Timeline Philippines
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LC Chron 1887-1902: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/chronphil.html
1.8Mil-10,000BC The Cagayan
Valley archaeological site has revealed stone tools from the
Pleistocene.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.F)
1400-1500 Vigan historic town on Luzon was
established by Chinese traders by this time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.F)
1521 March 9, Magellan sailed
west, southwest towards the Philippines.
(V.D.-H.K.p.177-178)
1521 Mar 15, Ferdinand Magellan
discovered the Philippine Islands, where he was killed by natives
the following month. [see Apr 26]
(PCh, 1992, p.172)(MC, 3/17/02)(AP, 3/16/97)
1521 Apr 7, Ferdinand Magellan
landed on Cebu Island, Philippines. Italian chronicler Antonio
Pigafetta reported a thriving port with large supplies of rice and
gold. In 2003 the island was a booming commercial center with a
population of 4 million.
(WSJ, 10/15/03, p.B2A)
1521 Apr 26, Magellan was
killed in a fight with natives on Mactan Island. Magellan named the
Mariana Islands Islas de los Ladrones (Islands of Thieves), and was
killed by natives on Cebu. Juan Sebastian Elcano, Magellan’s second
in command, returned to Spain with 18 men and one ship, the
Vittorio, laden with spices. His coat of arms was augmented in
reward with the inscription Primus circumdisti me: “You were the
first to encircle me.” Some 50,000 Chamorro people populated the
islands. [see Apr 27]
(V.D.-H.K.p.177-178)(SFEC,11/10/96,Z1p.2)(TL-MB,
p.12)(SFEC, 3/7/99,Z1 p.4)
1521 April 27, Ferdinand
Magellan (50), Portuguese explorer, was killed by natives in the
Philippines. [see Apr 26]
(AP, 4/27/99)
1565 Apr 27, First Spanish
settlement in Philippines was established in Cebu City.
(HN, 4/27/98)
1565 Philip II of Spain sent
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and 1,000 mercenaries from Mexico to
wrest the Philippines from Muslim sultans, who had ruled since the
12th century.
(SFC, 7/7/03, p.A6)
1565 Father Andres Urdaneta
sighted land believed to be the California coast while sailing on
the Manila to Acapulco trade route.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)
1571 Mar 19, Spanish troops
occupied Manila. [see May 19]
(MC, 3/19/02)
1571 May 19, Miguel Lopez de
Lagazpi founded the city of Manila in the Philippines and
encountered Chinese settlements. [see Mar 19]
(DTnet, 5/19/97)(WSJ, 12/26/02, p.A1)
1586 Spanish Captain Francisco
Gali died in Manila and Pedro de Unamuno took command of his 2 ships
to return to Acapulco.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)
1587 Oct 18, Spanish Captain
Pedro de Unamuno discovered California. He landed at a place he
called Port San Lucas, later identified as Morro Bay City, while
sailing from Macao to Acapulco with a crew of Luzon Indians.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)
1595 Jul, The Spanish galleon
San Agustin departed the Philippines with 130 tons of cargo and 70
men. See Nov, 1595.
(SFC, 9/26/97, p.A21)(SFC, 8/23/11, p.C3)
1595 Nov, The San Agustin, a
Spanish galleon from Manila, sank off the coast of northern
California near Point Reyes with a load of silks and porcelains from
the Orient. Skipper Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno sailed with
survivors in an open boat 2,500 miles to Acapulco.
(SFC, 9/26/97, p.A21)(SFC, 8/23/11, p.C3)
1603 Oct 20, A Chinese uprising
in the Philippines failed after 23,000 killed.
(MC, 10/20/01)
1608 Shogun Ieyasu ordered Will
Adams to go to the Philippines to invite the Spanish Gov. Don Diego
Vevero y Velasco to compete with the Portuguese for trade with
Japan.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)
1755 Jun 30, Philippines closed
all non-Catholic Chinese restaurants.
(MC, 6/30/02)
1762 Oct 5, The British fleet
bombarded and captured Spanish-held Manila in the Philippines.
(HN, 10/5/98)
1773 The Royal Captain, a
merchant ship of the British East India Co., was lost off a coral
reef in the Philippines.
(WSJ, 7/21/00, p.W2)
1814 In Legazpi the Mayon
volcano erupted and 1,200 people were killed.
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A9)
1820 Mar 9-11, Philippines
chased out foreigners and about 125 died.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1890 Philippine brewer San
Miguel began making beer.
(WSJ, 4/9/09, p.B1)
1898 Apr 24, US fleet under
commodore Dewey steamed from Hong Kong to Philippines.
(MC, 4/24/02)
1898 May 1, US Commodore George
Dewey gave the command, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley,"
as his naval force destroyed a Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in the
Philippines. Dewey’s ships lobbed shells into Filipino-dug trenches
and the battle became a massacre. Navy Captain Charles Gridley
earned a place in history during the Battle of Manila Bay.
(AP, 5/1/97)(Hem, Dec. 94, p.70)(SFEC, 1/31/99,
Z1 p.4)(HN 8/13/98)
1898 May 25, 1st US troop
transport to Manila left San Francisco.
(SC, 5/25/02)
1898 Jun 12, The Philippines
gained independence from Spain. Emilio Aguinaldo, rebel leader,
proclaimed Philippine independence. Aguinaldo served as the first
president.
(SFC, 6/8/96, p.A17)(SFC, 3/31/97, p.A14)(AP,
6/12/97)(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.4)
1898 Jul 8, US battle fleet
under Adm. Dewey occupied Isla Grande at Manila.
(MC, 7/8/02)
1898 Aug 12, Fighting in the
Spanish-American War came to an end. The peace protocol ending the
Spanish-American War was signed Dec 10 after three months and 22
days of hostilities. 460 US soldiers died in battle. The US paid
Spain $20 million to vacate Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the
Philippines. Over the next 3 years US casualties in the Philippines
war totaled over 4,000.
(AP, 8/12/97)(WSJ, 2/23/98, p.A20)(HN,
8/12/00)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.D1)(WSJ, 7/2/03, p.B1)
1898 Aug 13, Manila, the
capital of the Philippines, fell to the U.S. Army under Adm. George
Dewey. It was later reported that Dewey had agreed to sacrifice the
lives of American soldiers in order to give Spanish officers, who
had retained dead soldiers on payroll, a chance to report heavy
fatalities back to Spain.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manila_(1898))(SSFC,
6/29/08, DB p.58)
1898 Dec 10, The United States
and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish-American
War. This ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam to the United
States. The US Senate ratified the treaty February 6, 1899. The US
military governed Puerto Rico from October 1898 until May 1900, when
the US Congress instituted a civil government. The civil government
underwent many changes until a Constitutional Assembly formed in
1950 and established a Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which was
proclaimed on July 25, 1952. [see Aug 12]
(AP, 12/10/97)(HN, 12/10/98)(HNQ, 7/28/01)
1898-1900 A 2-year battle against American troops
was waged by the Filipinos who sought independence, not a new
colonial ruler.
(SFC, 6/9/97, p.A15)
1898-1905 The 9th Cavalry, a black unit from Fort
Mason, was shipped to help subdue the Philippines Insurrection.
(SFEC, 4/5/98, p.C14)
1899 Jan 10, Filipino leader
Emilio Aguinaldo renounced the Treaty of Paris, which annexed the
Philippines to the United States.
(HN, 1/10/00)
1899 Jan 20, President William
McKinley appointed a Philippine Commission led by Jacob G. Schurman,
president of Cornell University, to study the situation in the
island and to submit a report to serve as a basis for setting up a
civil government. Established on January 20, 1899, the commission
issued findings in June suggesting the ultimate independence for the
islands but, for an indefinite period continued U.S. rule.
(HNQ, 1/3/00)
1899 Feb 4, After an exchange
of gunfire, fighting broke out between American troops and Filipinos
near Manila, sparking the Philippine-American War (also referred to
as the Philippine Insurrection of 1899). American soldiers
patrolling in Santa Mesa opened fire on Filipino soldiers near a
bridge over the San Juan River.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1p.1)(HN, 2/4/00)
1899 Feb 5, The devastation
from the battle of Santa Ana was captured in photos by F. Tennyson
Neely. The collection was published as "Fighting in the
Philippines."
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.1)
1899 Sep, The USS Charleston
engaged in shellfire upon Subic Bay in the Philippines.
(G, Spring/98, p.5)
1900 Jun 21, General Arthur
MacArthur offered amnesty to Filipinos rebelling against American
rule.
(HN, 6/21/98)
1900 Dec 23, The Federal Party,
which recognized American sovereignty, was formed in the
Philippines.
(HN, 12/23/98)
c1900 The Ordonez cannon was
brought back to the Presidio in SF as a trophy of war by William
Randolph Hearst. It had been manufactured in Spain and was initially
captured by the Filipinos from the Spanish army. It reportedly
suffered a direct hit from US forces in an engagement near Subic
Bay.
(SFC, 6/9/97, p.A15,16)(G, Spring/98, p.5)
1900 Pres. McKinley appointed
Prof. Bernard Moses of Berkeley one of three commissioners in the
Philippines charged with developing a plan for governing the islands
once control was established.
(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.13)
1900 David Prescott Barrows was
appointed as superintendent of schools in Manila and then as chief
of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes with the task of formulating
plans to bring them under control for beneficent exploitation.
(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.14)
1901 Mar 23, A group of U.S.
Army soldier led by Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston captured Emilio
Aguinaldo, the leader of the Philippine Insurrection of 1899.
(HN, 3/23/99)
1901 Jul 4, William H. Taft,
later the 27th president of the United States, became the American
territorial governor of the Philippines. Taft soon appointed Prof.
Bernard Moses secretary of public instruction for the Philippines.
Taft, who had been solicitor general of the U.S. under President
Benjamin Harrison, was a federal circuit court judge when President
William McKinley appointed him to serve as president of the U.S.
Philippines Commission in 1900-01. Later in 1901, President Theodore
Roosevelt named Taft the first civil governor of the Philippines
Islands, a post he held for four years.
(HN, 7/4/98)(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.13)(HNQ, 2/18/00)
1901 Sep 28, At Balangiga on
Samar Island, Philippine villagers surprised a the US military
Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment. Church bells, used to signal the
attack, were taken by the Americans. 38 of 74 US soldiers were
killed and all the rest but 6 were wounded. Philippine casualties
were estimated at 50-250 with 48 American soldiers killed.
(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)(SFC, 10/18/03, p.A18)
1901 US Brig. Gen’l. Jacob
Smith ordered US Marine and Army units to turn the island of Samar
in the Philippines into a “howling wilderness” so that "even birds
could not live there" in retaliation for the Sep 5 attack at
Balangiga. The mission bells of Balangiga were taken as war booty
and later placed in the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo.
A Marine major was court-martialed on murder charges for executing
11 Filipino prisoners but was acquitted after he testified that he
was under orders to shoot every Filipino over age 10. Gen’l. Smith
was found guilty of misconduct and admonished.
(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.4)
1902 Jul 4, Pres. Roosevelt
officially ended the Philippine-American War. Estimates for the
civilian people killed ranged from 250,000 to 1 million. Creighton
Miller in 1982 published "Benevolent Assimilation," a comprehensive
account of the conflict.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.1,4)(WSJ, 11/19/97,
p.A6)(PC, 1992, p.642)
1903 Jul 3, The first cable
across the Pacific Ocean was spliced between Honolulu, Midway, Guam
and Manila. Teddy Roosevelt placed the atoll of Midway Island under
Navy supervision. The Commercial Pacific Cable Co. (later AT&T)
set cable across the Pacific via Midway Island and the first around
the world message was sent. The message took 9 minutes to circle the
globe. [see Jul 4]
(SFEC, 7/20/97, p.T5)(HN, 7/3/98)
1903 Jul 4, Pacific Cable (SF,
Hawaii, Guam, Philippines) opened, and Pres. Teddy Roosevelt sent a
message. [see Jul 3]
(Maggio, 98)
1903 David Prescott Barrows
succeeded Bernard Moses as general superintendent of the Philippine
schools until 1909.
(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.14)
1905 US General Leonard Wood
(b.1860) took over as military commander of the Philippines.
