Philippines marks 25 years since 'People Power'

AP - Friday, February 25


MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Friday that the struggle for good governance and the fight against the corruption that characterized the brutal regime of Ferdinand Marcos continues 25 years after the late dictator's ouster in the "People Power" revolution.

In a speech to mark the four-day revolt in 1986 that restored democracy and ended Marcos' 20-year regime, Aquino recalled that Marcos ruled with an iron fist as he enriched his family and associates amid the nation's poverty.

Marcos died in exile in Hawaii three years after his ouster. Poverty, corruption and insurgency are still major problems in the Philippines.

Aquino said the revolt raised hopes that democracy would also bring prosperity and a government that would safeguard the people's money, but said that did not happen in the decade under his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"There were some who betrayed the public trust and raided government coffers," he said. "With good governance to fight corruption, we can free our people from poverty."

Arroyo held power for nine years, surviving several coup attempts by disgruntled military officers and impeachment bids by the opposition, who accused her of corruption, election fraud and human rights abuses. She has denied the charges.

Aquino is the son of the country's two democracy icons. His mother, Corazon Aquino, claimed victory against Marcos in the fraud-marred elections two weeks before the revolt, and was installed as his successor. His father and Marcos' archrival, former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, was assassinated by soldiers in 1983.

A third of Filipinos live on a dollar a day. Lack of jobs at home has forced an estimated 10 percent of the 94 million Filipinos to work abroad, sending home billions of dollars that help shore up the country's economy.

Aquino has resumed peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim separatist rebels to end more than four decades of armed conflict that has also stunted the country's economic growth.

Philippines named among 'most promising' countries

ANN - 1 hour 58 minutes ago

Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Global banking giant Citigroup has identified the Philippines as one of 11 countries that will likely stand out in a globally integrated economy in terms of high growth rates and investment returns over the next 40 years.
Citi, in a global economic research dated February 21 titled "Global Growth Generators (3G)," introduced the concept of 3G to refer to countries, regions, cities, trade corridors, sectors, industries, firms, technologies, products and asset classes that over the next five, 10, 20 and 40 years could deliver high growth and profitable investment opportunities.
The 3G index takes into account several components including domestic saving investment, demographic prospects, health, education, quality of institutions and policies and trade openness.
The countries that scored highest in the 3G index in terms of growth potential are Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Mongolia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
In the research written by Citi global economists Willem Buiter and Ebrahim Rahbari, Vietnam had the highest index score at 0.86, followed by China (0.81), India (0.71), Indonesia (0.70), Mongolia (0.63) and the Philippines (0.60).
The study projected a 5.5 percent annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the Philippines between 2010 and 2050. At $3,684, or 8.3 percent of the US level, the Philippines' level of real GDP per capita puts it in 52nd place in its sample.
The country's population was projected to grow from 93.6 million in 2010 to 146.2 million in 2050. Its population of working age is also projected to grow by 66.2 percent over that period.
The Citi research also noted that the Philippines' reported investment rate was "unbelievably" low at 14.5 percent of GDP for the period 2006-2009.
"Even if the data understate the true investment rate, there can be little doubt that the investment rate will have to be raised substantially if the projected growth rates are to materialize," the research said.
The Philippines scored "quite well" on the 3G index with a value of 0.60, the research added.
Investment in education and health should help it improve its score and its growth prospects, while institutional quality, which also pulled down its 3G index score, should be raised next, the research said.
"Unlike Indonesia, which is often mentioned as one of the potential new tiger economies, the Philippines barely get a mention. This seems strange. After all, in terms of governance, institutional quality and human capital there is not much to choose between the two, and unlike Indonesia, the Philippines already managed a respectable growth rate without the access to easy (measured) growth provided by oil, natural gas and other non-renewable resource extraction," the study said.
"With the Philippines safe from the natural resource curse, its prospects for improving institutional capacity would seem to be at least as good as those in Indonesia," it said.
The research also noted the country's widely dispersed "diaspora" sending home remittances and establishing personal, professional and commercial contacts, links and networks in turn seen benefiting the country in the future.
Material governance and institutional reform were cited as necessary for the Philippines to join the Asian Tigers, including a movement of the state bureaucracies into the right direction.
"But such reforms have been shown to be feasible in other countries starting from no more favorable conditions. We are hopeful that the Philippines will track our forecast," the research said.
For poor countries with large young populations that were cited in the 3G index, the research said growing fast should be easy by opening up, creating some form of market economy and investing in human and physical capital.
"Don't be unlucky and don't blow it. Catch-up and convergence should do the rest," it said.

Philippine rep gets 18 months jail for drugs in HK

By KELVIN CHAN,Associated Press - Friday, February 25

HONG KONG – A Philippine congressman was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in a Hong Kong prison after he pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking and avoided a maximum life penalty by convincing a judge the drugs were for his personal use.

Rep. Ronald Singson was caught with 0.24 ounces (6.67 grams) of cocaine in July while transiting through Hong Kong's airport en route to a poker tournament in the gambling enclave of Macau.

District Court Judge Joseph Yau gave Singson credit for pleading guilty to the charge of trafficking in a dangerous drug. The judge also took into account Singson's "positive good character," his personal background and the prospect of his expulsion from the Philippine Congress.

