HAPPY NEW YEAR 2005

PESO-DOLLAR RATE: P56.28 = $1.00

WORLD'S FIRST PHILIPPINE GLOBAL PRINT-ON-DEMAND DAILY NEWSPAPER INCORPORATED NEW JERSEY, USA

www.manilapost.com

NEWS AT THE SPEED OF LIFE 2005 SPECIAL EDITIONE-mail: manpost@aol.com

THE PHILIPPINES could become the fifthlargest mining powerin the world becauseof the Supreme Court's decision allowing foreign investors to exploit mineralresources in the country, says Prez GMA . SEE PAGE 2

The proposed Dinasiar chromite stockpile andloading area that can hold thousands of tons ofchromite ore for shipment abroad. Designed andconceptualized by Dr. Marolo Alfaro, P. Eng. of theD e p a rtment of Civil Engineering University ofManitoba in Canada. ART BY AMMA

P.O. Box 179, Millburn, NJ 07041 TEL: (908) 265-6290

DINASIARA Sleeping Chromite Giant?

PREZ GMA

Senator Ping Lacsonnew opposition leader?

NAME ILLEGALLOGGERS

– DEFENSORMOTHERLAND

A Woman Of SubstanceBy Jose Ma. Montelibano

Phivolcs list tsunami-prone areas in R.P.

SUSAN ROCES

SEE PAGE 7

SEEPAGE

9

SEE PAGE 20PAGE 8

2MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

Mr. Liborio Liwat, the original locator tofile a mining claim over the area duringthe American regime in the Philippineswas the old man's encounter of a gold-en cat roaming around the area long timeago.

"Maybe it was just an ordinarybrownish, yellowish wild cat being hitby intense sunlight that played a visualtrick on Lolo Boriong, an optical illu-sion", said one of the clans.

The golden cat is now becoming alegend by which stories about it havebeen told over and over, added and mod-ified not only by members of the Liwat

clan but also by people living near thearea.

One member of the clan told a storyhe saw the golden cat in an apple tree inthe middle of the forested section in oneof the 5 patentable mining claim area,that lead him to speculate that themotherload is in that area.

C o i n c i d e n t a l l y, engineers whodrilled on that claim area discovered abig find 30 meters by 28 meters of solidchromite deposit underneath waiting tobe extracted estimated thousands oftons of chomite ores. "That find willprobably lead us to the main ore body",

said an engineer who was part of thedrilling team.

Others told a story of a giant kingand prince of Mt. Redondo where themining claim specifically located inthe town of Loreto. "King Tinduay, isthe guardian of the chromite oresunderneath the land. He will only givethe chromite to those people who hasno trace of greed in their hearts", themedicine man (Arbulario) said.

A security guard claimed he saw agiant shadow sitting on top of thechromite stockpile one evening thatprompted him to fire his shotguntowards the shadow believed to beeither King Tinduay or the prince. Thefolowing morning the security guard'sarms were swollen which he attributedit to his action of shooting the giantshadow.

Superstitious mining off i c i a l shired a medicine man to perform a cer-emony in the place where the giantshadow was shot at to appease KingTinduay, the guardian of chromite.

The medicine man said that it wasthe prince, the son of King Tinduaywhom the security guard shot the pre-vious night.

"I saw the medicine man dancinguttering spells holding a bamboo stickthat magically shortens and extendsthat served as a negative or affirmativeanswer from an imaginary personbelieved to be King Tinduay whom themedicine man directed the questions",said Paul Gupana, a clan member whowitnessed the medicine man's ceremo-ny when he was still a young boy. Thisyoung boy now owns a big successfulhealth product company in Manila.

"Surprisingly days after the pigand chickens were slaughtered duringthe medicine man's ceremony at thesite, the guard's swollen arms werehealed", Paul added.

With the remoteness of the townwhere the mining site is located, peo-ple are still believing on superstitions,legends, dwarfs, giants, angels andwitches. Medicine men are still in bigbusiness in the area.

U.S. Geological SurveyAccording U.S. Geological survey

records, Loreto (Dinagat Island) hasvast reserves of millions of tons ofhigh -grade lumpy metallurg i c a l

DINASIAR formerly LIWATC H R O M I T E MINES is reorg a n i z e dwith American investments to developthe 320 hectare 5 patentable miningclaim of the original locator LiborioLiwat located in Loreto Surigao delNorte, Philippines which was registeredand legally acquired under the provi-sions of the U.S. Act of Congress,known as the Philippine Bill of 1902,that has the status of an American Grant.

The Liwat mining claim wasacquired by the Liwat family before thePhilippines became a republic and hasalmost absolute ownership on the sur-face rights and mineral rights of the saidproperty based on the Philippine Bill of1902.

The area has vested rights andpatentable with the status of a privateproperty. It was segregated from thepublic domain barring others would-belocators from locating and appropriatingthe minerals found underneath andabove it the reason why the Liwat fami-ly was granted Private Land TimberLicense (PLTL) No.1 by the Bureau ofForestry (now CENRO) under the direc-torship of Jose Viado in the year 1980-1986 during the presidency of PresidentFerdinand Marcos.

A person who acquired ownershipover a parcel of private mineral landpursuant to the laws then prevailingcould exclude other persons, even theState, from exploiting minerals withinhis property. Thus, earlier jurisprudenceheld that: A valid and subsisting locationof mineral land, made and kept up inaccordance with the provisions of thestatutes of the United States, has theeffect of a grant by the United States ofthe present and exclusive possession ofthe lands located, and this exclusiveright of possession and enjoyment con-tinues during the entire life of the loca-tion.

Under the American doctrine, min-eral rights are included in a grant of landby the government.

The discovery of minerals in theground by one who has a valid minerallocation, perfect his claim and his loca-tion, not only against third persons butalso against the Government.

Golden cat in the mining areaAn old story told over and over by

the Liwat clans says that what prompted

PHILIPPINE MINING SPECIAL REPORT

CIRCA 1960s: President Diosdado Macapagal (LEFT) administering anoath to the original mining locator Liborio Liwat (RIGHT) as Liberal partyofficial. Witnessing the ceremony is Congressman Constantino "Oguing"Navarro Sr. (CENTER) of Surigao del Norte.

DINASIARA Sleeping Chromite Giant?

With an estimated forecast of 50,000 tons of high-grade chromite production per quarter at the initial stage of mining, it could generate

about 5 million dollars per quarter (275,000,000 millions in pesos per quarter).

A total of P1,100,000,000 per year, a big sourceof revenues for the country and to the local

government where the mine is located

CLAIM 164 hectares

CLAIM 264 hectares

CLAIM 364 hectares

CLAIM 464 hectares

CLAIM 564 hectares

320 HECTARES 5 PATENTABLELIWAT MINING CLAIM

Acquired under the provisions of the U.S. Act of Congress, known as the Philippine Bill of 1902.

by GABRIEL ALFIEROManila Post Correspondent

3MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

chromite with assay sample descriptionCr203% at 53.73 and sandy or finechromite at 38.53.

Based on initial scientific miningexplorations, analytical results yieldedhigh grade chromite contents with 0.03percent of gold, not insignificant butcould add up the value of ore on everyloading says American lawyer andinvestor John Howley.

Dinasiar Expeditionary TeamIn August of 2004 Dinasiar sent a

prospecting expeditionary team to theisland of Dinagat to check and confirmthe report of the US Geological Surveyas well as to survey specifically the320 Liwat Mining Claim area believedto be heavily loaded with the mineralchromite.

The team composed of Dinasiaro fficials, foreign investors, miningengineers and former scout rangers ofthe Philippine Army securing the team.

Standing depositsAs elaborated by Dinasiar

Executive Vice President Felipe"Keem" Espejon, based on miningEngr. Esguerra's report.

On CLAIM NO. 1 & CLAIM NO. 5 ofthe 5 patentable mining claims, basedon initial exploration on the halfhectare area on both claims, the areahas positive reserves of approximately458,000 tons divided into three types,m e t a l l u rgical 29,725 tons, millinggrade 348,562 tons and refractorygrade 80,437 tons.

Computation of the chromite orereserves was based on actual measure-ment of the two exposed sides of out-crops along the strike length and usingtonnage factor 2.5% for this particulardeposit.

The new findings in Claim No 5.is presumed to be a portion of the mainore body. Probable ore reserves werenot yet comput-ed includingthose projectedextension ofore body untilsuch time thatexploration byd i a m o n ddrilling will becompleted inorder that addi-tional positiveand probableore reserves beincluded.

C L A I MNO. 2 containsthe mother loadpossibly million of tons of chromite.

CLAIM NO. 3 and 4 have yet to beexplored.

Chromite outcropsMining Engineer Sam Capistrano,

a geologist who was part of the earlyexploration team sent to the area in theearly 70s and also came back to theisland after 30 years with the Dinasiarprospecting team, had positively con-firmed in his report that the area isindeed rich in minerals as to the pres-ence of several chromite outcrops andalso revealed scientifically by theresults of the diamond drillings done inthe area by the early exploration team.

"You don't have to dig deep forchromite, you're standing right on topof it, one of the largest chromitereserves in the world or you can direct-ly chip off chromite ores from the sidesof the mountain cliffs", Capistrano said.

Also, former Bureau of Minesdirector Joel Muyco confirmed the richmineral reserves in the area during theconcluded 2004 Mining Summit held inSurigao City Convention Center last

week of July 2004.

Chromite international prices According to Arturo Cruz,

Dinasiar's Vice President on Planningand Marketing, average price ofchromite in the international market is$100.00 per ton on high grades andbetween $60 to $80 per ton on lowergrades.

With an estimated forecast of50,000 tons of high-grade chromite oresproduction per quarter at the initialstage of mining, it could generate about5 million dollars per quarter(275,000,000 millions in pesos). A totalof P1,100,000,000 per year, a big sourceof revenues for the country and to thelocal government where the mine islocated says Arturo Cruz.

"Production will surely be doubledand triplicatedonce all equip-ment, facilitiesand personnelare already inplaced in themining site. Weexpect billionsof revenues forthe country andcompany," Cruzsaid.

" We havebeen receivinginquiries andorders ofchromite fromAmerican, andChinese companies ranging from 5,000tons per month up to 30, 000 tons permonth," Dinasiar Marketing Veep Cruzsaid.

The mineral chromiteChromium is a hard, bluish metallic

element (Cr) with an atomic number of24. In the mid-1700's, chemical analysisof a mineral from Siberia showed that itcontained lead. This mineral, crocoite(PbCrO4, lead chromate), was known as"red lead" because of the beautiful

in the production of stainless steel, abright, shiny steel that is strong andresistant to oxidation (rust). Stainlesssteel production consumes most of thechromium produced annually.Chromium is also used to make heat-resisting steel. So-called "superalloys"use chromium and have strategic mili-tary applications.

Chromium also has some use in themanufacture of certain chemicals. Forexample, chromium-bearing chemicalsare used in the process of tanningleather. Chromium compounds are alsoused in the textiles industries to producea yellow color.

Dinasiar mining siteLoreto where Dinasiar's mining site

is located is in the northern side of themainland of Surigao del Norte. It is oneof the seven towns of Dinagat Islandwhich was dubbed by General DouglasMcArthur as one of the "three sentinelislands guarding the Central Philippinesfrom the enemies in the Pacific". It isendowed with rich mineral resourceslike aluminous laterite ore, chromite,gold, niceliferous laterite, sand andgravel, guano, rock phosphate, lime-stone, and siliceous sand. It is also con-sidered as an excellent fishing ground.

The municipality is blessed withhistorical places and natural beautyspots like white beaches, waterfalls, hotsprings and clusters of mountains.These include Polo Beach, Black BeachNo. 2, Cambinliw Falls and River,Loreto Desolation Point Light House,Esperanza Natural Spring Resort andMega O Beach Resort and SnorkelingStrips.

Dinasiar Mining CompanyDINASIAR is set-up to develop,

extract, market and revive the miningoperation in the mining claims of theheirs of Liborio Liwat located in Loreto,Dinagat Island in the province ofSurigao del Norte.

Liwat Chromite Mines the prede-cessor of Dinasiar mining companystarted in the mining business in the late1930s.

The mining claim is composed of 5patentable mineral claims of approxi-

Dinasiar Whispering Mineral Resources mining company chairmanCorazon Liwat Moya (RIGHT) with Philippine President Gloria MacapagalArroyo (LEFT).

orange-red color of its crystals. It alsocontained another, then-unknown mate-rial. This material was identified aschromium oxide (CrO3) by Louis-Nicholas Vauquelin. In 1797, he heatedthis oxide with charcoal to remove theoxygen (chemists call this reaction areducing process) which left the metalchromium.

Shortly after Vauquelin's discovery,a German chemist name Tassaert dis-covered chromium in an ore that geolo-gists now call chromite (FeCr2O4, fer-rous chromic oxide). Chromite forms inan igneous environment. The namechromium was derived from the Greekword chroma which means color, in ref-erence to the fact that chromium isknown to cause a number of colors in avariety of materials. For example, thegreen color of emerald is caused by thepresence of very small amounts ofchromium in the crystal.

The only ore of chromium is themineral chromite. United Stateschromium consumption is equivalent toabout 14% of all the chromite oremined each year. In the western hemi-sphere, chromite ore is produced only inBrazil and Cuba; the United States,Mexico and Canada do not producechromite. (The Stillwater Complex inMontana is the biggest chromiumdeposit in the United States, however itis not producing chromite ore at thistime.) By comparison, about 80% ofworld production of chromite comesfrom the Philippines, India,Kazakhstan, Turkey and southernAfrica. Southern Africa itself producesabout half of this.

Geologists estimate that there areabout 11 billion tons of chromium ore(chromite) in the world that could bemined. Most of these resources arefound in southern Africa and thePhilippines. This is enough chromiumore to meet world demand for hundredsof years into the future.

Chromium is alloyed (that is,mixed with) steel to make it corrosionresistant or harder. An example is its use

Arturo Cruz,Dinasiar's VicePresident onPlanning andMarketing

Felipe "Keem" Espejon,Dinasiar ExecutiveVice President

MAP OFDINAGAT ISLAND

Town of Loreto, Surigao del Norte,Philippines, where the 320 hectarepatentable mining claim of the Liwatfamily is located.

4 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

mately 64 hectares each for a total of320 hectares which the area is containedinside the proposed Mineral ProductionSharing Agreement (MPSA) in con-formity with the Philippine 1995Mining Act.

The original Liborio Liwat MiningClaim covering about 320 hectares wasacquired under the provisions of the Actof the US Congress dated July 1, 1902(PhilippineBill of 1902 for short).

The mining claim has confirmed-standing deposits of thousands of tonsof metallurgical high grade chromiteand other minerals such as gold, nickeland platinum based on actual scientificexploration.

Mining historyLiwat Mining Claim was originally

located by Liborio Liwat in 1934 basedon the Philippine Bill of 1902 duringthe American regime. In the same yearchromite outcrops were discovered inthe area before the Philippines became arepublic..

Liwat Chromite Mines was operat-ed by COMPANIA MARITIMA beforethe Japanese war. According to reliablesources this company employed purelyu n d e rground (tunneling) mining andmade several shipments of chromite ore.

In the latter part of 1976, anothercompany MIDAS RESOURCES INC.,resumed the mining operation and madeshipments for Marc Rich estimated tobe 10,000 metric tons of metallurgicalgrade (high grade) of chromite with anassay of 53% Cr203.

Subsequent shipment of thousandsof tons, in 1981 by Asia Chrome Inc.was made, also for Marc Rich.Production stopped shortly after the sec-ond shipment due to declining chromitemarket.

Mining operations resumed in 1987in small-scale initiated by the claimowner through Ms. Corazon Moya, whohas an operating agreement with theclaimant, Liborio Liwat, her father. Thesmall-scale production was locally soldto Ferrochrome and other local buyers.

