Luring Voters

By Carmel Crimmins

SAN ISIDRO, Philippines (Reuters) - Campaigning for local and congressional polls is rolling into its final week in the Philippines with candidates dispensing cash, food, mascots and even their own brand of underwear to woo voters. 

Elections in this Southeast Asian country are renowned for their colourful cast of characters, endemic corruption and violence.

In the village of San Isidro, around 50 km north of Manila, Father Ed Panlilio has swapped his clerical robes for a white bullet-proof vest as he campaigns for the governor's seat in Pampanga, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's home turf. 

The Catholic priest, who has been suspended from performing spiritual duties while he focuses on politics, has been getting death threats but vows to keep going with his anti-corruption, anti-Arroyo ticket. 

"It's part of the commitment. It's all the way," said the 53-year-old, before boarding a truck festooned with posters of him, in trademark white, looking up to the heavens. "It's a divine crusade based on gospel values." 

Panlilio's no-frills campaign relies on donations and volunteers fed up with shady quarrying operations and the province's reputation as a centre for illegal gambling. 

His background as a priest carries a lot of weight with devout parishioners in the largely Catholic country. 

"We've had gambling lords and quarry lords, why not praise the lord?" said Bert Salvador, 46, a Panlilio supporter. 

FREEBIES 

For politicians who can't rely on divine endorsement, there are the traditional routes to victory -- advertising, handouts and, of course, vote-buying and vote-manipulation. 

Public office is a lucrative career in the Philippines and with half the 24 seats in the Senate, all 240 slots in the lower house and nearly 18,000 positions in local government up for grabs on May 14, billions of pesos have already been spent trying to secure posts. 

On the official campaign trail, politicians dole out freebies, from roast pork and beer to fresh fish and rice, as well as amulets and insurance policies. 

But behind the scenes, candidates' agents dispense cash and favours to get elected. Harassment and intimidation are also employed and smear campaigns are carried out via text message. 

Seven out of 10 voters expect vote-buying and half of them think it's okay to accept the cash provided they vote with their conscience, according to a recent survey. 

"This is the only time they (the public) can make money out of these people, out of the government," said Benito Lim, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines. 

"This is the only time they are treated like kings. They sing to them, they plead to them, they organise, they dance before them and say good things about them and give them money." 

NICKNAMES 

Across the archipelago, actors-turned-candidates and scions of political dynasties are racing from rally to rally, making speeches, singing jingles and pressing the flesh. 

In Manila, a city councillor is appealing to the female vote by giving away underwear with his nickname printed on the rear. 

Others are playing on their names or pseudonyms, which can be used on ballot papers. These are important factors because manual polling means that voters have to write out the names of their preferred choices. 

Prospero Pichay, a pro-government candidate for the Senate, has created his own mascot, "Super Pichay", a comic book-style figure with his facial features to reach out to the electorate. 

The lawmaker, whose last name sounds like "pechay", a variety of local lettuce, has 10 lifesize mascots, complete with blue capes, fibreglass masks and lettuces stuffed down their cummerbunds, attending rallies across the country. 

His catchphrase is "Plant in the Senate". 

"If it catches the attention of the kids then it should catch the attention of the parents," the candidate reasoned. 

But when it comes to name recall, Agakhan Sharief wins hands down. The 36-year-old is using his pseudonym, Osama Bin Laden, to get elected to the council in his province of Lanao del Sur, in the Philippines' Muslim south. 

With his beard, turban and neck scarf, Sharief looks like the world's most wanted terror suspect. And it's getting people's attention. 

"I'm expecting in this coming election, Inshallah (God willing), a landslide victory for Bin Laden," he said.

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NPAs abduct Philippine mayor

(AFP) - Communist rebels abducted a Philippine mayor campaigning for re-election after killing two of his bodyguards in an ambush, but the official later escaped, police said yesterday.

Alex Aranas, mayor of Pola township in Mindoro Oriental Province, south of Manila, had just finished campaigning in a village late on Friday when his group was attacked by about 30 New People's Army guerrillas, regional police chief Napoleon Cachuela said. Two of his bodyguards were killed.

Aranas and his two other security escorts, both soldiers, sought refuge in a nearby house owned by a friend. The guerrillas threatened to burn it down and kill all occupants if they did not yield. The mayor and his guards then gave themselves up, police said.

Cachuela said Aranas and the two soldiers escaped hours later. He did not give details.

SECOND TIME

It was the second time Aranas was seized by the rebels. He was snatched along with about a dozen other people during the 2004 election campaign.

The rebels released Aranas and 10 others within hours. Two soldiers in his security detail were later abandoned by the guerrillas during a clash with the military two days later.

Aranas said at the time that the rebels demanded a so-called "permit to campaign" fee that would allow politicians to campaign in their areas. It was uncertain whether Aranas paid it then, and if the rebels were again demanding money.

