NAIA on terrorist alert

Security tightened following foiled attempt to bomb flights from UK
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter

Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s premier gateway, was placed on high alert Friday following the discovery of a plot in the United Kingdom to blow off planes bound for the United States. Going by the emergency advisory of the US Department of Homeland Security, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) tightened security measures for all passengers bound for the US. The US government has raised its threat level to Severe, or Rea, for commercial flights originating from the UK and bound for the US. All other flights bound for the US have a threat level of High, or Orange. US-bound passengers are prohibited from putting liquids or gels in their hand-carried luggage, but these items can be checked in, according to a memorandum from Police Supt. Rizalino Roxas, chief of operations of the MIAA Airport Security Center. Robert Uy, MIAA head executive assistant, said other security measures such as frisking are still in place. Airlines have also issued similar security advisories. Security forces guarding the country’s other airports were also on full alert to thwart attacks by al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants. “It’s a precaution . . . it’s better to fear, so you have a high level of alertness, than to be complacent. This can blow up in our faces,” the National Security Adviser, Secretary Norberto Gonzales, said in an interview in Camp Aguinaldo. In Camp Crame the Philippine National Police’s Deputy Chief for Administration, Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, said the Aviation Security Group was placed on full alert right after the attempt to blow up planes from Britain was reported. Earlier in the day, President Arroyo called on the people to be extraordinarily vigilant, but said she was not ordering the police and the military to raise their alert levels.Palace spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that while the government understands the danger posed by the disrupted threat, the government is confident the Armed Forces and police authorities could safeguard the people.Around the world, airlines were struggling on Friday to recover from the chaos caused after the discovery of a plot to bomb flights from Britain to the United States. Passengers were facing delays and tighter checks as authorities imposed stricter security measures while trying to clear a backlog of thousands of air travelers who were stranded when flights were canceled on Thursday. New restrictions on hand luggage were causing flights heading to the United States to be delayed, forcing passengers to empty their carry-on bags and pack the contents into luggage they were checking in to the hold. European airports said that while flight schedules to Britain were slowly returning to normal, flights from Heathrow Airport were still experiencing delays. British Airways canceled all its short-haul flights to Europe and Tripoli on Thursday after the plot was uncovered, but said on its website it “expects to operate the vast majority of its flights on Friday.”Passengers at airports from Asia to Africa were also facing delays owing to the introduction of new guidelines, which banned products such as shampoos and deodorants from being brought on to planes. The US Department of Homeland Security posted notices at Hong Kong airport saying passengers could not carry “liquids or gels of any size at the screening checkpoint or in the cabin of the aircraft.”Travelers forced to repack their bags at Hong Kong said they understood the need for the increased security. Michael Rollings, a 42-year-old businessman from Chicago, said: “They let me keep my Aspirin but I’ve just lost my deodorant and my toothpaste. It is a small price to pay for preventing terrorist acts. “I’m happy to be traveling today. We can’t let these punks affect our everyday lives.” European airlines said their services to London were getting back on track, although they faced a logistic nightmare as people who were unable to fly on Thursday clamored for seats on flights. A spokesman for Frankfurt Airport in Germany, one of Europe’s busiest, said “traffic has returned to normal.”The German carrier Lufthansa, forced to cancel dozens of flights on Thursday, said it was advising passengers they had to comply with the stringent new regulations. In Madrid the Iberia Airline said it was switching its biggest aircraft, the Airbus 340-600, capable of carrying 400 passengers, on to flights between Spain and Britain in an attempt to clear the backlog. Paris’ main Charles de Gaulle Airport said flights to the United States and Britain were experiencing some delays, but planes were taking off. At another busy European hub, Amsterdam’s Schiphol, authorities said delays and cancellations were still affecting flights early in the day. “Things are only slowly getting back on track,” a spokeswoman said. --With Anthony Vargas, Sam Mediavilla and AFP

