Maniolas

British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad, left, and with Inquirer president and CEO Sandy Prieto Romualdez and Inquirer employees —PHOTOS BY ROMY HOMILLADA Asked why he chose to be part of the Inquirer Read-Along Festival for the second time last week, British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad recalled how he first set foot in the country in 2013, just as the nation woke to the devastation wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in Tacloban, Eastern Visayas. “One of the ways in which we helped was not just in delivering food and aid,” he recounted. “We discovered the power of storytelling because a lot of kids were traumatized. As we went to some of the projects we funded, teachers and anybody who could would gather kids while their parents run around to rebuild their lives. And just through storytelling and acting out scenarios and small things, the kids were kept amused and distracted, which basically allowed them to be kids again,” Ahmad said. Bonding with kids through storytelling is something that the ambassador is familiar with. “As a father, we used to do this thing with my two sons where, just before going to bed, each one can pick a character—anything, an object or an animal,” Ahmad said. “My challenge was to tell a 15-minute story, completely made up that evening. The beauty of the story was, I would start off with whatever they gave me but what they would wait for was how, somewhere in the story, they would appear Read More …

LIMA, Peru—President Duterte plans to issue an executive order unilaterally declaring the lagoon of the disputed Panatag Shoal a marine sanctuary, where neither Filipinos nor Chinese may be allowed to fish. Mr. Duterte told Chinese President Xi Jinping about his plan during their bilateral meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum here, according to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who was present at the meeting. “The President has decided to declare that a sanctuary. That is a unilateral action from the government,” he said, referring to the triangular lagoon “as big as Quezon City” and known to be a spawning ground for fish. Panatag Shoal, internationally known as Scarborough Shoal, is a traditional fishing ground for Filipinos. China seized the shoal after a two-month standoff with the Philippines in 2012 but recently loosened its grip to allow Filipinos to fish again in the area following friendly overtures from Mr. Duterte. If Mr. Duterte’s plan proceeds, Filipino, Chinese and other fishermen would only be allowed to fish in the deeper waters just outside Panatag. Mr. Duterte’s plan is delicate because it may imply Philippine territorial control over the shoal, whose ownership the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague did not resolve when it ruled in favor of the Philippines in the maritime dispute in July. Esperon said Mr. Duterte “clearly talked about maritime arrangements” with Xi, including the prospect of cooperation between the coast guards of the two countries. “The implication and Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet for the first time during a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru on November 19. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./ Presidential Photo LIMA, Peru—Russia committed to buy $2.5 billion worth of Philippine fruits, grains or vegetables during Saturday’s bilateral discussions between President Duterte and President Vladimir Putin, officials said on Sunday. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Russian side had agreed “immediately” to a proposal for the importation of Philippine fruit and other agricultural products in the next 12 months. “Their immediate estimate is $2.5 billion. That’s a number they [Russian side] quoted,” Lopez told Filipino journalists covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum here. Dwarfs current exports The estimate dwarfs the $46 million worth of exports the Philippines currently ships to Russia every year, he said. “We were talking of what they could buy from us, especially agricultural products, but nothing was specified. But I understand we supply them with a huge quantity of bananas… and mangoes. With these kinds of discussions, these present more trading opportunities between us,” Lopez said. He said Putin also offered to help the Philippines through investments in energy and infrastructure. “[They will help] in machine engineering, hardware, modernizing industrial machineries, railways, especially long-range railways, port infrastructure, monorails, light transit transport system, agriculture and, of course, tourism,” he said. The Philippines may also expect more tourists from Russia, he added. “Of course, the other side of this Read More …

Religious liberty has worsened around the world in the last two years, with violent Islamist attacks taking place in one out of five countries, from Sweden in northern Europe to Australia in Oceania and including 17 African countries, according to a report by the  Aid to Church in Need (ACN), a Vatican foundation that provides relief to Christians and non-Christians in high-conflict areas. The biennial report, “Religious Freedom in the World,” released simultaneously on Nov. 15 in the Vatican and Manila where ANC has opened a Philippine office at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) complex in Intramuros, said that religious freedom had declined in 11 of 23 worst-offending countries such as Syria, Iraq, North Korean and China. The situation is very grave in Syria and Iraq because of “hyperextremisim” as shown by the genocidal campaign of the Islamic State (IS) to wipe out non-Muslim populations, the report noted. The last two years has seen the “emergence of a new phenomenon … [of] Islamist hyper-extremism, a process of heightened radicalization, unprecedented in its violent expression.” Extreme violence, cruelty The ACN report said that hyperextemism is characterized by “an extremist creed and a radical system of law; systematic attempts to annihilate or drive out all groups that don’t conform to their outlook, including coreligionists; cruel treatment of victims; use of social media to recruit followers and to intimidate opponents by parading extreme violence.” The report added that hyperextremism has had a “global impact—enabled by affiliate extremist groups and well-resourced Read More …

EMBASSY RALLY Policemen block protesters trying to get near the US Embassy during a rally against the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States and the Philippines. AP US AND Philippine Marine commanders stressed the value of joint training as American and Filipino forces opened combat exercises under some uncertainty on Tuesday, days after President Duterte said the drills would be the last in his six-year term. Marine commanders from both sides said at the opening of the Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (Phiblex 33), involving 1,400 American and 500 Filipino military personnel, the drills were aimed at improving readiness by the two countries to respond to a range of crises while deepening their historic ties. Last week, Mr. Duterte, angered by US criticism of his brutal war on drugs, said Phiblex would be the last war games during his term, which started on June 30. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay said, however, that the decision was not final, sparking questions as to whether other annual US-Philippine military exercises would proceed as planned. US Embassy officials said Manila had not formally notified Washington of any move to scrap other planned drills. Such a move by Manila would impede Washington’s plans to expand the footprint of US forces in Southeast Asia to counter an increasingly aggressive China. War games between US and Philippine forces are held every year under the Visiting Forces Agreement, an offshoot of the Mutual Defense Treaty signed by the two countries in 1951. Security accord Two years ago, Read More …