(www.wood.army.mil/MGLeonardwood.htm)
1906 Mar, American forces
killed some 900 Muslims including women and children on Mount Dajo.
(SSFC, 11/25/01, p.D3)
1911 The Taal volcano erupted
and 1,335 people were killed.
(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A14)
1916 Aug 29, The US Jones Law
(Act of Congress of August 29, 1916), also known as the Philippine
Autonomy Act of 1916, replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902
that earlier served as a constitution for the Philippine Islands.
Manuel Luis Quezon (1878-1944), Resident Commissioner to Washington,
D.C. since 1909, pushed the passage of the Jones Act.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Law_%28Philippines%29)(http://tinyurl.com/42mk5ef)
1916 Oct 16, The Philippine
Commission was abolished and the Philippine Legislature was
inaugurated. It consisted of the Senate and the House of
Representatives. Native legislators were 1st elected but the US
governors general remained in charge for years.
(www.senate.gov.ph/about/history.asp)(SSFC,
5/11/03, p.D6)
1916 US troops were still
fighting skirmishes on some islands of the Philippines to this time.
(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)
1917 Sep 11, Ferdinand Marcos,
Philippines Pres (1965-86), was born.
(MC, 9/11/01)
1920s Jose Garcia Villa was
suspended from law school for publishing erotic poems. A Manila
court fined him for obscenity.
(SFC, 2/10/97, p.A20)
1921-1927 General Leonard Wood (b.1860) served a
governor-general of the Philippines.
(www.wood.army.mil/MGLeonardwood.htm)
1926 Jul 26, Philippines
government asked the US to plebiscite for independence.
(MC, 7/26/02)
1927 Jun 26, Direct commercial
radio service between the Philippines and the US was inaugurated
with a message from Manila to SF.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.G2)
1928 Mar 18, Fidel Ramos was
born.
(WP, 6/29/96, p.A20)
1928 Aug 31, Jaime Lachica Sin
was born on Panay Island. He was one of 16 children and became a
cardinal of the Catholic Church in 1976.
(SSFC, 1/28/01, p.A19)
1930 Jose Garcia Villa
(1909-1997) won the Philippine Free Press literary contest for a
short story and used the money to go to the US.
(SFC, 2/10/97, p.A20)
1932 Nov 27, Benigno Aquino Jr.
(d.1983), Philippine opposition leader; was born.
(MC, 11/27/01)
1933 Jan 12, US Congress
recognized the independence of the Philippines.
(MC, 1/12/02)
1933 Jan 25, Corazon Aquino was
born as Corazon Cojuangco. She defeated the corrupt Ferdinand Marcos
to become the President of the Philippines (1986-1992). Her husband
had been killed by Marcos’ gunmen.
(HN,
1/25/99)(www.answers.com/topic/coraz-n-aquino)
1934 May 1, The Philippine
legislature accepted a U.S. proposal for independence.
(HN, 5/1/98)
1934 May 7, World's largest
pearl (6.4 kg) was found at Palawan, Philippines.
(MC, 5/7/02)
1935 May 14, A plebiscite in
the Philippines ratified a independence agreement.
(HN, 5/14/98)
1935 Nov 14, Manuel Luis Quezon
was sworn in as the first Filipino president, as the Commonwealth of
Philippines was inaugurated. Pres. Roosevelt proclaimed the
Philippine Islands a free commonwealth.
(HN, 11/14/98)(AP, 11/14/97)
1935 Nov 22, Pan Am inaugurated
the first transpacific airmail service, San Francisco to Manila. The
Pan Am China Clipper under Captain Ed Musick took off from Alameda
Point bound for the Philippines with 111,000 letters. It was the
company's first trans-Pacific flight. The plane was a 25-ton Martin
M-130 flying boat with a wingspan of 130 feet, and was the largest
aircraft in world service.
(HN, 11/22/98)(Ind, 5/1/99, p.5A)(SFEM, 2/13/00,
p.35)(NPub, 2002, p.13)
1935 Nov 29, The Pan Am China
Clipper under Captain Ed Musick landed in manila Bay in the
Philippines after stops in Hawaii, Midway Island, Wake Island and
Guam. It was the company's first trans-Pacific flight.
(HFA, ‘96, p.18)(HN, 11/22/98)(Ind, 5/1/99,
p.5A)(SFEM, 2/13/00, p.35)
1936 Jan 22, In San Francisco 5
Filipino men appeared before a municipal judge on vagrancy charges
and admitted to intermingling with white girls. Police chief Quinn
instructed police officers to take into custody all white girls seen
with Filipinos, together with their escorts.
(SSFC, 1/23/11, DB p.42)
1936 Oct 21, Pan Am inaugurated
the first passenger flight from California to the Philippines with 9
passengers.
(SFEM, 2/13/00, p.37)
1941 Mar 15, Philippine
Airlines maid its maiden flight from Manila to Baguio.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.A19)
1941 Oct, The US decided to
send some of the new Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses to the
Philippines. Unlike the older bombers, it was not feasible to
dismantle them and send them by ship -- so they had to be flown all
the way. Aircraft range limits dictated a roundabout route for the
unprecedented flight of distance and scale -- 35 Fortresses were to
be sent. Despite many problems they got to Clark Field, only to have
17 of them destroyed a month and a half later when the Japanese
bombed the field a day after the Pearl Harbor attack.
(HNQ, 1/15/02)
1941 Dec 8, Japan attacked the
Philippines. The United States entered World War II as Congress
declared war against Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
(WUD, 1944, p.1683)(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7) (AP,
12/8/97)
1941 Dec 9, 1st US WW II
bombing mission in Far East took place over Luzon, Philippines.
(MC, 12/9/01)
1941 Dec 10, The US submarine
Sealion was sunk in an air attack at Manila Bay. 10 crewman were
captured by the Japanese and shipped to work in a Mitsubishi copper
mine in northern Japan.
(SSFC, 6/17/01, Par p.5)
1941 Dec 10, Luzon,
Philippines, was occupied by Japanese troops.
(WUD, 1944, p.1683)(HN, 12/10/98)
1941 Dec 12, Buzz Wagner, the
first official American ace of World War II, took off on a lone
reconnaissance mission over Aparri, Philippines. Because of
devastating losses by the U.S. fighter force two days earlier,
orders had come down restricting confrontation with enemy fighters
if at all possible. His reconnaissance mission turned into a combat
mission when he descended from a patch of clouds and found himself
practically on top of two Japanese destroyers. Spotted and chased by
a pair of Japanese fighters, Wagner eluded the enemy and took out
five of 12 enemy planes. Four days later, Wagner and two associates
went into combat over Vigan and left behind 17 enemy planes
destroyed or burning, with an unknown number of Japanese dead lying
on the runway. The mission garnered the most devastating results of
the air war to date.
(HNQ, 5/14/02)
1941 Dec 20, Japanese troops
landed on Mindanao.
(MC, 12/20/01)
1941 Dec 22, Japanese troops
made an amphibious landing on the coast of Lingayen Gulf on Luzon,
the Philippines.
(HN, 12/22/98)
1941 Dec 26, General Douglas
MacArthur declared Manila an open city in the face of the onrushing
Japanese Army.
(HN, 12/26/98)
1941 Dec 27, Japanese bombers
attacked Manila, despite its claim as an open city.
(HN, 12/27/98)
1941 Dec 31, General MacArthur
reported that U.S. lines in Manila had been pushed back by the
Japanese.
(HN, 12/31/98)
1942 Jan 2, The Philippine
capital of Manila and the US Naval base at Cavite were captured by
Japanese forces.
(AP, 1/2/98)(HN, 1/2/02)
1942 Jan 5, U.S. and Filipino
troops completed their withdrawal to a new defensive line along the
base of the Bataan peninsula.
(HN, 1/5/99)
1942 Jan 7, The World War II
siege of Bataan began.
(AP, 1/7/98)
1942 Jan 18, General MacArthur
repelled the Japanese in Bataan.
(HN, 1/18/99)
1942 Feb 22, President Franklin
Roosevelt ordered Gen. Douglas MacArthur to leave the Philippines.
(HN, 2/22/99)
1942 Mar 11, As Japanese forces
continued to advance in the Pacific during World War II Gen. Douglas
MacArthur left Corregidor in the Philippines for Australia.
MacArthur, who subsequently vowed, "I shall return," kept that
promise more than 2 1/2 years later. MacArthur relinquished command
in the Philippines to Gen’l. Jonathon Wainwright.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)(AP,
3/11/98)(http://tinyurl.com/736ws)
1942 Apr 3, The Japanese began
their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.
(HN, 4/3/99)
1942 Apr 9, In the Battle of
Bataan, some 70,000 soldiers gathered at the bottom of the Bataan
peninsula during World War II. American and Philippine defenders on
Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces; the surrender was followed by
the notorious 55-mile “Bataan Death March” which claimed nearly
10,000 lives. 12,000 American soldiers surrendered to the Japanese
and some 1000 died on the march. [see Apr 10]
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)(AP, 4/9/97)(HN,
4/9/98)(SSFC, 6/17/01, Par p.4)
1942 Apr 10, The 65-mile Bataan
Death March began to a prison camp near Cabanatuan. The prisoners
were forced to march 85 miles in six days with only one meal of rice
during the entire journey. Some 10k-15k soldiers perished on the
march. Bataan is a peninsula of western Luzon in the Philippines. It
was surrendered to the Japanese in this year and retaken by American
forces in 1945. [see Apr 9]
(HFA, ‘96, p.28)(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)(SFC,
4/25/97, p.A26)(MC, 4/10/02)
1942 Apr 12, Japan killed about
400 Filipino officers in Bataan.
(MC, 4/12/02)
1942 May 5, The first Japanese
soldiers landed on the Philippine island of Corregidor defended by
only 13,000 soldiers under Gen’l. Wainwright. More than 1,000
Americans and Filipinos died in defense of the island.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)
1942 May 6, On Corregidor US
Gen’l. Jonathan Wainwright surrendered his forces, some 15,000
Americans and Filipinos, to the Japanese. This began a 3-year ordeal
for 4 doctors as POWs under the Japanese. In 2005 John A. Glusman
authored “Conduct Under Fire,” and account of their survival as
POWs.
(AP, 5/6/97)(SSFC, 7/10/05,
p.E4)(http://tinyurl.com/736ws)
1942 Jun 16, Lt. Edwin P.
Ramsey led the last US cavalry charge at the village of Morong in
the Philippines. His mounted platoon of 27 men routed a force of
hundreds of Japanese soldiers.
(SFEC, 2/23/97, BR p.4)
1942-1945 The US promised over 250,000 Filipino
fighters citizenship with full military benefits during WW II.
Shortly after the war the US Congress withdrew this pledge.
Citizenship was granted in 1990 and limited benefits in 1999.
(SFEC,12/14/97, Z1 p.4)(SFC, 3/24/00, p.A6)
1943 Apr, Magdaleno Sanchez
Duenas, Philippine guerrilla fighter, (1914-2005) assisted in the
escape of 10 US servicemen from the Davao Penal Colony.
(SSFC, 3/6/05, p.A21)
1944 Mar 30, The U.S. fleet
attacked Palau, near the Philippines.
(HN, 3/30/98)
1944 Jun 19, The Battle of the
Philippine Sea (Battle of the Marianas), called the "Marianas Turkey
Shoot," began when Japanese naval forces attacked the stronger U.S.
naval forces. 280 Japanese planes were shot down by U.S. carrier-
based planes and anti-aircraft fire from U.S. ships. Americans shoot
down 220 Japanese planes while only losing 20.
(BEP, 1994)(DT, 6/19/97)(HN, 6/19/98)
1944 Sep, The U.S. 1st Marine
Division sought to take Peleliu, to protect General MacArthur's
eastern flank as he tried to retake the Philippines, where he had
retreated from in 1942.
(HNQ, 8/29/01)
1944 Oct 19, US forces landed
in the Philippines. [see Oct 20]
(MC, 10/19/01)
1944 Oct 20, Gen. Douglas
MacArthur stepped ashore on A-Day (attack day) at Leyte in the
Philippines, 2 1/2 years after he'd said, "I shall return." He
landed with Sergio Osmena, the president-in-exile, and Gen’l. Carlos
Romulo, who later served as foreign minister.
