US, Philippines set joint military exercises


The Philippines said Wednesday it would hold large-scale military exercises with the United States next month near an area where it is locked in a tense sea territorial row with China.

The manoeuvres, an annual event which this year will involve nearly 7,000 troops, will reinforce the close military ties between the longtime allies, armed forces chief Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa said.

"The cooperation between the two armed forces manifests the unswerving dedication and commitment of our security forces towards a more stable and secure Asia-Pacific region," Dellosa said in a statement.

About 4,500 US troops will join 2,300 Filipino counterparts in various exercises on the main island of Luzon and in Palawan from April 16 to 27.

Palawan is an island on the Philippines' southwest coast facing the South China Sea.

China and Taiwan claim all of the South China Sea, while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims to parts of it.

The territorial dispute over the waters, which are believed to sit atop vast deposits of gas and oil, has for decades been regarded as one of Asia's potential military flashpoints.

Tensions rose last year after the Philippines and Vietnam accused China of becoming increasingly aggressive in staking its claims.

The Philippines alleged last year that Chinese vessels fired on Filipino fishermen and harassed an oil exploration vessel in its waters.

The Philippines responded by calling for stepped-up military ties with the United States, triggering an angry response from China which does not want American involvement in the dispute.

The Philippine military declined to say exactly where in Palawan, or which waters off the island, that next month's military exercises would take place.

"There are different places of engagements (in Palawan)," Major Emmanuel Garcia, spokesman for the Philippine contingent, told AFP, refusing to name specific locations.

China claims waters close to the western edge of Palawan. However waters to the eastern side of Palawan are uncontested by China.

The US embassy in Manila said in a statement the exercises would include computer simulated command post drills, multiple field exercises, as well as medical, engineering, humanitarian and civic activities.

The exercises are called Balikatan, a Filipino word meaning shoulder-to-shoulder.

Twenty participants from other Southeast Asian countries are also expected to take part in the drills, the US embassy statement said.

PNoy to GOCCs: The people are our bosses









MANILA, Philippines - Nineteen government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) have turned over P29.25 billion worth of dividends to the national government.

President Aquino received the checks in a ceremony in Malacañang. The checks represent 2009 cash dividends following the completion of Commission on Audit (COA) reports and 2010 partial dividends.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) remitted the biggest amount at P14.23 billion, followed by Land Bank of the Philippines at P4 billion, and Development Bank of the Philippines at P2.8 billion.

In his speech, President Aquino said the ceremony should remind the GOCCs of their obligation to the people. He vowed: "GOCCs will no longer be milking cows for politicians and their wards."

"Today should also be a very clear reminder that this money belongs, not to your Board of Directors, not to this administration, but to the Filipino people. The people are our shareholders. It is their interest that we have been tasked to protect. We give them what they own, and we give them the government they rightfully deserve: one that works for the public interest. It is in their trust that we hold our respective offices. Sila ang boss ko. Sila ang boss ninyo. We must always remember that," Aquino said.

The President said the Palace would soon release guidelines on compensation for GOCC officials, following an executive order suspending the grant of perks to GOCC board members. GOCC directors would also be made to sign a performance contract.

"We are working on a process that will require GOCC directors to sign a performance contract with the Office of the President and their supervising secretaries. Non-performance of a material obligation will be a cause for removal from the Board," he said.

There will be a thorough review of the performances of GOCCs with the help of Congress.

"Analogous to zero-based budgeting, we will have to justify why each GOCC needs to be retained. Senator Drilon has already led the way with his GOCC Governance Act of 2011. We expect to work with him closely in reforming our GOCCs," he said.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said, every January starting this year, GOCCs will give their performance report to the President. He said this would pave the way for reform in the GOCCs.

Daylight has dawned in the GOCC world ng ating bansa, Purisima told reporters.

Meantime, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters that he has accepted his reappointment for the continuation of the country's monetary policy.

