States put Abu Sayyaf on a list of terrorist groups because of suspected links to al Qaeda -- believed to be behind the September 11 terror attacks.

No fight

Over in the southern Philippine city of Zamboanga, two U.S. helicopter crews returned fire after being fired upon by what they suspected were members of Abu Sayyaf, a Philippine military official told CNN. But a U.S. official denied any live rounds had been fired.

No one was wounded and the two U.S. Pave Hawk helicopters and crewmembers made it back safely to their base, Col. Alexander Aleo, the Basilan Army Commander told CNN. The attack occurred Wednesday morning (Tuesday night EDT), when the helicopters were unloading cargo, Aleo said.

It was the first time a military official has confirmed U.S. troops have fired on suspected rebels since the troops came to the Philippines in January. The Filipino constitution prohibits foreign troops from engaging in military action on Filipino soil, except in self-defense.

Separately, a U.S. military official denied American helicopters fired any live rounds. According to Maj. Richard Sater, U.S. MH-47 Chinook helicopters fired blank rounds while involved in a joint training exercise with Philippine troops Monday night. When asked if this was the same incident as the one involving the Pave Hawk helicopters, Sater said it was uncertain. There are 1,000 U.S. troops in the southern Philippines.

Philippine 'al Qaeda camp' raided
May 5, 2002 Posted: 6:10 AM EDT (1010 GMT)
Staff and wires

MANILA, Philippines -- Police in the Philippines raided a suspected al Qaeda terrorist training camp this weekend and arrested nine people at an Islamic school in the northern part of this Southeast Asian nation. Authorities said the camp is not connected to Abu Sayyaf militants operating in the south of the country, who have ties to the terror network led by Osama bin Laden, and are being hunted down by troops.

Police also seized high-caliber firearms, grenades and a grenade launcher, along with documents at the camp. The camp was discovered on Friday based on intelligence from a suspected Islamic militant captured after a clash on Thursday in Anda, in Pangasinan province north of Manila, police said.

The camp was in an Islamic school in a mountainous area in Tarlac province bordering Pangasinan. Police chief Reynaldo Berroya, who led the operation, said Thursday's clash followed a gunfight on Wednesday in which police investigating a report of armed men came under fire near the training camp. One gunman in Thursday's firefight was killed by police while nine were arrested, including two suspected training camp caretakers.

Police said the suspected Islamic militants had no known connection with any Muslim extremist groups in the southern Philippines, where U.S. soldiers are training Filipino soldiers to better fight the Abu Sayyaf, which is holding two Americans and a Filipino nurse hostage.

Police said one of the arrested militants claimed the group had been sent to cause havoc in Tarlac city on the May Day holiday, adding that they were new recruits who had been linked to the gunmen in Wednesday's clash. "One of the guys we interrogated told us this group is trying to build a stronger presence" in the northern Philippine island of Luzon, Berroya told The Associated Press.

The nine suspected militants were presented to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when she visited the police regional command in Pangasinan early Saturday.

Texas think-tank sees US building forward base here
Posted: 11:41 PM (Manila Time) | Apr. 26, 2002
Inquirer News Service

"WASHINGTON may be literally paving the way" for a forward military base in Basilan, a Texas-based think-tank said Friday. Strategic Forecasting Inc. or Stratfor said the reconstruction of roads and air strips in the island-province by US military engineers was a likely signal that the United States was setting up a regional "operations facility" for counter-terrorism. "Ultimately, US operations in the southern Philippines are directed less at defeating the Abu Sayyaf and more at establishing a forward operation base in Southeast Asia-with an eye on Indonesia as a likely first target," a Stratfor briefing paper claimed Friday.

The paper, posted on its website and available to some 35,000 subscribers worldwide, said Indonesia was "a very attractive location for (the) al-Qaeda (terrorist network) to regroup." "That is why it is important for the United States to set up an operations facility outside Indonesia but close enough for action," Stratfor concluded.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez told the Inquirer Friday that Stratfor had gotten it wrong. "Whoever wrote that report is not very familiar with Basilan's geography. Basilan is not an ideal forward base," he said. Golez also said he told US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone about the report. "He was very shocked and (then) thought it very funny," Golez said. "He used a term that is not very polite." Besides, he said, the Americans cannot set up a forward base with just four million dollars, the amount they will spend on infrastructure projects in Basilan under the second phase of the Balikatan 02-1 Philippine-US militray training exercise.