(AP, 10/20/97)(HN, 10/20/98)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.B3)
1944 Oct 21, The 1st Japanese
kamikaze attack took place near Leyte Island; gunners from both the
flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Australia, and HMAS
Shropshire fired at, and reportedly hit, an unidentified Japanese
aircraft. The plane then flew away from the ships, before turning
and flying into Australia, striking the ship's superstructure above
the bridge, and spewing burning fuel and debris over a large area. A
200 kg (440 pound) bomb carried by the plane failed to explode. In
2002 Albert Axell and Hideaki Kase authored "Kamikaze: Japan's
Suicide Gods." In 2006 Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney authored “Kamikaze
Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student Soldiers.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze)(Econ,
7/8/06, p.79)
1944 Oct 23, In the Philippines
the Battle of Leyte Gulf began. In 1947 C. Van Woodward authored
"The Battle of Leyte Gulf."
(AP, 10/23/97)(SFEC, 12/19/99, p.C14)
1944 Oct 24, The aircraft
carrier USS Princeton was sunk by a single Japanese plane during the
Battle of Leyte Gulf.
(HN, 10/24/98)(SFC, 6/22/01, p.D5)
1944 Oct 24, US air raid on
Japanese battleships and cruisers in Sibuya Sea sank the 65,000 ton
Musashi battleship.
(SFC, 4/2/04, p.B7)
1944 Oct 25, Japanese were
defeated in the Straits of Surigao in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the
world's largest sea engagement. From this point on, the depleted
Japanese Navy increasingly resorted to the suicidal attacks of
Kamikaze fighters.
(HN, 10/25/98)(MC, 10/25/01)
1944 Dec 14, The former NYK
liner Oryoku Maru left Manila with 1619 American POWs packed in the
holds. U.S. Navy planes from the "Hornet" attacked, causing the Hell
Ship to sink the following day. Only 200 of the men survived.
(Internet)(SSFC, 2/15/04, p.A29)
1944 Dec 15, In the Philippines
the opening of the battle for Luzon started when MacArthur ordered
troops ashore on the nearby island of Mindoro.
(HN, 12/15/98)(AP, 12/15/07)
1944 Dec 18, The US Third Fleet
encountered a typhoon near the Philippines. The naval destroyers
"Hull," "Spence" & "Monaghan" sank in the typhoon. The storm
killed 778 American sailors. 62 of 264 men on the Hull were rescued.
24 of 340 men on the Spence were rescued. 6 of 251 men on the
Monaghan survived. In 1981 C. Raymond Calhoun, the captain of the
destroyer Dewey, authored “Typhoon: The Other Enemy.”
(AH, 10/02, p.56, 60)
1945 Jan 9, American forces
began landing at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, 107 miles from
Manila. MacArthur finally mounted his invasion of Luzon.
(HN, 1/9/99)(AP, 1/9/99)
1945 Jan 30, US Army Rangers
and Filipino guerrillas executed a flawless rescue of 486 POWs from
Camp Cabanatuan north of Manila. In 2001 Hampton Sides authored
“Ghost Soldiers,” an account of the rescue.
(WSJ, 5/24/01, p.A20)(SSFC, 6/17/01, DB p.70)(AH,
2/05, p.16)y
1945 Feb 3, The month-long
Battle of Manila began.
(HN, 2/3/99)
1945 Feb 5, US troops under
General Douglas MacArthur entered Manila ("I have returned!").
(MC, 2/5/02)
1945 Feb 6, MacArthur reported
the fall of Manila, and the liberation of 5,000 prisoners.
(HN, 2/6/99)
1945 Feb 16, American
paratroopers landed on Corregidor during World War II, in a campaign
to liberate the Philippines. The US proceeded to recapture the
island of Corregidor and nearly 6,000 Japanese soldiers leapt to
their death off a ridge rather than face capture and dishonor.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T6)(AP, 2/16/98)(HN, 2/16/98)
1945 Feb 18, U.S. Marines
stormed ashore at Iwo Jima.
(HN, 2/18/98)
1945 Feb 19, During World War
II, some 30,000 US Marines landed on Iwo Jima, an 8-sq. mile island
of rock, volcanic ash and black sand, where they began a month-long
battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces. The
36-day battle took the lives of 7,000 Americans and about 20,000 of
22,000 Japanese defenders.
(SFC, 6/19/96, p.A20)(SFC, 9/21/00, p.C6)(AP,
2/19/08)
1945 Feb 23, During World War
II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they
raised the American flag. Actually, there were two flag-raisings
that day, the second was the one captured in the famous Associated
Press photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal. John Bradley (d.1994), was
one of the soldiers who raised the US flag at Iwo Jima. The carnage
on the 8-sq.-mile island continued for another 31 days. One flag
raising was captured by AP photographer Joseph Rosenthal (1911-2006)
and inspired the 1954 sculpture by Felix de Weldon (d.2003) erected
in Washington DC. Sgt. Bill Genaust filmed the event with a 16mm
camera and died in combat 9 days later.
(SFC, 9/21/00, p.C6)(SFC, 6/14/03, p.A21)(SFC,
8/21/06, p.A1)(AP, 2/23/07)
1945 Feb 24, American soldiers
liberated the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese control
during World War II.
(AP, 2/24/98)
1945 Feb 24, U.S. forces
liberated prisoners of war in the Los Baños Prison in the
Philippines.
(HN, 2/24/99)
1945 Mar 2, The American flag
is raised again over Corregidor, with General Douglas MacArthur and
members of his staff present. MacArthur, commander of U.S. Army
Forces in the Far East, reluctantly fled his headquarters on the
rocky Philippine island of Corregidor in March 1942 as the Japanese
closed in. MacArthur praised the gallant but futile defense of
Corregidor as “an inspiration to carry on the struggle until the
Allies should fight their way back” and vowed to return one day. On
February 16, 1945, elements of the U.S. Sixth Army began the assault
on Corregidor, and after furious fighting, MacArthur made good on
his promise.
(HN, 3/2/99)
1945 Mar 3, The Allies fully
secured the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during
World War II.
(AP, 3/3/07)
1945 Mar 10, US troops landed
on Mindanao.
(MC, 3/10/02)
1945 Mar 10, In the Philippines
Pfc. Thomas Eugene Atkins (d. 1999 at 78) repulsed a Japanese attack
while wounded and killed 14 enemy soldiers in northern Luzon.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.D6)
1945 Mar, Gen'l. Tomoyuki
Yamashita retreated with 140,000 soldiers to the Central Cordillera
and Caraballo mountain ranges of northern Luzon island.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.D6)
1945 Jun 18, Organized Japanese
resistance ended on the island of Mindanao, Philippines.
(HN, 6/18/98)
1945 Jun 28, General Douglas
MacArthur announced the end of Japanese resistance in the
Philippines.
(HN, 6/28/98)
1945 Jul 5, US General Douglas
MacArthur announced that the liberation of the Philippines from its
Japanese occupiers was complete.
(MC, 7/5/02)
1945 Sep 3, General Tomoyuki
Yamashita, the Japanese commander of the Philippines, surrendered to
Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright at Baguio.
(HN, 9/3/98)
1945 Filipino New Scouts were
inducted into the US Army toward the end of WW II. On Dec 16, 2003,
Pres. Bush signed a measure that made Filipino American veterans
eligible for full Veterans Affair health care. Previous benefits
were at half the rate of US veterans.
(SFC, 12/17/03, p.A2)
1946 Feb 23, Japanese General
Tomoyuki Yamashita was hanged in Manila, the Philippines, after
being found guilty by a US military commission of war crimes.
(AH, 2/06, p.15)
1946 Apr 3, Lt. General
Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan
Death March, was executed outside Manila in the Philippines.
(AP, 4/3/97)
1946 Jul 4, The Philippines
became independent of U.S. sovereignty. The Philippines, which
officially became a territory of the United States in 1902, gained
its independence. In 1932 a movement to implement Philippine
independence began to grow. The Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934,
providing for independence after 12 years, was unanimously accepted
and a Philippine constitution approved by President Roosevelt in
February 1935. Manuel Quezon was elected the first president of the
Philippines on September 17, 1935. In 1937 a Joint Preparatory
Commission on Philippine Affairs was established by Roosevelt to
recommend a program for economic adjustment. The Republic of the
Philippines was inaugurated.
(SFC, 3/31/97, p.A14)(AP, 7/4/97)(HNQ, 11/9/99)
1946 A US Congress Recision Act
took away citizenship and benefits promised by Pres. Roosevelt to
Filipinos who had been drafted to fight under Gen. MacArthur. It was
enacted in part because of a $200 million grant to the Philippines
following the war.
(SSFC, 12/30/01, p.A25)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.A15)
1947 Mar 14, The U.S. signed a
99-year lease on naval bases in the Philippines.
(HN, 3/14/98)
1950s Sarao Motors was begun
and later became popular for the manufacture of the popular jeepney
passenger vehicles.
(SFC, 11/22/00, p.A18)
1951 Dec 4, Superheated gases
rolled down Mount Catarman (Philippines), killing 500.
(MC, 12/4/01)
1954 Sep 8, SEATO (Southeast
Asia Treaty Organization), a sister organization to NATO, was
created under the Manila Pact by the Southeast Asia Collective
Defense Treaty, to stop communist spread in Southeast Asia (Vietnam,
Cambodia and Laos). The United States, Australia, France, Great
Britain, New Zealand, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Thailand signed
the mutual defense treaty. SEATO dissolved in 1977.
(HNQ, 4/2/01)(http://tinyurl.com/hpawj)
1957 Mar 17, In the Philippines
a plane crash on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu killed Pres. Ramon Magsaysay
(b.1907). 25 of the 26 passengers and crew aboard were killed.
(AP,
8/2/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Magsaysay)
1957 Jose Cojuangco, the father
of Corazon Aquino, promised various Philippine government agencies
that lent him money to buy Hacienda Luisita, a 14,800 acre sugar
plantation, that he would sell much of the land to the peasants who
worked it. He never did so.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.49)
1960 The Rockefeller and Ford
foundations joined forces to found the Int’l. Rice Research
Institute (IRRI) in Losa Banos, Philippines.
(Hem., 12/96, p.82)
1961-1965 Diosdado Macapagal served as president.
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A1)
1965 Sep 28, A volcano exploded
on Luzon, Philippines; 500 killed.
(MC, 9/28/01)
1965 Nov 12, Ferdinand Marcos
was elected president of Philippines.
(MC, 11/12/01)
1965 Dec 17, Ending an election
campaign marked by bitterness and violence, Ferdinand Marcos was
declared president of the Philippines.
(HN, 12/17/98)
1965 Dec 30, Ferdinand E.
Marcos was sworn in as the Philippine Republic's sixth president.
(SFC, 8/23/96, p.A26)(HN, 12/30/98)
1965 The Taal Volcano erupted
and killed nearly 200 people.
(SFC, 7/31/99, p.A14)
1966 Jul 4, Beatles were
attacked in Philippines after insulting Imelda Marcos.
(Maggio)
1966 The Asian Development
Bank, headquartered in the Philippines, was created to recycle the
rich world’s surpluses to capital starved Asia.
(Econ, 5/12/07,
p.45)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Development_Bank)
1967 Aug 8, The Association of
Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established in Bangkok by the
five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined
on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Laos and Myanmar on 23
July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
(www.aseansec.org/64.htm)
1968 Dec 26, The underground
Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was formed as a Maoist
group. Its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) began waging
guerrilla warfare in 1969.
(SFC, 8/21/01, p.A6)(AP, 12/26/10)
1969 Dec 30, In the Philippines
Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989) won an unprecedented second term as
president.
(http://philippines-archipelago.com/history/marcos_regime.html)
1969 At their peak in 1969,
68,889 combat troops from Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of
Korea, Thailand and the Philippines were deployed in Vietnam.
(HNQ, 4/14/00)
1970 Nov 27, Pope Paul VI,
visiting the Philippines, was slightly wounded at the Manila airport
by Benjamin Mendoza, a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised as
a priest.