Former lawyer Mat Defensor foundIn the 1990s Liwat Chromite Mines

partnered with Purr Marketing, ownedby Atty. Mat Defensor who was intro-duced by then DENR Secretary VictorRamos to Mrs. Corazon Liwat Moya.

A t t y. Mat Defensor started as alawyer of the Liwat Chromite Mineslater on became an investor and partnerin buying, selling and mining chromiteore in Dinagat Island servicing the localchromite market in Cagayan de OroCity particularly Horizon Mining Corp.owned by Engr. Rolando de Guzman,Ferrochrome smelters in the Philippinesand American company called PhilippBrothers (Phibro), with Mr. Rolly deGuzman as their R.P. representative.Phibro now called Metallia USA, basedin Fort Lee, New Jersey.

In June 2004, Mrs. Corazon LiwatMoya, the legal heir of the originalclaimant Liborio Liwat legally entrust-ed the mining claim to a nephew at thePhilippine Consulate in New York Citywitnessed by Consul Lourdes C.Legaspi.

Presently, Liwat Chromite Mineshas evolved into a company calledDINASIAR under the stewardship ofUS trained business managers headedby Al Ompod, the president of the com-pany and the nephew of the chairmanCorazon Liwat Moya.

In August of 2004, Al Ompod wenthome to the the Philippines withAmerican investors interested to revivethe mining operation of the LiwatChromite Mines under a new companycalled Dinasiar with an initial order of20,000 tons from a Florida chromitebuyer, Mr. Zimmerman.

Two months before, Al Ompodhired a Philippine lawyer, Atty. TonyInventado to do a research on the Liwatmining claim at the Bureau of Minesand the lawyer discovered that the min-ing license application of Mrs. CorazonLiwat Moya was denied by the Bureauof Mines on the ground that she wasnowhere to be found and so bureau offi-cials assumed Mrs. Moya lack interestto mine. "Mrs. Corazon Liwat Moyawas not given due process in this case"said Atty. Harly Bajamunde.

An American lawyer recommendedto file a motion for reconsideration oncethe team arrived in the Philippines onlyto find out upon arrival that the Liwatmining claim based on the PhilippineBill of 1902 was overlapped by a claimof another company called Rapid Cityowned by a certain Veronica Lee.

Presented with a situation the presi-dent of Dinasiar called up via long dis-tance Mrs. Corazon Liwat Moya in theUnited States who in turn instructed AlOmpod to find their former lawyer, MatDefensor whom Mrs. Moya said is veryfamiliar with the patentable miningclaim of the Liwat family based on thePhilippine Bill of 1902.

Dinasiar team composed ofDinasiar president Al Ompod, JohnH o w l e y, the American lawyer andinvestor, Atty. Tony Inventado, filipinolawyer and Maj. Tom Alfaro, Dinasiarsecurity director met with Atty. MatDefensor in Congress. Defensor is nowa congressman in the third district ofQuezon City and the father of the pres-ent DENR secretary, Mike Defensor.

Representing lawyersOn the preparation of the necessary

legal permits and licences for the min-ing operation, Dinasiar's lead legal teamis represented by A t t y. HarlyBajamunde in Manila.

Other lawyers in coordination withthe lead legal team are namely: Atty.Tony Inventado in Manila, Atty. DannyMenor in Surigao City, A t t o r n e y s .Salvador Ruiz and Ruben Curasa bothfrom Butuan City.

Area securityAs per request by the American

investors on security of the area,Dinasiar company delegated MajorTomasito Alfaro, a former Scout Rangerin the Philippine Army to organize aspecial security force to secure the min-ing claim area from trespassers, illegalmining operators and "ukay-ukay" min-ers (local term for small scale miners)usually backed up by local politiciansand area warlords.

Liaison office had been set-upby the army major in an old ancestralhouse in the heart of the town of Loretoin the island of Dinagat in preparationof permits and licenses to be submittedto the local authorities.

Dinasiar Administrative Director,Cyrus Dalman, a former Philippinearmy captain said, "We received com-munications from big mining compa-nies Philippineand foreignbased express-ing their inten-tions to joinDinasiar com-pany in devel-oping the Liwatchromite min-ing area inDinagat island,also lots ofinquiries fromF i l i p i n o -Americans pro-fessionals inter-ested to investwith Dinasiarventure".

Joel Requillo, Dinasiar CommunityA ffairs Director said that they havealready an action plan in placed for thecommunity and people who will beaffected by the mining operations. "Weare for the welfare of the community ",Requillo said.

Dinasiar's Cyrus Dalman, wifeCarmen, Joel Requillo and wife Lizawere responsible in raising the majorfundings in NewJersey for theDinasiar prospectingexpeditionary unitsent last August tothe Philippines.

China is interested Economic plan-

ners said the miningsector could emergeas the main engineof economic growthin the country, nowthat the SupremeCourt allowed for-eign investors to tapits vast potential.The sector's "poten-tial wealth" is placed at 840 billion dol-lars, or 10 times the country's annualgross domestic product and 15 times itstotal foreign debt.

Philippine economic planners said,foreign investments were badly neededto supplement the meager capitalresources in the country, since the fulldevelopment of one large-scale miningsite alone would require funding ofbetween 850 million to 1.2 billion dol-lars, which cannot be possibly raised bylocal investors.

Chinese investors have shown"great interest" in Philippines' miningindustry to support China's growing

industrial base, economic planners said. "China is a potentially huge invest-

ment. If the Philippines promulgatesproper policies, it has a great opportuni-ty of attracting China, which has foreignexchange reserves of more than 400 bil-lion dollars," economic analysts said.

"We must take advantage of thisopportunity because other countries are

eager to attract China'sinvestment in their miningsites."

Economic analystsadded that "the growth of themining industry is a criticalingredient in inducinggreater economic growth,attracting more investments,creating more jobs andreducing poverty particular-ly in the rural areas."

Mining has a "multi-plier effect" of six times onthe economy, analysts said.And at potential value-addi-tion of 300 billion pesosannually, mining can add anincremental economic activ-

ity of 1.8 trillion pesos or 36 percent ofGDP, economic planners said.

"We foresee the industry to generateemployment of about 10,000, excludingmultiplier effect like increased powerconsumption. Aside from the benefits ofenvironmental and social expendituresarising from an improved investmentclimate in mining, we also foresee taxesto increase by 50 percent of both thenational and local governments,"Philippine economic planners added.

RP could be world's 5th mining powerThe Philippines could become the

fifth largest mining power in the world

Major Tom Alfaro,Dinasiar SecurityDirector andLiaison Officer

Dinasiar CommunityAffairs Director JoelRequillo and wife Liza.

MEETINGINCONGRESS: (Left to Right) Manila Post lawyer Atty. Tony Inventado,American lawyer and investor John Howley, Congressman Mat Defensor andDinasiar president Al Ompod. MANPOSTPHOTO

DINASIAR FIELD OFFICE in Loreto in the island of Dinagat, Surigao del Norte.

application. Why should I be punishedor otherwise burden for the transgres-sion of a law of which I had no noticewhatsoever, it is an extreme injustice onmy part".

Ms. Moya explained, "I was able tocomply my application of the MineralProduction Sharing Agreement prior tothe enactment of the Philippine MiningAct of 1995 during the Directorship ofJoel Muyco, who gave me advice topublish the MPSA application in thenewspaper of general circulation fortwo consecutive months, fully paid pub-lication",

"I inherited the mining rights frommy birth father, a native of Loreto whoacquired the mining claim before thePhilippine republic was born , I paid thereal estate taxes for the land since timeimmemorial I have spent thousands ofpesos for the preparation of the Reportof the MPSA, and the EnvironmentalImpact, which to my regret, the engi-neers preparing it for the processing andapproval asked me five million pesos(P5,000,000) and my pocket cannotwarrant the amount," Mrs. Moya said. "Idecided to go to the United States tolook for sound foreign investors. I wasintroduced by one of my nephews to aninterested lawyer- f i n a n c i e r, Mr. JohnHowley, who came to the Philippinestogether with Dinasiar president, mynephew last August of 2004 to see thelegality of the said mining property".

Upon discovery of the mining claimoverlapping problems, A m e r i c a ninvestor told Mrs. Moya to come hometo the Philippines to clear the mess ofRapid City Realty and DevelopmentCorp. overlapping the Liwat Miningproperty.

"I agreed to go home and arrived inthe Philippines from the US, Sept. 1,2004", Mrs. Moya said. "On September3, 2004, I was able to talk personally toour former mining claim lawyer, MatiasDefensor at his residence, asking him tohelp me return the mining property fromRapid City company".

"How come the Bureau of Minesofficials allowed such illegal overlap-ping on a solid legitimate mining claimof which records are kept at the bureausince the 1930s", Mrs. Moya added."Something is very wrong going on atthe Bureau".

According to Mrs. Moya, they havenow the American investment money,heavy equipment ready to go, standingby at an equipment yard somewhere inQuezon City and most of all, they havestanding offers from American andChinese buyers willing to buy chromiteores between 5,000 tons to 30,000 tonsper month.

"My nephew, the president ofDinasiar had established contacts with

Metallia USA, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. ofCanada, Planalto Trading, Inc.,chromite shipper to China, Samgang ofKorea and other international compa-nies who are interested to buy chromitesores by the thousands of tons on amonthly basis, also these companies arewatching, monitoring and waiting forthe resolution of our licensing at thePhilippine Bureau of Mines", Mrs.Moya said. " The market is now readyfor Dinasiar", and we are just a licenseaway from extracting the mineralchromite underneath our property".

"We are interested and attracted toDinasiar's area chromite depositsbecause of its high assay reading Cr203–53%", Metallia USASr.Vice PresidentRafe Safier said.

Meeting with Rapid CityAccording to Mrs. Moya , Bureau

of Mines Director Horacio Ramosoffered to set up a meeting between herand Rapid City president, Mrs. VeronicaLee and a certain Mr. Leon Roldan inthe hope to sort out the problems.

"The meeting was set on the 12th ofNovember but when our lawyer, Atty.Bajamunde called up the Bureau ofMines office to confirm of my atten-dance of the meeting, a secretary at thebureau by the name of Mrs. ChatMeneses told our lawyer that RapidCity people could not be reached forconfirmation of the said meeting", Mrs.Moya said.

Motion for ReconsiderationIn December of 2004 Dinasiar pres-

ident Al Ompod and his Vice Presidenton Marketing and Planning, ArturoCruz tapped Manila lawyer, Atty. HarlyBajamunde to formally file a motion forreconsideration to the Bureau of Mineswith regards to the questionable denialof the licensing application of Mrs.Corazon Liwat Moya.

The lawyer stated that the Bureau'sdenial was anchored on the alleged"extreme lack of interest" of Ms. Moyato pursue the MPSA application andnon-compliance of Section 8 of DENRMemoradum Order 93-34 resulting, as itis, in the denial of Moya's MPSA appli-cation on February 26, 2001.

The copy of the ORDER O FDENIAL from the Bureau of Minessigned by Director Horacio Ramos waspersonally and officially received by theapplicant, Ms. Moya only lastDecember 6, 2004.

Lawyer Bajamunde, noted that thenon- receipt of the Bureau's 3 letternotices to Mrs. Moya is not a valid andstrong ground for the denial of license.The lawyer stated that the requirementsin sending these notices in pursuant tothe Bureau's Memorandum Order No.99-34 were not properly complied sub-stantialy to constitute as ground fordenial.

"We have dissected laboriously therecords of Moya's application with theBureau of Mines and Geosciences andcame out with incomplete detail andmade to understand that there is anotherrecord available with other sections ofthe Bureau but not available to us",Atty. Bajamunde said in his letter.

"We have observed, however, in thecourse of our examinations of Moya'sMPSA record, that the Bureau do nothave a definitive mode of mailing letterswith clients, mails were sent by ordinary

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 20055

because of the Supreme Court's decisionallowing foreign investors to exploitmineral resources in the country,President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyosaid.

"We are poised for a strong eco-nomic takeoff never seen in the recentpast," the President said in a speechbefore local officials attending the 14thgeneral assembly of the League ofMunicipalities of the Philippines at theManila Hotel. "We should not be poor."

Ms Arroyo mentioned the country'sranking based on deposits of its preciousmetals -- No. 3 in gold, No. 4 in copper,No. 5 in nickel and No. 6 in chromitedeposits.

She got the numbers after an inter-action with the prime ministers of min-ing countries -- Canada and Australia --whose companies have been waiting fora favorable Supreme Court decision topursue their exploration projects in thecountry.

"Our mining potential is ten timesour annual gross national product. It caneasily wipe out our foreign debts and yetleave more for future generations," thePresident said.

Sound mining practicesThe President assured the public

that mining should not be feared butembraced because it would "discouragethe poor from ravaging just to surviveand mitigate the deadliest disasters."

She said the government was com-mitted to "fully enforce responsible andenvironmentally sound mining prac-tices" to ensure the safety of workersand the preservation of naturalresources.

"We are now in the 21st century andall these new mining technologies willcertainly make our mining sustainable,"said the President.

She noted that host communitieswould benefit from the entry of miningfirms that would pay taxes and duties tothe provincial government down to thebarangay (village) levels.

Mining is the only sector that couldgenerate investments and dollar exportsthat would enable the government toachieve an economic growth rate of atleast 7 percent in the medium term,according to a foreign think tank associ-ated with The Economist.

Now is the timeThe Philippine Business Leaders

Forum also noted that the high courtreversal of its previous ruling limitingmining to Filipinos could not have comeat a better time.

"Now is the time. Chromite, Copperand gold prices are at the highest forseveral years and India and China arepredicted to keep chromite and copperprices high through the next decade,"the Forum said.

Foreign business groups, localmining companies and President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo hailed the SupremeCourt decision, saying this will helpboost the economy.

"The Supreme Court has rendered adecision that firmly upholds the nation-al interest. As the fifth mineralizedcountry in the world with a close prox-imity to the biggest market for minerals,China, the Philippines is poised for astrong economic takeoff based on rein-vigorated mining industry," Ms Arroyosaid .

SC spoken with wisdom"The high court has spoken with

wisdom and joins the other great powersof government in doing what is best forthe nation and people at this time ofchallenge and opportunity," said thePresident.

The President said that as the bil-lions of dollars in new investments

poured into the mining industry, "therural areas will experience a significantboost in jobs and productivity, plus astrong surge in infrastructure develop-ment."

She said the full development of themining industry would "come hand inhand with the full protection of the envi-ronment and a sturdy umbrella of socialand economic returns for the communi-ties especially the indigenous peoples."

"God bless the Supreme Court. Anegative decision would have been dis-astrous to the Philippine economy, "Environment Secretary Michael T.Defensor said.

Benjamin Philip Romualdez, presi-dent of Chamber of Mines of thePhilippines, said the mining industry'sgrowth and the country's mineral pro-duction would finally increase with thelandmark decision.

Questionable license denialand mining claim overlapping

Dinasiar chairman, Mrs. CorazonLiwat Moya, the legal and rightful heirof the original locator Liborio Liwat hadbeen working for more than thirty yearstrying to get sound investors and oper-ators who could mine the area to itsmaximum production.

So far, according to Mrs. Moya,since the day she was heavily involvedon the 320 hectare mining claim basedon the Philippine Bill of 1902, an esti-mated 30,000 to 40, 000 tons ofchromite only had been extracted fromthe site, small percentage compare tothe recorded confirmed deposit of480,000 tons of lumpy and refractorychromite on the one hectare area only,not to mention the rest of the 320hectare mining site which has yet to beexplored.

The Philippine Bureau of Minesdenied the MPSA application of Ms.Moya on the basis that she was not ableto comply additional requirements forher MPSA application denominated asAMPSA No. SMR-013-96.

