Copyright 2007 Philippine NewsLink http://www.philnews.com/ Online Premiere Portal for Philippine-Based News. Since 1996 Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com On April 24, 2008 the United States Senate passed the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, by a vote of 96 to 1. If that bill sponsored by Sen. Daniel Akaka [D, HI] becomes law... Thu, 08 May 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/011a.htm There was no comfort in the Philippine report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last week for 14 year old Felix Avila, emaciated, half-staved, brutalized, shocked and dazed as he was helped... Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/010a.htm he rice shortage that the Philippines is currently experiencing is the result of its exploding population. The country is quickly running out of land and all other needed resources... Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/009a.htm The Pageant's title says it all: Binibining Pilipinas. At some point in its past, people used to refer to it as the Miss Philippines Beauty Contest... Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/008a.htm Parañaque Congressman Roilo Golez in a press conference at the historic Manila Hotel on Monday, March 10, 2008, outlined the area covered by the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU)... Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/007a.htm The rally along Ayala Avenue on Friday, February 29th, brought together a wide spectrum of Philippine society reminiscent of the EDSA I people power revolution... Sun, 02 Mar 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/006a.htm On the surface, It seems fatigue has finally set in for Metro Manilans who in the past have risen up to remove two Philippine presidents from office... Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/005a.htm It would be worth reminding the Administration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that it was US President Richard Nixon's obstruction of justice... Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/004a.htm On February 6, Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada began his testimony before the Philippine Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigating the now infamous ZTE-NBN deal... Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/003a.htm The race for the White House is now in full swing. And Filipino-Americans are in the thick of it. Unlike elections in the Philippines where... Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/002a.htm The Kastilas (as Filipinos call Spaniards) have been gone now for over a hundred years, yet the religious fanaticism they helped engender is still in evidence all across the Philippines... Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2008/001a.htm Two-thousand and seven came and went in a flash! But it was a year of significant events. The few that come to mind are... Wed, 02 Jan 2008 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/028a.htm By January 2008, PHILNEWS.COM turns twelve! Yes, we've been around a long time...longer than most Filipino websites. In this new millennium, we find the Philippines beset with... Sun, 23 Dec 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/027a.htm On 13 December 2007, Greenpeace demanded urgent climate solutions from the Philippine government, following the release of an international report citing the country as world's top climate change victim... Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/026a.htm It was a bit disappointing to listen to former Vice President Teofisto Guingona's feeble attempt to explain away his involvement with last month's attempted coup d'état by Trillanes and company... Fri, 07 Dec 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/025a.htm Not to make light of this serious affliction affecting millions worldwide, we'd simply like to borrow its name which seems to best describe the extreme rightwing-leftwing coalition... Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/024a.htm The Mutiny ended as quickly as it started. At around eleven AM on November 29th Neophyte Senator Antonio Trillanes, and other members of the Magdalo group who are all on trial for sedition... Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/023a.htm The quiet of what was so far an uneventful Thursday morning was shattered when the accused Magdalo soldiers walked out of their court martial proceedings... Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/022a.htm Who will be the next president of the Philippines? Filipinos ponder who should be chosen come 2010. Who will be this knight in shining armor and where will he or she come from? Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/021a.htm The relative calm of Philippine politics of late has been shattered by a bomb blast that occurred late Tuesday evening at the Batasan Pambansa (Philippine House of Representatives) building in Metro Manila... Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/020a.html With the stroke of a pen Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo may have not just pardoned convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada but also sealed her fate as a President sans a backbone... Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/019a.html There was high drama in the Senate these past few weeks keeping many in the Philippines riveted to their television sets... Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/018a.html After six long years, the Sandiganbayan court has finally ruled on the plunder and perjury charges against former President Joseph Estrada... Wed, 12 Sep 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/017a.html Professor Jose Maria Sison (a.k.a. Joma and Armando Liwanag) 68, graduated from UP with a degree in Literature. He is a hardcore commie having founded the CPP and its dreaded and brutal armed wing, the NPA... Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/016a.html If you don't know who Malu Fernandez is, don't worry, you're not alone. But chances are you'll be hearing that name a lot in the coming weeks... Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/015a.html It has been 21 years since that fateful day in February, 1986 when Ferdinand Marcos, preparing to flee Malacanang Palace... Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/014a.html There has been progress in saving and releasing hundreds of small children and youth from the stench filled cells across the Philippines... Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/013a.html Last week U.S. District Judge William H. Walls imposed a six-year prison sentence on Filipino Michael Ray Aquino, shattering his dreams of working as a nurse in the United States... Sun, 22 Jul 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/012a.html A grizzly sight silently awaited the search team looking for 10 Marines who went missing during heavy fighting the previous evening in the town of Tipo-tipo, Basilan... Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/011a.html We've all heard the expression "things have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous" to describe a situation in which something starts out with great importance and with the noblest of intentions... Tue, 10 Jul 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/010a.html A weak dollar coupled with a strong Peso has created a bonanza for the Arroyo Government. With its foreign reserves aflush it has been paying off much of its foreign debt... Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/009a.html It has been a couple of weeks since the May 14 elections. TV ads have long since died away and the campaign posters--the ones that are still up--are slowly but surely turning into rubbish... Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/008a.html Election day has finally arrived. And unlike the United States, election day in the Philippines is usually a public holiday. So far all seems peaceful in the Greater Manila area... Mon, 14 May 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/007a.html A group of Filipino immigrants in the United States launched a new organization called Sakdal-Laya to target the Philippine political system that they claim is responsible for the large-scale corruption... Sun, 07 May 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/006a.html More than three weeks ago, I wrote an Open Letter entitled, What would make me leave the Philippines. This open letter has elicited much attention from Filipinos here and abroad... Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/005a.html Good day to all of you! Before I begin my letter... just a disclaimer, for people who know me they know that I love the Philippines very much and I am not really one who rants and complains... Sat, 14 Apr 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/004a.html National and local elections this May will continue to occupy most Filipinos, including those living and working abroad... Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/003a.html With national elections just a few months away, election fever is heating up in the Philippines... Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/002a.html Vista, Microsoft’s newest operating system, could trigger a deluge of E-waste in developing countries, Greenpeace warned today... Mon, 05 Feb 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2007/001a.html Despite the smell of diesel fumes, the piercing rattle of two-stroke tricycle engines, or the incessant honking of automobile horns; in spite of the typhoons and their accompanying floods... Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/042a.html With 2007 just two days away, the Philippine Government has finally come to its senses and sent US Marine Daniel Smith back where he belongs: in the custody of the US Embassy... Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/041a.html The Holidays are upon us once again! Chestnuts roasting and Holiday lights aflicker, people rush to and thro with Christmas gifts in tow... Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/040a.html On Monday, December the 4th, 2006, Judge Benjamin Pozon of the Makati Regional Trial Court sentenced US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel J. Smith to 40 years in prison for the rape of a 23-year old Filipina... Thu, 07 Dec 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/039a.html With almost four years remaining on her term, it seems President Arroyo is determined to move the country to a unicameral, parliamentary form of government... Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/038a.html On November 8th, a day after the American midterm elections, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was fired by President George W. Bush; the "fall guy" for the President's failed... Thu, 16 Nov 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/037a.html Filipinos (including the press, business people and myself) tend to dwell too much on the negative side and this affects the perception of foreigners even the ones who have lived here for awhile... Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/036a.html As a US-based news organization, with close to 90 percent of our readers coming from North America, Philippine NewsLink has been closely following the upcoming mid-term elections... Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/035a.html By mid-afternoon yesterday, October 25, the news was out that the Philippine Supreme Court had voted against the charter change petition of Sigaw Ng Bayan and (ULAP)... Thu, 26 Oct 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/034a.html Escorted by a contingent of 500 heavily-armed policemen, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Wencelito Andanar served Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay... Fri, 20 Oct 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/033a.html One day a distraught and troubled old lady came to the PREDA children’s Home weeping and asking the social workers for help in rescuing her granddaughter Alyssa who was only three years old... Sat, 07 Oct 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/032a.html Thursday, September 28, 2006 started out as most days do in the teaming metropolis we know as Metro Manila. People went about their early morning routine with only a slight foreboding... Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/031a.html Nicole, the alleged victim in the Subic rape case versus four US Marines turns 23 this week, and judging from what she's gone through, we can presume, a lot wiser than she was a year ago... Thu, 21 Sep 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/030a.html Most Filipinos, including those living outside the Philippines heaved a collective sigh of relief at the news that Imelda Marcos has decided to bury the remains of her late husband... Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/029a.html We Filipinos who migrated to other countries as well as Filipinos temporarily working abroad, whether we realize it or not, have a major role to play in Philippine Politics... Sun, 03 Sep 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/028a.html According to wikipedia.org, the online encyclopedia, Manila "With a population of 1,581,082 and a land area of 38.55 km², has the highest population density of any major city in the world... Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/027a.html The legendary German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck once remarked, "There are two things you don’t want to see being made—sausage and legislation"... Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/026a.html The US Primary elections signal the start of "campaign season" for the American electorate. And with the large and growing number of Filipino-American voters... Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/025a.html On September 21, 1972 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, then in his second and last term as president, issued Presidential Decree 1081 placing the Philippines under Marial Law... Wed, 02 Aug 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/024a.html A confident, self-assured President Gloria Arroyo spoke to the Philippine nation on July 24th, 2006 and laid out a comprehensive plan that would put the country back in step with the rest of its Asian neighbors... Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/023a.html This week is the 6th anniversary of the one of the most tragic events in recent Philippine history. On 10 July in the great garbage dump of Metro Manila, a mountain of compressed methane filled trash began to move... Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/022a.html Fifteen thousand concerned residents of Naguilian and Benito Soliven, and the city of Cauayan, in Isabela have signed a petition asking the government to stop its planned coal mine and powerplant project... Sun, 02 Jul 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/021a.html The president's recent directive to crush the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) once and for all... Sat, 24 Jun 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/020a.html Over a hundred years ago, the Philippine Revolutionary Government headed by Emilio Aguinaldo inaugurated the first Philippine Congress in the now-historic Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan... Mon, 12 Jun 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/019a.html During the last two sessions of congress, the Philippine Senate passed a grand total of nine--that's right, nine!---bills... Sun, 04 Jun 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/018a.html Filipinos wear their religion on their sleeve, or so it seems. And with the supposedly blasphemous subject matter of the movie, The Da Vinci Code, the fringe groups are fuming with righteous indignation... Sat, 27 May 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/017a.html The U.S. Senate today unanimously accepted an amendment offered by Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) to grant the children of Filipino World War II veterans special immigrant status for purposes of family reunification... Mon, 22 May 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/016a.html Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the embattled ex-president; with the FBI and the US Justice Department breathing down his neck as as result of convicted Filipino-American spy Leandro Aragoncillo's confession, now comes a new 500 million-peso lawsuit filed by a former beauty queen... Sun, 14 May 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/015a.html On Thursday, May 3rd, 2006, former FBI intelligence analyst Leandro Aragoncillo admitted in Federal Court to spying for plotters in the Philippines who want to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo... Fri, 05 May 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/014a.html For Filipino-Americans, especially those living in the the East and West coasts of the United States, Canada is seen as the country that usually gets it right! From universal healthcare, to universal education, to "universal" tolerance for all peoples and races... Sat, 28 Apr 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/013a.html It was a happy moment and a surprise for many when Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced in a simple statement last Holy Saturday that the Philippines would change its policy of executing convicted criminals... Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/012a.html If the eyes are windows to the soul, as the popular saying goes, then the driving habits of Filipinos are a reflection of their character. And that character, for those who've visited around Metro Manila lately, is an unruly, undisciplined, and arrogant one... Sat, 15 Apr 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/011a.html In Philippine NewsLink's September, 2005 editorial, we speculated that the three co-conspirators of indicted spies Michael Rey Aquino and Leandro Aragoncillo would be Panfilo Lacson, Francisco Tatad, and Joseph Estrada... Wed, 05 Apr 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/010a.html With the Charter Change signature campaign spearheaded by the group Sigaw Ng Bayan going significantly better than expected, President Arroyo felt confident enough to warn her foes in Congress to "stand back because the train has already left the station... Fri, 31 Mar 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/009a.html You know you've arrived in the Philippines when that hot humid blast of air hits you in the face as you walk out the aircraft onto the jetway. But it is when you ride or drive on Manila's roads during daytime that it's impact really hits you. Grime is everywhere... Fri, 17 Mar 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/008a.html In a bold move that caught her critics by surprise, President Arroyo lifted the state of emergency she declared on February 25th. The military acted decisively first showing their solidarity behind the president and then