(AP, 11/27/02)
1971 Jan 24, Pvt. Rogelio Roxas
(d.1993), a former Filipino soldier, allegedly discovered the war
treasure of Japanese Gen’l. Tomoyuki Yamashita in caves near Baguio
City. Roxas was arrested on May 18, 1971, and jailed for 5 years.
The gold bullion was reportedly taken away by Pres. Marcos.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A18)(SSFC, 3/4/01,
p.A28)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogelio_Roxas)
1971 Aug 21, There was a
grenade attack on a political rally of the opposition Liberal party.
It nearly wiped out the party's senatorial slate running against
Marcos' Nacionalista Party. Marcos blamed the communists, but others
believed that Marcos planned the attack.
(SFC, 3/21/00, p.A23)
1971 Jun, Manuel Elizalde
(d.1971), a Filipino official, allegedly found the Tasaday, a lost
Stone Age tribe, on Mindanao Island. Enthusiastic reports led to a
book, ''The Gentle Tasaday: A Stone Age People in the Philippine
Rain Forest'' (1975) by John Nance. Skeptics were dismayed in 1974
when Mr. Elizalde, citing a need to protect the Tasadays from
exploitation and the harmful effects of too much contact with
civilization, blocked any further visits by social scientists.
(SSFC, 6/22/03, p.M1)(http://tinyurl.com/6e97rz)
1972 Sep 21, Ferdinand Marcos
(b.1929) signed Proclamation 1081 placing the Philippines under a
state of martial rule, which lasted for the next 14 years.
(www.geocities.com/pinoytv/martiallaw.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/6g67b4)
1972 Dec 7, Imelda Marcos, wife
of Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, was stabbed and
seriously wounded by an assailant who was then shot dead by her
bodyguards.
(AP, 12/7/97)
1972 The conflict between the
government and Muslim rebels began. A full-scale guerrilla war began
in which some 120,000 people were killed by 1999.
(WSJ, 6/20/96, p.A1)(WSJ, 6/22/99, p.A19)
1973 Jan 17, A new Philippine
constitution came into force.
(www.lawphil.net/consti/cons1973.html)
1974 Mar 9, Officer Hiroo
Onoda, the last Japanese soldier operating in the Philippines,
surrendered, 29 years after World War II ended.
(www.einsteinsfrig.com/onoda/index.html)
1974 Jul 19, In the Philippines
a Miss Universe beauty pageant was held and thousands of squatters
around Manila were forcibly moved out of sight. Amparo Munoz of
Spain won.
(SFC, 11/18/96,
p.A12)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e3Gcv41T7I&feature=related)
1976 In the Philippines a World
Bank Conference was held and thousands of squatters around Manila
were forcibly moved out of sight.
(SFC, 11/18/96, p.A12)(http://tinyurl.com/yv4tka)
1976 In the Philippines the
last execution until 1999 was made.
(SFC, 2/6/99, p.A12)
1976 Philippine student Yobie
Benjamin was arrested and jailed for helping lead protests at the
Univ. of the Philippines against the dictatorship of Pres. Ferdinand
Marco. Benjamin spent 9 months in jail. He later established himself
as an entrepreneur and created GoodStorm, an e-commerce company,
that was sold to Zazzle.com in 2008. GoodStorm sold products on
behalf of nonprofit organizations.
(SSFC, 10/18/09, p.A14)
1978 In the Philippines Tony
Tan Caktiong formed Jollibee after realizing that customers in his
Manila ice cream parlor liked his soy and sugar seasoned burgers
better than his sundaes.
(http://jollibeephilippines.com/15/success-story-of-jollibee-in-the-philippines/#more-15)
1979 May 3, In the Philippines
a UN Conference on Trade and Development opened as thousands of
squatters around Manila were forcibly moved out of sight.
(SFC, 11/18/96,
p.A12)(www.lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo1978/eo_497_1978.html)
1981 Feb 17, Pope John Paul II
met with President Marcos in Manila.
(HN, 2/17/98)
1981 Emily Hahn, American
writer (1905-1997), wrote: “The Islands: America’s Imperial
Adventures in the Philippines.”
(SFC, 2/19/96, p.A20)
1981 In the Philippines Hashim
Salamat founded the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) when he and
followers split from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moro_Islamic_Liberation_Front)
1981-1989 In the Philippines leaders of the
Communist Party and the New People's Army later acknowledged that a
number of rebel commanders killed 600-900 suspected spies and
government informers in the southern Mindanao region during the
1980s. In 2006 soldiers found mass graves in an area called
"Garden," a hilly jungle near the town of Inopacan in Southern Leyte
province.
(AP, 8/31/06)
1983 Aug 21, Philippine
opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., ending a self-imposed exile
in the United States, was shot dead moments after stepping off a
plane at Manila International Airport. Fabian Ver (d.1998 at 78),
leader of the Philippine army, was among 20 men later charged in the
murder of Aquino. Ver fled to Hawaii in 1986 along with Marcos.
(AP, 8/21/97)
1983 Sep 21, In the Philippines
at least 7 people were killed in anti Marcos demonstrations in
Manila.
(http://tinyurl.com/3xjunn)
1983 In the Philippines
dictator Ferdinand Marcos secretly took some $228,000 from the
National Food Authority and transferred the money to a private
account. In 2010 an anti-graft court ordered his wife, Imelda
Marcos, to return the money plus 27 years of interest and $44,000 in
damages and litigation costs.
(SSFC, 9/19/10, p.A4)
1984 The volunteer National
Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) was founded by Jose
Concepcion with business and church leaders who were disgusted with
the corrupt elections run by the Marcos government.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A10)(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.5)
1984 In the Philippines the
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was completed at a cost of $2.3 billion,
but remained dormant. In 2011 it was planned to open to tour groups
to teach them about nuclear power.
(AFP, 5/11/11)
1985 Rotary Int’l., a
businessman’s club and global charity, following a successful pilot
study in the Philippines announced a plan to eradicate polio by
vaccinating every child under five at risk of catching it.
(Econ, 1/21/12, p.90)
1986 Feb 7, The Philippines
held a presidential election marred by charges of fraud against the
incumbent, Ferdinand E. Marcos. Corazon Aquino defeated incumbent
dictator Ferdinand Marcos but fraudulent returns gave the election
to Marcos.
(AP, 2/7/06)
1986 Feb 15, The Philippines
National Assembly proclaimed Ferdinand E. Marcos president for
another six years, following an election marked by allegations of
fraud. Marcos was later ousted.
(AP, 2/15/06)
1986 Feb 22, In the Philippines
a group of military officers mutinied against Pres. Marcos and holed
him up with a small force at a military camp in Manila, leading to
three days of protests by hundreds of thousands of citizens that
finally toppled him. The Catholic Church’s call for civil
disobedience helped to overthrow the dictatorship of Marcos.
(AP, 8/1/09)(Econ, 10/16/10, p.48)
1986 Feb 25, President
Ferdinand E. Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in
the wake of a tainted election. Corazon Aquino assumed the
presidency. Pres. Ferdinand Marcos was forced from office after 20
years of rule. He was accused of accumulating billions of dollars
during his rule. The Marcoses fled to Hawaii and Imelda Marcos left
behind her 5,400 shoes.
(TMC, 1994, p.1986)(SFC, 8/23/96, p.A26)(AP,
2/25/98)
1986 Feb 28, In the Philippines
Pres. Corazon Aquino signed executive order No. 1 creating the
Presidential Commission on Good Governance. It was created to trace
and recover assets stolen under the Marcos regime, estimated at up
to $10 billion. By 2007 only a quarter of that number was retrieved.
(www.lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo1986/eo_1_1986.html)(Econ,
8/11/07, p.33)
1986 Feb, Eduardo Cojuangco
(b.1935), aka Danding and crony capitalist to Pres. Marcos, fled the
Philippines. Cojuango had acquired a controlling stake in San Miguel
beer using public funds deposited in a bank that he controlled. In
1999 Mr. Cojuango regained his position as head of the board of San
Miguel even pending litigation for 'ill-gotten wealth."
(WSJ, 8/30/99,
p.A1,10)(www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/98/0724/biz3.html)
1986 Nov 13, In the Philippines
the body of opposition trade leader union Rolando Olalia was found
in a Manila suburb.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.5)(www.mahk.com/sc1613.htm)
1986 Nov 15, In the Philippines
Japanese executive Noboyuki Wakaoji was kidnapped. He was released
after over four months in captivity allegedly after the payment of a
huge ransom. Two gang members wee later convicted sentenced to life
terms. In 2010 Rolando Fajardo, leader of the kidnapping gang, was
arrested.
(www.pctc.gov.ph/papers/InternationalTerrorism.htm)(AFP, 11/1/10)
1986 Nov 23, Philippine
President Corazon Aquino dismissed defense chief Juan Ponce Enrile
after reported coup attempt.
(AP, 11/23/02)
1986 In the Philippines the
People Power Uprising took place on Manila’s main thoroughfare,
later renamed EDSA, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, after one of the
revolution’s heroes.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.4)
1986 In the Philippines the
Communist New People’s Army staged Operation Zombie, a bloody purge
of suspected informers. In 2001 some 75 bodies were discovered in 8
mass graves at Cagayan de Oro.
(SFC, 3/30/01, p.D4)
1987 May 11, Legislative
elections in the Philippines gave pro-Aquino candidates a large
majority.
(www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107887.html)
1987 Sep 19, Philippine leftist
opposition leader Leandro Alejandro (b.1960) was murdered.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.5)
1987 Nov 26, Powerful typhoon
whipped across Philippines, killing 270 people and damaging or
destroying 14,000 homes.
(AP, 11/26/02)
1987 Dec 20, Some 4,340 people
were killed when the Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided
with the tanker Vector off Mindoro island, setting off a double
explosion.
(AP, 2/3/06)
1987 A new constitution for the
Philippines was drafted with checks and balances to prevent a return
to strongman rule.
(Econ, 7/3/04, p.20)
1987 The Philippines abolished
the death penalty. Capital punishment was reimposed in 1994 in
response to widespread crime.
(SFC, 2/6/99, p.A12)(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A13)
1987 Ben Chan introduced his
1st Bench clothing store in the Philippines. By 2005 it grew to over
300 stores and opened up its 1st US store in Daly City, Ca.
(SFC, 6/4/05, p.C1)
1988 Oct 21, A federal grand
jury in New York indicted former Philippine President Ferdinand E.
Marcos and his wife, Imelda, on charges of fraud and racketeering.
Marcos died before he could be brought to trial; his widow, Imelda,
was acquitted in 1990.
(AP, 10/21/98)
1988 Ed Gerlach, American
priest, started the Bahay Tuluyan center for street kids in the
Ermita district (a former red-light area) of Manila.
(SFEC, 6/15/97, p.D1)
1988 The Philippine Congress,
at the urging of Mrs. Aquino, passed the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program (CARP), which limited individual landowners to 7
hectares of farmland, but the legislation was filled with loopholes.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.49)
1988 Rogelio Roxas testified
that Ferdinand Marcos had used the help of a Nevada mining engineer
to import a smelter to melt down 1,000 tons of gold bullion and a
3-foot gold statue of Buddha filled with diamonds. The treasure had
been confiscated from all over Asia by the Japanese.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A18)
1988 The separatist Moro
Islamic Liberation Front split and the National Front formed a
separate organization. They signed a unity pact in 2001.
(SFC, 8/8/01, p.A8)
1988-1993 Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law to Osama
bin Laden, operated the Benevolence Int’l. Corp. in Manila.
(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)
1989 Apr 19, Adnan Khashoggi, a
Saudi financier, was arrested in Switzerland at the request of the
US Government, which is seeking his extradition to New York to stand
trial on charges of racketeering, fraud and obstruction of justice.
He faced charges stemming from ''illegal property dealings'' on
behalf of Ferdinand E. Marcos, the ousted President of the
Philippines, and his wife, Imelda. In 1992 Khashoggi and
Imelda Marcos were found not guilty of racketeering by a jury in
Manhattan.