The government has condemned the practice as extortion and warned candidates not to comply.

The Maoist rebels, which the US and the EU consider a terrorist group, have been waging a Marxist rebellion since the late 1960s. The military estimates they have about 7,000 fighters, and the rebels claim to have a presence in nearly 70 of the Philippines' 79 provinces.

ELECTION VIOLENCE

The attack on Aranas was the latest in a string of election-related violence in the run-up to the balloting on May 14.

In the bloodiest attack so far, six relatives of a town mayor now running for a congressional seat were killed in an ambush on Friday while returning from a funeral in northern Abra Province.

Three others were wounded.

More than 75 have been killed and at least 82 wounded since January when campaigning for local and congressional elections began, police said.

Almost 150 deaths were recorded during the hotly contested 2004 election.

Nearly 87,000 candidates are vying for 17,000 national and local positions, including 265 seats in the House of Representatives and half of the 24 Senate seats.

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US$6 Billion For 2008

The Philippines plans to undertake a borrowing program totalling 325.57 billion pesos (6.84 billion U.S. dollars) in 2008, a local newspaper said here on Friday.

The new program would be 16.7 percent less than that of this year, as the government trys to roll over its maturing obligations with continuous borrowing, the Philippine Star reported.

Some 70 percent of the 2008 borrowing program would be raised from the domestic credit market, the report quoted Finance Secretary Margarito Teves as saying, while the remaining 30 percent would be sourced from the foreign market in a combination of commercial borrowing and official development assistance (ODA).

Teves added that the Philippines is also hoping to qualify for the so-called compact assistance of the Millennium Challenge Account, a U.S. bilateral development fund.

By November this year, the government plans to make a presentation before the U.S. lender, detailing its efforts to meet the criteria for the assistance, Tevels said.

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Guinness World Record For Philippine Mothers

Nearly 4,000 mothers around the Philippines on Wednesday set a new world record for simultaneous breastfeeding, organisers said.

At least 3,869 mothers began feeding their babies at 10:00 am (0200 GMT) sharp in basketball courts and community health centres at 156 sites around the country.

"We are certain we were able to establish a new Guinness world record on breastfeeding in multiple sites," said Nona Andaya-Castillo, one of the organisers.

Last year the Philippines set a new world record for a single site when 3,738 mothers breastfed their babies in a sports stadium in Manila beating the previous record of 1,135 mothers set in Berkeley, California in 2005.

Organised by advocacy groups along with the United Nations Children's Fund ( UNICEF), the departments of health and social welfare and local governments, the event was intended to raise public awareness of breast feeding and discourage mothers from using infant milk formulas.

In Manila alone, 1,028 mothers participated in the event at gymnasium.

Andaya-Castillo said the event was "not only for the record" but a drive to urge mothers to stop using infant milk formulas which "do not guard children from various illnesses and infections such as asthma and diarrhea."

According to the World Health Organisation, children fed with infant formula are 25 times more likely to die of diarrhea than those who are breast-fed.

"Stop using formula milk. A baby deserves his mother's milk," said health department chief Francisco Duque at the event.

The event also stressed the health benefits of breast feeding for the mothers, protecting them from postpartum hemorrhage, anemia and even breast cancer.-- AFP

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Kite Blamed For Helicopter Crash

(www.iol.co.za) - The string from a child's kite was responsible for the crash of a Philippine military helicopter that killed nine people, the head of the country's air force said on Thursday.

Although the full report on the crash on April 28 has not been released Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino said a kite string appeared to be the likely cause.

He said that Muslim rebels had used kites to disable air force helicopters in the past.

However terrorist involvement is not suspected in the latest incident.

Tolentino said crash survivor Captain Allan Villagarcia told him that the aircraft was flying perfectly and just about to land in the central island of Cebu when a kite got entangled in the rotor blades.

"There was no problem with the engine. It (the kite string) caused the stoppage of the rotor," Tolentino said.

He said the nylon kite string was found still entangled, just below the main rotor blade.

The Vietnam-era UH-1H "Huey" helicopter, carrying four people on a training flight, went down on a crowded street, killing seven people on the ground and two members of the crew.

Tolentino said the kites were being flown in an area where kite flying is banned to avoid endangering aircraft. But, despite this, the air force has no plans to charge anyone.

"We are not blaming anyone for what has happened. It is not the intention of the people flying the kites to cause accidents," he said. - Sapa-AFP

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Texas Instruments To Invest $1 Billion in the Philippines

U.S. semiconductor company Texas Instruments Inc. said Thursday it plans to invest about $1 billion over 10 years in a new test and assembly facility in the Philippines.

The new facility, Texas Instruments' second in the country, will be located on a 19-acre site in Clark Freeport Zone, a former U.S. Air Force base northwest of Manila.

Construction will start in the second half of this year and initial production will begin later next year, officials said.