Golez said the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would not permit any plans to set up such a base to go forward. "Our government of course will not allow it because it's not allowed by the Constitution," he said. He said the United States does not need a permanent facility in the Philippines because it can deploy quickly in Asia from its current military bases. The Americans are also aware of the "political sensitivities" of Filipinos when it comes to the issue of permanent US military facilities, he added.

In its report entitled "US Exercises May Lead To Regional Base" Stratfor noted that the hostage crisis in Basilan could provide a temporary cover for dealing with such sensitivities. "The Abu Sayyaf problem offers a rhetorical cover for US activity in the Philippines, avoiding or at least postponing the politically volatile issue of a more permanent US base in its former colony," the think-tank noted. The Abu Sayyaf bandit group continues to hold American missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap captive.

"Although the US government is characterizing the development work as an effort to reduce poverty in the region and thus eliminate one of the root causes of terrorism, Washington may be literally paving the way for a forward logistics and operations base to conduct regional counter-terrorism strikes," the report added. Stratfor was founded by Dr. George Friedman and is currently headed by Don R. Kuykendall, the company's president and chief executive officer. It is based in Austin, Texas.

"Although the political debate in Manila has yet to be quieted, the United States is well on its way to creating a conducive environment in Basilan for a forward operations base," the Stratfor report read. "The Seabees are repairing the main road around the island, upgrading other roads and improving two airstrips and pier facilities-all changes that will make the island much more useful for US troops to operate from." The Seabees are military engineers belonging to the US Naval Construction Task Group. The popular nickname comes from the abbreviation of Construction Battalion, the previous name of such units.

Reports that the United States is employing a forward deployment strategy are not new. The construction in the 1990s of the General Santos City international airport with US aid prompted much speculation about US geo-political strategy. "US military planners have looked at the city of General Santos in southern Mindanao as an ideal location for facilities, with both sea and land access," Stratfor noted. "(But it was the) presence of Abu Sayyaf (that) provided the (United States the) perfect reason to return (to the Philippines after the closure of the US bases) with minimal political backlash, and that directed Washington to Basilan as an alternative to General Santos."

The intelligence brief enumerated three reasons why military planners were likely considering Basilan as the ideal location for a forward base. "In many respects, Basilan has several benefits over General Santos, most notably its small size. An opposing force would find it difficult to mass for an attack on the facilities, so the defending US and Philippine troop numbers could be smaller. Furthermore, General Santos has a very busy port, offering cover to potential terrorists or other aggressors. And Basilan's built-in insurgency provides a convenient political cover for the establishment of a more permanent US presence on the island." It also noted that Basilan's location is "strategic if the United States wants to establish a forward logistics and operations base in Southeast Asia. Despite the political bickering in Manila, the Philippines is a focal point for US operations in the region due to Washington's close relationship with the government and the country's proximity to Malaysia and, more importantly, Indonesia."

Highest-ranking US military officer arrives in RP
Posted: 11:48 PM (Manila Time) | Apr. 26, 2002
Inquirer News Service

THE HIGHEST-RANKING officer in the world's most powerful military arrived in Manila Friday, sending the strongest signal yet of "resurgent military relations" between the Philippines and the United States. Gen. Richard Myers, the chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, will meet government officials today and visit US troops participating in the RP-US military exercise in Zamboanga City tomorrow. After the Philippines, he will proceed to South Korea and Japan in a quick swing to what observers described as the top three US allies in Asia. His visit marks the first time that a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has visited a Balikatan exercise, an annual training program started in 1981.

"He is also going down south for a troop visit and to get feedback on US training assistance," Golez said. "This is part of the continuing good relations or resurgent military relations of the United States with the Philippines," said National Security Adviser Roilo Golez. Myers visit started off on the wrong note, when a Philippine Air Force attack helicopter taking part in the Luzon phase of the Balikatan exercise crashed last night at the edge of the runway of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga. The two pilots escaped with slight injuries. Golez told reporters he would meet Myers today to discuss the progress of the Balikatan training exercises. Myers had said this week that some of the United States' 80 allies in the war on terror needed technological boosts, to make it easier to communicate and participate in US plans and actions and help domestic militaries and law enforcement agencies respond to and perhaps fight a signature tactic of terrorists: the element of surprise.