(http://tinyurl.com/qp8da)(www.maykuth.com/Archives/marcos90.htm)
1989 Apr 21, In the Philippines
there was a communist guerrilla ambush on Col. James Nicolas Rowe.
His car was raked with bullets near his office in the Manila suburb
of Quezon City, killing him and wounding his driver. Donato
Continente and co-defendant Juanito Itaas, who admitted being a
member of the communist New People's Army, were convicted and
sentenced to life in prison in 1991. The Supreme Court later
affirmed Itaas' sentence and reduced Continente's to 14 years after
establishing he was an accomplice. Continente was released in 2005.
(AP, 6/28/05)
1989 Sep 28, Deposed Philippine
President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii at age 72. He
was the author of 2 books: "The Law of Human Rights in the
Philippines" and "Democracy in the Philippines." Marcos’ corrupt US
backed regime in the Philippines spanned over twenty years. Corazon
Aquino was his successor.
(SFC, 8/23/96, p.A26)(AP, 9/28/97)(SFC, 5/12/97,
p.A18)
1990 Feb 19, Defense Secretary
Dick Cheney, snubbed by Philippine President Corazon Aquino, met in
Manila with Defense Minister Fidel Ramos to discuss the future of
U.S. bases in the country.
(AP, 2/19/00)
1990 Jul 16, A 7.7 earthquake
in Philippines killed some 5,000 people.
(www.drj.com/drworld/content/w1_116.htm)
1990 US Pres. Bush signed a law
granting Filipino fighters of WW II US citizenship.
(SFEC,12/14/97, Z1 p.1,4)
1991 Jun 12, The Mount Pinatubo
volcano in the Philippines began erupting for the 1st time in 600
years. [see Jun 15]
(AP, 6/12/01)(HN, 6/12/02)
1991 Jun 15, Mount Pinatubo
(4,750 feet high) exploded in a cataclysmic eruption. Due to early
warning 56,000 people were evacuated and only 450 people died. The
eruption forced the closure of Clark Air Force Base in Angeles City
and displaced hundreds of families of the Aeta tribe. [see June 12]
(SSFC, 11/11/01,
p.F4)(http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/)
1991 Jun 29, Estrellita
Vizconde and her 2 daughters, Carmela (18), and Jennifer (7), were
stabbed to death. Carmela was raped repeatedly and stabbed 17 times.
In 2000 eight defendants, all members of rich families, were found
guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Two of the defendants were
still at large.
(SFC, 1/7/00, p.D3)
1991 Nov 5, Nearly 7,000 people
were killed in floods in the Philippines.
(AP, 11/5/01)
1991 Nov 26, The Stars and
Stripes were lowered for the last time at Clark Air Base in Angeles
City, Philippines, as the United States abandoned one of its oldest
and largest overseas installations, which was damaged by a volcano.
(SFEC, 11/17/96, p.A12)(AP, 11/26/01)
1991 Dec 27, The United States
and the Philippines announced that the United States would abandon
the Subic Bay naval base by the end of 1992.
(AP, 12/27/01)
1991 Abdujarak Abubakar
Janjalani, a Muslim scholar with military training in Libya, broke
with the Moro National Liberation Front and formed “Abu Sayyaf,”
(bearer of the sword). Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law to Osama bin
Laden, helped co-found the Abu Sayyaf and acted as lead adviser to
Abdurajak Janjalani, a young Islamic radical.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A10)(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)
1991 The Abu Sayyaf group
bombed a cargo ship in Zamboanga City.
(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)
1992 Jun 30, Fidel Ramos was
sworn in as the new president of the Philippines. Joseph Estrada was
elected vice-president with twice as many votes in a separate race.
(AP, 6/30/97)(SFEC,11/23/97, p.A25)
1992 Nov. 24, The US military
closed the Subic Bay Naval Station and left the Philippines.
(HFA, '96, p.18)(SFEC, 11/17/96, p.A12)
1992 Philippine Airlines was
sold to tycoon Lucio Tan, but the government retained a 20%
interest.
(WSJ, 6/9/98, p.A14)
1993 May 25, In the Philippines
Rogelio Roxas, a coin-collector and treasure hunter, died from
apparent poisoning as he prepared to leave for a court appearance in
Hawaii. In 1996 a Hawaiian court awarded the Golden Buddha Corp., a
consortium established by Roxas, $22 billion in damages to be
collected from the Marcos estate for the stolen Yamashita treasure.
(SFC, 10/12/97,
p.A18)(www.state.hi.us/jud/20606.htm)
1993 Sep 9, Former Philippine
President Ferdinand Marcos was buried in his homeland, four years
after his death in exile.
(AP, 9/9/98)
1993 Sep 24, Imelda Marcos,
wife of the late Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator of the
Philippines, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment after being
found guilty on charges of widespread corruption. Imelda was also
noted for her vast shoe collection.
(www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/philipp.htm)
1994 Nov 13, President Clinton,
visiting the Philippines, sought to assure world leaders that his
party's severe losses in midterm elections wouldn't undercut his
foreign policy.
(AP, 11/13/99)
1994 Dec 11, A Philippine
Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo was bombed. A Japanese
passenger was killed and 10 people were injured. Later US
prosecutors accused Ramzi Ahmed Yousef of placing the bomb and of
masterminding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Yousef
denied placing the airline bomb because he was imprisoned at the
time.
(SFC, 5/31/96, A4)
1994 The death penalty was
restored due to widespread crime.
(SFC, 1/19/99, p.A7)(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A13)
1994 A federal jury in Hawaii
awarded 9,539 victims and heirs $1.2 billion in “exemplary damages”
against the estate of former Philippine Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. In
1995 the same jury awarded the plaintiffs $766 million for injury
compensation. In 1996 an appeals court in San Francisco upheld the
verdict. In 1999 a $150 million settlement was reached with the
funds to come from Marcos funds in Swiss banks.
(SFC, 12/18/96, p.C4)(SFC, 2/25/99, p.A12)
1995 Jan 6, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef
and Abdul Hakim Murad were arrested in Manila, Philippines, when
explosives that they were mixing blew up and alerted the police. In
their apartment were found bomb-making manuals and timers and
evidence that they intended to blow up US jetliners. They were found
guilty by a jury in New York on 9/5/96.
(SFC, 9/6/96, p.C5)
1995 Jan 13, Authorities in the
Philippines said they had unearthed a conspiracy by militant Muslims
to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his visit.
(AP, 1/13/00)
1995 Jan 14, Pope John Paul II
addressed a huge rally in Manila, urging young people to reject
cynicism.
(AP, 1/14/00)
1995 Jan 15, Pope John Paul II
celebrated a final Mass during his visit to the Philippines, drawing
millions of people.
(AP, 1/15/00)
1995 Apr, Abu Sayyaf rebels
raided the market town of Ipil. The looted banks, seized dozens of
“human shields,” and executed 54 villagers.
(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)
1995 May 21, Larry Lee
Hillblom, co-founder and majority shareholder of DHL Corp.,
disappeared into the Pacific Ocean in his World War II vintage
seaplane. He was conservatively valued at 500 million and willed
most of his estate to a charitable trust for medical research. $240
million was set aside for medical research at UCSF. He named the
Bank of Saipan as executor but left behind a number of illegitimate
children in the Philippines and the Mariana Islands who are laying
claim to his estate. In 1998 4 children won $90 million settlements
each. Later it was learned that many of his personal effects in
Saipan were buried to avoid DNA tests for paternity confirmation. In
2012 James D. Scurlock authored “The Life and Ruins of a Billionaire
Genius.”
(WSJ, 5/15/96, p.A1,8)(SFEC, 1/11/98, p.A1)(SFEC,
8/16/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/20/00, p.A1)(SSFC, 2/12/12, p.F7)
1995 Nov 3, Typhoon Angela
killed at least 500 people in the northern Philippines and 200 were
reported missing. Winds hit the main island of Luzon at 167 mph.
Typhoon “Angela” ripped through the Philippines, killing more than
880 people.
(WSJ,11/6/95, p.A-1)(AP, 11/3/00)
1995 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas
(Bearer of the Sword in Arabic), a small fundamentalist splinter
group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, massacred 53-54 people
at Ipil near Zamboanga del Norte. They were reportedly trained in
Libya and fought in Afghanistan.
(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A11)(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A10)
1995 Tropical storm Zack killed
at least 68 people and left thousands homeless. The storm struck
hardest on the islands of Negros and Panay.
(WSJ, 10/30/95, p.A-1)
1995 China seized Mischief
Reef, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, that were
claimed by the Philippines.
(WSJ, 3/5/97, p.A16)(Econ, 3/31/07, SR p.7)
1996 Mar 19, A fire at a Quezon
City nightclub in the Philippines killed at least 149 young people
celebrating the end of their school year.
(WSJ, 3/19/96, p.A-1)
1996 Mar (late), In a major
mining accident an estimated 3 million tons of tailings leaked from
a drainage tunnel of the Marcopper Mining Corp. and smothered the
Boac River on the island province of Marinduque.
(SFC, 6/2/96, p.A-12)
1996 Jun, Talks opened between
the government and Muslim rebels to end the 24-year conflict that
has killed 50,000 people in the southern islands.
(WSJ, 6/20/96, p.A1)
1996 Jun 23, a peace agreement
was reached with Muslim rebels. Opponents fear being under the
administration of former rebels.
(SFC, 7/3/96, p.C3)
1996 Jul 28, Typhoon Gloria
struck and killed at least 39 people on Luzon and left 16 missing.
(WSJ, 7/29/96, p.A1)
1996 Aug 10, In the Philippines
Mount Canlaon erupted and killed 3 climbers. The mountain is one of
21 active volcanoes in the Philippines.
(SFC, 8/12/96, p.C1)
1996 Sep 2, In the Philippines
an accord was signed between pres. Ramos and Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) rebel leader Nur Misuari to end a 24-26 year
Muslim rebellion during which some 120,000 people were killed. Many
Muslim rebels of the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
continued to fight.
(WSJ, 8/20/96, p.A1)(SFC, 8/20/96, p.A9)(SFC,
9/2/96, p.A12)(AP, 9/2/97) (SFEM,12/21/97, p.23)(WSJ, 6/22/99,
p.A19)
1996 Sep 24, About 3,000 slum
dwellers marched to the Presidential Palace in Manila to denounce
the demolition of their homes. Wrecking crews have destroyed about
3,000 shanties with 13,000 more scheduled for destruction before the
Asia Pacific Economic Conference on Nov 24.
(SFC, 9/25/96, p.A10)
1996 Nov 15, Tropical storm
Ernie ravaged 14 provinces and killed 16 people.
(SFC, 11/16/96, p.E4)
1996 Nov 20-1996 Nov 25, In the
Philippines the summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Forum (APEC) was to be held in Manila. APEC has 18 member countries
and its goal is to remove all trade barriers by 2020.
(SFC, 11/18/96, p.A12)(SFC, 11/23/96, p.A8)
1997 Feb 3, In the Philippines
Roman Catholic Bishop Benjamin de Jesus was shot to death in the
city of Cotaboto on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 2/4/97, p.A9)
1997 Apr 25, A fire at the New
Imperial Hotel in Cotabato City killed at least 24 people and scores
were injured.
(SFC, 4/26/97, p.A12)
1997 May 15, Pres. Fidel Ramos
visited California and planned to announce a pact with Oracle Corp.
to wire the country for long-distance phone service.
(SFC, 5/15/97, p.A21)
1997 May 31, It was reported
that torrential rains from Tropical Storm Levi killed at least 53
people.
(SFC, 5/31/97, p.A17)
1997 Jul 18, In the Philippines
the government signed a general cease-fire with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, the country's 2nd largest Muslim rebel group.
(SFC, 7/19/97, p.A11)
1997 Jul, A $1.1 billion
bailout package was arranged. The government was obliged to raise
interest rates and run a budget surplus.
(SFC, 1/8/98, p.A7)
1997 Sep 13, In the Philippines
the Mount Pinukis volcano, 120 miles east of Zamboanga City, erupted
after being dormant since 1985.
(SFC, 9/13/97, p.A20)
1997 Sep 20, Pres. Ramos
announced that he would not run for re-election. A mass protest was
staged the next day anyway to prevent a change in the constitution
that would allow a 2nd term.