quickly rounding up those who sought to overthrow the government... Sat, 04 Mar 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/007a.html Filipinos the world over are breathing a collective sigh of relief with President Arroyo's declaration of a state of national emergency... Mon, 27 Feb 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/006a.html In early October, 2000 a stern-faced Senator Teofisto Guingona in a privilege speech dropped a 'bombshell' implicating then President Joseph Estrada in a jueteng payoff scandal. Guingona even went so far as to call Estrada the 'top jueteng lord' in the country... Sat, 18 Feb 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/005a.html It seems Philippine Politics has of late, gone from barely tolerable to seemingly ridiculous. From the overseas Filipino perspective, the antics that the political opposition uses to draw attention to their cause are--to put it plainly--laughable!... Tue, 07 Feb 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/004a.html The thousands of soldiers and civilians who bravely serve with honor and those who gave their lives for human dignity would be outraged if they knew that torture, brutality, dehumanization and human rights violations was the policy of the present United States administration... Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/003a.html With Manny "The PacMan" Paquiao's definitive win in his rematch against Mexican Erik Morrales, we ask ourselves: can his victory unite us in pride and respect for one another? Mon, 23 Jan 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/002a.html If there is one person who continues to wield a lot of clout in Philippine politics, it is former president Fidel Ramos. Politicians, the press, and the Military hang on to his every word, as though his is the final word on political matters... Mon, 09 Jan 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2006/001a.html Philippine NewsLink celebrates its tenth year online! And with a decade of online experience under our belt comes a renewed effort to become the voice of Filipino expatriates, OFW's and émigrés the world over... Wed, 04 Jan 2006 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/zze.html As we celebrate Christmas, each in our own special way, we'd like to take a moment to thank our readers: OFW's (Overseas Filipino Workers), Expatriates, Balikbayans, and those in the Philippines... Fri, 23 Dec 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/zzd.html On Thursday afternoon, Philippine police arrested former defense secretary Fortunato Abat along with three of his companions on charges of sedition. The highly decorated Major General, and former ambassador to China had announced at the Club Filipino in San Juan that he was taking over as president of a revolutionary transition government... Sat, 17 Dec 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/zzc.html To re-word that famous Yogi Berra line. With Former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano set to testify before Congress, many senators and congressmen, according to Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, are experiencing sleepless nights worrying that they too might be implicated by the former commissioner as one of many... Mon, 05 Dec 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/zzb.html The Philippine justice system is getting noticed abroad as a model of judicial reform. Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., who became chief justice of the Supreme Court in November 1998, managed to turn-around this ailing branch of government during his seven year tenure... Mon, 28 Nov 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/zza.html On the night of November 7, 2005, members of the Police Traffic Management Group (TMG) aboard a Toyota Revo SUV ambushed a sedan driven by three alleged carnapers. Unbeknownst to the Authorities, the encounter occurred next to a building that housed the offices of UNTV, a Cable television station... Fri, 18 Nov 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/za.html On the first of November a 22-year old Filipina from Zamboanga left a karaoke bar in Subic Bay, Olongapo, in the company of five US servicemen stationed aboard the USS Essex. Several hours later, she was dumped on a side road, half naked and abused. The young woman was hospitalized and later accused the Americans of raping her... Fri, 11 Nov 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ya.html Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the most senior ranking Catholic prelate in the Philippines has finally come out against using the Church to promote political ends. The Eminent Cardinal, who normally avoids the spotlight, had strong words for clergy members who use the pulpit to promote partisan political agendas... Mon, 31 Oct 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/xa.html On Thursday, October 20, 2005, a shackled and sullen-faced Michael Ray Aquino appeared in Judge William H. Walls' New Jersey courtroom to hear the two charges against him, and to enter a plea of "Not Guilty." Gone from Aquino was the tough-guy "trademark" look sported by members of the now-disbanded Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF)... Sat, 22 Oct 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/wa.html Visit any of the cinema multiplexes in Metro Manila malls and you may be hard-pressed to find a Filipino movie being shown. Scan the titles and they're mostly Hollywood blockbusters, with a sprinkling of European and Asian films. So where have all the Pinoy films gone? Sat, 15 Oct 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/va.html Young children are being abducted and disappearing in Puerto Galera, Mindoro Island. A young boy had his eyes and guts cut out in nearby Baco town. Five- and six-year olds have been sexually abused by foreign pedophiles with impunity in the Philippines... Wed, 05 Oct 2005 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ua.html A recent article by Manila Times reporter Maricel Cruz states that former representative Mark Jimenez may be eyeing a return to Philippine politics with a planned run for mayor of Manila after his two-year sentence is up. For many Filipinos who already find the country's current political climate quite distasteful... Wed, 28 Sep 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ta.html