by Luz Rimban VERA Files PHNOM PENH—In a village 15 kilometers south of this city, tourists from all over the world arrive every day to…
Making life worth living.
by Luz Rimban VERA Files PHNOM PENH—In a village 15 kilometers south of this city, tourists from all over the world arrive every day to…
By Tess Bacalla VERA Files RANGOON, Myanmar—Let it not be said that the month of March went by without the outside world taking a moment…
Noong Lunes, sa interbyu kay Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokesperson tungkol sa tawag ni US President Barack Obama kay Gloria Arroyo, sinabi niya na hindi nila pinapabayaan si “Nicole” ang alias na binigay ng media kay Suzette Nicolas, ang nag-akusa ng rape kay US Marine Cpl Daniel Smith.
Sabi ni Fajardo, “We have not abandoned Nicole, we will be supporting her all the way. And I’m sure therewill be some kind of a compromise agreement between the two countries so that we can come into terms for the best, for what would be the best for Nicole. I think that should be clear enough.
Nang tanungin siya kung ano yung compromise agreement na yun, ang sagot ni Fajardo, “I think ang ibig ko lang sabihin about the compromise agreement is that we will fight for her and we will be supporting her. We have not abandoned her. Ongoing naman ang negotiation natin with the US on Nicole’s case. “
Related story: China sends large patrol boat to Spratly islands
by Tessa Jamandre
VERA Files
The Philippines will soon initiate border talks with its neighbors and finally confront territorial issues it has long avoided, the most contentious being the dispute with Malaysia over Sabah, now that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed the Philippine Archipelagic Baseline Law.
The Baseline Law defines the limits of Philippine territory. It is these limits that will determine the country’s extended continental shelf, which is believed to contain substantial amounts of oil, natural gas, minerals and polymetals.
The Philippines has less than two months to beat the May 13, 2009 deadline for the submission of its claim over the extended continental shelf before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). The UN body, however, will not rule on a claim if it involves disputed territory.
Update: Rape victim Nicole in US “for good”, terminates services of lawyer.
It is no idle coincidence that the arrest of family members of disgraced Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia , former comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines happened at the time when calls for the abrogation of Visiting Forces Agreement is mounting.
They are part of a high-stakes power play that sadly reduces the Filipino people as pawns. For the United States, at stake is their being able to maintain their diminishing dominance in Asia Pacific amid China’s growing global influence. For Gloria Arroyo, it’s political survival.
Fourteen months away from the end of her corruption-riddled presidency, Gloria Arroyo has been begging for a photo-opportunity with the new U.S president thinking that the picture would negate the creeping impression that the Americans have written her off especially after the World Bank released the report that her husband Mike Arroyo is involved in corruption in public works projects.
Three days before the Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law ( Republic Act No. 9522 ) was signed last Wednesday, the United States protested “harrasment” by Chinese vessels of their mapping ship in international waters off China which once again underscores the volatility of the South China Sea.
Immediately after Malacañang announced the signing of the baseline law, China protested the inclusion of islands in the Spratlys and Scarborough shoal in Philippine territory as “regime of islands” even as Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who was the first one to file a baseline bill, accuses the Arroyo administation of “selling out” to the Chinese.
Trillanes insists that Scarborough shoal, off Zambales, should be within the country’s archipelagic baseline. By excluding the area, which was the scene of Philippine Navy skirmishes with Chinese forces in 1999, from the baseline, the country lost some 15,000 square nautical miles of Philippine territory.
Trillanes:a sellout Related story:US protests ‘harrassment’of Chinese vessels in South China Sea By Tessa Jamandre VERA Files President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Wednesday the Philippine Archipelagic…
Constitutionality of VFA affirmed
by Tetch Torres
Inquirer.net, Agence France-Presse
The Supreme Court has ruled that custody over convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith should be transferred from US to Philippine authorities and ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs to negotiate the move.
While affirming the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) that governs the military exercises between the two countries, the high court said the subsequent accord which Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney signed and which granted the US custody over Smith was “in violation of the VFA.”
President Arroyo is making a quick visit to the United States on Wednesday, catching by surprise even Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
Based on Arroyo’s original schedule, she should have left Milan, Italy last night (Manila time) for Saudi Arabia. She was expected in Bahrain Wednesday for an official visit.
A naughty mind in the Palace said maybe the President is still angling for a meeting, even if by chance, with US President Barack Obama.