Learn to fly an Airbus in 1 year

By RONNIEL C. DE GUZMAN
Manila Bulletin

If the vast potential of the newly-opened Clark International Aviation (CIA) at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga would be realized, commercial pilots can well be the next professionals that Filipinos could be famous for.

Opened early this year, the CIA offers an intensive, integrated 12-month training of first-time pilots. At the end of the program, graduates would be qualified and certified to fly Airbus 320s, the most favored single-aisle aircraft in the world.

CIA chairman and chief executive officer Mark Pearson believes there will come a day, while on a flight from London to Paris, he would recognize the captain as a graduate of CIA - and a Filipino at that.

At the core of CIA program is an $ 11-million, state-of-the-art full flight simulator, the first of its kind in the country.

"We train pilots who have never flown an airplane before. They graduate from college and come here for the intensive, integrated, 12-month program. They come and live here at Clark. In the first five months, they spend their time in the classrooms to learn all the theoretical knowledge plus ground studies. They have to learn about aviation, meteorology, navigation, flight instruments and air law, among others," explained Pearson, himself a former pilot for the British airline Monarch.

From ground instructions, the pilot cadets move on to fly 70 hours in small light planes where they will learn "basic pilot skills.

Pilot-cadets live inside the CIA compound but are accorded comfortable accommodations. CIA has two types of accommodations the air-conditioned and serviced dormitory type (P5,000 a month excluding the food) which can fit 18 cadets in a room and apartments ( a night) for single and double occupancies complete with shower and baths, personal refs, DVD players, wireless internet, and TV. CIA also has a full-service gym, basketball gym and bar. Pilot-cadets may also bring their wives with them during the program.

ANSWER TO PILOT SHORTAGE

Now comes the best part.

At the end of the 12 months, the pilot-cadets not only graduate as commercial pilots but fully type-rated to fly the Airbus 320 which immediately made them eligible to enter the airline service.

Perhaps what attracts CIA to prospective pilots is the price of the training fees as against the high salaries a graduate can expect. At the moment, course fee is pegged at $ 80,000. But Pearson was quick to point out that this is a bargain compared to the facilities where similar programs are offered.

"We can actually deliver our training at the fraction of the price that it would cost to deliver, say in Europe for example. When the Europeans start this program it would probably cost double compared to that in the Philippines," said Pearson.

He noted that given the shortage in pilots of A320s, both in Asia and other parts of the world, prospective pilots stand to get a windfall in salaries once they get their certification from CIA.

"All of the pilots are guaranteed a job once they graduate from the program. There is global pilot shortage at the moment which requires 16,000 new pilots each in every year for the next 20 years. And we are here to train pilots in time for the delivery of new planes for these airlines," said Pearson.

CIA chose the Philippines as its area of operations because of its strategic location.

"It is accessible to all points in Asia. It has one of the lowest cost bases in Asia. Combined with that it has an abundance of highly-educated fluent English-speaking (English) personnel," he said.

Pearson added that what makes CIA's program distinct is that it is the first school in the world which has actually commenced with the multicrew license program approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

THE FUTURE OF AVIATION

CIA has also opened its facilities for the re-training of pilots coming from both local and foreign airline companies. It is a mandatory international requirement for a pilot, including seasoned pilots, captains and first officers, to retrain every six months for him to maintain his proficiency if he is to keep his license.

"This is the only opportunity they have to practice real emergency drills that I hope they will never see in real life like engine failures, engine fires, hydraulic problems. The kind of problems you can't safely simulate on a real plane on the air with real passengers on board," said Rick Norman, head of flight operations.

Cebu Pacific currently has a group of its own pilots re-training at CIA.

As word about CIA spreads around, the Clark-based institution has seen a steady stream of pilot cadets as well as pilots who are on its re-training program.

"We have a new course intake every month of 18 cadets so in a full year we will have about 220 cadets in training in any one time," averred Norman.

He added that CIA is an international school and that majority of the pilot-cadets do happen to be Filipinos. But it does have students from Europe and India and is expecting a huge influx from the Middle East and China.

If the substantial investments in the country were not enough, Pearson said CIA would be bringing in three more simulators and two A-320s. There will also be two other different types of simulators called fixed-based simulators.

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Visa Dispute in Dubai

GULF manpower recruiters will urge their governments to stop issuing work visas to Filipinos until a dispute over domestic workers' wages is resolved, it was revealed yesterday. A meeting of the GCC Recruiters Committee unanimously agreed in Bahrain to submit the request for the ban until conditions set by the Philippines government are revised.

The new regulations seek a minimum wage of $400 (BD150) and improved standard of living for any Filipino workers being employed as domestic help in the GCC.