Bureau of Mines claimed Ms, Moyawas duly notified by series of registeredmails sent to her but returned to theBureau of Mines office marked"addressee moved no forwardingaddress", leading the Bureau of Mineso fficials to presume that Ms. Moyaextremely lack interest to pursue thesaid application

"I have already filed my legalprotest to the Bureau of Mines on theoverlapping and licensing denial to puton record that I am still alive and well,still very much interested to mine thearea through Dinasiar", said Mrs. Moya."The Bureau of Mines did not give medue process in denying my MPSA

DINASIAR PROSPECTING EXPEDITIONARY TEAM: (Left to Right) Mining Engr. SamCapistrano, Dinasiar president Al Ompod and Dinasiar Security Director MajorTom Alfaro at the mining site. Behind are the old stockpiles of lumpy andsandy chromite ores. MANPOSTPHOTO

According U.S. Geological survey records, Loreto(Dinagat Island) in the

Philippines has vastreserve of millions of tons

of high -grade metallurgical chromite.

6 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

mail and some instances by registeredmail. In both cases, proof of mailing ofmail matter were not shown on record.In one instance, letter sent purportedlyto Ms. Moya showed an attached reg-istry return card but did not indicate thename of addressee or the name of Moyaas addressee", Atty. Bajamunde said. "Inthe absence of internal rules on the mat-ter, we can only invoke the 1997 Rulesof Civil Procedure in suppletorynature", the lawyer added.

The lawyer also reproduced andsent the pertinent provisions of Rules 13of the Rules of Court to the Bureau ofMines and requested that the Moya'sMPSA application deserves a secondlook.

"Ms. Moya's interest to the MPSAapplication is manifested unequivocablyby her attendance to the seminar onEnvironmental Impact sponsored by theBureau in 1995 as shown by theattached certificate of attendance, "Atty. Bajamunde argued.

"I just hope that some Bureau ofMines officials did not manipulate thesending of Letter of Notices to MrsMoya causing it not to be received byher, and I hope also there is no externalinfluence or fraud on the denial and ille-gal overlapping of claim by Rapid Cityover the legal Liwat mining claim,because, if these factors are present,these officials are liable within thebounds of the law", Dinasiar presidentsaid. "We will know the truth after ourdue deligence legal and media investi-gation on this matter".

President Diosdado Macapagaland the original locator Liborio Liwat

"I am seeking an audience withPresident Gloria Macapagal A r r o y o .Presiden GMA's father the latePresident Diosdado Macapagal was apolitical friend of my father, LiborioLiwat, Sr.", Mrs. Moya told this publi-cation. "During the visit of PresidentDiosdado Macapagal in our small townof Loreto, Surigao del Norte in the1960s, President Diosdado Macapagalwith Congressman Constantino Navarroconvinced my father to switch partyfrom Nacionalista Party to LiberalParty, and and my father was inductedby the president himself of which proofsand old photos I furnished to this publi-cation".

"Because of the long delay of theBureau of Mines to resolve such simplelegal matters on our mining claim, Ihave no other recourse but to askPresident Arroyo to intervene for thegood of the community and countrywho will be most benefited on our min-ing operations," said Mrs. Moya.

"If given an audience withPresident GMA, I will tell her every-thing about our patentable mining claimincluding my sad plight with our Bureauof Mines", Mrs. Moya added.

"I am sure the president will listento an old woman in the mining industry,I believe the strong leadership ofPresident GMA will have an urgentpositive action particularly in cleaningup the Bureau of Mines to save the com-atose and beleaguered mining industry",Mrs. Moya said. "We are trying our bestto resolve this problem right at theBureau of Mines level as well as we arealso willing to go the long way, perhaps,congressional investigation, senateinvestigation or maybe to the court sys-tem up to the highest court of the land.

According to Mr. Corazon LiwatMoya she had already signed legalpapers for the president of the companyto continue the fight just in case some-thing happens to her in the future.

Gateway to Mining in R.P.Considered the gateway to mining

in R.P. is the Bureau of Mines and

Geosciences presently headed byDirector Horacio Ramos, a CareerExecutive Service Officer III, wasappointed Director of the Bureau ofMines and Geosciences in 1996, and hassince held the post. An advocate of sus-tainable development through responsi-ble mineral resources development,Ramos was among those who supportedthe enactment of the Mining Act of 1995and was part of the crafting of its imple-menting rules and regulations, whichhas also undergone a series of improve-ment under his watch.

Major Manila newspaper reports(Philippine Star, Manila Standard,Manila Bulletin) quoted mining execu-tives Isagani Aguinaldo of Ta n d e mMining Corporation and ManuelPasetes of Aegis Mining Corporation assaying that the minerals industry has notcontributed significantly to the econo-my due to unabated corruption in theBureau of Mines.

Employees of the Bureau of Minesand Geosciences defended their chief,Director Horacio C. Ramos, saying theissues against him were unfair, irrespon-sible and apparently mere orchestrationof certain quarters.

"Perceived or imagined corruptionat the Bureau of Mines should be com-pletely erased so as to give assurance tothe prospective foreign investors tocome and invest their millions in R.P.mining industry", said one player in themining industry. "With the new govern-ment of President Gloria MacapagalArroyo, investors are hopeful that thepresident will step up on the total clean-up of the Mining Bureau to attractmore foreign investments".

"We have been inviting investorsafter the Supreme Court ruling (whichupheld the Mining Act), but it would bea turn-off for them if they come to thePhilippines and they will encounter cor-rupt officials and employees right at thegateway of mining in RP," a FilipinoAmerican mining observer said.

"It would be also dissapointing forforeign investors when they come to thePhilippines and suddenly mining rulesare changed midstream", Chamber ofMines executive director, Nelia C.Halcon said. "Stable mining rules andregulations are very important clinchersfor investors who are choosing whetherto invest in the Philippines or in othercountries".

P r e s i d e n t i a lintervention

When askedwhat will wakeDinasiar upfrom its deeps l u m b e r ,Dinasiar presi-dent Al Ompodwas quick toa n s w e r ," P r e s i d e n t i a lintervention".

"We hope itwould be thepresent president of the country if notthe next president", Al Ompod said.

Dinasiar president Al Ompod is aU.S. based businessman and a fine artistby profession, graduated MostOutstanding Fine Arts student from theUniversity of the Philippines in 1979.

When asked what made him inter-ested in going into mining, he answeredand explained jokingly , "CHROMITEderived its name from the Greek wordCHROMA which means COLOR" Alexplained. "Maybe, God is telling me topaint a new landscape using chromite asa new medium instead of oil".

"Seriously, I want my Aunt to tastethe fruits of her labor on perfecting our320 hectares patentable mining claim. Ihope and pray the time is ripe for the

family, for the community and for thecountry to be the beneficiary of thismineral called chromite underneath ourland", Al added.

An elderly man who lives near themining site uttered profound words tothe expeditionary unit during theprospecting trip, "Many people tried toland grab the area from the Liwat fami-ly, politicians, lawyer, doctor, business-men, influential people, but they wereall unsuccesful", the old man said."Companies mined the area but nothingsignificant deposits were extracted fromthe site and previous mining operationswere stopped because of legal problemsand family squabbles".

"Perhaps God only wants the per-son who has the pure heart and cleanhands could mine the wealth of thisland", the old man added. "For so manyyears, we have been waiting for thatperson who will distribute the wealth ofthis land to the family, to the communi-ty, to the country and most of all honorand thank God for the treasure under-

neath the land".

Dinasiar still sleepingA geologist, who actually partici-

pated in the exploration during MidasResources operations in the Liwat min-ing claim area in the 1970s, recalls hehad the chance to read the geologicaland evaluation report of the previousmining operator. He said, on conditionof anonymity, "MOTHERLOAD is inthe area".

Until the Bureau of Mines resolvesthe licensing and overlapping problemof the Liwat mining claim, Dinasiar willremain A SLEEPING CHROMITEG I A N T says mining Engineer SamCapistrano.

ALOMPOD, Dinasiar president

When asked what will wakeDinasiar up , company

president was quick to answer,

"PRESIDENTIAL INTERVENTION".

On the northern water of the Surigao del Norte mainland lies DinagatIsland dubbed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur as one of the "three sentinel-islands guarding the Central Philippines from the enemies in the Pacific."Together with Dinagat as the first class established municipality in thisisland were four other towns, among which was Loreto, originally called"Mabua" because of the ever-foaming river that runs right into the heart ofthe community. Boholano settlers first established Loreto as early as 1847.In 1881, its name metamorphosed into its present name, Loreto, in honor ofthe wife of the governor at that time.

Created as a municipality in 1898, Loreto was reduced to a barrio in1902 after the American soldiers razed it to the ground. However, it regainedits township in 1919 through the untiring efforts of its civic-spirited leaders.

The municipality were populated by Boholanos who were the originalsettlers; Leyteños, Cebuanos, Samareños and other immigrants followedsuit.

Copra had been most important export and lumbering an importantindustry. Loreto is situated along a coastal plain, and fish abound in itswaters.

In the lowlands grow the tikug grasses utilized then and now by thewomenfolk as materials in making mats which are in great demand becauseof the fine workmanship and durability. The local weavers have learned theembroidery designs of the well-known Basey mat-makers. On the rockymountains from as far as Omasdang near the Desolation point, to the south-ern hills of Sinaongag, now Navarro, are found such rich minerals aschromite, manganese, copper, coal and the like.

Other sources of income then were the hard wood exported to differentplaces in the country and the well-known species of orchids, the so- called"aristocrats of the woodland" such as the mariposa or butterfly orchids, thetiger, dendrubium anespum, dendrobium superbum, which were abundantlyfound in the forests of the municipality.

Source: 1970 Souvenir Program of Philippine Public Schools Inter-scholastic Athletic Association Meet (PPSIAA)

LORETO HISTORY by ODON C. GALIDO

LORETO is a 5th class municipality with an annual budget of only P16 million, P14 million of which comes from its Internal RevenueAllotment (IRA) and P2 million from local taxes.

Some 12,277 hectares (has.) or 57 percent of its total area of 21,587 hectares are covered by fifteen mining claims to exploit its rich deposits of gold, chromite and aluminum.

It lies 40 nautical miles or three to six hours by motorized ferryboat from Surigao City.

It is the northernmost of seven municipalities in Dinagat Island, itself a part of Surigao del Norte, the north-easternmost province in Mindanao. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE GUMATO FAMILY

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005 7

TOP STORIES

NEW YORK–Based on informal ran-dom e-mail surveys among Filipinosabroad, they unanimously chose Sen.Ping Lacson as the logical new opposi-tion leader. Susan Roces and LorenLegarda were also considered.

The two women, Susan Roces andLoren Legarda eyed to replace the actionking Fernado Poe Jr. are said possiblecandidates to carry on the electoralprotest filed by the late Poe, and eventu-ally even win the presidency.

In the suit, Poe, Prez GloriaArroyo's closest rival in the May elec-tions, claimed that the opposition wascheated of victory and that the electionswere marred by massive fraud andcheating.

Opinion, however, was divided onwhether Roces and Legarda could pickup where Poe left off, or if the electoralprotest itself was moot and academic inthe view of FPJ's death.

Lawyer Demares Raval said theaction star's electoral protest againstPrez GMA is "non transferrable" toSusan Roces and would be possible onlythrough "extra judicial measures."

With actor Fernando Poe Jr. deadand buried, the political opposition ismoving to unite its ranks, at least in theSenate

Senate Minority Leader A q u i l i n oPimentel Jr., called on SenatorsEdgardo Angara and Panfilo Lacson,

both members of the minority and bitterrivals since the last election, to worktogether."

I am asking Edong (Angara) andPing (Lacson)-they may not love onea n o t h e r-to please stay put with theminority and vote for the interests andrights of the people," Pimentel said in aphone interview.

The minority bloc in the Senate hasnine members; the majority has 14.

He said he made the appeal in viewof the death of Poe, a popular movieactor and presidential candidate in theMay election, after a stroke. Poe wasburied at the Manila North Cemetery.

Pimentel was responding to thequery on what would happen to theopposition with the death of Poe, whoran under the opposition Koalisyon ngNagkakaisang Pilipino but lost eventu-

ally to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.Pimentel stressed that the opposi-

tion would continue "with its advocacyto protect the rights of the people.""Wewould also try to go about our duties asbest as we can," he said.Poe's defeat inthe polls has been blamed on the split inthe opposition after Lacson ran forpresident as an independent candidateand Angara's group supported Poe.

Lacson had been a member of theopposition Laban ng DemokratikongPilipino which Angara heads.It was notthe first time that Pimentel sought areconciliation between Angara andLacson.

Several months ago, the minorityleader asked them to stop their tiradesagainst one another. The animosityintensified after a minority meeting thatsaw Angara seeking Lacson's ouster

from the bloc.Angara, president of Laban ng

Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) wasone of the figures who convinced Poeto run as the opposition standard-bearerin the May 10 elections.

Poe's deciding to run shove out lac-son as the united opposition candidate.

Lacson went on his own and man-aged to finish a respectable third place.

Lacson said his conflict withFernando Poe is now "water under thebridge," saying he was saddened andsurprised by the actor's demise.

Opposition leaders are presently innegotiations to find a new strong leader.

Filipinos abroad says it is Sen.Panfilo "Ping" Lacson.

The masses in the Philippines saysit is Susan Roces, the widow of presi-dential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

MANILA–A staunch supporter of thelate Fernando Poe Jr. is determined topursue the actor ’s protest while gather-ing two to three million signatures tourge the Supreme Court to speed up thecase.

Food, Peace, Justice and ProgressMovement (FPJPM) president BootsCadsawan vowed “to seek justice andtruth for Poe.” Cadsawan was the firstperson to convince Poe to seek presi-dency in 2003.

“ We are bent on pursuing theprotest despite the lack of interest ofMs. Susan Roces on the absence of apetitioner. We will take the steps inFebruary,” he said.

He claimed Poe gave him the con-

sent to gather two to three million sig-natures in November to pressure SC tospeed up the resolution of Poe’s peti-tion.

“We will be presenting the signa-tures in February. We are hoping thatwe may be able to convince justicesand request a conference with them,”he said.

Cadsawan said FPJPM has alreadygathered over 500,000 signatures.

He added Poe posted a bond of P50million to P60 million before SC, andpromised to solicit financial support ifthe amount is not enough.

“We can again ask P1 from eachsupporter just like what we did whenwe tried to convince Poe to run,”

Cadsawan said. He said the group has a “burning

desire” to seek the truth.“It does not matter if Poe is already

dead. We just want to let history knowthe truth,” he said.

He denied lobbying for former sen-ator and vice presidential bet LorenLegarda to replace Poe.

“We really don’t care about thewelfare of any vice presidential bets.We have placed on our top priority thetruth behind the alleged defeat of Poe,”he said.

He said he finds it very difficult toaccept that Poe was already gone.

“I am greatly affected by Poe’suntimely and sudden death,” he said.

DINNERINTERVIEW: Opposition Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson with Manila Post staff at Mario's Restaurant in Quezon City.Beside Sen. Lacson on the right row are Manila Post president Al Ompod and Manila Post lawyer Atty. Tony Inventado.Manpost Photo

Senator Ping Lacsonnew opposition leader?

Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson

FPJ election protest to continue

FPJ: Winner or loser?

8 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

RP is newtouristhaven

TOP STORIES

MANILA–The public was warned to beready and watchful for any unusualoccurrences in coastal areas for anincoming tsunami.

The country has many areas proneto tsunami disasters, said RaymundoPunongbayan, former head of thePhilippine Institute of Volcanology andSeismology (Phivolcs) and a consultantof National Disaster CoordinatingCouncil (NDCC).

These include -- among others --coastal areas inside Manila Bay, Infantaand other towns in Quezon as well asthe provinces of Ilocos, Palawan, ,Surigao, La Union and Negros,Punongbayan said.

He advised the public, especiallythose living in the coastlines, to bewatchful for signs of an incoming tsuna-mi.

The signs that tsunamis are cominginclude the fast withdrawal of the sea,exposing the sea floor. "These are defi-nite signs of tsunami," Punongbayansaid.