(SFEC, 9/21/97, p.A1)
1997 Oct 20, Typhoon Ivan with
93 mph winds plowed into the northeastern Philippines.
(SFC,10/21/97, p.A13)
1997 Dec 12, In Switzerland the
high court told Swiss banks to send some $500 million in assets of
the late Ferdinand Marcos back to the Philippines.
(SFC,12/13/97, p.A14)
1998 Feb 2, In the Philippines
a Cebu Pacific Air DC-9 crashed on Mount Sumagaya as it approached
for landing at Cagayan de Oro. 104 people were onboard. Rescuers
reached the wreckage the next day but found no survivors.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A6)(SFC, 2/4/98, p.C3)
1998 Feb 6, Mayor Brown of SF
left for Manila and was expected to sign agreements with Mayor
Alfredo Lim for workshops on AIDS, student exchange programs, and
other deals, and celebrate 100 years of Philippine independence.
Mayor Brown was to continue on to Hanoi.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A18)
1998 Mar 22, A Philippine
jetliner overshot its runway on landing and hit a row of houses and
a disco in Bacolod. 3 people were killed and a hundred injured.
(WSJ, 3/23/98, p.A1)
1998 Mar 26, Imelda Marcos
claimed to have $800 million in foreign banks and promised to give
it all to the poor if she is elected in May.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A14)
1998 Apr 29, Imelda Marco
withdrew from the presidential race.
(SFC, 4/30/98, p.A8)
1998 May 11, Elections for a
new president were held. Joseph Ejercito Estrada, a former actor
known as "Erap" (a Tagalog word for buddy), led the polls. He was
opposed by business groups and the Catholic Church. Estrada was
declared the winner on May 29.
(SFC, 5/11/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 5/12/98, p.A1)(SFC,
5/30/98, p.A10)(SFC, 7/6/99, p.A1)
1998 May 16, In the Philippines
a fire at the Lung Center of the Philippines, in a suburb of Manila,
killed at least 8 people and another 14 were presumed dead.
(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A11)
1998 Jun 6, A strike by
Philippine Airline workers abruptly grounded all flights.
(SFC, 6/8/98, p.A17)
1998 Jun 30, Joseph Estrada
took his oath of office as the nation’s 13th president.
(SFC, 6/30/98, p.A10)
1998 Jul 5, Pres. Estrada
announced that a yacht would be equipped as an office to allow him
to spend months in the central Visayas and Mindanao regions.
(SFC, 7/6/98, p.A9)
1998 Sep 18, In the Philippines
the Princess of the Orient passenger ship sank south of Manila near
Fortune Island with 443 people on board. There were 311 confirmed
survivors. The sinking was blamed on a shift in cargo in heavy seas.
Rescue efforts continued off the Philippines for the Princess of the
Orient, a ferry which had sunk in a storm, leaving at least 70
people dead and 80 others missing.
(SFC, 9/19/98, p.A14)(SFEC, 9/20/98, p.A19)(WSJ,
9/21/98, p.A1)(AP, 9/18/08)
1998 Sep 23, Philippine
Airlines (b.1941) cancelled its last flight from San Francisco and
shut down operations due to financial problems. On Sep 28 Pres.
Estrada announced that the airline could reopen following a
management agreement with its largest union for a proposed
rehabilitation plan.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.A19)(SFC, 9/29/98, p.D1)
1998 Oct 14, In the Philippines
Typhoon Zeb killed 21 people and forced some 31,000 from their
homes. The death toll went up to 74.
(SFC, 10/15/98, p.C4)(WSJ, 10/19/98, p.A1)(SFC,
10/22/98, p.C5)
1998 Oct 21, Typhoon Babs
killed 4 people in the central Philippines. Another 11 were killed
on the southern tip of Luzon. A total of 163 people were killed
including 71 from landslides on Catanduanes Island.
(SFC, 10/22/98, p.C5)(WSJ, 10/23/98, p.A1)(SFC,
10/24/98, p.A12)(SFEC, 10/25/98, p.A20)(SFC, 10/26/98, p.A7)(SFC,
10/31/98, p.A8)
1998 Dec 3, In the Philippines
a fire burned the Catholic Bahay Kalinga orphanage in Manila and at
least 28 people were killed including 23 children.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.A21)(WSJ, 12/4/98, p.A1)
1998 The film Milagros was
written by Manila playwright Rolando S. Tinio and directed by
Marilou Diaz-Abaya. It was about a stripper forced to face family
issues after her father dies.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)
1998 Abdujarak Abubakar
Janjalani, founder of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, was killed by
police in Mindanao. The group’s leadership passed to his brother,
Khadaffy Janjalani.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A10)(WSJ, 9/11/00, p.A30)
1999 Jan 2, In the Philippines
rebels lobbed a grenade into a crowd watching firemen fight a fire
on Jolo Island and at least 10 people were killed and 74 injured.
The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were believed to be responsible.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A22)(WSJ, 1/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Feb 4, Philippine Pres.
Estrada signed a document as “Jose Velarde” to withdraw $10 million
from an undeclared account. In 2000 Clarissa Ocampo, vice president
of Equitable Bank, testified to the false papers before an
impeachment court.
(SFC, 12/23/00, p.A12)
1999 Feb 4, Leo Echegaray, a
house painter convicted of raping his 10-year stepdaughter, was
executed by lethal injection. It was the first execution there in 23
years.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.A15)
1999 Feb 17, In the Philippines
Brigadier Gen'l. Victor Obillo was kidnapped by rebels of the New
People's Army in the Baguio district of Davao City.
(SFC, 2/18/99, p.A12)
1999 Feb, Some 60 people died
in skirmishes between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), led
by Hashim Salamat, and the army. Guerrilla resistance was based on
Mindanao and called for independence.
(WSJ, 6/22/99, p.A19)
1999 Apr 22, A mudslide in
Compostela Valley province left at least 14 people dead in the
village of Diwalwal.
(SFC, 4/24/99, p.A8)
1999 May 27, The Philippine
Senate ratified an accord with the US for joint military exercises.
(SFC, 5/28/99, p.D3)
1999 May 28, It was reported
that an estimated 20,000 Ibaloi people on Luzon Island were in the
way of a new $1.2 billion San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam Project on the
Agno River.
(SFC, 5/28/99, p.A12)
1999 Jun 7, Elections were set
for this date.
(WSJ, 12/3/98, p.A1)
1999 Jul 25, Raul Manglapus,
former foreign secretary, writer, playwright, linguist and musician,
died at age 80.
(SFC, 7/27/99, p.A17)
1999 Aug 3, Three days of rain
in the Manila area left 33 dead. At least 49 others died since the
rains began on Aug 1.
(SFC, 8/4/99, p.A8)(SFC, 8/5/99, p.A12)
1999 Aug 12, In the Philippines
a big explosion killed at least 7 people in Manila and damaged the
headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation. Police later
blamed the explosion on dynamite that had been seized as evidence.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/14/99, p.12)(WSJ,
8/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 20, In Manila some
150,000 people protested economic changes in the constitution
proposed by Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A11)
1999 Sep, Ford Motor Co,
planned to begin operating a $110 million car-assembly plant in
Laguna, 25 miles south of Manila.
(WSJ, 4/10/98, p.A9)
1999 Oct 6, Government
officials and Muslim separatists agreed to halt a series of deadly
clashes in at least 2 southern provinces, Maguindanao and Sultan
Kudarat, and to start formal peace talks.
(SFC, 10/7/99, p.C2)
1999 Oct 7, In the Philippines
Typhoon Dan left at least 7 people dead and thousands of homes
flooded. This was the 13th typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.
(SFC, 10/8/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 14, In the Philippines
Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels clashed with soldiers on
Mindanao and 2 people were killed in Tibao.
(SFC, 11/15/99, p.A19)
1999 Nov 18, In the southern
Philippines fighting between government troops and separatist rebels
left at least 32 dead.
(SFC, 11/19/99, p.D2)
1999 Nov 27, In the Philippines
the 10-nation ASEAN summit opened.
(SFEC, 11/28/99, p.A10)
1999 Nov 28, ASEAN leaders in
the Philippines agreed to increase cooperation with Japan, China and
South Korea in an "East Asia Forum" known as ASEAN+3 and to move
toward a common market.
(SFC, 11/29/99, p.A14)
1999 Nov 28, N.V.M. Gonzalez,
Philippine author and retired Cal. State Prof at Hayward, died in
Manila at age 84. His novels included "The Winds of April" (1941),
"The Bamboo Dancers," and "A Season of Grace."
(SFC, 12/14/99, p.B4)
1999 Dec 12-1999 Dec 17, A 6.8
earthquake hit the Philippines at Luzon and at least 5 people were
killed. A 4.8 earthquake struck Leyte province. In Manila a power
outage was caused by jellyfish sucked into water intakes of power
plants. The jelly fish pulled from cooling pumps filled 50 dump
trucks.
(SFC, 12/18/99, p.A28)
1999 Dec 22, In the Philippines
the MV Asia South Korea ferry with 606 passengers sank southeast of
Manila near Bantayan Island and at least 9 people were killed. 58
people were missing.
(SFC, 12/23/99, p.C7)(SFC, 12/24/99, p.A11)
1999 In the Philippines
residents were scheduled to move into the Smoky Mountain housing
project, built over the accumulation of 50 years of Manila's waste.
R-II Builders constructed an elaborate ventilation system to divert
methane from the project. The project was built for the 10,000
scavengers who once lived and worked in the area.
(WSJ, 8/5/99, p.A1)
1999 In the Philippines Pres.
Estrada suspended an air-rights pact with Taiwan. The deal helped
his friend Mr. Tan, the majority owner of Philippine Airlines. The
rest of the country suffered due to indirect routes to Taiwan.
(WSJ, 9/20/00, p.A6)
1999 In the Philippines Pres.
Estrada pocketed a $3.7 million commission from a state pension
investment brokered by Jaime Dichaves.
(SFC, 1/8/02, p.A7)
1999 The Philippines enacted
the Visiting Forces Agreement to let American soldiers back into the
country following the closures at Subic Bay and Clark Field.
(WSJ, 11/22/05, p.A13)
2000 Feb 20, 2nd round talks
between the government and MILF separatists were cancelled.
Government troops had earlier begun a major offensive and captured a
section of Camp Omar in Maguindanao. Sporadic clashes ensued and
dozens of people were killed.
(SFC, 2/21/00, p.A14)
2000 Feb 24, In the Philippines
the Mayon volcano erupted on Luzon.
(SFC, 2/25/00, p.A16)
2000 Feb 26, In the southern
Philippines a series of bombings aboard Super Five Express Buses
left 41 people dead and 45 injured. Muslim separatist rebels were
suspected.
(SFEC, 2/27/00, p.A29)
2000 Mar 2, In the Philippines
some 40 rebels of the New People's Army killed 10 soldiers at
Balilihan in Bohol province.
(SFC, 3/3/00, p.D4)
2000 Mar 16, In the Philippines
at least 23 people were killed in clashes between rebels and army
troops in Lanao del Norte province.
(SFC, 3/18/00, p.C16)
2000 Mar 20, The Abu Sayyaf
Muslim rebel group seized over 50 hostages from 2 schools in Basilan
province. Most of the hostages were children. 2 teachers were
released for ransom on July 21.
(SFC, 4/18/00, p.A10)(SFC, 7/22/00, p.C1)
2000 Apr 8, Fighting erupted on
Mindanao when the army launched an offensive to dislodge rebels from
5 towns in Lanao del Norte province.
(SFEC, 4/23/00, p.T9)
2000 Apr 10, In the Philippines
government troops attacked Camp Bilai, a Muslim rebel camp of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front. A number of guerrillas were killed.
278 rebels and 18 soldiers had died in clashes over the last month.
(SFC, 4/11/00, p.D4)
2000 Apr 12, In the Philippines
the Arlahada ferryboat capsized after leaving Jolo and at least 56
people died. Another 100 were missing and feared dead. The death
toll later rose to 133.
(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A16)(WSJ, 4/17/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 16, In the Philippines
at least 4 people were killed when gunmen threw a grenade at police
near a crowded church following a mall robbery.