The minimum wage was passed in December last year and maids planning to go overseas must first undergo familiarisation training with the culture, beliefs and practices of their prospective employers.

Employers of Filipino maids are also now being required to sign a declaration that they will face a BD5 fine everyday if they fail to pay workers their salaries on time.

"We have approved a decision that we will urge our governments through the GCC chambers of commerce to stop issuing working visas to all Filipino workers," Bahrain Recruiters Society (BRS) chairman Fareed Al Mahmeed told the GDN.

He was speaking following the meeting held at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in Manama, yesterday.

Representatives from all the GCC countries participated in the meeting.

"As a recruiters committee we will ask the GCC countries to stop Filipinos' visas," said Mr Al Mahmeed.

"We hope our governments will support us. It is affecting our citizens, it is affecting business and it is interfering in these country's policies and rules."

He said that he hoped the decision would give GCC governments an opportunity to speak with their Filipino counterparts and reach a compromise, and claimed the committee's actions would have the backing of Filipinos.

"The rules are affecting the Filipino workers and according to our agent even the workers are refusing the regulations and are going on strike because nobody is taking manpower from the Philippines anymore," said Mr Al Mahmeed.

BRS board secretary Khalifa Al Jowder said that the meeting addressed means of dealing with enforcing $400 minimum wage rule on the sector.

"We have always tried to solve this problem but this has not been solved," he said.

"All GCC representatives agreed to ask our government to suspend visas and work permits for all skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers from the Philippines until we see what the solution will be."

By Mark Summers

(gulfnews.com) - "No-one is going to accept paying a salary of $400 - we will not bring workers from the Philippines to any GCC countries until we get a solution to this problem."

However, Philippine Ambassador Eduardo Maglaya said any such ban would be open to accusations of discrimination.

"If it is specific that they mention only Filipinos then I think that it is discriminatory," he told GDN.

"Filipinos are the preferred employees in the service industry and we have reasons why we should also take care of our nationals.

"I guess what every normal embassy would do is protect their own nationals in the same manner as the GCC embassies would do for their citizens abroad."

In Bahrain, maids account for 40 per cent of the total Filipino population.

The embassy had estimated that there are about 40,000 Filipinos in Bahrain.

Last year the embassy handled 4,978 cases of Filipinos with employment problems - 95pc of which involved maids. msummers@gdn.com.bh

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Filipinos in Malaysia can send SMS money home

(thestar.com) - KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of Filipino workers can now send money to their families and other dependants in the Philippines within seconds through mobile phone service messaging, and without going through banks. 

Maxis Communications Berhad and the Philippine's telecommunications company Globe Telecom yesterday launched the world's first international mobile-to-mobile money transfer service, between the two countries. 

The service, approved by Bank Negara, allows users to transfer up to PHP6,500 (RM500) per transaction at RM5 per transaction and 15 sen for each SMS, half the transaction fee of banks, said Maxis chief executive officer Sandip Das. 

Up to RM10,000 can be transferred per day at no charge to recipients who receive the money in pesos based on daily exchange rates. 

The service will benefit 20,000 Filipino Maxis subscribers in Malaysia, Das said. 

"The service is part of a larger picture of us being a strong service provider for the immigrant population," he said. 

"We will not replace the banking institutions for international remittance but provide customers an alternative solution to sending money in micro arrangements, at a lower fee and a greater convenience," he said. 

The service will also be made available for Indonesians in Malaysia before the end of the month and other countries later in the year, he said. 

It is estimated that there are 150,000 Indonesian mobile phone users in Malaysia, he said. 

On receipt of an SMS confirmation, a recipient can withdraw the money through any of Globe's GCash 6,000 outlets in the Philippines, as well as rural banks, pawnshops and retail outlets and pay for things and tuition fees in some places without cashing it out, said Globe's head of consumer business Ferdz De la Cruz. 

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Filipina jailed in Dubai for killing own baby

(gulfnews.com) - Dubai: A Filipina mother who battered her newborn girl to death has been sentenced to three years in jail.

The Dubai Court of First Instance found the 32-year-old mother, identified as E.L., responsible for her 45-day-old girl's death. She will be deported after serving the prison term.

The Public Prosecution charged her with premeditatedly murdering her daughter. The Filipina denied the charges and said her daughter died after accidentally falling from her hands into the bathtub.

Her lawyer, Nabih Badr of Nabih Badr Advocates and Legal Consultants, said, "Every mother is ready to sacrifice her life to save her child. God gave every mother a caring and warm heart towards her child. It would have been impossible for my client, who is a mother of five children, to premeditatedly batter her 45-day-old girl to death."