Over 3,800 US troops are currently in the Philippines, the most since the closure of the US bases in 1992. Faced with several insurgencies, the Philippines has been a staunch supporter of the US-led campaign against terrorism and has been rewarded with equipment and training for its underfunded military.

The MG520-hailed as the PAF's frontliner in the government's counter-insurgency campaign crashed at about 6:35 p.m. last night, on the edge of the runway's south ramp, some 200 meters away from the PAF's Air Defense Center. Maj. Allan Ballesteros, public information officer of the 600th Air Base Wing, the PAF's host unit at Clark, said the distressed aircraft came from the Philippine Army's Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija where it had participated in close air support training of Filipino and US marines Friday.

The aircraft was one of four attack helicopters used in the training, he said. It did not explode after the crash. The front was wrecked, and the tail severed upon impact, he added. The pilots--First Lt. Raymond Asido and First Lt. Shiela Grace Vicente--were trapped inside the plane. A six-man rescue team from the US Marine Corps and the PAF used power tools to extricate the two. Asido and Vicente belong to the 15th Fighter Wing based at the Atienza Air Base in Sangley, Cavite. Ballesteros said the two suffered bruises and were rushed to the Air Force City hospital, also in Clark, to be monitored for signs of internal hemorrhage.

Col. Charles Hotchkiss, deputy commander of the 600th Air Base Wing and the PAF's project manager for the purchase of MG520s, said 24 such choppers were bought in 1990. Costing one million dollars each at that time, these are manufactured by the US-based McDonnel Douglas. "(These are) very reliable helicopters," Hotchkiss told the Inquirer. A "Friendship Jump'' was also conducted Friday morning, using a C-130 cargo aircraft. A building fire rescue operation exercise was also held.

Philippine Army Lt. Col. Ceserino Tannagan Jr., chief of the Balikatan 02-2 information bureau, told reporters US military officials were very strict in overseeing the conduct of their men participating in the exercises. About 1,200 American soldiers in Clark are not allowed to go beyond Angeles City during their free time at night. They have to get back inside the former US military base by 2 a.m. or face disciplinary action.

But Tannagan said US soldiers can go out for drinks and shopping during their free time, which he said is usually during nighttime when there are no Balikatan-related activities. He said US soldiers are not permitted to go beyond the boundaries of Angeles City except during official missions that include trips to and from the marine base in Ternate, Cavite, and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. He said a security unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines guards the US soldiers when they spend their free time outside the base, while the 500th Air Base Wing provides them security inside. First Lt. Neil Peterson of the Balikatan 02-2 information bureau told the Inquirer that US troops here would be allowed to go outside the base "if opportunity allows it.'

Militants score US troops' RP 'nightlife orientation'
Posted: 0:47 AM (Manila Time) | Apr. 21, 2002
By Volt Contreras
Inquirer News Service

WHY are American troops being briefed about the local nightlife upon arrival in the Philippines to participate in joint military exercises with Filipino soldiers? What does the price of a "lady's drink" have to do with anything, especially after no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself had said visiting United States troops would be confined to barracks at night and be exposed only to cultural shows?

Militant groups Bayan, Gabriela, and Kilusang Mayo Uno asked the questions yesterday in their continuing bid to rouse opposition to the controversial war exercises dubbed Balikatan 02-01 and Balikatan 02-02. The protest groups have lined up a fresh series of mass actions against the Balikatan exercises after news reports showed newly arrived American soldiers being given "cultural sensitivity orientations" that included tips on the local nightlife.

"We expect all-out prostitution (now). This is not far-fetched when nightspots, the prices of beer and ladies' drinks, and bar schedules are among the matters being discussed at these briefings," Bayan secretary general Teddy Casiño told the weekly Cypress forum. At the same forum, Emmie de Jesus of Gabriela quoted a GMA-7 news report that said one such orientation was given to newly arrived US soldiers at Clark Field in Pampanga on Thursday.

