Case 8: Current Issues

Aquino: 43,650 new jobs from US investments

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III returned from his US trip on Tuesday and said the US$2.4 billion new investments secured during the trip would create 43,650 new jobs in the next 3 years.

"It's good to be home. In the last week, during our visit to the US, we were able to send our message across: the Philippines is open for business," Aquino said after his flight arrived at around 3:45 a.m. from California at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2.

Among the business firms that have committed to make new investments are: Coca-Cola, Pfizer, AES Corp., Hewlett-Packard, J.P. Morgan Chase, Global Services Inc., Century Properties, and General Electric.

Aquino said these investments are in power generation, consumer products, business and knowledge process outsourcing, health care, garments, and leather goods.

"We were able to secure a commitment of at least 43,650 new jobs in the next 3 years, including some 4,500 in construction-related jobs. And because of the multiplier effect, we estimate 200,000 more jobs to benefit our countrymen," he said.

Winning bidder AES Corp. will be expanding the capacity of the Masinloc Power Plant 2 by up to 660 megawatts with a project cost of $1 billion.

He said foreign investors feel the new confidence that has arisen from the new political and economic environment.

He also urged his critics to support the drive for progress.

"Hinihikayat ko ang ating mga kapwa Pilipino na panay pa rin batikos, makiisa sana kayo sa ating pagsisikap," he said. "Kararating lang po namin at medyo pagod, pero talaga naman bale wala po yon kung maganda naman ang dalang balita."

He declined to reveal details since he has not taken up the matter with the president. "I'm not sure if we can discuss it today," he said. -- with a report from Ruby Tayag, dzMM


Rescue near for Chile miners trapped for two months

In one of the most challenging rescue operations in mining history, engineers hope to finish drilling a shaft about 700m down to the miners by Saturday. But it will still then take days to hoist them to the surface one at a time in special capsules.

Relatives of the trapped miners sang and prayed around a bonfire at the mine-head in Chile's Atacama desert, waving banners and lighting candles for each of the men.

"We are calm. We've already held on for two months. Now we are in the closing stage," said Samuel Avalos (70) whose son is among the trapped. "We hope it's over."

Mining Minister Laurence Golborne, spearheading the rescue effort, said engineers must still decide how much of the shaft to line with metal tubing before lifting the miners out in the capsules.

Once the escape tunnel is finished, it would take anything from three to 10 days to get the men out, Golborne told reporters at the mine.

Following the August 5 collapse, engineers first bored tiny drill holes the width of a grapefruit to locate the men stuck in a tunnel 700m below ground -- equivalent to 233 storeys.

The men were found 17 days after the cave-in, miraculously all still alive, when the miners tied a message to the perforation drill, triggering celebrations across Chile.

Rescuers then used the ducts as umbilical cords to pass the miners high nutrition gels, water, medicine and later solid food to keep them alive.

The high cost of barangay elections.

It's the eve of the campaign period for the Barangay and SK elections. At the stroke of midnight, the streets and alleys of the metro will once again take the shape of a 3-dimensional collage, plastered from end to end with faces and promises of the nation's smallest political unit.

In Brgy. Tatalon, Quezon City, incumbent barangay chairman Benedick Banega preoccupies himself with barangay affairs, while in a room nearby, barangay workers and volunteers are busy mounting some 600 tarpaulins on bamboo frames.

"Barangay elections are more expensive now," Banega says. "During my father's time, candidates used to just write their names on old sacks. And hardly anyone wanted to run. But now, with more funds and more autonomy given to barangays, it's become more a more lucrative profession."

By Capt. Banega's estimation, his team has spent more than 50,000 pesos on campaign materials alone. Each kagawad gets 75 tarpaulin posters, while Banega gets 150 pieces. Each of these are priced at 24 pesos. This doesn't include the P45,000 they've allotted for their poll watchers on election day.

"Nowadays, you really have to spend to get ahead in the race," says Banega.

But it's a slightly different picture in Brgy. Baseco, Tondo, Manila. There are no tarpaulin posters at the headquarters of candidate Domingo "A-1" Ramirez, only used posters made of sack that some party-list group left lying around on the streets.

A-1's team was seen turning these old posters over so they could paint their names on the clean back side. In one corner of the room, volunteers are cutting up some old donated cardboard, and using a rubber stamp to mark them with "Vote A-1 for Brgy. Captain."

And plastered on the wall are different-sized, home-made printouts of the running kagawads, with the only thing in common being the face of their candidate for chairman.

I don't have any money, so the kagawads have adopted my face on their own campaign posters," A-1 Ramirez declares proudly. "Poverty is not a hindrance for me."

By the team's computation, they have spent just a little more than 10,000 pesos, including P1,400 for 2 gallons of paint, P80 for the single rubber stamp, and about P300 for refills of the stamp pad.

Ramirez initially tried to collect 1,000 pesos from each kagawad, but not everyone could come up with the money. Now, they're powered by donations after swallowing their pride.

"All the 3 other candidates for chairman here are millionaires. I'm the only one who's poor. I guess all I can offer is heart," Ramirez chuckles.

But Ramirez concedes that money does matter in any election, big or small. He says he would spend more if he had more.

But with the campaign period starting in just a few hours, and with only 10 days of campaigning allowed, he can only pin his hopes on those in Baseco who can look past the re-used sacks and dirty cardboard giveaways…and see promise behind his persistence.


Super typhoon Juan makes landfall in Northern Luzon

Thousands of families in Isabela and Cagayan provinces were evacuated to safety as super typhoon "Juan" (international name: Megi) swept across Northern Luzon on Monday.

Packing maximum winds of 225 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, Juan slowed down as it made landfall in the Northern Sierra Madre mountain range shortly before noon.

According to the Twitter account of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the agency's Aparri Radar recorded that the 'eye' of typhoon Juan made landfall at Estagno Point near Divilacan Island on the eastern coast of Isabela province at 11:25 a.m.

The rugged Northern Sierra Madre mountain range on the sparsely populated eastern coast of Luzon helps shields the fertile plains, and the north's food basket, from the ferocious winds.

Typhoon Juan is expected to exit the country from the Ilocos Sur and La Union areas tomorrow morning. The rainfall rate is 50 to 65 millimeters of rain per hour.

According to an Associated Press report, Juan carries "ferocious winds and heavy rainfall" and is the most powerful typhoon to threaten the country in four years. In 2006, typhoon Reming's 250 kph winds set off mudslides that buried entire villages and killed about 1,000 people in the Bicol region.

Trucks, rescue boats and food packs have been pre-positioned near vulnerable areas, said Benito Ramos, a senior disaster-response official.

"This is like preparing for war," he told the Associated Press. "We know the past lessons and we're aiming for zero casualties."

According to a CNN report, meteorologist Ivan Cabrera called typhoon Juan (Megi) a "monster storm" and warned that it could damage thousands of hectares of agricultural land along its path.

The storm could trigger landslides and floods as wide areas of northern Luzon will see 300 mm of rain, while more isolated pockets may see up to 500 mm, added CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.

PAGASA reminded residents living in low-lying and mountainous areas under storm signals to take precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides.

It also warned residents in coastal areas under signals 4, 3 and 2 against possible storm surges.