(WSJ, 4/17/00, p.A1)
2000 Apr 17, Abu Sayyaf rebels
on Basilan Island threatened to kidnap and kill Americans if the US
does not release the men convicted for bombing the World Trade
Center in New York.
(SFEC, 4/23/00, p.T9)
2000 Apr 19, An Air Philippines
Boeing 737-200 jet crashed and all 131 people aboard were killed on
Samal Island following an attempted landing at Davao City. It was
the worst air crash in Philippine history
(SFC, 4/19/00, p.A1)(AP, 4/19/01)
2000 Apr 22, Some 1500
government troops launched a rescue operation on Basilan Island to
free the hostages seized on Mar 20.
(SFC, 4/29/00, p.A12)
2000 Apr 23, Philippine gunmen
abducted 20-21 people from a Malaysian resort on Sipadan Island.
Islamic insurgents took credit for the attack. They later freed 2
hostages and demanded $2.4 million in ransom for 19 captives. 6 were
released for hundreds of thousands in ransom on July 21. [see Aug
27]
(SFC, 4/25/00, p.A10)(WSJ, 4/27/00, p.A1)(SFC,
7/15/00, p.A13)(SFC, 7/22/00, p.C1)
2000 Apr 28, On Basilan Island
government troops gained control of the rebel stronghold after week
of fighting that left 6 soldiers were dead and 32 wounded. No
hostages were recovered.
(SFC, 4/29/00, p.A12)
2000 Apr 29, Fighting on
Basilan Island left 4 soldiers dead and 27 wounded. On Sulu Island
kidnappers made a written demands that included the return of barter
trade to the southern Philippines, a ban on large fishing boats to
protect local fishermen, and full implementation of a 1976 agreement
that called for a 13-province Muslim autonomous region.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.C14)
2000 May 2, Rebels at Talipao
threatened to behead 2 hostages if military troops were not pulled
back.
(SFC, 5/3/00, p.A12)
2000 May 3, In the southern
Philippines 2 hostages died as the military clashed with rebels
under Commander Robot (Ghalib Andang) at Talipao. On Basilan Island
15 hostages, 9 children and 6 teachers, were rescued and 4 were
killed when government troops engaged the rebels. At Zamboanga,
Mindanao, the MILF took some 100 hostages and at least 4 people were
killed.
(SFC, 5/3/00, p.A12)(SFC, 5/4/00, p.A16)(SFC,
5/5/00, p.A14)
2000 May 4, The e-mail virus “I
Love You” bug hit millions of computers around the world. It was
considered the most virulent, most damaging ($2.6 bil), most costly
and most rapidly spread virus to date. In Manila Onel de
Guzman, a former computing student, was later released with all
charges dismissed due to lack of evidence.
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A1)(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A1)(SFC,
8/22/00, p.A11)
2000 May 5, In The Philippines
the government and the MILF agreed to a 48-hour cease-fire on
Mindanao.
(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A11)
2000 May 7, In the Philippines
13 soldiers and 3 rebels were killed in a clash on Basilan Island.
(SFC, 5/8/00, p.A13)
2000 May 8, Investigators
arrested a Manila bank employee, Reomel Ramones, suspected in the
creation of the “Love Bug” computer virus.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A1)
2000 May 9, Reomel Ramones,
suspect in the “Love Bug” computer virus case, was released due to
lack of evidence. His girlfriend, Irene de Guzman, failed to turn
herself in as promised.
(SFC, 5/10/00, p.A2)
2000 May 17, Islamic rebels
asked for $2 million for the freedom of ailing German hostage Renate
Wallert. They also issued written conditions that included the
creation of an independent Islamic state and a global probe into the
plight of the Muslim minority.
(SFC, 5/18/00, p.A11)(WSJ, 5/18/00, p.A1)
2000 May 21, In the Philippines
soldiers rescued 2 children held by hostages on Basilan. 7 hostages
still remained with Muslim rebels.
(SFC, 5/22/00, p.A11)
2000 May 28, Muslim guerrillas
staged 3 attacks and killed at least 15 people including 12
civilians in the southern Philippines. Separately 26 people were
arrested on suspicion of involvement in the recent Manila bombings.
(SFC, 5/29/00, p.A14)
2000 Jun 2, Over 30 Moro rebels
were killed along with one government soldier in North Cotabato
province.
(SFC, 6/3/00, p.A12)
2000 Jun 23, The military
captured Camp Rajamuda, a guerrilla stronghold in Maguindanao and
North Cotabato provinces. The weeklong operation left 4 guerrillas
and one soldier dead.
(SFC, 6/24/00, p.A13)
2000 Jun 28, In the Philippines
Communist guerrillas killed 12 soldiers and an army brigade
commander in the town of Jones in northern Isabela province.
(SFC, 6/29/00, p.C6)
2000 Jul 5, In the Philippines
the army carried out a large offensive against Muslim separatists
and bombarded the 25,000-acre Camp Abubakar on southern Mindanao.
(SFC, 7/6/00, p.A13)
2000 Jul 7, Typhoon Kai Tak
killed at least 39 people in the Philippines and moved on to Japan.
(SFC, 7/8/00, p.A11)(WSJ, 7/10/00, p.A1)
2000 Jul 9, Government troops
captured the headquarters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front at
Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao province.
(SFC, 7/10/00, p.A10)
2000 Jul 10, In the Philippines
a garbage dump in Quezon City, a Manila suburb, collapsed and burst
into flames. At least 124 people were killed in the Lupang Pangako
shantytown at the Payatas dump. The camp was called the Promised
Land. 200 were feared to have died.
(SFC, 7/11/00, p.A14)(WSJ, 7/111/00, p.A1)(SFC,
7/12/00, p.A10)(SFC, 7/13/00, p.C4)(SFC, 7/15/00, p.A24)
2000 Jul 22, Muslim rebels in
the southern Philippines ambushed a truck carrying workers for
Maranao Planters and killed 13 people, including 3 women and a
2-year-old boy. 14 were wounded.
(SFC, 7/24/00, p.A16)
2000 Aug 18, Three Malaysians
were released by Abu Sayyaf rebels.
(WSJ, 8/21/00, p.A12)
2000 Aug 21, In the Philippines
rebels killed 17 army soldiers in Negros Occidental province.
(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A12)
2000 Aug 24, Police found the
bodies of 5 truck drivers kidnapped 2 days earlier in Maguindanao
province.
(SFC, 8/25/00, p.D8)
2000 Aug 27, Kidnappers in the
southern Philippines released 6 foreign hostages for a reported $5
million in ransom. The 5 were part of a group of 21 kidnapped on Apr
23.
(SFC, 8/28/00, p.A11)
2000 Aug 28, Abu Sayyaf
guerrillas abducted Jeffrey Schilling (24), their first American
hostage.
(SFC, 8/30/00, p.A1)
2000 Sep 1, Abu Sayyaf rebels
demanded $10 million for the release of Jeffrey Schilling and later
said that Schilling had begun a hunger strike.
(SFC, 9/2/00, p.A12)
2000 Sep 8, Abu Sayyaf rebels
freed 4 more hostages held since April 23. Libya paid a reported $1
million per hostage. The hostages later reported that rebels had
raped female hostages.
(SFC, 9/9/00, p.A10)(SFEC, 9/10/00, p.C15)(SFC,
9/11/00, p.A14)
2000 Sep 10, In Malaysia Abu
Sayyaf rebels kidnapped 3 men from Pandanan Island off Borneo and
took them to Jolo island in the Philippines.
(WSJ, 9/12/00, p.A1)
2000 Sep 14, Guerrillas bombed
3 gas stations and lawmakers planned to undo economic reforms and
nationalize oil imports to cut soaring fuel costs.
(WSJ, 9/15/00, p.A1)
2000 Sep 16, The military under
orders from Pres. Estrada staged a surprise attack on Abu Sayyaf
rebels on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 9/16/00, p.A1)(SFEC, 9/17/00, p.A2)
2000 Sep 17, Military forces
said 6 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were killed and 20 arrested. The
pursuit continued.
(SFC, 9/18/00, p.A8)
2000 Sep 19, A government court
ruled that nearly $627 million in Swiss bank deposits belonging to
the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos should go to the government.
(SFC, 9/20/00, p.A14)
2000 Sep 20, Two French
television journalists were rescued from Abu Sayyaf rebels. 7 rebels
were reported killed and 20 captured after 5 days of fighting.
(SFC, 9/20/00, p.A14)
2000 Sep 25, It was reported
that at least 3 civilians had been accidentally killed by soldiers
in pursuit of Abu Sayyaf rebels. Some 14,000 people were forced to
flee their homes.
(SFC, 9/25/00, p.A16)
2000 Sep 26, In the Philippines
the Supreme Court announced an 18-month sentence for Tommy Suharto
for corruption.
(SFC, 9/27/00, p.A15)
2000 Sep 26, Philippine Abu
Sayyaf rebels claimed to have escaped from Jolo Island.
(SFC, 9/27/00, p.A15)
2000 Sep 27, In the Philippines
10 people died after some 50 rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front attacked farmers and soldiers in Carmen village, North
Cotabato province.
(SFC, 9/29/00, p.D2)
2000 Sep 27, Jolo Island
villagers in Lapu dumped 3 Abu Sayyaf rebel bodies at a police
station. 3 villagers were also killed in the fight with rebels.
(SFC, 9/28/00, p.C2)
2000 Oct 2, On Jolo Island
soldiers freed 12 Christian evangelists from Abu Sayyaf rebels after
one escaped and alerted the military. The guerrillas escaped with 5
remaining hostages.
(SFC, 10/3/00, p.A8)
2000 Oct 5, Pres Estrada
presided over the surrender of 600 Muslim rebels.
(WSJ, 10/6/00, p.A1)
2000 Oct 9, Philippines Gov.
Luis Singson of Ilocos Sur province charged that Pres. Estrada
received over $11 million in payoffs, mostly from illegal gambling.
(SFC, 10/10/00, p.A13)
2000 Oct 10, Military officials
said 15 Abu Sayyaf rebels surrendered in Talipao town on Jolo
Island. 129 guerrillas were reported killed and 53 captured during
the recent assault on Jolo.
(SFC, 10/11/00, p.A4)
2000 Oct 14, Philippine troops
arrested 36 suspected supporters of Abu Sayyaf rebels and 6 others
surrendered on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 10/16/00, p.F8)
2000 Oct 18, In the Philippines
opposition legislators filed a resolution for the impeachment of
Pres. Estrada for taking bribes. Some 15,000 people massed in Manila
and called for Estrada’s resignation.
(SFC, 10/19/00, p.A17)
2000 Oct 19, In the Philippines
at least 9 people were reported killed and 11 wounded in several
attacks by the MILF.
(SFC, 10/20/00, p.D8)
2000 Oct 24, A rebel commander
and 18 followers surrendered on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 10/25/00, p.A16)
2000 Oct 25, Three Malaysian
hostages held by rebels were rescued on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 10/25/00, p.A16)(SFC, 10/26/00, p.D8)
2000 Oct 29, In the Philippines
Typhoon Xangsane left 14 dead on Luzon and moved toward China.
(WSJ, 10/30/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 2, Pres. Estrada
offered to let voters decide his future in a referendum as more
members of his cabinet resigned.
(SFC, 11/3/00, p.A18)
2000 Nov 4, Tens of thousands
rallied in Manila for Pres. Estrada to resign.
(SFEC, 11/5/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 9, Perfecto Yasay, the
former SEC Chairman, charged that Pres. Estrada forced him to
resign. Yasay had accused the president of attempting to influence
an investigation of an Estrada friend. Yasay had also tried to block
the sale of a controlling stake in Philippine Long Distance
Telephone for which Estrada received a $20 million kickback.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.D2)
2000 Nov 10, A landslide buried
11 children in Kabugao, Apayao province.
(SFC, 11/11/00, p.C18)
2000 Nov 13, The House of
Representatives approved an impeachment trial to address corruption
charges against Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 11/14/00, p.A1)
2000 Nov 14, Some 20,000
marched in Manila for the ouster of Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 11/15/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 20, Senators presented
Pres. Estrada a 270-page articles of impeachment for corruption and
constitutional violations.