"Do we really expect these US troops to just sit down and chat with the bar girls to get to know the community?"' De Jesus asked. De Jesus noted that bars, nightclubs and motels in Angeles and Olongapo cities, sites of some exercises, have undergone "facelifts" in apparent anticipation of the joint military exercises, the second in the series to be held from April 22 to May 6. Balikatan 02-2 will take place in Central Luzon and involve about 2,700 US soldiers.

The militant groups said they will go on an anti-Balikatan "protest caravan" on Monday, from Quezon City to Cabanatuan City, culminating in a rally at Fort Magsaysay. "Popularity is not everything," said Casiño, downplaying the results of the Social Weather Stations survey that showed 76 percent of Filipinos approve of continued US military presence in the country. "If the SWS survey was really accurate, remember the role played by the minority against Marcos, the US bases and Erap," he said. "Up to now, the combined US and Philippine troops have yet to deliver the goods and get back the Abu Sayyaf hostages. Now they are talking about an extension for alleged civic action by US troops. Which is which? What is the real agenda behind all this?" Casiño asked.

Bush endorses Filipino vets bill
Posted: 0:19 AM (Manila Time) | Apr. 18, 2002
Inquirer News Service

THERE have been no signals from past US administrations for support of the long-pending Filipino Veterans Equity bill in the US Congress. But now US President George W. Bush has endorsed the bill that would give Filipino World War II veterans in the United States the same medical benefits enjoyed by their American counterparts. This was the message relayed by US Veterans Affairs(USVA) Secretary Anthony J. Principi to President Macapagal-Arroyo during his courtesy call Wednesday. Principi, who arrived here on a two-day visit, also assured the President they will "look at their budget" to raise existing cash benefits for veterans and their widows.

In the past, a budget deficit had always prevented the passage of the bill. Principi's support is crucial because in 1998, a previous Veterans Affairs secretary testified in the US Congress against the Equity bill as he claimed it would cost one billion dollars annually. "I am glad to say that the administration of President Bush is moving forward on this issue," Ms Macapagal said later. She said the veterans welfare issue was in the joint communiqué she and Bush signed last November during her visit. She also recalled how she unleashed her temper ("katarayan") during her meeting with US Veterans Affairs officials.

"Some of these will require legislation. They're hoping to pass the legislation this year," Ms Macapagal said. Early this month, US Senators Daniel Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii) and Ted Stevens (Republican-Alaska), also promised the President they would help in the passage of the Equity bill Inouye chairs the US Senate defense appropriations subcommittee. He authored Senate Bill 1042 or the Filipino Veterans Benefits Improvement Act, which seeks to provide medical care to Filipino veterans with nonservice-connected (not combat-related) ailments at veterans' medical facilities and clinics in the United States.

Under current US law, such benefits are limited to Filipino veterans residing in the two countries who have service-connected disability or ailment. If the US Congress approves the bill this year, qualified Filipino veterans in the Philippines would receive a hundred dollars monthly USVA disability pension. The proposed amount was envisioned to match the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO)'s old age monthly pension of 5,000 pesos. Also in the Philippines, over 50,000 veterans and about 10,000 Fil-American veterans would have access to outpatient clinics for all ailments, including those that are age-related.

U.S. may extend stay in the Philippines
April 15, 2002 Posted: 2:23 AM EDT (0623 GMT)
By Rufi Vigilar in Manila

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- U.S. Pacific Command chief Admiral Dennis Blair has arrived in southern Zamboanga City to assess the progress of war games between U.S. and Philippine troops and discuss a possible extension of U.S. military presence in the country.

Blair arrived with U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, Francis Ricciardone, before noon Monday and will be holding a closed-door meeting with Philippine Armed Forces chief General Diomedio Villanueva, other military officials, and Zamboanga City mayor Maria Clara Lobregat. The war games, dubbed Balikatan (Shoulder to Shoulder) 02-1, are aimed at eliminating the Abu Sayyaf -- a Muslim guerrilla group linked to the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Blair's visit comes ahead of the deployment of U.S. military engineers to augment 660 troops taking part in counter-terrorist training exercises, with Abu Sayyaf guerrillas as live targets. The Abu Sayyaf have been holding captive an American couple and a Filipino nurse for more than 10 months.