With the unsealing of the FBI indictment against Michael Rey Aquino and Leandro Aragoncillo for spying against the United States close at hand, curiosity in Manila and across the globe is reaching a fever pitch as millions of Filipinos want to know who the three high-level Philippine officials included in that sealed FBI indictment are... Wed, 21 Sep 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/sa.html It is always fascinating to see supposedly arrogant Pinoy politicians humbled before the law. Unfortunately, in the Philippines, where justice is routinely sold to the highest bidder, such events are a very rare occurrence. But as luck would have it. US courts, unlike their Philippine counterparts, bow to no one... Tue, 14 Sep 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ra.html A week or so before the September 7, 2005 deadline set by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Miller was to expire, Philippine presidential wannabe and current administration destabilizer Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and his crew had already set in motion the plans to put an end to his required appearance for an OEX (Order of Examination) hearing in her court... Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/qa.html There is something disturbing about the recent statement of President Arroyo with regards to the CNN expose on children being locked up with adult crime suspects in filthy jails. There, the children—thousands of them—get sodomized, raped, tortured, tattooed, and subjected to various forms of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment and punishment... Sat, 27 Aug 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/pa.html Baguio City, Philippines (August 15, 2005)--Some of the balding mountains of Luzon are being re-greened by a fast-growing, zero-management crop which makes vegetables look cheap. Good news? Unfortunately not! The green foliage is illegal and deadly—and priced as much as gold—tempting many who feel the pangs of poverty, especially the “dirt-poor” farmers, who plant the crop... Sat, 16 Aug 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/oa.html To many Filipinos Senator Panfilo 'Ping' Lacson is--to paraphrase Winston Churchill--"a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." So far his tenure in the legislature offers little evidence that he shares the sharp intellect of esteemed senators past (i.e. Lorenzo Tanada, Claro M. Recto, Ninoy Aquino, Gerry Roxas, Soc Rodrigo, Jovito Salonga, and Jose Diokno), nor does it provide much insight as to where he stands... Mon, 08 Aug 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/na.html At least Hollywood if not Washington remembers some of the valuable and well as heroic contributions of Filipino fighting men and women during World War II. The new Hollywood movie out in theaters early this August from Miramax films is about a little-known Army Rangers rescue mission in Cabanatuan, Philippines, during that war... Mon, 01 Aug 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ma.html During trying times such as these, it helps to ponder the positive rather than dwell on the negative. Below is an article by Gregory L. Domingo written a few years back, while serving as Undersecretary for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)... Sun, 24 Jul 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/la.html And so the drama of Philippine politics continues with yet another plot twist as the opposition gets a taste of its own medicine. Ilocos Sur Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson, on Thursday (7/14) presented the media a compact disc of alleged wiretapped conversations between ex-president Joseph Estrada and as yet un-named individuals, wherein plans to overthrow the government were discussed... Sun, 16 Jul 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ka.html It's all over but the shouting, folks! The destabilization campaign orchestrated by those seeking to overthrow the country's duly-elected government by extra-judiciary means appears destined for failure with every passing second. A heartening and proud testament to the politically maturing and circumspect Philippine society... Sun, 10 Jul 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ja.html The current crisis now gripping the Philippines is truly nothing more than a tempest in a teapot. On the scale of wrongdoings by current and previous public officials, the president's admitted "lapse of judgment" might hardly even register. Still, folks in Manila have been stirred into a frenzy... Fri, 08 Jul 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ia.html Now that President Arroyo has managed to successfully deflect all the accusations that her opponents have thrown her way, it is time for her and the country to roll-up their sleeves and take these opposition leaders to task... Tue, 05 Jul 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ha.html It was on a rainy fourth of July, in 1946 when the Stars and Stripes came down from atop its Luneta flagpole for the last time and the Philippine flag was hoisted in its place. That day, we became the masters of our national destiny... Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ga.html Assignment to an overseas post in a world-class city like New York, London, or Paris, can mark the pinnacle of many a Philippine diplomat's career. And undoubtedly, the glitz and the glamour of a city like the "Big Apple" can easily rub-off on those who live and work there... Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/fa.html From a distance one sometimes sees things from a very different perspective. And many Filipinos who now live and work abroad are dismayed by all the shenanigans that those who want to topple the Arroyo administration are resorting to... Sat, 11 Jun 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/ea.html Staff Sergeant Anthony Lagman 28, was a true soldier and Marine. Enlisting in the Marines right out of High School—Lagman joined the US Marine Corps, then the US Army, serving with pride and honor all the way to the very end... Wed, 01 Jun 2005 00:00:02 GMT - http://www.philnews.com/2005/da.html This editorial revisits the issue of the bells of Balangiga. At present, the United States has in its possession three bells that belonged to the parish church of Balangiga... Tue, 18 May 2005 00:00:02 GMT