DepEd eases rules on deregulating schools

By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter

THE Department of Education has eased the policy on deregulating private elementary and secondary schools by allowing the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines to conduct voluntary accreditation of schools.
The federation comprises the Association of Christian Schools, Colleges and Universities Accrediting Agency Inc., the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation.
Private schools that are accredited can raise tuition and other fees without seeking permission from the department, have their own school curriculum and operate without the department’s supervision.
Under the department’s order, private schools that are recognized by the department and have had graduates for at least two consecutive years can apply for accreditation.
Schools that have been granted Level 1 accredited status enjoy partial administrative deregulation, financial deregulation in terms of setting tuition and other school fees, partial curricular autonomy and authority to graduate students without approval by the department.
They are also given priority in the awarding of grants and subsidies from the department for scholarships of students and faculty.
Schools with Level 2 accredited status have full administrative deregulation in the promotion of students, can impose their tuition and full curricular autonomy where they can modify their curriculum without the department’s approval. In addition, they enjoy limited visitation, inspection and supervision by department personnel; have the authority to graduate students without the department’s approval; and are given priority in grants and subsidies.
Besides getting similar privileges granted to schools with Level 1 and 2 accredited statuses, schools granted Level 3 accredited status have full curricular autonomy including the authority to innovate without the need for the department’s approval and freedom from visitation, inspection and supervision by the department’s supervisors.

Dr. Simon Chua: First Filipino recipient of the Paul Erdos Award for mathematics

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

By Jonathan M. Hicap

UNDER his leadership, he catapulted young Filipino mathematicians to world competitions, which produced a string of awards and medals for the country. Now, his time has come to be recognized by the world for his efforts.
Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines (MTG) and principal of the Zamboanga Chong Hua High School, is the first Filipino to receive the Paul Erdos Award, given by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions (WFNMC), an affiliated study group of the International Commission for Mathematical Instruction. Chua received the award in Cambridge, England, during the federation’s conference from July 22 to 28.
Chua is proud that through his award, the Philippines was recognized in mathematics.
“It would be an understatement to say that I only felt happy. Indeed, I was on cloud nine. I felt a real sense of achievement for my country and the Filipino people. Since I have been working hard to bring the Philippines into the frontline of international mathematics competition, I feel honored to dedicate this recognition to every Filipino,” Chua told The Manila Times.
When he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on July 30, he was surprised to find that a welcome party was eagerly waiting for him composed of MTG trainers, parents and students.

The big challenge
For the last 10 years, the MTG, composed of teachers, has been training Filipino students to compete in international competitions. The MTG started in 1995 as a movement called “The Mathematical Challenge for Filipino Kids Training Program” founded by Chua and Rechilda Villame, MTG vice president. Today the MTG has almost 1,000 member-schools and 28 training centers nationwide.
Besides Chua and Villame, other officers of the MTG are Dr. Eduardo de la Cruz Jr., dean of the Institute of Education of Arellano University and MTG vice president for training and development; Robert Degolacion; Lucy Sia; Eugenia Guerra; Sanet Hipolito; Isidro Aguilar; Anthony Ang; Alma Luz Pasiliao and Josephine Tan.
Chua started as a substitute teacher in a Chinese school and spent two years teaching trigonometry, advanced algebra and analytic geometry.
After getting his BS Math degree in college, he quit his job and became the assistant manager to the family’s chemical business. After a while of soul-searching, he went back to teaching and became the chairperson of the math department in a Manila university. He taught college students that mathematics was a fun subject.
Establishing the MTG opened doors for young mathematicians to compete and win in international competitions.
This year alone, young Filipino mathematicians won in the 2006 Indonesia Elementary Mathematics International Contest in Bali, Canadian Math Competition, 7th Invitational World Youth Intercity Mathematics Competition in Wenzhou, China, and the 10th Po Leung Kuk Primary World Mathematics Olympiad held in Hong Kong.
Before students can be selected for international math contests, they must undergo rigorous training by the MTG.
Chua said that in the training, MTG emphasizes commitment from every student who want to make it in the international scene.
“Nothing can substitute care and affection for these MTG kids. I always make them feel that they are important in which they are. Any student for that matter would try to achieve excellence if the teacher shows trust on his/her students. As for discipline, well, I only show my commitment and dedication to make them learn and good things follow. Students, in return, give their sense of commitment to excel in international competition. I believe that students can never show their potential and their giftedness in an atmosphere of fear and harsh discipline. What MTG does with these kids is to draw the best from them and for sure the best just come out,” he said.
Under Chua’s leadership, MTG became a formidable force in mathematics training in the country. Dr. De la Cruz praises Chua for his personal commitment to ensuring the highest level of training.
“[Dr. Chua] is a man of work, a man of service and a man of numbers. He always thinks of how he can help students and teachers improve their math abilities. He is always there to share his expertise and even materials to those who love math,” he said.
Degolacion, MTG office director, says Chua is an epitome of someone who “has a great passion for mathematics. Such passion is oftentimes translated to his commitment in making mathematics shine in Philippine education.”
He describes Chua as a person with full of humility and a big heart.
“Dr. Chua always makes himself available to everybody. He never makes himself first in anything he does. For him, the welfare of others is his top priority,” Degolacion said.
For many students, math is a dreaded subject in school but Chua assures that math is a great subject to learn. He says students should “first open their hearts to mathematics.”
“I know there are so many students who have adverse attitude toward this subject. If they can open only their hearts for mathematics, they will see the beauty of the subject. Second, understand its language. Anyone who knows its language that comes in number form learns to appreciate mathematics. Third, students must feel its importance in life. Since mathematics makes the world go round, then, students must consider how math influences our daily life. With these inputs, I can encourage them to give their best foot forward for mathematics and achieve proficiency and excellence,” said Chua.
Chua said the Paul Erdos Award has only encouraged him even more to dedicate his life to uplifting math education among students.
“Receiving this award makes feel challenged to do better than my best. It gives me more responsibility to make the mathematics education in the Philippines achieve a greater height so that every student shall be more competitive in any international math challenge,” he said.