"This is an important site for TI because it will add capacity to support our growing business and serve our customers," said Kevin Ritchie, senior vice president of the company's technology and manufacturing group.

Texas Instruments already operates a production complex in the northern city of Baguio. The facility, which has undergone at least four expansions since it was set up in 1979, accounts for 40 percent of the semiconductor company's global output.

The new investment will generate 3,000 jobs and boost Philippine electronics exports, which account for two-thirds of country's goods shipment, officials said.

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1 of 4 seamen around the globe is a Filipino

One of four seafarers around the globe today is a Filipino, putting the Philippines in the big league of the world's maritime industry, according to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano G. Salonga.

Salonga, who has been considered as one of the pillars in the Philippine maritime industry, noted statistics showing that remittances of Filipino seamen into the country have reached US$3.5 billion, helping stabilize the country's economy for the last 25 years.

"Last year alone, these remittances comprised 3.5% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is no mean feat considering that we only have 300,000 seamen of 82 million population," Salonga explained.

Speaking before this year's graduates of Bachelor of Science in Maritime Transportation and Marine Engineering at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA), Salonga challenged the SBMA to rally the maritime sector towards competitiveness and productivity.

"What is now happening in the Subic Bay, especially given the huge personality of Hanjin and the modern container port, should convince everyone that the Philippines has now become a great maritime nation and power," Salonga said.

Based on records, he said, the principal avenues of transportation in the Philippines are the inter-island sea lanes, connecting the more than 300,000 ports and harbors [in the world] where 90 percent of commercial goods are being ferried.

Salonga said, "When you sail under foreign flags, work with sense of pride and obligation as Filipinos serve in a global context, not only for your loved ones but for the entire profession and the industry, so that the stamp excellence of Filipino mariners will remain our reputation."

The SBMA has urged the Global Maritime and Transportation School of the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York, to study the possibility of putting up a similar school in San Narciso, Zambales.

If the school materializes, it would be the first of its kind in Asia, which could provide opportunities for PMMA graduates to hone further their maritime skills.

The Philippine maritime industry is expected to contribute about US$2-3 billion to the country's annual export earnings starting next year with its unprecedented growth in terms of productivity and job generation, Salonga earlier said.

Salonga cited the entry of South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction (HHIC) (KSE:003480) with its US$1 billion shipbuilding facilities inside the Subic Bay Freeport and which is scheduled to produce 12 ships by June next year.

"Hanjin is not only the Philippines' biggest single foreign direct investments of 2006 but its entry can also be regarded as the single most dramatic development in our country's growth as the Asias new maritime powerhouse," he said.

As of March, Hanjin has already generated 6,900 direct and indirect jobs compared to just about 2,400 workers during the early stage of its construction in September last year.

It is projected to create as high as 30,000 jobs in a span of three years.

"That is why, we at the SBMA continue to push the development of the freeport zone not only as a tourist destination and logistics hub but also as a maritime industrial base," Salonga said.

He added that enormous maritime resources with highly knowledgeable and skilled human resources are needed to create wealth in maritime industry.

In addition to shipbuilding and ship repair, Salonga said, the country also has vast potential in the area of regional transshipment hub for Asia-Pacific operations.

"Singapore and Hong Kong with their lesser ports, earn US$20 billion a year from transshipments alone. Given our many well-endowed natural harbors like Subic Bay, the Philippines can do well or even better," Salonga said.

He noted that the Subic Port development project is about 92 percent complete.

"The time has come for us in the maritime sector to help shape the future of our country and the Filipinos by pushing the maritime industry to live up to its role as the new major contributor to Philippine growth and progress," he stressed. – GMANews.TV

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Filipino students at VA Tech cope with tragedy

By Marconi Calindas

(saipantribune.com) - Had it been an ordinary week, students at Virginia Tech would be sitting down now to take their final exams. However, with the campus still reeling from the rampage on April 16 that left 33 people dead, the task of studying for exams seems overwhelming. Most students have decided not to take the tests, choosing instead to accept the grades they had before the tragedy.

Saipan Tribune had the chance to get in touch with the Filipino Students Association president, Romeo Capuno, to find out how the group is coping in the wake of the tragedy. Capuno, a graduate student in Environmental Engineering, said there are over 100 Filipino-American students at the college right now. He said only about 10 are Filipinos taking graduate studies.

ST: Where were you during the incident?

Capuno: My schedule varies from day to day. I may work very early in morning or late at night because I am dealing with microorganisms. Luckily that day, I was in my apartment getting ready to go to the university when I got an e-mail from the University Relations about the first shooting. I seldom use my car to go to my office or lab since it is only 5 minutes away from my place.

ST: Did you by chance meet Cho Seung Hui in any activities at school?

Capuno: I don't know Cho but who knows if our paths have crossed within my two-year stay here.