Based on NDCC records, the coun-try experienced tsunamis in the past, asin the Moro Gulf earthquake in 1976that generated a tsunami which killedabout 8,000 people. In 1994, a tsunamialso hit Mindoro island, killing hun-dreds.

" H i s t o r i c a l l y, we had manytsunamis," Punongbayan said, citingplenty of local trenches under the sea --like the Cotabato trench and Manilatrench -- that created tsunamis in thepast.

Manila Bay, La Union and Ilocoswill be affected by any earthquakes thatoriginate from the Manila trench, hesaid, adding Palawan and Negrosislands could be affected by movementsin the Manila-Negros trench.

Any movement in the Cotabatotrench can affect Surigao as well asother areas in Mindanao, Punongbayansaid.

He said that in the 9 magnitudeearthquake that struck Southeast Asia,the country was spared because theisland of Sumatra in Indonesia and thepeninsulas of Malaysia and Thailandabsorbed the destructive seismic waves.

Meanwhile, an earthquake that reg-istered Intensity 3 shook Bataan a dayafter the tsunami in Indonesia with theepicenter believed in the area aroundOlongapo City. The earthquake wastriggered in the Manila trench.

An Intensity 5 quake with the epi-center located in Mati, Davao Oriental,also shook Davao City. The source waslikely the Philippine trench off easternMindanao.

Romy Ta b a n l a r, Phivolcs earth-quake scientist, said the earthquakeswere not connected with the massiveunderwater quake that caused tsunamisin Southeast Asia that claimed over165,000 lives and still rising as ofpresstime .

Deputy Majority House Leader Delde Guzman, Representatives ProsperoPichay of Surigao del Sur andWilhelmino Sy-Alvarado of Bulacancalled on authorities to concentrate ontsunami-prone coastal areas.

In a statement, they called for con-tinued public vigilance and for authori-

MANILA–The Philippine governmentis not giving up on the missing Filipinosin Phuket even as the Thai governmenthas called off its rescue operations.

"The Secretary (Alberto Romulo)said that the Department and thePhilippine Embassy (in Bangkok) willput in high gear the efforts in accountingfor all Filipinos affected by tsunami aswell as in assisting the biggest globalrelief ever in the recent history, "Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)spokesman Gilbert Asuque yesterdaytold reporters in a press briefing.

Meanwhile the DFA said 15Filipino survivors have been repatriatedwhile 23 others chose to stay inThailand.

The 15 were identified as Roselyn

Carpio Asuncion, Catherine Prieto, PilarMarbella Prieto, Marco Sangil, VirginiaPasamonte Cruz, Charlie M. Caringal,Rosemarie Phi King Ang Tan, BeverlyTan, Jean Caringal, Gelver A. Barranta,Novie Navarette, Rolando Lagao,Florante Encarnacion, Jay Wi l l i a mDecayco, and Maria Mediatri Manding.Of the said number four were earlierrepatriated while 11 are scheduled to besent back home.

The 23, on the other hand, wereidentified as Margaret Ang Choi, DarioBanua Maniago, Jovito Masaga, CherryPanahon, Celeste Panahon, CelestePanahon, Joselito A. Balbutin, JerwinSedillo, Erwin Raagas, Lorena M.Burlaza, Reginaldo Recibio, MarlenaBaardsen, Jenny Rose Bagoyo, Mary

Ann Bagoyo, Theresa Joy Roxas,Rachel Escoton, Lea Reyes, EmilyBalao, Marian Pasag, Flordeliza(Dianne) Isla, Allan Ortega, Darryl GayS. Juarez, Alvin H. Bay, and MichelleFaustino.

Asuque said Noel Faustino, hus-band of Michelle Faustino, who had ear-lier been reported missing, called up thedepartment to report that his wife hadbeen found alive.

The DFA maintained that as of lastreport only five Filipinos were con-firmed dead in the tsunami tragedy.They are Sharleen May Ang Tan, IvyCatherine Romeio-Terasaka, Ria JaneM. Tuzara, Estelita C. Sales, andKathryn Joy B. Lomadilla. PNS

ties to take all necessary precautions toensure the safety of coastal residents,adding "the public should remainwatchful for aftershocks of the earth-quake and signs of a tsunami." (PNS)

Phivolcs list tsunami-prone areas in R.P.

TIDAL WAVE!: This amateur video footage taken Sunday, Dec. 26, shows a tidal waveseveral meters high smashing a seawall in Penang, Malaysia. Tidal waves startingfrom west of Sumatra, Indonesia, caused by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, racedacross the Indian Ocean to slam the coasts of the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and India inthe west and Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the east. (Reuters)

More Filipinos feared dead in Thailand

Tsunami death toll could top 200,000 says Red Cross

YOUR HELP BRINGS HOPE!Donate to the Tsunami Victims. You may send check payable to: MANILA POST WORLDWIDE INC.P.O. Box 179, Millburn, NJ 07041Attn: Tsunami Relief EffortTel: (908) 265-6290E-mail: manpost@aol.com

MANILA–FOREIGN tourists havebegun to set their sights on thePhilippines as the new tourist destina-tion in the aftermath of the tsunami dis-aster in South Asian region which killedabout 150,000.

This was bared by Department ofTourism (DOT) Secretary Ace Durano.

Durano said that prime hotels intourist destinations as Boracay havenoted marked increase of bookings fol-lowing the catastrophic tsunami thatkilled many foreign tourists in primetourist spots in Indonesia, Malaysia, SriLanka, Sumatra and neighboring Asiancountries.

The DOTchief noted that at the endof 2004, tourist arrivals reached about2.3 million mark.

Compared to other Asian countrieswhich spent up to $1 billion budget formarketing and promotions generatingabout 10 million tourists or double ournumber of tourist arrivals, Durano saidthat the Philippines still has the edgewith its rich tourist destination and cost-e fficient strategy wherein a leanerbudget of about $2 per tourist couldgenerate more tourists spending about$98 per day.

Durano said that apart fromBoracay, the tourist operators are bull-ish of gaining increased tourist arrivalsin such spots as Subic, Palawan, Cebu,Samal Island, Bohol and NegrosOriental.

THE Department of Tourism (DoT)has reported a remarkable growth of24.3 percent in visitor arrivals fromJanuary 1 to October 31, 2004 with theUS market continuing to supply thebiggest number of visitors to thePhilippines despite the negative traveladvisories warning US citizens againstvisiting the country.

American tourists accounted for20.9 percent of the 1.861 million visitortraffic last year, according to DOT. Lastyear's total tourist arrival was posted atmore than 1.5 million.

D O T Annual A c c o m p l i s h m e n tReport was submitted to Malacanang,

Philippines not giving up on missing Pinoys

9MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

TOP STORIES

M A N I L A – S e c r e t a r y M i c h a e lDefensor has ordered all off i c i a l snationwide to submit a list of the topfive suspected illegal loggers in theirrespective jurisdictions.

Defensor issued a special order evenas he warned the officials that theywould face sanctions if they showedlack of cooperation on the agency's mas-sive campaign against illegal loggingactivities.

The order was issued during a meet-ing with all DENR regional executivedirectors, provincial environment offi-cers (PENROs) and other ranking offi-cials of the DENR at Camp Aguinaldo.

It would be recalled that Defensorhas imposed preventive suspension to atleast three community environment andnatural resources officers (CENROs)

and five PENROs for their allegedinvolvement in illegal logging activities.

"Too many people have died or havesuffered as a direct result of the greed ofillegal loggers. We risk meeting the fullwrath of the people if we continue tocondone their activities," Defensorstressed.

Defensor was referring to the seriesof typhoons early this month that killedhundreds and caused millions of pesosworth of losses in properties in theprovinces of Aurora and Quezon and insome parts of Nueva Ecija.

He had earlier said that the land-slides and floods spawned by TyphoonsVioleta, Winnie and Yoyong had beencaused primarily by the unusual amountof rainfall and geographic factors, butthat illegal logging was also to blame asit obviously is still going on in the

stricken provinces and in almost all partsof the country.

Defensor, who led series of raids onseveral sawmills in Quezon and Agusandel Sur after the tragedy, stressed thatregional directors should be strict withregards to paperworks to prevent illegalloggers from creating a semblance oflegality in their operations.

The DENR head revealed that therewere many cases in Quezon whereinDENR officials issued permits and laterrecycled many times by the illegal log-gers.

"Above all, if you know anyoneengaged in illegal logging, who boastsof connections in government, report thematter at once to me. There are nosacred cows or untouchables in the waragainst illegal loggers," he added.

Name illegal loggers– Defensor

DENR Sec. Michael Defensor

There are no sacred cows or untouchables

By BERNIE CAHILES-MAGKILAT

MANILA–Canadian billionaire andmining magnate Robert Friedland hasexpressed keen interest to explore thecountry’s mineral resources.

This was revealed by Trade andIndustry Secretary Cesar V. Purisimaafter a recent conversation withFriedland.

According to Purisima, Friedland,who is founder and chairman of IvanhoeMines Ltd., was encouraged to invest inthe country following the SupremeCourt’s decision lifting a ban against fullforeign ownership in a mining project.Friedland will be flying into the countryearly January next year to meet withindustry players regarding possible busi-ness ventures.

Purisima quoted Friedland as sayingthat he believed that only one percent ofPhilippines potential in the mining sec-tor has been harnessed.

Ivanhoe is an international miningcompany developing a major new dis-covery of gold and copper at theTurquoise Hill (Oyu Tolgoi) Project inSouthern Magnolia.

Ivanhoe has a $1 billion gold andcopper resources exploration program inother Asia Pacific countries such asAustralia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar,Vietnam, and South Korea, targettingcopper, gold and iron ore from variousmining sites.

“ F r i e d l a n d ’s interest in thePhilippines mining sector is a testamentto the wisdom of the SC’s decision. Italso heralds the renewed interest of for-eign investors to grab a chunk of thec o u n t r y ’s mining industry,” Purisimasaid.

“This early, several big ticket min-ing projects, which are expected toinfuse huge capital to the country’seconomy, are already lined up to registerwith the Board of Investment,” Purisimasaid.

Purisima cited how important is themining sector to the Philippine econo-

my.In the 1980’s he recalled, the

Philippines was ranked as 5th biggestproducer of gold and 9th biggest produc-er of copper in the world.

With the SC affirming the constitu-tionality of Republic Act 7942 or theMining Act, expect the mining industryto overtake some sectors in the country’stop 10 exports and take the number threeslot,” Purisima said.

In the SC decision, the high courtnoted that the Constitution expresslyallows services contracts in the largescale exploration, development and uti-

MANILA–Malacañang assured theFilipino people that the Arroyo adminis-tration will doubly work hard in 2005particularly in advancing significantreforms needed to bring back the coun-try’s ailing economy to growth path.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, alsopresidential spokesman, made the assur-ance to assuage growing public senti-ments that hardships were felt by major-ity of the Filipinos during the Christmasseason.

"We accept and understand the pre-vailing sentiments on economy. We con-sider this a challenge to work harder onall fronts to shore up confidence,increase investments, create jobs, andimprove lives," he said.

In a recent survey conducted by theSocial Welfare Station, majority of theFilipinos said they expect harder timesahead in 2005.

Bunye said the administration will bankon its modest successes in pushing forfiscal reforms and the cooperation of thegovernment and private sectors inimplementing austerity and other cost-cutting measures.

" We are gaining grounds onreforms, increase revenues, integrity andefficiency. Inculcating governance willentail teamwork among institutions andsolidarity of all Filipinos which webelieve will be sustained with the adventof New Year," he said.

In a related development, BudgetSecretary Emilia Boncodin said the gov-ernment will release the incentive pay ofall government workers not later thanFebruary next year. She, however, didnot give the exact figures for the incen-tive pay.(Copyright 2005) With permis -sion from The Manila Bulletin. A l lRights Reserved.

lization of minerals, petroleum and min-eral oils.

The basic law also expressly statesthat the State may undertake these activ-ities via “agreements with foreignowned corporations involving eithertechnical or financial assistance” as pro-vided by law.

The landmark decision lifted animportant barrier to foreign investmentsand has opened the gates for overseascapital to pour into the country’s bigmining projects.(BCM) ( C o p y r i g h t2005) With permission from The ManilaBulletin. All Rights Reserved.

Canadian mining magnate keen to mine in the Philippines

Gov’t vows to workdoubly hard on economy in 2005

TOKYO - North Korea sold some10,000 rifles to the largest Muslimrebel group in the Philippines from1999 to 2000 and also tried to exportsmall submarine vessels, a Japanesenewspaper said on Monday.

The arms deal between NorthKorea and the Moro IslamicLiberation Front (MILF) came tolight after security authorities seizeddocuments from the MILF inN o v e m b e r, the Yomiuri Shimbundaily said, quoting a southeast Asiansecurity source.

Such arms sales are an importantsource of foreign currency income forisolated North Korea, which is on theUnited States' list of countries spon-soring terrorism, the paper said.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalutold Reuters the report was old and"totally untrue."

A spokesman for the Philippinemilitary said he was unable to con-firm the story.

The paper said the transactionwas conducted mainly in Malaysia,with a North Korean arms dealersigning a deal with a senior MILFmember around mid-1999 to sellsmall arms to the Muslim rebels.

The contract was for North Koreato sell weapons such as 10,000 M16rifles, hand grenades and spare partsto the MILF for about $2.2 million,the Yomiuri said.

The weapons were shipped bythe end of 2000 -- probably viaMalaysia -- to MILF-controlled areason Mindanao island in the southernPhilippines, the Yomiuri said.

That was a time of heavy fightingbetween MILF guerrillas and govern-ment forces, but a ceasefire has heldfor 18 months as both sides edgetowards formal peace talks.

The MILF also agreed around2002 to buy a small submarine fromNorth Korea but the deal was sus-pended after security authorities gotwind of the arms sales, the paper said.(Reuters)

North Koreasold arms to RP rebels

10 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

by the bay."Now, that isreally some-thing," com-mented thetourist as hepointed hiscamera at the Cultural Center of thePhilippines. "It looks really grand. Whatis it?"

The taxi driver glanced to the left andsimply replied, "Oh, I do not know whatthat is, sir. You see, it was not there lastweek. By the way, from where are you,sir?"

"I am from the great city of New York- also known as the Big Apple of theUnited States," answered the beamingtourist.

"I see. In the States, New York mustbe considered a big city," commented thedriver as he fixed his attention on theroad. "But here in the Philippines, NewYork is only a street in Cubao."

Puzzled but still wanting to keep upthe conversation, the tourist asked, "Andwhat is the most popular sport in thePhilippines?"

"Cockfighting," answered the driverwithout thinking.

"That is revolting," exclaimed thetourist.

"No. Revolting is only the secondmost popular."

MANILA POST hopes to be one of the major news

information sources of all Filipinos worldwide.– FOUNDER

INCORPORATED AUGUST 17, 2000NEW JERSEY, USA

LORD, who may abide in your tent?Who may dwell on your holy mountain?

Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right,

speaking truth from the heart;

Who does not slander a neighbor,does no harm to another,never defames a friend;

Who disdains the wicked,but honors those who fear the LORD;

Who keeps an oath despite the cost ,lends no money at interest ,

accepts no bribe against the innocent .

Whoever acts like thisshall never be shaken.

PSALM 15:1-5

U. S. FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,

or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,

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1137 Route 46 at Route 3, Clifton, NJ 07013 (Copyright 2003) With permission from The Manila Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.

BARRIO BREEZEby Juan M. Flavier

THE Caucasian tourist hailed the taxifrom the curb of the airport arrivalarea. He was the outgoing type wholoved conversations and meeting allkinds of people so he seated himself infront beside the driver.

"Where to, sir?" asked the airporttaxi driver courteously.

"Manila Hotel, please," said thetourist as he positioned his camera."But let us pass through the heart ofthe city so I can get an impression ofthe place."

The vehicle proceeded on until itpassed a guarded area. "What is thisplace?" asked the tourist.

