September 10, 2002
***Three (3) Stories***
1. APPOINT HEIRS OF SULU SULTANATE TO SABAH COUNCIL
2. Reaction re: US attack to Iraq
3. BARBERS TO PNP, AFP AND ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES:
INTENSIFY TERRORIST OPERATIONS
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story no. 1
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Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
September 10, 2002
APPOINT HEIRS OF SULU SULTANATE TO SABAH COUNCIL
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Majority of the Senators stressed that the Philippine government
should not stop against its protest against the maltreatment of
Malaysia to Filipino deportees.
Senate Majority Floorleader Loren Legarda stressed the importance
of pariticipation coming from the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu
in the reconstituted Council because the Philippine Sabah claim
is anchored on their proprietary interest of Sabah and Northern
Borneo.
"The appointment of Sultan Jamalu Kiram III one of the heirs
of the Sultan of Sulu, as a private sector representative in the
Sabah Claim council should be seriously considered. The
government would better address the Sabah claim issue with the
available information in the hands of Sultan Kiram," Sen.
Legarda stated.
On September 6, 2002, President Arroyo signed an executive order
reconstituting the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory
council on Sabah during a briefing of legislators in Malacanang
on the recent mass deportation of Filipinos from Malaysia.
The advisory council is composed of five cabinet members, five
senators, five congressmen, and three private sector
representatives.
It will be recalled that the Philippine claim on Sabah dates back
to the proprietary rights of the Sultanate of Sulu.
It was in 1962 during the Diosdado Macapagal administration that
the Philippine stressed that sovereignty over territory had
remained vested in the Sultanate of Sulu. During the Ramos
administration, the council was created to study the alternative
modes of pursuing the Philippine claim over Sabah.
"While government efforts should be focused on the welfare
of the Filipino deportees," the senator stated that,
"We should also lay the groundwork in studying the
alternative modes in pursuing the Sabah claim.
Senator Manuel Villar support Legarda's call as he expressed
strong approval for the Sabah claim controversy.///camille p.
balagtas
story no. 2
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Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
September 10, 2002
Reaction re: US attack to Iraq
==============================
ALARMED on the recent United States attack to Iraq , senators
expressed various reactions by maintain stand to help our
Filipino overseas workers in the Middle East.
Senator Manuel Villar said our OFW must be given enough
monitoring by the Philippine in order to make sure about their
safety.
Villar said Pinoy OFW may be in danger of retaliation by national
of host countries should a full blown war between the US and Iraq
erupt..
Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on Foreign Relations,
says the Philippine should take into consideration the welfare of
the Filipino in the Middle East in any decision to support the
United States in waging war with Iraq.
"Our foreign policy must place the welfare of Filipino over
and above any other consideration," stressed Villar.
"Before we act on anything, the safety of our countrymen
must be primary consideration," he added.
The former House Speaker points out that if the Philippines is
associated as a close ally of the US should it wage war on Iraq,
nationals of host Middle Eastern countries who sympathize with
Iraq may exhibit a hostile attitude towards Filipinos.
In anticipation of a possible war, Villar called on the country's
foreign embassies abroad to prepare for the evacuation of OFWs by
mobilizing task forces to facilitate a smooth evacuation should
the need arise.
Senator Rodolfo Biazon also raised an alarm that support by our
government to the said war might draw us as targets by the
international terrorists in whatever form.
"The irony of it is that our support is not even being
requested by the United States nor is there a United Nations
mandate for us to declare such support to whatever is emerging as
a United States unilateral intention in the Middle East, the Vice
Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security
asserted.
"Unfortunately , if the Philippines becomes a target for the
terrorists, our Filipino communities and workers in foreign lands
become targets too. Filipinos in the Middle East will be the most
vulnerable." Biazon explained.
"We should tehrefore be careful about volunteering our
support to the US intention to wage war against Iraq," he
concluded.///camille p. balagtas
story no. 3
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Camille P. Balagtas
People's TONIGHT
Sept 10, 2002
BARBERS TO PNP, AFP AND ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES: INTENSIFY
TERRORIST OPERATIONS
==============================================
Senator Robert Z. Barbers today called on the Philippine National
Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and all
law enforcement agencies to intensify their anti-terrorist
operations following reports that the country is being targeted
by the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.
Barbers said that one year after the dreadful September 11
terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon
in Washington, D.C., it is highly possible that operatives of the
Osama Bin Laden inspired Al-Qaeda are operating in the country
and planning to attack foreign embassies, especally that of the
US, as well as other American installations and vital Philippine
government infrastructure.
"During this critical period when practically the whole
world is commemorating the horrifying September 11 attacks, all
out anti-terrorist operations especially effective intelligence
gathering are of utmost importance. All our law enforcement
agencies must do everything possible and take all precautionary
measures to preempt or prevent terrorists from carrying out their
abominable plans," Barbers said.
The former Interior and Local Government Secretary stressed that
the PNP, AFP and other law enforcement agencies must go on the
highest possible alert and relentlessly go after and neutralize
the members and the activities of the Al-Qaeda terror network in
the country.
Earlier, the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) alerted the
Philippine government of a possible Al-Qaeda attack even after
the commemoration of the September 11 tragedy. Another report
also said that an Al-Qaeda operative disclosed the supposed
activation of a plot targeting the US and Israeli embassies in
Manila.
Alleged Al-Qaeda member Mohammed Mansour Jabarah who was arrested
in Oman and who is now in US custody, was quoted as saying during
interrogation that a terrorist plot earlier hatched in Singapore
to attack the US embassy and other foreign establishments in the
said city-state had been shifted to the Philippines.
Barbers, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Order and
Illegal Drugs stressed that the government should consider this
news very seriously even as he pointed out that the information
came directly from the mouth of a confirmed terrorist.
Barbers also called on all citizens of the country to be extra
vigilant and report right away to our law enforcement agencies
any suspicious persons or activities even as he stressed that
"the anti-terrorism campaign must be fought on all fronts,
with all means and without let-up by all peace loving
Filipinos." ///camille p. balagtas