New escape route planned for Filipinos in Lebanon

Sunday, August 06, 2006

FILIPINO workers fleeing Lebanon will be evacuated by boat from Beirut to Syria after the land routes out of Lebanon were bombed by Israeli jets Friday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos said Saturday.
At the weekly Kapihan sa Sulô news forum Conejos said that Filipino evacuees will have to take a boat from the coastal area of Beirut to the Syrian port of Latakia, because the bridges linking Tripoli to Al Arida border near Syria were destroyed Friday.
“With the land route closed, we just have to explore how we could make that very immediate connection from the sea [of Beirut] straight to the port [in Syria],” he said.
Conejos said at least 450 OFWs were awaiting evacuation in Beirut. He said Task Force Lebanon, led by Ambassador Roy Cimatu, will go to Beirut to explore other options for safely transporting Filipinos out of the war-torn country.
“We have set an internal target just among us. In the next six to eight days we should have reached 10,000 OFWs. And when I say ‘reached’ that means we’ve actually talked to them, told them that the President wants them home; asked them to proceed to our relocation site,” Conejos said.
The task force has designated three pickup points for Filipinos who want to join the evacuation: Seidu, which would take care of the entire southern Lebanon; Zahle, the eastern area; and Tripoli, for northern Lebanon. There is also the alternative relocation center, with Beirut itself as the fourth pickup point.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it will evacuate the third batch of Filipinos from Beirut by sea to Cyprus following the bombing of the land route to the Syrian border.
IOM Manila spokesman Ruffy Villanueva told The Manila Times on Saturday the IOM has secured clearance to ship Filipinos in Beirut to Cyprus. He said, however, there is no date yet as to when the workers will arrive.
Last night the second IOM-chartered flight carrying 455 Filipinos arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The IOM earlier announced that the third batch of Filipinos was due to arrive Sunday.
Ida Mae Fernandez, IOM project officer, said the IOM has deferred the original repatriation plan after the “change in situation” in Beirut.
In a statement issued on Friday on its website, the IOM said an IOM convoy carrying 470 Filipinos and 250 Sri Lankans was to leave using the coastal highway to the Al Arida border crossing via Tripoli.
In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said President Arroyo has joined the growing number of world leaders seeking a peaceful solution to the war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.
Complying with the President’s order to evacuate all Filipinos in Lebanon, the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) has increased its standby fund to P500 million.
Bunye said on Saturday that the government is adopting a twin approach to arrive at a win-win solution that would ensure the safety of Filipino workers and as well as the promotion of a peaceful solution to the crisis.
“The situation is very fluid and our crisis team is exploring and exhausting all options to get our nationals into safe zones by finding and establishing alternative but secure egress from Lebanon,” Bunye said.
“At the diplomatic level, we are supporting all moves toward an early truce which is key to the security of our workers but in the meantime, we are working with all international institutions that are involved in safe have and travel issues on the ground,” he said.
Labor Secretary Arturo Brion said at a press conference the third round of funding increase initiated by the OWWA was necessary following the escalation in the fighting.
The OWWA allocated $2 million days after the war broke out and another $2 million the following week for a total of $4 million or roughly P210 million for evacuating and repatriating OFWs from Lebanon.
Labor Undersecretary for International Affairs Manuel G. Imson said 22 Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) officers in Beirut, Tel Aviv in Israel, and Damascus in Syria are assisting the OFWs in Lebanon.
Imson said the officers include social workers, and crucially, female POLO officers capable of assisting the female OFWs in Lebanon.
For his part, OWWA Administrator Marianito D. Roque reported that more than P100 million from the P500 million allocated by the OWWA had already been spent for bringing home OFWs from Lebanon.
He said the P500-million OWWA allocation is on top of the P150 million from the DFA and the P500-million supplementary budget appropriated by Congress.
Roque belied insinuations that the OWWA trust fund has been squandered. On the contrary, he said, the government had not only increased the fund to an unprecedented level of more than P8 billion but has implemented efforts to ensure that it remains “safe and intact.”
He said part of the effort to ensure the integrity of the OFW Trust Fund is the OWWA’s effort to recover some P489 million invested in the Smokey Mountain Project Asset Pool in the 1990s.--Jonathan M. Hicap and William B. Depasupil