"That is Malacañang Palace. It isthe official residence and office of ourPresident," answered the taxi drivercasually but with pride. "It took manyyears to complete it," he added toimpress the visitor.

"Oh, where I come from we couldbuild that compound in just a fewmonths," offered the man as theydrove on.

"How about that structure to theright?"

"That is our old congress. That,too, took many years to constructbecause of its elaborate architecture."

Again the tourist remarked, "Thatis nice. But it should not take such along time to build something likethat."

Soon, they reached the boulevard

The parable of the tourist

ALOMPODPresident / Publisher / Executive Editor

P.O. Box 179, Millburn, NJ 07041 Tel: (908) 265-6290 E-mail:manpost@aol.com

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TONY LOZADAReporter

11MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

Filipinos can only thank the heavens for keeping awayfrom this country the deadly tsunamis that swept through Asialast week. Otherwise we would be joining the other tsunami-stricken nations in wringing hands over the lack of effective early warning systems for natural disasters.

President Arroyo admitted that the country lacked forecasting capability for giant waves and other natural catastrophes. Even before the tsunamis unleashed by a powerful earthquake off the Indonesian coast killed tens of thousands across Asia, the disaster preparedness of the Philippines was already under question. Victims of recent weather disturbances in Luzon complained that theylacked sufficient warning about the strength of the typhoons, which triggered flashfloods and mudslides that killed over a thousand people in several towns.

Philippine experts at least have some success in predicting a volcanic eruption and can alert residents to evacuate danger zones. Still, no one predicted the fury of Mt. Pinatubo when it awakened from 600 years of slumber.The eruption of Pinatubo, which was not even in the international list of volcanoes, altered global weather patterns and spewed ash all the way to Vietnam.

Geologists said the magnitude 9.0 quake that triggeredthe recent Asian tsunamis knocked the Earth off its axis andpermanently altered the regional map. Experts in Japan, where a rapid alert system for tsunamis following temblors has been in place since the Kobe earthquake a decade ago,said thousands of lives could have been saved if a similarwarning system was in place in the stricken countries. It took up to two hours for the massive walls of water to roar into the coastlines of South and Southeast Asia, theexperts noted, but there was little or no warning of theapproaching danger.

The Philippines is no stranger to tsunamis. In August1976, a tsunami killed thousands in Mindanao. Since then,however, nothing has been done to upgrade the nation’s earlywarning capability. The nation cannot predict the strength of typhoons with reliable accuracy, much less the approach ofkiller tsunamis. This deficiency must be addressed before the nation faces massive catastrophe.

No warningEDITORIAL

WITH PERMISSION FROM PHILSTAR

THE RECENT Supreme Court ruling onmining could yet be one of its mostimportant decisions.The Philippines hasone of the highest levels of poverty inAsia, with some 58 percent of its peopleadmitting they are poor. A disturbinglyhigh 34 percent are officially listed aspoverty-stricken. A great bulk of thesepeople live in the provinces, so far awayfrom any help that could uplift their lives.

But there is a savior, and the SupremeCourt has recognized it-mining.Miningbrings vast wealth and economic progressto a nation-look at Australia. It can do asmuch for the Philippines now that theSupreme Court has allowed foreigners tohelp develop this rich resource.

Those previously opposed to miningmust now accept the fact that a starvingchild is a greater concern than a tempo-rary, limited damage to the environment.

The key in mining these days is to doit in a responsible fashion, with minimalharm to the environment so that the landis restored once the mining operation isfinished. Mining provides local peoplewith jobs and other income-producingactivities. It also generates moreresources for community development.

It is not mining itself but mining doneirresponsibly which is the problem. Weneed to ensure that mining companiesoperate with the welfare of the communi-ty in mind.

Too often in the past, well-meaningpeople stopped or disrupted mining oper-ations without fully weighing the benefitsof mining against its disadvantages.

I appeal to the mayors and governors:act in the national interest. I've heard toomany stories of local officials making itdifficult, if not impossible, to operate amine.

Congress has spoken, the administra-tion has reinforced it, the Supreme Courthas agreed: mining is good for the coun-try. It's time to raise the poor out of themorass they've sank into.

OPINION

Mininggood

for thecountry

by PETER WALLACE President

The Wallace Business Forum

I appeal to the mayors and governors:

act in the national interest.

I've heard too many stories of local

officials making it difficult,

if not impossible, to operate a mine.

12 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

TOP STORIES

MANILA–Airport authoritiesexpressed alarm over the departureto Hong Kong last Friday ofdeposed President JosephEstrada's several Cabinet secre-taries, but appeared helpless toprevent any of them from leavingthe country as they are not in thegovernment's hold order list.

Reliable ources told newsmenthat Malacañang aides had earlierbeen tipped off by Palace airline“moles” on the scheduled depar-ture of the former leader's Cabinetofficials, all of whom stayed withhim up till the time he leftMalacañang in 2001.

Palace aides reportedly raisedthe suspicion that the formerleader had started the put his “planin operation” with the move toform a “shadow government”although airport officials were saidto have speculated on Estradaforming a government in exile inthe former Crown Colony.

A Palace insider, however,informed the media that orderscoming from the National SecurityA d v i s e r, Ret. Gen. HermogenesEbdane were for the PhilippineNational Police chief Gen.Edgardo Aglipay to ensure thatEstrada is not left alone without asecurity guard in his room whilehe meets with his former Cabinetsecretaries.

Estrada never made any bonesabout the opposition forming ashadow government, long beforehe departed to China for his kneereplacement surg e r y. He hadannounced this move before hedeclared a revolution against

hunger, putting in place his pro-gram to feed the hungry and thepoor, through a backyard vegetableplanting and fish-raising program.

He has, of late, been criticizingthe Arroyo government and vowedto lead a fight against the “corruptgovernment of Mrs. Arroyo.”

The former aides of Estradaleft aboard separate PhilippineAirlines flights bound for HongKong .

Those who gathered briefly totalk over coffee and breakfast at thePAL Mabuhay Lounge before leav-ing at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. respec-tively were former FinanceSecretary Jose Pardo, BudgetSecretary Benjamin Diokno, PublicWorks and Highways SecretaryVirgilio Vigilar, Health SecretaryAlberto Romualdez, A r a r i a nReform Secretary HoracioMorales, Labor SecretaryBenjamin Laguesma and NationalEconomic and DevelopmentPlanning Secretary, Philip Medalla.Taking an early flight aboard PR-300 were former Sen. FranciscoTatad, Congressman Luis “Baby”Asistio and Nueva Ecija Gov.Edgar Joson.

Asked by newsmen to confirmwhether a government in exile wasto be formed with this visit, Dioknoreplied that “there is no politicalagenda involved in our visit,”adding that they are simply con-cerned about the health of thedeposed leader following his kneereplacement surgery at the HongKong Adventist Hospital lastDecember 31. (Tribune News)

By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO - The govern-ment of the Philippines cannotappeal a victims' class-action set-tlement against the estate of formerruler Ferdinand Marcos, the U.S.federal appeals court ruled onTuesday.

The decision by a three-judgepanel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Courtof Appeals is the latest episode of along-running legal battle datingback nearly two decades againstthe dictator who fled to Hawaii in1986 and died three years later.

In 1994, a U.S. federal jury ina class-action suit in Hawaiiawarded $1.96 billion to nearly10,000 victims after finding theMarcos estate liable for the torture,murder and disappearances ofFilipinos during Marcos' rule.

Because of a tangled legal bat-tle that followed the ruling, theclaimants agreed in 1998 to a $150million payout to end all claims.

The money was not paid, how-ever, as litigation continued. Themoney was to be drawn fromMarcos deposits in Swiss banks,including Credit Suisse, worthabout $590 million, which the gov-ernment also claims on groundsthey were part of assets Marcosillegally amassed while in office.(Reuters)

Estrada’s knee operation ‘successful’

"ISHALLRETURN": Detained former Philippine President Joseph Estradawaves beside his wife, Sen. Loi Estrada, right, before boarding a flight toHong Kong at Manila's international airport Monday, Dec. 27, 2004. Estradapromised to return to the Philippines after knee surgery in Hong Kong tocontinue the fight against alleged tyranny and government mismanage-ment. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

RP can'tappealMarcosdeal saysUS courtErap to form government in excile in HK?

MANILA–After lying low for some time, whistle-blower Mary Ong alias Rosebud surfaced yester-day to make yet another round of startling revela-tions.

In an interview at the Department of Justice,Ong claimed that First Gentleman Miguel "Mike"Arroyo was behind the expose made by business-woman Blanquita Pelaez against Sen. PanfiloLacson.

According to Ong, Arroyo gave Pelaez P12million to pursue her case against Lacson. Pelaezsued Lacson when he refused to honor a P15.6 mil-lion handcuffs deal because the PNP, which hethen headed, would have paid the Customs dutiesand taxes on the handcuffs, not Pelaez.

Ong claimed she has proof of the payoff"between Pelaez and Arroyo that took place in2003. "I'll tell everything when the right timecomes," she added.

Arroyo reportedly wanted Pelaez to continueher expose to further taint Lacson who was thenhogging the headlines for his alleged involvementin kidnappings and drugs, she said.

R e c e n t l y, Arroyo's publicist, NemesioAntonio, phoned to warn her of a plot to kill her bythe 14-K drug syndicate.

"That is impossible. Maybe it is Mike Arroyowho wants me dead," she said. PNA

Rosebud turnagainst FG Mike

MANILA–Contrary to public perception, thedeadly meningococcemia disease is not isolated inBaguio City as cases have been reported in differ-ent parts of the country, including Metro Manila,according to the Department of Health.

Health authorities said meningococcemiacases have been reported in places as far asPolomoloc, South Cotabato.

About 200 or so cases of meningococcemiawere reported in the 1990s; 76 cases were report-ed in 2002 and 83 in 2003. In 2004, 27 confirmedcases were reported, excluding 25 suspected onesin Baguio reported in December, including fivewhich were later confirmed. Ten persons inBaguio died of the disease last month.

Meningococcemia, caused by bacteria, ischaracterized by headache, vomiting, body ache,s t i ff neck, convulsion, irritability. Rashes andsevere hemorrhage are noted in some cases. It istransmitted from person to person throughdroplets exhaled while sneezing or coughing.

Cases of meningococcemia are sporadic as insome barangays in Baguio City. At least 15,000people in 27 Baguio barangays have been givepreventive antibiotics by the DOH and the CityHealth Office to prevent the possible spread of theailment.

The DOH has reported 43 meningococcemiacases in Baguio City, including 21 deaths.

DOH officials in Baguio City have confirmedthat meningococcocemia cases are rampant in theCordillera Automomous Region, except in theprovince of Abra, with 24 fatalities since the bac-terial disease was reported in March last year.

Since Jan. 1, four fatalities were reportedwhile nine infected individuals are still confined atthe Baguio City General Hospital, Dr. AntonioBautista, head of the DOH Disease PreventionCluster, said.

Six of the infected individuals are fromremote barangays of Baguio City, five fromBauko, Mt. Province, and one each from Itogonand Tublay, Benguet.

Baguio City health officer Dr. Florence Reyesadmitted that there is an unusual occurrence of thedisease recently compared to 2003. There are fiveconfirmed cases this month alone, with one deathreported. PNA

Meningococemiais spreading

MANILA–Security forces foiledFriday an alleged plot of the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyahterror group to bomb the feast ofthe Black Nazarene in Quiapo,Manila with the arrest of 16 sus-pected militants.

Police said the plot was thwart-ed after policemen raided theIslamic Foundation Center on thethird floor of the A g o n c i l l oBuilding on Pedro Gil street andTaft Avenue in Manila.

The lawmen said the suspectswere assembling bombs intendedfor suicide attacks, to be detonatedduring the Black Nazarene proces-sion.

Initial reports said a finishedbomb was found during the raid,prompting the police to cordon offthe area as they defused the explo-sive.

A still undetermined amount ofTNT in boxes was also recovered,Bulaong said.

"The scenario is, there wouldbe suicide bombers in the feast ofthe Black Nazarene," Jamias said.

Among the most prominentregular participants is Vi c ePresident Noli de Castro. (STAR)

JI plot tobomb Quiapoprocessionthwarted

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

111 Wood Avenue SouthIselin, NJ 08830

Office: 732-321-2080 Ext. 3213Fax: 866-809-3322Cell: 908-337-7960

cstanton@opteum.comwww.opteum.com/cstanton

May the magic of this holiday season...

Bring you great joy and happiness.

Happy Holidays!

Your Mortgage Consultant,

Christopher Stanton

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

GREETINGS!

I am overwhelmed by the display of support and unity of all Tagbilaranons of the Eastern seaboard of U.S. A. to make this Inaugural Ball and dinnera very successful celebration. I thank youall for your unselfish support for our projectof helping the day care program in ourbeloved City of Tagbilaran. This is a nobleproject for our children to provide them with good foundation in their pursuitfor higher education.

We are on a mission to ameliorate the youthof Tagbilaran and offering prosperityto our communities as well.

We thank all our guests who respondedour invitations and those who placed

ads in our journal. Your generosity and good spirit will never fade awayfrom our thoughts of the Tagbilaranons.Thank you all so much.

God bless us all in our endeavors.

MABUHI ANG TAGBILARAN UG ANG TAGBILARANON!

Ricardo F. BorjaPresident

CENTER

The indomitable emcees Narding & Hil.

Dr. Rudy Penalosa singing a spiritual song for the invocation.

Former Mayor Robert Rivas enjoyedwatching the performance of "The Friends and Music".

The famous "Friends and Music" of the Tagbilaranons.

Rick Borja assisted by Nitz Borja handing awardsfor the children of Tagbilaranons who excel intheir scholastic performance.

Drs. Ramie Cadag, Pepe Recitas and their ladies discussing about the huge attendance of the Inaugural Ball.

2 0 0 4Wayne Manor, New Jersey

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

Warmest greetings to all!

I take pride in the fact that there does not exist a community with closer ties than the Filipino. But as we are painfully aware of,most migrants, in their bid to assimilate themselves to the culture of their adopted land,inadvertently forget their roots and theirheritage as a people. I wish to commend the Tagbilaranons in the eastern seaboard for perpetuating our tradition of close community ties.

I also wish to commend the organizationfor laboring hard to make the Filipinosalways united, a force to reckon in America.

It is my fervent hope that you will forge on into the future with the same zeal and enthusiasm that you have always displayed.

MABUHAY KAYONG LAHATAT ANG TAGBILARAN!

Senate of the Philippines, Room 523, GSIS Financial CenterCCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard., Pasay City, Philippines

Tel: 552-6601 loc. 5534, 5535 Fax: 552-6743

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

MANILA

MESSAGE

Senate

Panfilo "Ping" LacsonSenator

PAGE

Fr. Sim Manigqui seated extreme left who jetted from the Philippines just to attend the InauguralBall. Fr. Sim Manigqui seated extreme left who jetted from the Philippines just to attend theInaugural Ball. Bobong & Maggie Dejaresco are excited the antics of the emcees.

Atty. Manny Baluyot and wife Fancy came all the way from the Philippines.

The ever supportive Sandugo family club members pose for posterity during the Inaugural Ball.

President Ric Borja receiving recognition award from thestate of New Jersey from Ludy Hughes assisted by Betty Garcia.

Jowelie Ballista singing "Tell Him"of Barbara Streisand

and Celine Dion.

Milvian Ann Borja dishing out Lea Salonga song , "Still"

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

120 Eagle Rock Avenue, Suite 210, East Hanover NJ 07936Tel: (973) 560-4000 ext. 7116 Fax: (973)515-0431

Cell: (201) 532-6686

Rose De Castr o

MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005 13

By ILUMINADO VERALA JR.

2005 is the year of theflamboyant Rooster, the DonQuixote of the 12-year ChineseLunar cycle represented by a dozenanimals.

As the Chinese say: "This isthe animal that hides in yourheart."