May mga Pinoy na nakatuklas na at kasalukuyang naglalaro ng War Games Soft Air dito sa Roma. Isang grupo na bumuo ng batalyon ng mga Pilipino laban sa batalyon ng mga Italyano. Para sa kanila isa itong larong may kakaibang karanasan, magandang ehersiyo sa katawan at pagpapahalaga sa ganda ng kalikasan. Masusubukan daw dito ang bilis ng galaw ng katawan, disiplina, pagkakaisa, tiwala sa sarili at kagrupo, at ang determinasyon sa pagpaplano. Ginanap ang larong ito kada araw ng linggo sa Kampo ng Via Malagrotta. Ang larong ito ay may target na makuha o maiuwi ang bandera ang siyang mananalo. Hindi nagpapahuli ang mga pinoy dito dahil may kooperasyon sila sa bawat isa at may taktika silang ginawa upang maigupo ang kalaban.
Taong 1985 naman ng simulan ito dito sa Italya. Ang Legionari Romani ay ang club ng asossasyon ng soft air na naglalaro ng war games dito sa Rome kung saan naging miyembro ang 8 pinoy sa loob ng tatlong taon hanggang sa kasalukuyan. Ang mga Pinoy na ring ito ay kasama na sa mga tournament tulad ng 24 at 36 hour battle. Nakilala ang mga pinoy na sina Henry Pantoja, Albert Malabrigo, Ghelly Barbosa, Rommel Moreno, Raymond Feliciano, Mark Anthony Luis Cervantes, Consul Jerome Castro at iba pang pinoy.
Samantala nasa 50 hanggang 60 miyembero ang kasali sa bawat isang club ng war games soft air at may 20 assosayon ang naglalaro na nito sa Roma. Si Erico Costodja ang kauna-unahang pinoy na nakatuklas ng larong war games dito sa Roma hanggang sa mahikayat ang ibang mga pinoy.
Kung nais maging miyembro o maglaro ng larong ito. Maaring tawagan sina Ghelly Barbosa at Henry PantoJa sa mga numbers na 3887566120, 3296651261.

Jocelyn I. Ruiz

The Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) second session on the Philippines comprehensively takes up the following issues:
Violations of civil and political rights, especially extrajudicial killings, massacres, enforced disappearances, torture, illegal detention, attacks on worker actions, bombings, strafings and forced mass evacuations.
Violations of the economic, social and cultural rights of the people under the auspices of "neoliberal globalization", including the violation of economic sovereignty and the national patrimony through iniquitous agreements and legislation, economic plunder by foreign and local exploiters, odious loans, bureaucratic corruption, exploitation of women, violations of children’s rights, exploitation of indigenous peoples, and environmental destruction.
Violations of the rights of the people to self-determination under the auspices of the US-directed "global war on terror" and the all-out war policy, including US violation of Philippine sovereignty and territory through iniquitous security agreements, actual crimes in US military intervention, all-out war policy, "terrorist" listing of revolutionary forces and progressive leaders and sabotage of peace negotiations.
We hereby invite you to attend the hearings from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday to Friday, 21-23 March 2007 to be held at the:

CHRISTUS TRIUMFATOR KERK
Juliana van Stolberglaan 154
2595 CL Den Haag
The Netherlands
And the announcement of the verdict and the solidarity program from 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, 25 March 2007 at the:
PAX CHRISTI KERK
Vlamenburg 2
2591 AS Den Haag
The Netherlands

We urge you to act in solidarity with the Filipino people and to attend the hearings of the cases and especially the issuance of the verdict. Your presence and support will help to strengthen the Filipino people’s resolve to struggle for justice, freedom and peace.
Thank you.

In solidarity,

Dr. Angelica Gonzales, Executive Director
International Coordinating Secretariat
secretariat@philippinetribunal.org
Please visit daily:http://www.tribunal-on-the-philippines.org
Mail: Postbus 1584, 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands
Mariahoek 16-17, 3511 LG Utrecht, The Netherlands