The group has kidnapped scores of Western and Asian hostages in the past two years, beheading more than a dozen, including an American tourist captured last year. Basilan congressman Abdulgani Salapuddin downplayed the expected arrival of the military engineers, who he said will be involved in projects like road-building to help quell terrorism in the impoverished south where the Filipino Muslim majority lives.

"The socio-economic aspect of the war games should be treated separately," Salapuddin said, adding that he himself had suggested the building of provincial roads to Col. David Maxwell, the U.S. troops' commander in Basilan. Any civic projects undertaken by U.S. troops are expected to be completed before the war games end in June.

Critics of the joint war games are suggesting, however, the engineers' arrival foreshadows an extended presence of U.S. troops in the Philippines. "There is more than meets the eye in their arrival," congresswoman Loretta Ann Rosales told CNN Monday. "The civic projects are part of an effort by the U.S. to re-establish the hold they lost in the Philippines in 1991," she said.

The Philippines Senate voted that year to dismantle U.S. military bases. Rosales said the U.S. was intent on "expanding its defense perimeter in the region," amid an ongoing crackdown on al Qaeda supporters in Southeast Asia.

The Philippine Supreme Court ruled last week against separate petitions to halt Balikatan 02-1, but anti-U.S. sentiment is likely to surface again when a new series of war games begins later this month. According to the Visiting Forces Commission, a U.S. warship and fighter jets are to be deployed in the Philippines in the next war games, dubbed Balikatan 02-2.

The mounting pressure on the military to rescue the remaining Abu Sayyaf hostages had raised fears of human rights violations against civilians, Rosales said. Despite the use of U.S. spy planes and the unprecedented number of troops scouring Basilan, little gains have been made in rescuing American couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap.

Talk of ransoms being negotiated for the speedy release of the hostages has been rife, even as the Philippine government reiterated a joint no-ransom policy with the U.S. government. Rosales said soldiers could become bolder in their treatment of suspects.

Rosales added that a military camp set up for U.S. soldiers in Zamboanga City had encroached on the ancestral domain of tribal folk. Mayor Lobregat, however, favors U.S. military presence beyond June, saying it has contributed to the city's peace and order and commerce. Abu Sayyaf guerrillas and members of other Muslim separatist groups have in the past sought refuge in Zamboanga City.

US tourist visa means 30-day stay
Posted: 1:45 AM (Manila Time) | Apr. 15, 2002
By Crispin R. Aranda
Inquirer News Service

FILIPINOS visiting kith and kin in the United States might soon feel they are being rushed through their visits, contrary to the usually long and leisurely Pinoy-style stays. That's because the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has just made it harder for tourists to enter the United States, in the wake of several lapses by the agency with regard to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America.

The INS finalized on April 11 the rule limiting the period of a tourist's stay in the United States to 30 days, instead of the usual six months. The rule also states the visa holder must adequately establish the "precise nature and purpose of the visit." Former US non-immigrant visa chief Edward Keller said that last year alone, 192,000 Filipinos were issued non-immigrant visas, half of them for tourists.

The INS rule is likely to result in a stricter scrutiny of tourist visa applications, thus increasing the ratio of denials, which, Keller said, was at 32 percent. Having a US visa does not guarantee admission into the United States. And with the new rule, the burden of proof (of returning to the Philippines) just got heavier.

An INS officer at the US port of entry will determine what he believes is a "fair and reasonable" amount of time needed for the visa holder's stated purpose of visit. In case of doubt on what constitutes "fair and reasonable," the rule continues, the tourist visa holder "shall be admitted for a period of 30 days." The limit on visits came on the heels of several INS missteps that created a huge public outcry and condemnation even from supporters of the agency, including the White House.

The US Congress is on the verge of approving the split of the INS into two agencies. A House judiciary committee is prepared to approve an unusual bipartisan bill on Wednesday that would abolish the immigration service and split its functions into two separate bureaus - one for enforcement and the other for services.

The bureaus will be overseen by a new associate attorney general, who would be the third-ranking official in the Justice Department, the immigration service's parent agency. "If there is one thing that every member of the committee can agree on, it's that the Immigration and Naturalization Service is inefficient, ineffective and, in many respects, incompetent," said Rep. John Conyers Jr. (Michigan), the top Democrat on the committee.