Under Hong Kong law, bringing drugs into the territory can be defined as trafficking, regardless of the purpose. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment and a fine of 5 million Hong Kong dollars ($640,000).

Prosecutors had challenged Singson's claim that the drugs were intended for his own consumption but Yau had sided with Singson, saying he did not think the Philippine politician needed to sell drugs given his wealth from various business interests. He added that Singson did not have any friends in Hong Kong or Macau he was likely to share the drugs with.

In handing down his sentence, Yau noted that Singson came from a prominent family, was well educated, had a 2-year-old daughter and a movie star girlfriend, Philippine actress Lovi Poe.

"He has virtually anything that any man would dream to have," Yau said, adding, however, that Singson "indulged in the abuse of a dangerous drug" and should have sought medical help for his addiction.

"It's sad to see a man of the defendant's background fall from grace," Yau said.

Singson is the son of Luis "Chavit" Singson, a provincial governor in the Philippines whose testimony in the corruption trial of his former friend, ex-President Joseph Estrada, helped convict the ousted leader in 2007 and secure a life prison term. Estrada was later pardoned.

"I'm very remorseful for what I've done and as you can see I'm paying the price for it," he said shortly before sentencing.

His father said later he expected the sentence but did not know if there would be an appeal.

Singson, 42, previously testified he had used cocaine at various times since 2004 and amphetamines in his 20s. He said he went on a cocaine-and-gambling binge after attending an Usher concert in Manila and arguing with his girlfriend.

Singson's light sentence was in sharp contrast with the death sentences that China had handed down on three Filipinos convicted of being drug mules.

Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay traveled to Beijing last week and persuaded China to postpone the executions originally scheduled for this week. They would have been the first Filipinos to be put to death in China for drug trafficking.

The three, who unlike Singson come from humble backgrounds, were arrested separately in 2008 carrying packages each containing more than eight and 13 pounds (four and six kilograms) of heroin. They were convicted and sentenced in 2009.

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Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Manila contributed to this report.

Multi sectoral group in Neg Occ pushes for RH bill passage

OCHOA: DEL ROSARIO IS PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. clarified on Friday that former ambassador Albert F. Del Rosario had been appointed by President Benigno S. Aquino III as presidential adviser for international relations and acting foreign secretary in concurrent capacity so he could immediately take over the post vacated by Secretary Alberto Romulo.

“The President administered Secretary Del Rosario’s oath of office as presidential adviser for international affairs to allow him to immediately take over the responsibilities of heading the Department of Foreign Affairs following the resignation of Sec. Romulo,” Ochoa told reporters at the sidelights of the unveiling of the statue of Cardinal Sin in Manila.

 
Ad interim appointments of Cabinet secretaries are prohibited when Congress is in session.

According to Ochoa, the President wanted to ensure a quick and seamless transition at the foreign affairs department in light of developments in Libya.

The Executive Secretary added that Del Rosario was chosen for his experience as former ambassador and his sterling record in public service.

Del Rosario, who was head of the Philippine mission to the United States from 2001 to 2006, is a recipient of the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu; the EDSA II Presidential Heroes Award for fostering Philippine democracy; and the Philippine Army Award from for his accomplishments as chairman of the Makati Foundation for Education

Gadhafi forces strike back at Libya rebels

By PAUL SCHEMM and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Paul Schemm And Maggie Michael, Associated Press – 54 mins ago

BENGHAZI, Libya – Army units and militiamen loyal to Moammar Gadhafi struck back against rebellious Libyans who have risen up in cities close to the capital Thursday, attacking a mosque where many were holding an anti-government sit-in and battling with others who had seized control of an airport. A doctor at the mosque said 10 people were killed.
Gadhafi accused al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden of being behind the uprising in Libya, in a rambling phone call to state TV. The Libyan leader said the more than week-long revolt has been carried out by young men hopped up on hallucinogenic pills given to them "in their coffee with milk, like Nescafe."
"Shame on you, people of Zawiya, control your children," he said, addressing residents of the city outside Tripoli where the mosque attack took place. "They are loyal to bin Laden," he said of those involved in the uprising. What do you have to do with bin Laden, people of Zawiya? They are exploiting young people ... I insist it is bin Laden."
The attacks Thursday aimed to push back a revolt that has moved closer to Gadhafi's bastion in the capital, Tripoli. Most of the eastern half of Libya has already broken away, and parts of Gadhafi's regime have frayed.
In the latest blow to the Libyan leader, a cousin who is one of his closest aides, Ahmed Gadhaf al-Dam, announced that he has defected to Egypt in protest against the regime's bloody crackdown against the uprising, denouncing what he called "grave violations to human rights and human and international laws."
In Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, an army unit attacked the city' Souq Mosque, where regime opponents had been camped for days in a protest calling for Gadhafi's ouster, a witness said. The soldiers opened fire with automatic weapons and hit the mosque's minaret with fire from an anti-aircraft gun, he said. Some of the young men among the protesters, who were inside the mosque and in a nearby lot, had hunting rifles for protection.
A doctor at a field clinic set up at the mosque said he saw the bodies of 10 dead, shot in the head and chest, as well as arond 150 wounded.
The witness said that a day earlier an envoy from Gadhafi had come to the city and warned protesters, "Either leave or you will see a massacre." Zawiya is a key city near an oil port and refineries