The years of the rooster in the20th century are 1909, 1921, 1933,1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, and 1993."This year (2005) we may have toexpend maximum effort for mini-mum gain," according to Asiaticastrology. This dampens optimismthat the year of the rooster will be abetter year than the exiting year ofthe Monkey.

Old fashioned Filipinos asso-ciate the chicken with hand-to-mouth existence or "isang kahig,isang tuka."

But the Chinese expect thisyear to be buoyant in spite of therooster’s knack for making simplethings complicated.

"One thing is for sure: therooster seldom comes up empty-handed. This is the year of onevery selfsufficient bird that willnever go hungry," say the Chineseastrologists.

The advice is to keep our eyesopen and the mouth shut and checkfact and figures before makingunprecedented moves.

"Our pockets will not beempty although our nerves may be

a bit frayed," it is promised,The rooster will find success

and money in the most commonplaces. The Chinese says that the"Rooster can find food even in thehardest ground with its sturdy beakand claws."

A writer of Asiatic horoscopereports: "Many millionaires wereborn in the year of the rooster andthey all have one other thing incommon besides money – they

Incoming 2005 will bethe Year of the Rooster

were all eccentric."The rooster is a reputable

worker. His sharp intellect and effi-ciency impress people. With hismany administrative abilities andnatural passion for work, the roos-ter will be successful early in life.

What he needs most in every-thing he undertakes is restraint,moderation, and a firm hand todirect his energies.

Theodora Lau, a Shanghai-born Chinese horoscope expert,says that the rooster has many out-standing qualities to crow about."He is sharp, neat, precise, organ-ized, decisive, upright, alert, andmost direct. He loves to argue anddebate, showing how knowledge-able and smart he is, sometimeswith little regard for the feelings ofothers."

"The rooster can be practicalabout difficult matter. But he canalso be very unreasonable and diffi-cult over simple things. If the roost-er’s dreams are too far-fetched andoverambitious, he will suffer disap-pointments. He must learn to stopreaching for the sky."

For the people of the East,especially the Chinese,Vietnamese, and Japanese, this yearmeans much work for less gain."Be cautious. Do not aim to high.One is liable to get shot down."

This is how the Oriental sooth-sayers look at the world during theyear of the rooster:

"Politics will adhere to hard-line policies. The diplomatic scenewill be dominated by philosophicalorators who have a lot about noth-ing. Governments will be foundflexing their muscles at each other,but just for show. Dissensions anddebates on all fronts will signify therooster’s penchant for argumenta-tive exercises and will not be likelyto do permanent damage to anyonewhen taken in the right context."

Still it will be a good year. Theworld will get by without too muchhardship.

The Oriental lore about the ani-mal sign has it that one New Year’sDay, the dying Buddha called allbeasts, promising rewards if theycame.

Only 12 turned up: the rat, thebuffalo, the tiger, the cat (or rabbit),the dragon, the snake, the horse, thegoat, the monkey, the rooster, thedog, and the pig, arriving in thatorder.

To each, the Buddha gave ayear to bear its name. The 12 ani-mals, according to the story, wouldhave influence upon the life, des-tiny, and character of the peopleborn in its year, and on the yearitself.

Unlike the Westerners who relyon the sun and the zodiac sign(Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer,Leo, Vi rgo, Libra, Scorpio,Sagittarius, Capricorn, A q u a r i u s ,Pisces), many Easterners depend onthe influence of the moon and thesedozen animals in their lives,whether in business, politics, orpersonal relationships.

2005: Year of the Rooster

Still it will be a good year.The world will get by without

too much hardship.

CLASS '79 - VELEZ COLLEGE OF NURSING

REUNION: Velez College of Nursing Class 1979 on board Voyager of the Seas Royal Caribbean on their 25th Anniversary celebration.MORE PICTURES ONNEXT MANILA POST ISSUE.

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14 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

NEW YORK–Almost a month to theday rampaging flood waters destroyedlives and property in parts of Quezonand Bicol provinces in Luzon, help inthe form of cash and relief goods for theflood victims continues to pour in.Philippine Consul General to New York,Cecilia Rebong, said this in a reportdated 6 January 2005 to Foreign AffairsSecretary Alberto Romulo.

In the report, Rebong said that "asof 6 January 2005, the Consulate hasreceived a total cash donation of morethan $29,000.00 from the community,with more pledges of cash and in-kinddonations coming in." Of this amount,Rebong said "the Consulate has turnedover $3,465.00 to the Philippinesthrough the Department of SocialWelfare and Development (DSWD) andthe National Disaster CoordinatingCouncil (NDCC)." "The Consulate willturn over the rest of the cash donations(and any additional amounts it willreceive) to the NDCC," she added.

The Consulate also shipped earlierten (10) boxes of relief goods to thePhilippines. An additional 40 boxesawait shipment. Several cargo-forward-ing companies, namely, Port Jersey,Johnny Air, LBC, St. Joseph Fast Cargo,Manila Express, Magcor InternationalF o r w a r d e r, Macro and Forex havepledged to help in shipping the remain-ing boxes to the Philippines.

Consul General Rebong describedthe outpouring of help from the Filipinocommunity in Northeastern USA a s"phenomenal." "It shows our readinessand willingness, as a community, tocome together for a common greatcause," she added.

FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF CASH AND IN-KIND DONORS FROM THE

FILIPINO-AMERICAN COMMUNITYIN NORTHEASTERN USA

IN THE ORDER THAT THEIR DONATIONSWERE RECEIVED BY THE CONSUL ATE

(N.B. Some donors requested anonymity; others merely dropped their donations at the designated drop-off center without revealing

their identity.)

LIST OF CASH DONORS FOR RP FLOOD TYPHOON VICTIMS

(As of 6 January 2005)

PMAAFoundation, Inc. (Cadag)$ 3,000.00

Collection from Simbang Gabi Masses$ 1,662.05

Phil-Am Trading, Inc.$ 1,500.00

New England FilAm, Inc.(NEFAI)Chelsea $ 1,325.00

Neo-Filipino Association, Inc.$ 1,000.00

Dr. Alice Francisco$ 1,000.00

John A/Nanette S. Wright$ 1,000.00

Filipino American Assoc. of BucksCounty Inc.$ 1,000.00

Engr. Rudy and Dra. Connie Quiambao(sent thru Ayala Foundation USA)$ 1,000.00

Phil. Consulate General Staff$ 502.00

Dr. Benjamin Ileto–$ 500.00

Filipino Social Club of NY$ 500.00

Assn. of Phil. Physicians inNY–$ 500.00

Dr. Agerico/ Mrs.LinglingayLacanlale –$ 500.00

Benito Gonzales – $500.00

Dr. Micky/Grace Yu –$ 500.00

Dr. Fabian Sy–$ 500.00

SGVAlumni Association ofEastern America–$ 500.00

Rudell and AssociatesPersonnel–$400.00

Consul General CeciliaRebong–$ 350.00

Delta Dental (Maria Salamat)$ 310.00

Performing Arts of the Phils.$ 300.00

Rick/Fiona Guevara–$ 300.00

Order of the Knights of Rizal,NJ–$300.00

Filipino American Associationof W. CT (FAAWC)–$ 300.00

Lolita/Michael Aguila$ 300.00

Santa Cruz, Laguna Assoc. ECChapter $ 300.00

PA Fil-Am Lions Club D-14A$ 300.00

Corazon Gemil–$ 250.00

Philippine Senior CitizensInternational , Inc. –$ 250.00

PhilAm Veterans Org. Inc.$ 250.00

Dr. and Mrs. Enrico Khu$ 250.00

PhilAm CommunitiesExecutive Council (PACEC)$ 200.00

Enrique/Annabel Nakpil$ 200.00

Kayumanggi Society of PA$ 200.00

LL Alimov–$ 200.00

Federation. of FilipinoAssociations in Connecticut$ 200.00

Shu-Ju Chang–$ 200.00

Padilla & Company, LLP$ 150.00

Anthony/Maria Carmina Yu$ 150.00

First Filipino Baptist Church$ 150.00

Maria Inez Herrero–$ 140.00

Millicent Paredes–$ 120.00

Raymond G. Cruz–$100.00

Kevin Mondron–$100.00

Ogie Del Mundo–$100.00

PACEC–$ 100.00

Lamberto/Lina Santos$ 100.00

Carlos/Brenda Talisaysay$ 100.00

Holistic Health Options, Inc.$100.00

William Brown–$100.00

Anonymous–$100.00

Luzviminda Kastury–$ 100.00

Jorge Ortoll–$ 100.00

Verne Pineda—$100.00

Amor/Thomas McGuinnes$100.00

Leonida M. Cortez—$100.00

Dr. Raul/Mayette Sala$ 100.00

Jesus C. Moneva –$100.00

Dr. Mars and Cora Custodio$100.00

Moncadenians of N. AmericaInc. –$100.00

Reynaldo/Gloria Balatbat–$50.00

Josefina Maquiling$ 50.00

Eleanor Read$ 50.00

Dr. Murillo/ OfeliaMangubat$ 50.00

Luningning Gunnefelt$ 60.00

Avelina Pimo$ 60.00

Anonymous$ 48.00

Roger Sy$ 40.00

Lisa/John Mitchell, Jr.$ 40.00

Maximo/Otelia Godoy$ 30.00

Sean/Cielo Lane$ 30.00

Robert/Kimberley La Brie$ 30.00

M r. and Mrs. RicardoRogayan$ 30.00

Obdulia/Edgardo Ramas$ 30.00

Juanita/Benedicto Bancaflor$ 25.00

Felix/Virginia Vergara$ 25.00

Rinaldo/Joy Bacordo$ 25.00

Manolo/Abbelane Mempin$ 25.00

Cecilia R. Viray$ 25.00

Judith Belonia$ 25.00

Anonymous$ 25.00

Isabelita Palasol$ 25.00

Ruby Santos$ 25.00

Armando/MindaMagundayao$ 25.00

Filomena B. Rubio$25.00

Cecilia Bones$ 25.00

Filemon/Violeta Trias$ 25.00

S. Bacayo Branzuela$ 25.00

Roger/Shirley Espino$ 25.00

Vicente/Aurora Grana$ 25.00

Feliciano/Violeta Lopez$ 25.00

Dr. Baby Bleza /Mr. RoyGuinto–$ 25.00

Mildred N. Lombardi$ 25.00

Peter/Ana Diller–$ 25.00

Rogelio/Josefina Tizon$ 25.00

Amada Martin–$ 25.00

Patrick and Andre de Luna$ 25.00

Matthew and Andre Olfindo$ 25.00

Francis Villamater–$ 25.00

Eden and Clifford Paredes$ 25.00

Lisa Consolacion–$ 20.00

Jaime Peralta–$ 20.00

Lydia/Malka Stern–$ 20.00

Filomena Rubio –$ 20.00

Cecilia R. Viray–$ 20.00

Alex Omana–$ 20.00

Deborah Stino–$20.00

Charles/Elizabeth Sibicky$ 20.00

Luisa/HerminigildoMasilang –$20.00

Donations for RP flood victims continue to pour inPhilippine New York Consulate releases list of donors

PHILIPPINE FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES RELIEF EFFORT

Erlinda Velasco–$ 20.00

Valintino/Florence Asuncion$ 10.00

Marie Dizon–$ 10.00

Filoteo/Consuelo Garcia$ 10.00

Maligaya Garcia–$ 10.00

Isidoro/Benita Samonte$ 10.00

Jovito/Merced Omana$10.00

Alvaro Correo–$ 10.00

Elvira Po–$ 10.00

Manuel/Mila Ramil–$ 10.00

Christina Oconnor–$ 10.00

Victoria Kwiatkowski $ 10.00

Richard/Helen Pearse10.00

Carolyn/George Bennett III$ 10.00

Robert/Virginia Kuehn$ 10.00

Robert/Remedios Strickland$ 10.00

Robert/Rosalinda Kraus$ 10.00

Jesselie P. Moneva–$10.00

Raquel Gomez–$ 10.00

Mila Apostol–$ 10.00

Charles/Airen Sherrill$ 10.00

Patti Gabasa–$ 10.00

Elizabeth C. Grant–$ 10.00

Edith/Raymond Soriano$ 10.00

Zenaida and GeorgeMangonon–$ 10.00

Juli Belle Quintos–$ 8.00

Godofredo/Pilar Aguilar$ 5.00

Walter Hager–$ 5.00

Total Collectionsas of 06 January 2005–

$29,210.05

Cecilia RebongRP Consul General to NY

15MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

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16 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

For a moment, she had it in the palmof her hand to play, not queen, but theking himself. For a moment, she couldhave turned mourning into frenzied rageand, perhaps, satisfy an urge for revenge.It is not often that such a moment comes,and even more rare for such a moment tobe made available to one person. Onemoment, and Susan Roces had it.

How ironic, then, that a woman thathad gained fame and fortune from anillustrious movie career and had married,not an ordinary actor, but Da King him-self, could with ease smile and deny her-self a chance of a lifetime. She was givenpower by fate, but her simplicity gave hereven greater power to rise above such atemptation that few can resist.

Susan was a public figure who chose,together with her husband, to have a quietprivate life. She was a wife who wit-nessed her mate in deep pain and frustra-tion over an unthinkable loss of a contestwhere personal popularity normallywould be an insurmountable advantage.She was a political supporter who musthave believed, like his other allies, thatFPJ was cheated out of a presidency. Yet,when an opportunity to indulge invengeance was placed on her lap, sheshowed only disdain at what many otherswould have given a leg and an arm tohave.

While the moment was with Susan,another woman was calling on her armedtroops to be loyal to her. And as an addi-tional insurance, all sorts of blockadesringed a Palace that exuded more fearthan power. It would have been a once ina lifetime face-off between two women,both of whom had power in their hands,but one with the more intense motive touse it for vengeance simply turned herback on it.

Convicts are not necessarily evil peo-ple. Many are considered, in fact, goodUnfortunately, one weak moment, onewrong decision and a whole good life cansuddenly turn very bad. That is what

defines convicts, that iswhat makes criminalsout of otherwise goodpeople. In Muntinglupa,one can find many ofthese individuals.

On the other hand,heroes are not necessari-ly the best of people.Many are considered, infact, quite ordinary.H o w e v e r, one specialmoment, one chance atbravery and nobility,and an ordinary life beomes extraordi-nary. That is what defines heroes, that iswhat makes supermen of otherwisesimple people. In a country hungry forheroes, in a moment and circumstancethat may never come again, Susanproved to be a woman of substance.

They say that the wake of FPJrivaled that of Ninoy Aquino, maybeeven surpassed it in a number of ways.Just like in 1983, there was no presi-dential election in near sight, but Corythe future president made her debut as apolitical personality. There is no presi-dential election in near sight today, butSusan has also beome a political per-sonality. She can resist the temptation togo political, and she probably will. Butlike Cory, life may force Susan to con-front a situation that gives her no otherrespectable choice.

One rare moment may have passedfor Susan, and she responded with rarematurity as well. That does not mean,however, that other moments just asspecial, just as pregnant with possibili-ties, will not be coming her way any-more. In fact, those who refuse whatmany hunger for are often and repeat-edly tempted – if not to raise the level ofpurity on the person involved, then touse the person as a shining example tomany.

Cory Aquino went to the hospitalwhen FPJ was in coma to give Susan arosary It might have been her being a

woman who hadexperienced greatchallenges herself,especially about los-ing one’s illustriousmate, that made Coryreach out to someonewho was not thatclose to her. FPJ’sdeath, and the politi-cal circumstance thatis today’s context,will make twowomen have more

things in common in very special ways.It will not be strange for these two spe-cial women to establish a special rela-tionship.

To rise above partisanship in acountry that is retching from too muchbad politics will be a challenge thatwill confront Cory Aquino and SusanRoces,elections or no elections. Around FPJin the last year of his life was an arrayof politicians that must have made himvery uneasy. Simple people, especiallythose with strong and unwavering loy-alties, invariably feel uncomfortable inthe midst of greedy and ambitiouspoliticians. In the end, FPJ chose tofraternize with only a handful, the spe-cial handful who made him comfort-able.