The INS move to limit the stay of tourists to 30 days and restrict tourist visa holders from converting to student visa status seems to be a last-ditch attempt to stave off the agency's break-up, if not its abolition. The move, however, appears to be too little too late. Similar legislation in the Senate sponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts), and Sam Brownback (Republican, Kansas), is likely to be introduced this week or the next, congressional aides said. The INS had tried to restructure itself over the years. It increased the cost of petition and application fees and tripled its budget to 6.2 billion dollars from 1979. Despite staff and fee increases, the INS has more than 5 million petitions and applications pending.

Using the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as an excuse for limiting visits, the INS said the "attacks . . . demonstrated that (the one-year maximum stay in the US for tourists) is susceptible to abuse by aliens who seek to plan and execute acts of terrorism." Since virtually all legitimate tourists and business visitors are able to accomplish the purposes of their visit in less than six months, the INS reduced the maximum allowable stay for tourists from the current one-year period to only six months. Now it is 30 days.

If a tourist visa holder needs to extend his or her authorized stay in the United States, such an extension would be granted only "in cases that resulted from unexpected events - which are out of the alien's control - compelling humanitarian reasons, such as for emergency or continuing medical treatment . . ." The INS rule states that when requesting an extension, the tourist visa holder must provide documentary evidence "showing ties to the country of residence and possession of sufficient financial means to remain in the country for the requested period of time."

Proof of financial means would include current bank records and lease or real property ownership documents in the tourist's country of residence or nationality. The INS move followed embarrassing revelations the agency had approved the visa applications of two of the hijackers who rammed planes into the World Trade Center. The two principal hijackers entered the United States with valid tourist visas, which they later converted to student status (F-1).

The gaffe elicited a public rebuke from President George W. Bush and US legislators who renewed calls to overhaul, if not abolish, the immigration service. The two Sept. 11 hijackers - Mohamed Atta of Egypt and Marwan al-Shehhi of the United Arab Emirates - came to the United States on visitor visas. They enrolled in a Florida flight school in July 2000, more than one year before the INS approved their student visas. Under the new INS rule, such enrolments would be prohibited.

The Immigrant Visa Center, an immigrant advocacy firm in Quezon City, expects more exclusions or airport-to-airport proceedings against legitimate visa holders simply because they might not be able to answer questions according to the INS officer's liking. In effect, US non-immigrant visa holders face stricter scrutiny when applying for a visa and when using the visa to gain admission into the United States.

Before the INS rule, tourist visa holders had little to worry about since they had already hurdled the questioning of a consular officer in their country of origin. The fundamental rule of US immigration law - under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act - the bible of US immigration laws - states that all non-immigrants are considered to be "intending immigrants" unless they could prove otherwise. Now, they have to prove harder, or face the prospect of being deported even before they were admitted.

Crispin R. Aranda is a US-based immigrant specialist. He has offices in San Francisco, California, and is the first and only Filipino with broadcast and print updates on US immigration and visa matters. He hosted the program, "Amerika, Atbp.," on IBC-13. He also has a regular column on immigration in The Philippine News, the national newspaper of Filipinos in the United States. His firm, US Immigrant Service Network, has been serving Filipino and immigrant communities in the United States since 1986.

RP is world’s safest tourist destination
Publish Date: [Thursday, March 28, 2002]
With Christina Mendez
http://www.philstar.com

Believe it or not, the Philippines is one of the world’s safest tourist destinations. That’s according to Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, who gave assurances yesterday on the safety of foreign and local tourists despite the series of bomb scares that has gripped Metro Manila and other parts of the country. He said there is nothing to fear in visiting the various tourist destinations in the country because authorities are exerting all efforts to ensure the safety of travelers. Gordon said the bomb scares that hit Metro Manila and at least two key cities in Mindanao last week were "walang katuturan at wala namang nasaktan (senseless and no one was hurt)."

