Editorial 3/14/16 (Abu Sayyaf, kidnapping, local government, violence, women, Davao River, international relations, Philippines, money laundering, RCBC)

Philippine Star "Lucrative industry"

Local governments play a crucial role in the success of any campaign against extremists and criminal gangs. But there is persistent suspicion that local officials themselves are in cahoots with the bandits,  using kidnapping to raise funds. With the government’s no-ransom policy just meaningless rhetoric, kidnapping has become one of the most lucrative industries in Mindanao. The Abu Sayyaf and other bandit groups in Mindanao have successfully prevented the development of some of the poorest areas in the Philippines. They continue to give the country a negative image overseas, dampening tourism even outside their areas of operation. The Abu Sayyaf should have been neutralized a long time ago, with a combination of security and development approaches. The government cannot allow this blight to thrive. [full text]

Sun.Star Cebu "Violence by women"

According to the master narrative dictated by culture and mass media, mistresses are not victims. They are rarely seen as vulnerable also to the lies and false promises of men who are already obligated by marriage vows and a contract to a wife and their children. Machismo and the double standards promoted by the laws of adultery and concubinage rationalize men’s infidelity as inevitable and forgivable while treating unfaithful women as immoral and unfit mothers. In the age of HIV/Aids, promiscuity makes philanderers an actual threat to the health and life of women and their unborn children. Losing one’s life and endangering one’s children should make women think many times before acting to win back their cheating men.[full text]

Mindanao Times "Saving Davao River"

THE STUDY by the Environment Management Bureau (EMB) reveals high concentration of coliform bacteria in the downstream of the Davao River should not be discarded in the dustbin of our shortening attention span.
While the presence of the bacteria in itself does not necessarily mean that Davao River pose a danger to people and animals who bathe and depend on the watercourse for survival, there’s a reason why coliform is described as an indicator organism. [full text]

Manila Bulletin "Growing confrontations in our part of the world"

In our concern over our internal problems as a nation, notably mass poverty, unemployment, low pay, and high prices, we must not ignore events taking place in our part of the world that may suddenly impact on our national life.
Early this month, the Philippines and Japan raised their security and political ties to new levels with the signing of an agreement allowing Tokyo to supply military equipment to Manila. This is the first such agreement that Japan has signed with any country since the end of World War II, when Japan was allowed to have only a Self-Defense Force and not any military arrangement with any other country. The United States is now moving to set up facilities to store equipment and supplies in a number of Philippine bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) [full text]

Inquirer "Huge embarrassment"

THE ALLEGED money laundering involving a local bank and casinos is becoming a huge embarrassment to the Philippines, it being just a part of what is described as the biggest modern cybertheft in the world, worth $1 billion. The elaborate global coverage of the illegal operation also underscores the growing threat posed by cybercrime even to the most secure computer networks—in this case, those of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a number of American financial institutions, and the central bank of Bangladesh. This will likely set back Philippine efforts to prevent the use of the country in cleaning dirty money from the illegal drugs trade, human trafficking, and other transnational crimes. [full page]