Susan need not go partisan, andshe need not even go political. But herspoken word that she will pursue thecause that her husband was engaged inwill draw her to that political landscapewhich will make her also feel uneasy.How, then, can a non-political and veryprivate person honor not only her wordbut her fallen mate’s cause withoutgoing to the eye of the storm?O b v i o u s l y, she cannot stay away.Hopefully, though, she will not lose hersubstance as she does so.

Rising beyond politics will allowSusan to keep her substance yet servethe special purpose of inspiring a dis-couraged and fearful people. Societyhas few high profile models of honesty,propriety, and statesmanship yet needsthese models so acutely. If corruption isat an all-time high, if poverty is at anall-time high, it can only be becausethere has been a severe lack of societalleaders with integrity and compassion.

Better late than never. Susan is notin the prime of her youth, but she maybe in the prime of her life. If she takesthe challenge to be public role model,then she will need the courage, not somuch to remain honest and sincere, butto weed out the undeserving who willsurely try to surround and influenceher. This is an often underestimatedtemptation and one that hardly everfails to achieve its purpose.

Women of substance are a boon toany society, but specially needed byPhilippine society. Men of substance,too, of course, are needed as well, butthis moment belongs to Susan and herilk. It is the choice of life to make usfocus our eyes today on the womanwho survives the loss of her man, onthe queen without her king. From themovies to real life, Susan can become astar. Simply by staying a woman ofsubstance.

A Woman Of SubstanceMOTHERLAND

By Jose Ma. Montelibano

jlm_manpost@mail.com

MANILA–- THE worst is yet tocome for the Arroyo administration.

This is how Ilocos Norte Rep.Imee Marcos foresees the yearahead, noting the ripening publicunrest fueled by rising prices of fueland basic commodities, growingjoblessness, low wages and excessesof people placed in positions ofpower and influence as payment forpolitical debts.

"The long-suffering masseshave seen enough of the emptypromises of this government in thepast year, and they are prepared toforce reforms that the administrationhas denied them," the oppositionlawmaker said.

"If President Macapagal-Arroyostill harbors fantasies about her gov-ernment's credibility, she only has tolook at her abysmal performance rat-ing to disabuse her mind," Marcossaid.

Mrs. Arroyo's popularity ratinghas dropped to its lowest of `5 per-cent shortly before Christmas.

Susan Roces, widow of former Philippine presidential candidate and action moviestar Fernando Poe Jr., places flowers on his grave at Manila's North Cemetery dur-ing his funeral Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2004. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Imee predictsworst timesfor Prez GMA

MANILA–To help the oppositionbloc, yes, but not as its leader.

This was how two oppositionmembers reacted to the one-millionsignature campaign being launchedby supporters of actor Fernando PoeJr. to convince his widow, SusanRoces, to lead the opposition group.

"If she (Roces) would only helpthe opposition, that's fine. But tolead the opposition, that wouldrequire more thought," said MakatiRepresentative Agapito "Butz"Aquino in a telephone interview.

Aquino, who supported anotheroppositionist, Senator PanfiloLacson, over Poe in the last presi-dential election, said they should beconsulted first if there were movesto install Poe's wife as the newopposition leader.

Negros Oriental RepresentativeJacinto Paras, a staunch ally of Poe,said he would support Roces "not asa candidate" but as a "rallying pointto unite the opposition."

"She could be the rallying pointof the opposition as we have tounite within the legal bound," Parassaid.

But Paras said there was no talkwithin the group to push Poe's wifeas the next candidate of the opposi-tion bloc.

Paras' remarks confirmed a pre-vious statement by former SenatorVicente “Tito” Sotto that Roces wasnot being considered as the nextleader of the opposition.

Senator Edgarda Angara float-ed the idea of having Roces as areplacement for Poe, who died aftersuffering from stroke in December.INS

Oppositionbloc notkeen on Poe widowas leader

17MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

THE HIGH GROUND

(Reprinted in Manpost with the per -mission of INQ7.NET, website of thePhilippine Daily Inquirer and theGMA-7 Broadcasting Network)

I waited for the Christmas and NewYear holidays to be over before writingthis. I did not want to add to the alreadybleak outlook painted by the SWS sur-vey released last December 23 thatdepicted Filipinos as having the worstever pessimistic feelings towards hav-ing a happy Christmas.

The SWS reports that this pes-simism is felt by one out of threeFilipinos. Taken from a social and his-torical perspective, the numbers reveala more chilling reality - the fact that thisis hardly the season and time whenChristian Filipinos are expected to feelcynical. "Dominance of pessimism israre, and previously occurred only inMarch 2003 (the Iraq Wa r ) ,September/October 2000 (Juetenggate)and in 1984 (post-Aquino assassina-tion)", says the SWS report.

Public pessimism during the heightof the Iraq War, an external event withdevastating international consequences,is expected and cannot be helped. Thetwo other local events were forerunnersof People Power upheavals that markedhistorical turning points. But today'spublic pessimism is set against thebackdrop of a presidency regarded asillegitimate by 55% of Filipinos (peranother SWS survey) coupled by a peo-ple misery index that far exceeds condi-tions that prevailed in the period pre-ceding the first and second PeoplePower events. This leaves us with butone logical conclusion - a more turbu-lent turnover of power is in the horizon.

One must understand that amongFilipinos, Christmas is a very specialevent unlike no other. It is a time whenclass divides are blurred by the spirit ofgiving and sharing. Filipino homes cel-ebrate Christmas as best as they canafford, from the humblest shanty to themost opulent of mansions. It is a time tobe happy and a time to be together withkith and kin. For a Filipino, Christmasprovides a catharsis for the pains andaches of the past 12 months.

The SWS findings which revealthat one of three Filipinos does not evensee this Christmas as a much-awaitedrespite from the drudgery of his impov-erished existence is certainly cause foralarm. They do not see any 'joy to theworld' nor find reason to raise theirhearts up in this 'season of hope'. Thisis even made worse by the fact thatsuch people tend to blame it all on thegreed and callousness of their publicofficials. This can only mean one thing:left with precious little to rejoice about,there is also precious little to lose forpeople stuck in the pits. Surely, pre-serving the oppressive status quo wouldbe the least in these people's minds!

A Filipino who pictures himselfhaving a sad Christmas is like a childfeeling dysfunctionally depressed amidall the glitter and sounds of Disneyland.One of three Filipinos, around 28 mil-lion of the 84 million or so, is nowshrouded with a pall of gloom - whatShakespeare described in the openingline of Richard III as the 'winter of ourdiscontent'.

The collective negative energy of28 million desolate Filipinos should beenough cause for panic for the

Macapagal-Arroyo regime. This is evenmore than ten times the multitude thatmade up the funeral entourage at the bur-ial of Fernando Poe, Jr. Furthermore, theremaining two-thirds of Filipinos whodid not share the pessimism of the one-third over enjoying Christmas do noteven approve of the Macapagal-Arroyoregime. The earlier SWS survey releasedlast December 17 showed Macapagal-Arroyo sliding even further in net satis-faction ratings - the only incumbent pres-ident polled by SWS to have slid intonegative net satisfaction ratings.

The -5% net satisfaction ratings ofMacapagal-Arroyo last December 17,immediately followed by the projectionof a "sad Christmas" five days later, donot make good ingredients for happydays ahead, specially for one who isblamed for messing up the economy andwhose regime is largely-perceived asillegitimate. Quite unsettling when onealso considers that our two People Powerevents have both occurred during thefirst quarter of 1986 and 2001.

Sometime in the late 70's when I washaving lunch at the MOPC (ManilaOverseas Press Club), then located nearmy office in Makati City, one of themembers brought sad news about some-body who committed suicide. Most of usdid not know the suicide, but the newswas very disturbing, more so because ithappened a few days before Christmas.Nobody knew what prodded the personto do it and there was no evidence of asevere financial or romantic setback -common causes of suicides - to suggestwhy it happened. That it happened daysbefore Christmas made it a conversationpiece for the next two hours around theMOPC round table.

Who would feel like ending one's lifeduring a happy time like Christmas?

I think it was former President

Diosdado Macapagal's press secretaryand now Philippine ambassador toPalau Leo Parungao who gave the mostplausible explanation why there is ahigh incidence of suicides during theChristmas season: Christmas is a sea-son of love and happy times so thatwhen an individual finds himself undu-ly depressed at this time, the discrepan-cy drives a painful contrast that canonly exacerbate despair and self-pity.

I tend to believe that it is in the con-text of this dark sense of despair andforeboding that one-third of Filipinossee only a sad Christmas in the offing.And it is going to be illogical to thinkthat so many Filipinos will commit sui-cide either. A few of them might andthat has been a common scene thesedays - desperate parents opting to endtheir lives with their children in tow.Many of us saw some of these onprimetime television news.

The extent of desperation and cyn-icism that now stalks the Philippinelandscape is not new. There was a timewhen the people of France during the18th century and the people of TsaristRussia in the early 20th century under-went the same desperation and thehunger that found their people compet-ing with rats in scavenging for food intrash bins. Those social conditionscaused two of the greatest and bloodiestpolitical upheavals in history. T h eFrench and the Russian revolutionsproved that extreme hunger awakensthe primal instinct of people to embracethe law of the jungle, driving them totake a last ditch gamble to safeguardtheir survival.

Steal all you want but make surethat the people are properly fed. Whenone man's desperation reaches starva-tion level, reason is sidelined andinstinct takes over. But when wholefamilies and communities go hungry,collective instinct takes over. The des-peration of those who have nothing andthose others who have little to lose is atsunami waiting to be activated by theslightest jolt of a singular act of injus-tice or inhumanity.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo shouldnot delude herself that her co-opted andpampered military and police generalscan protect and preserve her regimewhen the equation reaches this level ofdesperation. The deposed French andRussian monarchies commanded betterrespect, fealty and loyalty from theirgenerals but to no avail. Their generals,like ours, commanded soldiers and jun-ior officers whose families lived underthe same pitiful social conditions. In theend, the French and Russian armiesjoined the ranks of the people and weall know what happened to the familiesof the Bourbon and Romanov royalhouses.

I wish you all a Happy New Year.Under the circumstances that we are in,I hope that is not wishful thinking.

You may email William M. Esposo at:w_esposo@yahoo.com

Could that be the Christmasbefore the political storm?

By: William M. Esposo

THE MILITA RY has ordered amanhunt for an army colonel whowas allegedly involved in the latestdestabilization attempt against thegovernment.

Lieutenant ColonelBuenaventura Pascual, A r m e dForces spokesman, identified thesuspected putschist as LieutenantColonel Orscarlito Mapalo.

Mapalo has been restricted tomilitary headquarters sinceSeptember after he publicly criti-cized the military's promotion sys-tem.

Pascual said Mapalo eluded hisguards and left the camp onDecember 21. “[Camp Aguinaldocommander] General Aleo hasordered his [Mapalo] rearrest,”Pascual told reporters.

“Before he [Mapalo] wentmissing, we had an intelligencereport of destabilization moves andthis was further bolstered with hisescape,” Pascual said.

Mapalo escaped a day beforethe burial of movie actor anddefeated presidential candidateFernando Poe Jr.

Justice Secretary RaulGonzalez said groups had plannedto agitate the mamoth crowd thatjoined Poe's funeral march intooverthrowing the Arroyo adminis-tration. The march, however, waspeaceful.

The military is also investigat-ing the involvement of ColonelJose Gamus in the destabilizationplot.

Gamus campaigned for Poe inthe May election in violation ofmilitary regulations and is confinedto quarters. (INC)

Militaryordersmanhuntfor colonellinked tocoup plot

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Steal all you want but make sure that the people

are properly fed. When oneman's desperation reachesstarvation level, reason is

sidelined and instinct takesover. But when whole familiesand communities go hungry,

collective instinct takes over.The desperation of those who

have nothing and those otherswho have little to lose

is a tsunami waiting to be activated by the slightest joltof a singular act of injustice

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18 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

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Corruption bloats cost of doing business in RPBy MAX ESTAYO

The cost of doing business in thePhilippines is one of the highest in Asia.

In countries such as the Philippineswhere corruption is pervasive, the costcan amount to more than 25 percent of afirm's sales, according to the Wo r l dDevelopment Report 2005.

As a result, the report said,investors are not inclined to open shopin the Philippines.

The cost of registering a property inthe country amounts to more than 5 per-cent of the value of the property, as inIndonesia.

Bribes alone costs firms more than4 percent of their total sales, again thesame level as in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, electricity expensesamount to 10 percent of firm's sales, alevel comparable to India and Kenya.

In a recent World Bank study, 35percent of respondents cited corruptionas a key problem in the Philippines.

Compounding this problem is thecountry's poor infrastructure. Publicinvestment in building roads and relatedinfrastructure accounts for less than 3percent of the gross national product,one of the lowest in Asia.

As a result, the World EconomicForum ranked the Philippines 68th outof 75 countries in overall quality andsufficiency of infrastructure.

The country also ranks very low inservice delivery. With respect to itsAsian neighbors, the Philippines is 8thout of 11 in the quality of electric sup-ply, 6th out of 12 in telephone sub-

scribers per 100 people, and 6th out of12 in total road network.

All this has resulted in the declineof the country's competitive ranking,from 35 in 2000 to 52 in 2004, accord-ing to WEF.

This affects the country's ability toattract investors.

The World Bank said the countryhas one of the lowest foreign directinvestments (FDI) in the region. FDIs tothe country in terms of percentage

points slipped from 2.2 percent of grossdomestic product in 1997-2001 to 1.3percent in 2002-2003.

The WB said a reduction in corrup-tion in the country to the low levels inSingapore would raise the ratio ofinvestments to GDP by 6.6 percent andrate of annual per capita GDPgrowth by1.65 percent. (Copyright 2005) Wi t hpermission from Malaya. All RightsReserved

avoid destruction of our environment,"Enales said.

There are at least 32 pending appli-cations for the exploration of bauxiteand other mineral resources in theregion, Alburo revealed.

At present, there are two existingmining operations in the region. One isin Homonhon Island, in Guiuan, Eastern

Samar and the other in Palompon,Leyte.

The Heritage Mining Corp. isengaged in chromite mining inHomonhon while the Phechem IndustryCorp. is quarrying limestone inPalompon.

Aware of the opposition to miningoperations by environmentalist and

Catholic-backed groups in Samar,Alburo said that while he respected theiropinion, these mineral resources mustbe explored and used for the benefit ofthe greater number of people.

"We really have to consider otheroptions. (Preserving) the environmentand conducting a mining operationcould co-exist," he said. INS

TACLOBAN CITY- Eastern Visayaswould greatly benefit from the SupremeCourt’s recent decision to open up min-ing operations in the country to foreigncompanies, say regional officials of theMines and Geosciences Bureau.

Loreto Alburo, regional MGBchief, said Eastern Visayas is one of thecountry's richest regions in terms ofmineral resources. He added that theregion's huge bauxite deposit alonewould be more than enough to helpimprove the country's financial condi-tion.

"Based on our study, in Samarprovince alone, there is a big bauxitedeposit that is worth P24 billion, a bigamount that is more than enough for thegovernment to get out itself of its pres-ent fiscal problem and even pay some ofour debts," Alburo told the media.

Alburo said that there are408,240,634 tons of bauxite depositsthat are spread in 194,900 hectares ofland on Samar Island waiting to beexplored.

Aside from bauxite, which is usedin the production of aluminum, EasternVisayas is also rich in other mineralresources like gold, copper, chromiteand silver.

But the Freedom from DebtCoalition (FDC)-Eastern Vi s a y a sdecried this move to open up miningoperations in the country even to foreignmining companies.

Rey Enales, regional secretary gen-eral of the FDC, said that mining opera-tions would only result in environmen-tal destruction.