New DepEd undersecretary named

Saturday, August 05, 2006

PRESIDENT Arroyo appointed the banker Teodosio Sangil Jr. as the new undersecretary for finance and administration of the Department of Education, taking over the position vacated by Juan Miguel Luz who resigned in April after he was transferred by Malacañang to the Department of Labor.
The 58-year-old Sangil was the country manager of Metrobank in Shanghai, China, before accepting the appointment as education undersecretary.
At Metrobank, he became general or country manager of Metrobank branches in Asia and regional head for European operations of Metrobank branches in London, Madrid, Barcelona, Turin, Vienna, Rome, Messina and Milan.
Sangil also worked for the overseas operations of Land Bank of the Philippines in Asia for 20 years.
New Education Secretary Jesli Lapus has been president of Land Bank before he won as congressman of the First District of Tarlac.
Sangil is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines where he took his Bachelor of Arts, certificate in governmental management and masters in public administration. He worked as a researcher at UP and taught in colleges including the Mindanao State University.--Jonathan M. Hicap

Taguig residents near shaky wall defy order

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter

DESPITE threats to their lives, residents of Pallar Village, Western Bicutan, Taguig City, refused to heed the order to evacuate issued by the local government.
Mayor Sigfrido Tinga of Taguig on Monday had declared the area a danger zone after a landslide left 23 houses in knee-deep mud. He noted that a 20-meter perimeter wall is threatening to fall over the houses after the landslide undermined its foundation. Part of the wall has already collapsed, he added.
The wall encloses McKinley Hills Village, a high-end property owned by Megaworld Corp., Tinga said, adding that it is showing cracks in places, and there is a strong possibility that it would collapse.
“It is imperative that the residents leave the area to give way to the repair or, if necessary, the demolition of the wall,” Taguig engineer Marcelo Serpajuan said.
Megaworld said it is an old wall that happens to be between its property and Pallar Village.
It was the floodwaters rushing in at the height of the storm that weakened the wall, said John Hao, the firm’s investor relations officer. It could not have been caused by the property’s drainage system, he added, which is working properly.
Hao said Megaworld will extend assistance to the dislocated families. He did not say what help the company had in mind.
Tinga is trying to convince the families to vacate their houses, promising that low-cost houses will be constructed and awarded to them.