Following the ruling, Badr told Gulf News that he couldn't comment on the ruling, however, "it seems the judge considered our appeal to treat the case as a death caused by negligence".

"If the charge was true, she definitely must have been suffering from postpartum depression, which pushes a patient to suicide or to kill someone.

"Ultimately, a pregnant woman feels happy when she delivers. Celebrating a woman's delivery helps reduce the effect of postpartum depression, as explained to me by one of the doctors," said Badr.

Counterfeiters land in prison

A group of five counterfeiters has been sentenced to one year in jail for possessing about $300,000 (about Dh1 million) in fake bills and trying to sell them for Dh750,000 to a police informant.

The Dubai Court of First Instance also fined the five Dh5,000 each. They will be deported after their sentences.

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First Pinays on Mt. Everest

By NINA CORPUZ

The Philippine Star

When Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon and Janet Belarmino became the first Southeast Asian women to summit Mt. Everest and the first women in the world to traverse Mt. Everest from the North side to the South side, Himalaya didn't seem to care.

The country was rejoicing, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent a congratulatory message, and the Philippine Coast Guard prepared a heroes welcome for the three summiteers who had just been promoted from seawoman first class to seawoman third class.

Himalaya, though, remains clueless. After all, he's only five months old. His mommy Janet left two months ago to pursue her dream of conquering the world's highest peak, and she did so with a heavy heart.

In an article published on the Kathmandu Post titled "Mom of five-month-old atop Everest," Janet was quoted as saying, "I decided to leave him, as I was too focused on the mountain. I believed there was a greater cause behind my decision."

Noelle, on the other hand, brought her loved one with her to the summit, a picture of her mother. Her mom passed away last year due to a stroke. She was on her way to the airport to pick up Noelle when she had the attack. Noelle had just arrived after successfully climbing Mt. Denali in Alaska, the highest mountain in North America. She was waiting at the airport, when she got the call that her mom was rushed to the hospital. By the time Noelle arrived there, it was already too late.

Carina is one of 14 siblings who grew up in Bukidnon. Her family didn't want her to join the Everest team because of the obvious danger. They also relied on her as the family breadwinner. But Carina was determined to sacrifice to achieve a greater goal.

The Dayondon family apparently had nothing to worry about. According to ABS-CBN correspondent Vince Rodriguez who chronicled the journey on pinaysoneverest.blogspot.com, Carina was even singing on the summit!

According to the blog, two hours before reaching the summit, the team radioed Advance Base Camp to give an update on their location. During the call, Carina sang in the radio an excerpt from the song Kaya ng Pinay, composed by team doctor Ted Esguerra.

On hearing her singing, Everest summiteer Pastor Emata, who was at ABC, radioed back, "Carina, I bet you're singing because you're scared."

Carina's response was, "Excuse me!" But things are different back home. Their families may support their goals and trust they know what they're doing — but they can't completely take away their loved ones' apprehension, the fear that something bad may happen.

Ricky Serdenia, husband of Janet Belarmino-Serdenia, couldn't hold back his tears when he heard the news his wife had reached the summit. You'd think that Ricky, being a member of the Philippine Dragonboat Federation, would be cool under pressure.

He admits though, it's not easy when you're the one left behind.

"Himalaya, your mom has reached the summit," he softly told his baby while crying. "I'm so happy but I also worry about her everyday. I try not to think about it by being with friends, keeping myself busy. Sometimes I fear Himalaya may not see his mom again. But I trust in God and I believe in Janet."

Himalaya was just chuckling and making cute baby sounds while his father wept.

This May, more than 300 people are estimated to have reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Critics have said that the mountain has become so commercialized, anyone with time, money and a bit of guts can reach the top.

So what makes the Pinays' achievement so special? They could have swum across the Pacific, they could have aimed to reach the North Pole — it wasn't about the summit of Everest per se. The mountain is simply an allegory, a very tough one at that, for achieving what people think is impossible. That if we set our minds to it and unite in a common cause, we can climb whatever heights and reach whatever distance we imagine.

Like Leo Oracion, Pastor Emata and Romy Garduce before them, the women have again made the country proud. The message is loud and clear, yes, the Filipina can, Kaya ng Pinay! And they didn't just do it for themselves, but for all the Filipinas around the world struggling to conquer their own mountains.

And even if Himalaya doesn't understand yet why his mom left, one day when he grows up, he'll realize the meaning of his mother's sacrifice. Indeed, Mommy Janet knows best, there is a greater cause.

Not even all the money in the world can match the legacy Himalaya will pass on to his children and his children's children. A legacy of hope, faith and triumph of the human spirit.

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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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