Bomb threats and peace and order problems notwithstanding, Gordon insisted that the Philippines remains one of the safest tourist destinations worldwide. Gordon noted there was only one tourist who died in those much publicized kidnappings in Mindanao — American national Guillermo Sobero, who was abducted and beheaded by Abu Sayyaf rebels — while hundreds of people died following terrorist attacks in other countries. (Foreign) embassies issue advisories against traveling to the Philippines based on news reports that are coming out, but the truth is that our tourist destinations are perfectly safe to visit," Gordon said, adding that various government agencies and the private sector have joined hands to heighten security for tourists and guests.

Gordon nonetheless conceded that reports on bomb scares may adversely affect efforts of the Department of Tourism (DOT) to reach its goal of drawing three million foreign visitors into the country this year. DOT has embarked on a multibillion-peso promotion campaign to boost the falling tourism industry, Gordon said, but the efforts could come to naught because of negative publicity. The local tourism industry is improving but is still fragile, and it may take three to five years before the sector can fully recover, Gordon also said. "But what is important is that it is now improving and we are doing everything to make it better," he said.

In fact, Gordon said DOT is expecting a boom in local tourism with more and more people expected to visit the provinces to take advantage of the extended holidays declared by Malacañang. Based on reports coming from the different DOT regional offices, Gordon said, most hotels and resorts in Baguio, Cebu, Davao, Ilocos and Boracay island are now fully booked. He said domestic tourism is now beating the Balikbayan market, prompting the DOT to focus on programs promoting local tourism.

‘Safe summer holidays’ "So far, so good." Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Leandro Mendoza gave this remark when asked about his initial assessment of police preparedness in securing tourists and vacationers, who started to troop to the provinces yesterday for the observance of Holy Week. "Through the vigilance of the PNP and other partner agencies of government, we can assure everyone a safe and secure Holy Week and summer holiday," Mendoza said. He cited in particular the two incidents in Manila and Makati City where alert police patrols intercepted armed men reportedly out to create trouble. He said that alert elements of the Traffic Enforcement group of the National Capital Region Police Office shot a certain Dexter Salas in a chance encounter in Makati City yesterday morning. Salas commandeered a taxicab while holding hostage a certain Sheryll Torres at the Guadalupe interchange. Salas kept the policemen at bay with a 9-mm. pistol and was hurt when he engaged lawmen in a gunfight.

In another incident, members of the Western Police District mobile patrol intercepted early yesterday morning a car without license plates in Sta. Ana, Manila. The man was later identified as an alleged agent of the National Bureau of Investigation. When accosted the driver fired at the lawmen, triggering a shootout that left one of the responding policemen and the suspect killed. The driver’s female companion was also found fatally wounded in the passenger seat. "These incidents only show that the police remain alert and vigilant to protect and serve the community," said PNP spokesman Senior Superintendent Leonardo Espina.

The PNP has activated a 75-day summer alert, from March 25 to June 7, placing all police forces in the country under a high state of vigilance to provide assistance and security to tourists and vacationers. Espina said the 75-day period covers the traditional observance of annual religious and cultural activities in various regions of the country. These include Holy Week, town fiestas, "Flores de Mayo" and such summer activities as the closing and opening of school year. "There is a possibility that criminal elements and organized threat groups may take advantage of the situation, but the PNP is prepared to respond to any contingency," Espina said.

5 bodies recovered from downed Chinook
Posted: 0:14 AM (Manila Time) | Mar. 31, 2002
By Connie E. Fernandez
Inquirer News Service

CEBU CITY - The bodies of five American servicemen were recovered from the wreckage of the Chinook MH 47 helicopter that crashed some seven miles south of Apo Island in Negros Oriental on Feb. 22. Capt. Enrico Canaya, spokesperson of the Tactical Operations Command, told the Inquirer the bodies would be taken to the Benito Ebuen Airbase in Mactan, Cebu, before being flown to the United States.

Canaya said recovery operations would continue for two more missing American servicemen who were on board the ill-fated Chinook. Ten servicemen died in the crash. The bodies of three of them were recovered immediately after the accident in which the helicopter reportedly burst into flames before crashing into the waters off Apo Island on its way to Ebuen Airbase from Basilan.

Last Monday, the US Armed Forces started salvage operations for the Chinook. At least 18 US Marines from the 510th Joint Task Force based in Zamboanga City took part in the search and recovery operation. The US Army, which has been in charge of the recovery operation, had contracted the MV Jan Steen, a Dutch multi-purpose offshore support vessel that has the capacity to reach depths not ordinarily reached by US Navy vessels.