ST: How are you doing in the wake of the tragedy?

Capuno: I am getting involved in a lot of student activities inside the campus to make myself busy. Work has been slow for me last week but I am going back to my usual pace this week.

ST: What activities did your group participate in to remember the 32 victims?

Capuno: There have been lots of activities to remember the victims. There have been memorial services for the 32 victims-as a whole and individually. There were memorial stones placed on the field and close to the Administration building.

ST: What did the Filipino community do when you learned about the incident?

Capuno: During the incident and upon learning that at least 22 people have died, we immediately accounted for the Filipinos. We checked through our cell phones.

ST: How's the school now after two weeks?

Capuno: Classes resumed Monday, April 23. The University gave three options for students regarding classes and grades. Classes ended May 2 but students were given considerations.

ST: Is everything back to normal?

Capuno: It is really hard to tell if everything has normalized. But I know we're getting there.

ST: Is there anything that could be learned from this tragedy?

Capuno: There are lots of things I got from this incident. One of the important things I got from this is to show your loved ones how much you love them as often as you can. A simple hug, a simple kiss and simple words may be enough. It depends on how you want to let them feel you love them. A brother of a fatality in the Virginia Tech incident told me that he was on campus the day before the massacre because his sister will perform in the International Street Fair. He left before the performance. That was the last time he saw her alive. He said he did not even get a chance to say goodbye. In incidents like this, we can never turn back time and show our unspoken and unexpressed love to them. While we still have the time, let us show them how much we love them. I would like to let my parents and sisters know how much I love them.

ST: Since that incident, have any of you experienced discrimination for being Asian?

Capuno: Fortunately, there are no Filipinos here that look Korean. But even if there is one, the university issued a memorandum against discrimination of any kind to Koreans.

Capuno graduated with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos. He moved to Virginia Tech in May 2005. He said he chose VA Tech because of an interesting research being funded by NASA on water recovery in space stations.

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Iraq: 4 Filipino employees of the US embassy killed in an attack

BAGHDAD - Four Filipino employees of the American embassy were killed Wednesday in the explosion of a rocket in the strengthened green Zone of Baghdad, announced Thursday the embassy in an official statement.

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Husband Arroyo Drops Libel Cases Against Philippine Journalists

(International Herald Tribune, The Associated Press)

MANILA, Philippines: President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's husband announced Thursday he is dropping libel suits against more than 40 journalists, explaining that he wants peace and reconciliation after surviving high-risk heart surgery.

The cases — filed over the last three years by Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo against reporters, newspaper columnists, editors and publishers — had alarmed media watchdogs in one of Asia's liveliest democracies.

The suits stemmed mostly from stories alleging corruption and claiming Arroyo helped his wife rig the closely contested 2004 presidential election.

Despite condemnations by foreign and local media watchdogs, the president's husband continued to pursue journalists with lawsuits, then adopted a reconciliatory tone following the surgery that confined him to a hospital for about three weeks last month.

Arroyo, an attorney from a prominent family, has no official powers but is regarded as an influential back-room operator and is a vocal backer of his wife against political rivals.

He was discharged from a suburban Manila hospital Sunday, looking pale and considerably thinner. His daughter held his hand as he walked from the hospital to a van.

"I have instructed my attorneys to withdraw all the libel suits pending before the courts," Arroyo said in a statement read by the presidential press secretary.

"Seeking redress for all the grievances that the libel suits sought to address now pales in comparison to taking on a genuine chance to make peace," he said.

He said he would try to reconcile "with those who will accept my offer of a handshake."

Arroyo thanked his wife, who cut short a trip to China to be at his bedside, and his "harshest critics" for showing compassion.

He called his wife "the constant light in my life" and added "a lesser person would not have been able to take care of me and still take on the duties of a president."

Some journalists said they wanted the court, not Arroyo, to eventually clear them of the lawsuits.

"We would like them to be resolved in court. ... We believe we can get an acquittal," said Marites Vitug, editor in chief of Newsbreak, an online magazine sued by Arroyo's husband for libel.

Rowena Paraan, secretary-general of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, doubted the sincerity of Arroyo's husband, whose announcement coincided with the celebration of World Press Freedom Day.

"It's a perfect way out for him, given all the bad press that the libel cases have generated," Paraan said. "Sincerity? We'll see that in their next moves."

Last December, 36 Filipino journalists filed a class-action suit against Arroyo, alleging that he stifled press freedom.

More than 600 Filipino reporters and foreign journalists have also signed a petition calling for the decriminalization of libel and criticizing "the propensity of public officials and figures like Mr. Arroyo of using our outdated laws to muzzle a critical press."

Under a 105-year-old law, people can be fined or sentenced to prison for libel.

Press freedom groups have also protested a series of killings of journalists in the Philippines, which has been listed among the world's most dangerous countries for media.

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