DepEd union vows to work with Lapus

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

ALL’S well that ends well. New Education Secretary Jesli Lapus and the Department of Education Employees Union have buried the hatchet and settled their differences after a four-and-a-half hour meeting over the weekend.
Union president Domingo Alidon said they decided to support Lapus after he agreed to abide with the five “parameters” presented by the employees.
Alidon said Lapus agreed not to use DepEd for politicking, assuring the union officers that he will not run for any post next year and will stay as secretary for three to four years.
Lapus agreed to respect unionism, continue key education reforms, prevent politicians from intruding into the internal affairs of the department, including hiring and promotion of employees and management personnel.
Alidon also praised Lapus for agreeing to continue allowing union representation in the monthly DepEd management committee meeting.
He said the union officers will support Lapus’ programs for uplifting the quality of education. Alidon said they will monitor Lapus’ compliance with the parameters.
Alidon assured Lapus that the union will not hold rallies against him.
Lapus and 40 union officers met at Linden Suites on Friday night to thresh out their differences. Before Lapus assumed office, the department union threatened to hold rally and barricade the DepEd central office in Pasig to oppose his appointment.
Lapus assumed office Friday but was able to stop the rally through third-party negotiations with the union.
Lapus, former congressman from the first district of Tarlac, has pledged to work for more budget to improve the quality of education in the country.
He is also considering the proposal to change the school opening from June to September but said that this would need a thorough study since the rainy season, which is the main argument for the proposed change, varies from one area to the other in the Philippines. -- Jonathan M. Hicap

Lapus is now DepEd secretary

Saturday, July 29, 2006

AFTER a smooth turnover from Education Officer in Charge Fe Hidalgo, former representative Jesli Lapus of Tarlac on Friday assumed his new post as education secretary.
The threat of a rally or barricade against his assumption of office, originally planned by the DepEd Employees’ Union, fizzled out when Lapus assured them that he was open for a dialogue and was willing to listen to their grievances.
Domingo Alidon, union president, told The Manila Times that the union granted Lapus’ request for a dialogue, which was scheduled Friday night. Alidon said his group would present to Lapus its five parameters, which the union wanted Lapus to uphold.
The parameters are no politicking during Lapus’ term, respect for unionism, continuation of key education reforms implemented by Hidalgo and former secretaries, professional handling of the department and openness in all actions.
Alidon did not rule any future protests against Lapus, saying that their action would depend on the outcome of their dialogue.
On his first day in office, Lapus quickly went down to business. He held a meeting with regional directors and key officials and outlined his priorities for the department.
He stressed the need to improve the management and implementation of its programs. “I think it is not necessary to overhaul the existing programs of the department,” Lapus said in a statement. “I have seen the programs of the department, and there are very good programs. What it just needs is better management and implementation.”
Lapus said there is a need for the passage of the 2006 national budget for the department, which is now in the Senate, and for the department to get more resources for the improvement of the quality of education in the country.
Among his plans will be to coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the use of confiscated logs for manufacturing of more desks and chairs for public schools and the passage of a bill which will give the department 10 percent of the annual gross revenues of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., projected to be at around P2.5 billion a year.
Lapus said the adopt-a-school program will be relaunch where the private sector can help support public education.
Before his appointment as education secretary, Lapus served as Tarlac congressman for three consecutive terms. His term in office as congressman would have expired next year. He taught at the Asian Institute of Management, Ateneo de Manila University and Maryknoll College and served as agrarian reform undersecretary.
“We are optimistic that we will be able to harness a more energetic, more focused implementation of our programs and projects,” Lapus said. -- Jonathan M. Hicap

Airlines laud new security scheme at NAIA

Friday, July 28, 2006

THE improved security-screening procedure adopted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport gets the support of the Airline Operators Council.
Leoncio Nakpil, chairman of the association of airlines at the NAIA, said the new security scheme “is a welcome development. We are experiencing less delays since its implementation.”
Airport General Manager Alfonso Cusi said the measure is part of providing hassle-free boarding of passengers.
He pointed out that the final x-ray check before boarding has been moved to a new site behind the immigration counters at the departure area. The location is meant to address complaints of missing hand-carried bags.--Jonathan Hicap