"Just like logging activity, mining... is also one of the reasons for thedestruction of our environment. If thegovernment would indeed push (for) therevitalization of the mining industry, atleast it must be regulated and all propermeasures should be put into place to

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MORE than US$8 billion in remittancesfrom Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)is being projected by the government for2004.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomassaid the latest remittances recorded bythe Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)reached nearly US$6.937 billion duringthe third quarter.

"If the trend is maintained for themonths of November and December,OFW remittances for the entire year of2004 would exceed US$8.3 billion," saidSto. Tomas.

Citing a report of the BSP, Sto.Tomas said the increase in remittances ofOFWs was mainly because of theincrease in deployment of skilled andprofessional workers like nurses, healthworkers, office, food service staff andproduction workers. (MSN)

OFW remittances in 2004 expected to hit 8 Billion dollars

ALPHA PHI OMEGA (New Jersey)& MANILA POST are accepting donationsof clothings, food, cannedgoods, blankets and moneyfor victims of floods and landslides brought on by TYPHOON WINNIE in the Philippines

APO/ MANILA POSTcan be reached at the following e-mail addresses:keem411@earthlink.netmanpost@aol.com

For further infos and pick-up CALL:(908) 265-6290

Send your donations at:MANILA POSTP.O. Box 179 Millburn, NJ 07041Attn: RP Typhoon Relief Effort

PHILIPPINE FLOODSAND LANDSLIDES

RELIEF EFFORT

20 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

MANILA, Philippines - Tens of thou-sands of Filipinos filled Manila's streetsWednesday, Dec. 22, 2004, for the funer-al of Fernando Poe Jr., the actor-turned-presidential candidate who came to sym-bolize the aspirations of this country'spoor.

Security was tight as a horse-drawnhearse with Poe's coffin led a massiveburial procession from the SantoDomingo Church to Manila's NorthC e m e t e r y. Crowds shouted the actor'sname and waved his posters as the

The coast is clear for singer-actressZsa Zsa Padilla and long-time lover, com-edy king Dolphy, to finally walk down theaisle. That is, if they still want to.

The Court of Appeals recently uphelda lower court decision more than a yearago, granting annulment of Padilla's mar-riage of more than two decades to dentistModesto Tatlonghari.

Padilla, 40, and Dolphy, 76, havebeen together for nearly 16 years, nearlythe same period that Padilla had been try-ing to get her marriage annulled. Padilla,a veteran singer and television personali-ty, has a daughter by Tatlonghari, 20-year-old Karylle, who herself is a singerand actress.

Dolphy, whose real name is RodolfoVera Quizon, has 17 children by four dif-ferent women. He has never married. Thiscould change with Padilla's marriage nowannulled, although rumors have it thattheir relationship is on the rocks.

Sources said Padilla wants out as sheis in a "dilemma" trying to find a life ofher own possibly amid the complexitiesof having a lover with a large family. Ithas likewise been rumored that Padilla isnot getting along too well with Vandolph,Quizon's son by actress Alma Moreno.

But definitely there's no third partyinvolved, according to sources. W h e nasked of these rumors, Padilla replies thatshe and Quizon still sleep on the same bedand would neither confirm nor deny they

are calling it quits. Quizon and Padilla have been plan-

ning to get married for the longest time- since 2003, in fact. It was supposed tohappen in December of that year afterthe Parañaque City regional trial courtdissolved the marriage of Padilla andTatlonghari in August. This, however,never took place after a restrainingorder from the Office of the SolicitorGeneral (OSG) came out while the casewas pending at the CA.

And in a latest development, theCAgranted Padilla's motion to considerthe government's withdrawal of itsopposition to the annulment case. In aone-page resolution penned by JusticeDelilah Vidallon-Magtolis, the CASpecial Fourth Division said the appealfiled by the OSG against the annulment"is declared withdrawn and terminat-ed."

This was after Padilla informed theCA that the OSG already withdrew itsopposition before the Parañaque RTChearing the case.

In seeking the annulment of hermarriage, Padilla cited Ta t l o n g h a r i ' spsychological incapacity. But a citycounsel filed a motion urging the courtto reconsider its decision on groundsthat Padilla was not the victim of "mat-rimonial tragedy" because she gotinvolved in an "adulterous relationship"with Quizon.

Padilla, Esperanza Padilla-Tatlonghari in real life, has been withQuizon since 1990. The couple nowhave two children.

The government counsel saidPadilla violated public policy and themoral code when she entered into arelationship with Quizon while she wasstill legally married to Tatlonghari.

The counsel alleged that Padilla'sadulterous relationship made her psy-chologically incapacitated, not her hus-band.

In appealing the decision, the coun-sel said the RTC judge merely consid-ered the psychological findings favor-able to Padilla, and not the fact that psy-chologist also stated that the singer-actress also needed counseling.

The counsel said annulling themarriage of Padilla to Tatlonghari couldserve as a precedent to unrestricted andindiscriminate filing of annulmentcases and destroy the image of familycherished and protected by the govern-ment.

Under the circumstances in Padillaand Quizon's supposedly rocky rela-tionship even with the decision of theCA, will the couple still push throughwith their long-delayed plan to get mar-ried? STAR

marchers made their way along majorthoroughfares closed to traffic.

There were no incidents reportedafter Poe's widow, actress Susan Roces,asked mourners not to turn the funeralinto a political event.

Poe, 65, died of a stroke last weekwithout conceding May's presidentialelection. His supporters still contendthey were cheated by President GloriaMacapagal Arroyo. Arroyo's campdenied any wrongdoing.

Hours earlier, a long line of mourn-ers - some who waited longer than 12

hours - filed past Poe's glass-coveredcoffin at the church.

Felomena Sadullo, 70, from Poe'snorthern province of Pangasinan,clutched a worn-out scrap book of theactor's pictures and magazine clip-pings, titled ``You are my world.'' Shesaid she had rescued the book from thenumerous storms that batter the impov-erished archipelago.

``Each time a storm comes this isthe first thing I save,'' she said.

One of Poe's best-rememberedscreen roles was in the true story of a

teacher who became a rebel leader,fighting greedy landlords in the 1920s,when the Philippines was still a U.S.colony.

A veteran of 200 action films, Poe'sforte was the fist-swinging underdoghero. He was a five-time winner in thePhilippine version of the Oscars.But he may be remembered even morefor his brief foray into politics. Thepolitical novice and high schooldropout said he believed he could unitethe nation because ``I am not a politi-cian.'' (AP)

Filipinos Pay Tribute to "Da King"ENTERTAINMENT

Going bold is now erased from themind of Rica Peralejo. No matter what,she doesn’t want to bare in a movieanymore. Not that she has anythingagainst it, but because, she feels, shehas had enough of it.

As it is, she was in nine (9) boldflicks. And she said, “When you'vedone almost 10 bold pictures, howmany parts of your body have you notshown yet?” Naturally, she won’t go allthe way.

Rica told in a presscon of her newshow at ABS-CBN 2, Ek! Channel withMarvin Agustin, Dominic Ochoa andAngelika dela Cruz, that her being abold star was actually by accident.

When she was offered by VivaFilms her first bold outing, BalahibongPusa (Cat’s Fur), she immediatelyturned it down after reading the script.She simply could not imagine herselfbaring her body on the big screen.

But, after persistent persuasions,

etc., she decided to give bold flicks atry.

She admits that, at any rate, herentry into the bold scene has created animpact on her showbiz career.

Rica, no to ‘all the way’

Rica Peralejo

Ousted Philippine President Joseph Estrada strokes the hair of his best friend andformer Presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. as he attends his wake Tuesdayevening Dec. 21, 2004 at Santo Domingo Church. Estrada was allowed by an anti-graft court briefly from detention to attend Poe Jr.'s wake. Poe Jr. died Dec.14 fol-lowing a massive stroke. He was 65. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

Millions of FPJ mourners march along Espana St in Quezon City during the funer-al march for the movie icon towards the North Cemetary in Manila. JOE GALVEZ/ PNS

Dolphy and Zsa Zsa may now marry

Dolphy ans SzaSza

21MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

22 MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

SPORTS

First Gentleman Foundationexecutive director Teresa Mangahassent word that President Arroyo’shusband, also known as AttorneyMike, is sharing his wishes for theholiday season.

In his own words, here are theFirst Gentleman’s New Year wishes:

"Unity that all those involved insports move and act in one directionfor the Filipino athlete and the coun-try".

"Overall championship in theSoutheast Asian (SEA) Games2005. If Vietnam could do it (in2003), why can’t we? We’ve got theraw talent and the corporate sectorhas been awakened to help out. Withthe government all-out in its sup-port, we should be able to achieveour goal."

" A Filipino Olympic goldmedal in Beijing (in 2008)."

For her part, Mangahas said herpersonal wish is "the successfulstaging of the 2005 SEAGames andthe emergence of more sports heroesfor kids to emulate."

More wishes: Talk "N’ Text team owner

Manny Pangilinan–"My three wish-es for Christmas? First, A s i(Taulava) back to Talk ‘N’ Text.Second, a UAAP championship forAteneo. Third, an NCAA champi-onship for San Beda."

Sportsman and promoter Carlos(Bobong) Velez–"For myself, fami-ly and friends, good health andpeace of mind. For our country,peace and economic prosperitywhich will have to start with a trans-formation of our hearts and a deter-mination to do something positiveno matter how seemingly insignifi-cant to move our country forward.We can begin within our own sur-roundings and community like notlittering or by just being kinder toeveryone we meet."

Mixed martial arts Hall ofFamer Alvin Aguilar–"More inter-national recognition for Filipinoathletes. A bigger and even betterURCC (Universal Reality CombatChampionships). More trainingmaterials for MMA (mixed martialarts)."

Multi-awarded broadcast jour-nalist and diehard La Salle alumnusMike Enriquez–"Harmony, unityand prosperity for all Filipinos. AChristmas wish and a dream."

Quezon City councilor FranzPumaren, recently signed to a three-year renewal as La Salle coach–"My

three wishes: That there will be betteropportunities for my children and allof the youth of our land. Good healthfor my family and loved ones. Thatthere be better performance on alllevels so that our country can recovereconomically and that we may trulyhave a peaceful country that all of uscan be proud of. And may the victimsof different typhoons find solace inconcerned hands that will reach outto them. A blessed and meaningfulChristmas to all."

Cebuana Lhuillier team managerDanny Francisco–"That our nationalathletes in all sports be given propersupport in local and internationaltraining and competition. That theybe given true recognition as ournational athletes now and in the yearsahead. That private entities supportour National Sports Associations forthe continued growth of our nationalathletes and programs. That peace,sincerity and good health continueupon us and our loved ones by thegrace of our Lord."

Coach E basketball camp direc-tor and San Miguel All-Stars projectdirector Eric Altamirano–"I just wishthat in the midst of the gift-buyingand parties, we do not forget the realessence of Christmas which is thebirth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mypersonal wish is for my kids and eventhe next generation to have a safe andpeaceful place to live in. I wish thatour country will finally have a long-term basketball program that willaddress the need to develop the grass-roots level."

Former Philippine BasketballAssociation commissioner JunBernardino–"My three wishes: Lesspolitics, more governance. Less cor-ruption, more job opportunities. Lessa n i m o s i t y, more unity among oursports leaders. May the New Yearbring us all new hopes and bettertomorrows."

Sports agent DannyEspiritu–"My first wish is that Godcontinues to protect my family fromharm and spare them of sickness andpain in life. Second, I hope that thesport that I love, basketball, will besuccessful in terms of harmonyamong the heads of all associationsthat have a stake in the game. Third,I hope that our nation moves up eco-n o m i c a l l y." With permission fro mThe Philippine Star andwww.philstar.com.

The Voice

of Filipinos

in America

www.RadioPinoyUSA.com

First Gentleman’s wishes

Reyes named to coach RP 5MANILA–As expected, Chot Reyes,the dynamic, young mentor who guidedCoca-Cola to a historic championshipin the pro league two years ago, wasofficially chosen yesterday to coach thenational basketball team.

From the very start since the PBAassumed commitment of handling the

preparation and training of the teami n all ABC-sanctioned tournaments,Reyes was the overwhelming pick tomake it over three other reliable benchtacticians.

Saying that Reyes has a better all-around vision for the national quintetand a superior detailed program in thenext two years, PBA c o m m i s s i o n e r

Noli Eala announced Chot's appoint-ment yesterday after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with the league's Board ofGovernors at the Chateau 1771Restaurant in Pasig.

There were no objections from the10-man Board the moment Eala pre-sented his 9-page recommendation, adecision derived at after a long three-

month process that studied the fouraspirants through print questionnairesand interviews while drawing inputsfrom former commissioners RudySalud and Jun Bernardino.

"What was most significant by thedecision to name Reyes as head coachis his international experience thatwould be useful in future competi-tions," said Eala of Reyes, who acted aschief assistant and scout to Cone in the1998 Asian Games.

"Chot presented a complete and in-depth vision for the national team. Hewas the more prepared. He was fullyexpressive with the completeness of hislong-term vision," Eala added. "He ismore knowledgeable when it comes tointernational play."

In assuming the post, Reyes beatout Cone, Joel Banal of Talk 'N Textand Red Bull's Yeng Guiao.

Reyes will be the fourth man sinceRobert Jaworksi, Sr., Norman Black,Cone and Jong Uichico to handle an all-pro national team since the Philippinesdecided to bring PBAplayers into inter-national competition in the 1990Beijing Asian Games.

No one succeeded in dethroningChina as Asia'a powerhouse, however.Jaworski, Sr., with Black as his assis-tant, managed a silver medal in 1990 ,the best showing so far by the Filipinossince we started sending pro players.

Reyes, though, has other things inmind.

"We will do this like this was neverdone before," said the 41-year- o l dReyes, who admitted at first to bedumbfounded by Eala's decision. "We'lltry to win it in 2007. It's either we willhave a spectacular success or a spectac-ular failure. It's either we get it or wedie trying."

Reyes acknowledged the recom-mendation of the PBA and the vote ofconfidence he received from the board,adding he would consult with all partiesinvolved regarding the preparation ofthe Philippine team that includes,among others, the PBA as a league, theP B A coaches, the BasketballAssociation of the Philippines or evenMalacañang.

By February, Reyes hopes thenational team's buildup will alreadybe in full blast. The Philippines will gointo a series of pocket tournaments hereagainst invited international teams andwill be played only on weekends so asnot to disrupt the PBA schedule. PNA

First Gentleman MIKEARROYO

SPORTING CHANCE By Joaquin M. Henson

"Unitythat all those

involved in sports move

and act in one direction

for the Filipino athlete and the

country"– ATTORNEY MIKE

23MANILA POST SPECIAL EDITION NEW YEAR 2005

MUSTARD SEEDMAINTAINED BY: NESBEC

About the Mustard Seed The Mustard Seed consists of Scripture verses that aim to break the monotony of daily routine. It is hoped to serve as a reminder of God's presence in our lives,

especially while we are engulfed in our seemingly endless aspiration for great accomplishments. It is directed towards the student, the worker, the homemaker, and anyindividual who has access to the e-mail with the hope that the glorious power of the Holy Spirit may touch his/her heart, even for a moment,

to afford the mustard seed of faith a fertile soil to grow in.

Scripture verses are quoted verbatim from the New American Bible including commentaries, if any. As such, it is intended to be a non-discussion medium.

Should you have friends who do not have access to the internet, but have e-mail and wish to have them receive the Mustard Seed, please send a request to: DailyMustardSeed@aol.com giving the corresponding e-mail addresses.

Likewise, you may unsubscribe at any time by returning the Mustard Seed e-mail with the note, "UNSUBSCRIBE".

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Mark 11:25When you stand to pray,

forgive anyone against whom youhave a grievance, so that yourheavenly Father may in turn

forgive you your transgressions."

NAB Commentary - Mark 11:25+Mat 6:14; 18:35

Matthew 6:14If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly

Father will forgive you.

Matthew 18:35So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each

of you forgives his brother from his heart."

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