Sources in Negros Oriental told the Inquirer that four bodies were recovered Thursday morning while one was recovered at night. All were found in an advanced state of decomposition. The wreckage was located in about 500 meters of water about six miles south of Apo Island. The helicopter was broken into 25 pieces spread over a 450-meter circumference. Canaya said the Americans' remains would be brought to Ebuen by boat.

American Maj. Cynthia Teramae, spokesperson of the Combined Information Bureau, said that with the recovery of the bodies, the salvage crew working in the waters off Negros Oriental would concentrate on looking for the two remaining bodies. At least 10 US servicemen were on their way to Cebu when the Chinook they were in crashed off Zamboanguita in Negros Oriental, some 150 miles northeast of Zamboanga City.

"(The) recovery operations to locate the two remaining missing crewmen continue," Teramae said. She said the recovered bodies will be taken to the Ebuen Airbase where US mortuary specialists will "prepare the remains for transportation to the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs at Dover Air Force Base" in Delaware.

"After processing, the center will turn over the remains to their next-of-kin for burial," Teramae said. The recovery of the five victims came after the US military's Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) Command used high tech equipment used in extensive salvage and recovery operations.

"NAVSEA provided a US government-owned towed pinger locator, a remotely operated vehicle known as 'deep drone' and a shallow water side-scanning sonar search system known as SWISS," Teramae said. The deep drone, she said, has an underwater camera and a sonar location system.

"It is capable of covering a wide range of depths. It is equipped with manipulator arms and claws to pick up items. The SWISS was selected for its ability to operate in this particular ocean area and in average sea state conditions," Teramae said. With Alex V. Pal and Alexander M. Young

400 Filipinos hired to build al-Qaeda cells in Guantanamo
Posted: 11:33 PM (Manila Time) | Mar. 27, 2002
By Christine Herrera and Blanche S. Rivera
Inquirer News Service

WHO says there's a passport shortage? Not for 400 Filipino engineers, foremen and construction workers hired by an American company to build maximum security prison cells for alleged al-Qaeda terrorists inside the US Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

Foreign affairs and labor officials facilitated the prompt release of the workers' passports and work permits while the US Embassy provided the visas in less than five days. The direct hiring of the engineers was allegedly at the request of Washington and coursed through President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It took only two weeks to "clear" the workers after a "discreet and thorough screening" by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its counterpart, the National Bureau of Investigation, according to sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The 400 workers left on March 22 for Los Angeles on a plane chartered by the Brown and Root International on their way to Guantanamo, DFA sources said.

But a labor official said 250 construction workers left on a chartered plane on March 25 for Guantanamo. They were hired through Anglo-European Services Inc., a US-based recruitment agency, which has a local partner in the country. Foreign employers have noted Anglo-European Services Inc. for the quality of work by Filipino workers hired by the agency.

The workers and their families knew they were being accorded special treatment. "The hiring has the blessings of the President and the White House so why will the workers worry?" said one source. The workers were not subjected to tight security check at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

They were also given a "special rate" of seven dollars an hour, above the minimum wage of 5.25 dollars an hour in the United States, or a take-home pay of 1,456 dollars a month. Sources said the rate for the 10 engineers and foremen was "more than five times" their pay in the Philippines. Their contract is good for four months.

They will get free accommodation, full benefits in case of accidents, and food, although the OFWs reportedly brought with them native delicacies like shrimp paste, noodles and sweets when they left. The source at the labor department said the Philippine Embassy in Washington phoned the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration last week to facilitate the papers of the 250 engineers and workers for a "secret mission" in Cuba.

But a DFA source said the request for the "secret mission" came from the White House and was coursed through President Macapagal.

Why the secrecy? "The US and Philippine governments wanted this direct hiring as low key as possible. We want to treat this as a simple employment opportunity," one of the sources said. Another official interviewed by the Inquirer asked that the story be withheld for "national security" reasons.

"We want this low key because we don't want to offend our Muslim brothers. It might cause friction. They might take offense and fan dissent because our workers will build maximum-security prison cells for the Taliban and the al-Qaeda members," the official said.

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