(SFC, 11/21/00, p.A12)
2000 Nov 24, In the Philippines
Salvador "Bubby" Dacer, a publicist who represented top political
figures, was kidnapped and later killed along with his driver.
Police boss Sen. Panfilo Lacson was later linked to the killing. In
2009 Cesar Mancao, a former senior Philippine police official
accused of the double homicide, was extradited from the US after
agreeing to testify in the case.
(AP,
6/4/09)(http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/3133909)
2000 Nov 25, Military troops
retook Camp Bushra in Lanao del Sur province and reported 10 rebels
killed. The rebels reported 22 military casualties.
(SFC, 11/27/00, p.A8)
2000 Nov 28, At least 8 people
were killed when government forces clashed with a group that
abducted Marilyn Tiu, the wife of a businessman in Zamboanga del Sur
province.
(SFC, 11/30/00, p.C7)
2000 Dec 9, It was reported
that Tropical Storm Rumbia had killed at least 29 people in the
Philippines.
(SFC, 12/9/00, p.D8)
2000 Dec 10, Pres. Estrada
announced that he would order the commutation of all death sentences
to life imprisonment.
(SFC, 12/11/00, p.F8)
2000 Dec 14, In the southern
Philippines Muslim extremists killed 3 passengers on a motorcycle
taxi.
(SSFC, 12/17/00, p.D11)
2000 Dec 30, In the Philippines
5 bomb blasts hit Manila and at least 22 people were killed. Muslim
rebels were blamed. One of bombs was on a train and killed at least
13. Police arrested 17 men on Jan 4. 7 Muslim guerrillas were
indicted including Salamat Hashim, chairman of the Moro Liberation
Front. The Jemaah Islamiyah, an militant group linked to al Qaeda,
was involved in the train bombing. In 2009 three men, including one
of the Philippines' top terror suspects, were sentenced to life in
prison for one of the bombings that killed 11 people. The attacks
revealed close coordination among militants across the region.
(SFC, 12/30/00, p.A1)(SFC, 12/31/00, p.A1)(SFC,
1/5/01, p.D3)(SFC, 1/9/01, p.A15)(WSJ, 8/13/02, p.A14)(AP, 1/23/09)
2001 Jan 15, In the Philippines
flooding of the Balugo River and tributaries drove some 12,000
people from their homes.
(SFC, 1/16/01, p.A10)
2001 Jan 16, The prosecution
against Pres. Estrada quit after the Senate voted to deny access to
crucial evidence.
(SFC, 1/17/01, p.A10)
2001 Jan 20, Pres. Estrada
stepped down as tens of thousands, united by cell phone messages,
marched on his residence. Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
(53), daughter of former pres. Diosdado Macapagal, took over power.
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A1,12)
2001 Jan 26, Pres. Arroyo
forced her Cabinet ministers to sign an 8-point “covenant” that
included pledges to show “respect for others,” live a simple
lifestyle and focus on the poor.
(SFC, 1/27/01, p.A14)
2001 Feb 6, Pres. Arroyo named
Sen. Teofisto Guingona as her vice president. Former pres. Estrada
filed a suit disputing the legal basis for Arroyo’s presidency.
(SFC, 2/7/01, p.A12)
2001 Feb 7, Citizens filed a
lawsuit against former Pres. Estrada to seize some $400 million in
unexplained wealth and give it to the government.
(SFC, 2/8/01, p.C3)
2001 Feb 19, Pres. Arroyo
announced a cease-fire with southern separatists. She hoped Mindanao
rebels would reciprocate. Separately 10 people drowned and a dozen
were missing when their illegal ferry capsized as they tried to
reach Malaysia for work.
(SFC, 2/20/01, p.A9)
2001 Mar 2, The Supreme Court
affirmed the legitimacy of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and denied
immunity to former Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 3/3/01, p.A12)
2001 Mar 15, Ten police
officers were sentenced to death for accepting $13,265 in bribes
from alleged drug dealers in 1999.
(SFC, 3/16/01, p.A16)
2001 Apr 5, Former Pres.
Estrada was indicted for allegedly pocketing $82 million in
kickbacks and payoffs over his 2 ½ years in office.
(SFC, 4/6/01, p.D6)
2001 Apr 7, Manila went dark
for 14 hours when a transmission line overloaded and cut power to 35
million people.
(WSJ, 4/9/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 12, Government troops
raided the Abu Sayyaf rebel camp on Jolo Island and freed Jeffrey
Schilling. Some of the rebels were killed and others wounded.
(SFC, 4/13/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 16, Former Pres.
Estrada turned himself in on an arrest warrant and was released on
bond. 5 of 8 charges were dropped the next day in order to
concentrate on his corruption case.
(SFC, 4/18/01, p.A13)
2001 Apr 24, Former Pres.
Joseph Estrada was ordered to be arrested on charges of plunder.
(SFC, 4/25/01, p.A8)
2001 Apr 25, Ousted Philippine
President Joseph Estrada became the country's first leader to be
arrested for alleged corruption in office. Estrada was jailed on 8
charges.
(SFC, 4/26/01, p.A12)(AP, 4/25/02)
2001 Apr 30, In the Philippines
the army went on alert after Cardinal Sin urged people into the
streets to defend democracy and Pres. Arroyo from defenders of
former Pres. Estrada. Some 20,000 followers of Estrada tried to
storm the presidential palace and at least 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 4/30/01, p.A8)(SFC, 5/1/01, p.A8)(WSJ,
5/1/01, p.A1)
2001 May 1, In the Philippines
Pres. Arroyo declared a “state of rebellion” and ordered the arrest
of 2 senators and several military officials loyal to former Pres.
Estrada. Some 40,000 protesters marched on Malacanang Palace and 3
people were killed.
(SFC, 5/2/01, p.A1)(SFC, 5/3/01, p.B1)
2001 May 6, Pres. Arroyo lifted
the “state of rebellion” order.
(SFC, 5/7/01, p.C1)
2001 May 14, Midterm elections
were held for half the Senate and the entire House of
Representatives and 17,600 municipal and provincial posts. The
Communist associated Nation First Party won 3 seats.
(SFC, 5/14/01, p.A9)(SFC, 8/21/01, p.A6)
2001 May 15, Gunmen killed a
policeman and stole ballot boxes as voting continued. Arroyo’s party
held a flimsy lead.
(WSJ, 5/16/01, p.A1)
2001 May 22, Two workers were
killed at the Pearl Farms resort on Samal Island during an attack by
suspected Muslim rebels. Guards repulsed the attack.
(SFC, 5/24/01, p.C3)
2001 May 24, Muslim rebels
kidnapped 40 people traveling from Basilan to Babuan Island.
(SFC, 5/26/01, p.A10)
2001 May 27, Gunmen abducted 21
people from the Dos Palmas Island Resort in Palawan province,
Philippines. Guillermo Sobero from Corona, Ca., was one of the 3
abducted Americans. The Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility. Sobero
was later beheaded. Missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham were
among the kidnapped. A $300,000 ransom for the Burnhams was paid in
2002, but the rebels then asked for $200,000 more. [see Jun 7, 2002]
(SSFC, 5/27/01, p.A12)(SFC, 5/29/01, p.A8)(SFC,
10/25/01, p.C2)(SFC, 11/27/01, p.A6)(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A11)
2001 Jun 2, Government forces
engaged Muslim separatists at Lamitan on Basilan Island. At least 12
soldiers were killed in 2 days of fighting. New hostages were
reported taken. It was later reported that army officers accepted
bribes to allow Abu Sayyaf rebels to escape.
(SFC, 6/2/01, p.A8)(SSFC, 6/3/01, p.A16)(SFC,
8/25/01, p.A9)
2001 Jun 12, On Basilan Island
Muslim rebels claimed to have beheaded Guillermo Sobero of Corona,
Ca., one of the hostages kidnapped May 27.
(SFC, 6/12/01, p.A8)(SFC, 6/13/01, p.D4)
2001 Jun 14, Francis Ganzon, a
Muslim cleric, and Kimberly Jao (13) were released by Abu Sayyaf
rebels on Basilan Island. Mohaimin Sahi, a Muslim cleric negotiator
taken captive a few days earlier, was also released.
(SSFC, 6/17/01, p.A13)
2001 Jun 21, On Zamboanga 3
severed heads were found in the area where Muslim extremists claimed
to have killed Guillermo Sobero of Riverside, Ca.
(SFC, 6/22/01, p.A15)
2001 Jun 22, The Philippine
government signed a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front.
(SFC, 6/23/01, p.A9)
2001 Jun 24, In Legazpi the
Mayon volcano erupted and at least 7,000 villagers fled their homes.
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A9)
2001 Jun, The US indicted 5
Philippine Abu Sayyaf leaders including Hamsiraji Sali and Khadaffy
Janjalany for the May 27 kidnapping of 3 Americans.
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)
2001 Jul 3, At Zamboanga Abu
Sayyaf rebels freed 2 hostages and warned the government to withdraw
from Muslim-majority islands or face more kidnappings.
(SFC, 7/4/01, p.A12)
2001 Jul 3, In the Philippines
53 people were left dead in landslides from Typhoon Utor as the
storm moved toward Taiwan.
(WSJ, 7/5/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/6/01, p.D3)
2001 Jul 8, Police in General
Santos City arrested Nadzmie Sabtulah, a high-ranking member of the
Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists.
(SFC, 7/9/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 2, Abu Sayyaf
extremists seized 36 Filipinos civilians on Basilan island and
beheaded 10 of them.
(SFC, 8/4/01, p.A6)(SSFC, 8/5/01, p.A14)
2001 Aug 4, Philippine soldiers
rescued 13 hostages of the 36 seized by Abu Sayyaf rebels on Aug 2.
(SSFC, 8/5/01, p.A14)
2001 Aug 7, The Islamic and
National fronts signed a separate unity pact to bridge their 23-year
split. Muslim separatists agreed to a cease-fire with the
government. Only the Abu Sayyaf was left fighting the government.
(SFC, 8/8/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 18, A pre-dawn fire
swept through the Manor Hotel in Quezon City and at least 68 people,
trapped behind security bars, were killed
(SFC, 8/18/01, p.A10)
2001 Oct 1, The trial of former
Pres. Estrada had a brief start and was postponed to Oct 17. Estrada
showed up against his will, without his legal team and clad in
slippers.
(SFC, 10/2/01, p.A10)
2001 Oct 4, Government forces
captured 13 members of Abu Sayyaf and killed another in a southern
clash.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.D6)
2001 Oct 17, Gunmen abducted an
Italian priest, Giuseppe Pierantoni (45), in Dimataling, Zamboanga
del Sur. He was freed Apr 8, 2002.
(WSJ, 10/18/01, p.A1)(SFC, 4/8/02, p.A7)
2001 Oct 23, In the Philippines
6 suspected Muslim rebels surrendered and 3 were captured.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.C2)
2001 Oct 23, US military
officers were sent to the Philippines to assess how the US might
help the local war against terrorism.
(SFC, 10/24/01, p.A13)
2001 Oct 28, In Zamboanga a
bomb exploded at a food court and at least 6 people were killed. Abu
Sayyaf rebels were blamed.
(SFC, 10/29/01, p.A9)
2001 Oct 30, Marvin Deonzon
(27) was arrested following the weekend bomb attack. Deonzon claimed
to be part of the al Qaeda network and warned of another 40 bombs
planted around Zamboanga.
(WSJ, 11/1/01, p.A17)
2001 Nov 7, In the Philippines
tropical storm Lingling left at least 68 people dead from floods and
landslides.
(SFC, 11/8/01, p.A20)
2001 Nov 8, In the Philippines
the toll from tropical storm Lingling climbed to at least 350
people. The storm left more than 200 dead and moved to Vietnam.
(SFC, 11/9/01, p.A18)(WSJ, 11/9/01, p.A1)(SFC,
11/13/01, p.A14)(AP, 11/8/02)
2001 Nov 17, Communist
guerrillas opened fire on soldiers in Cateel town. 18 soldiers and
10 rebels were killed.
(SFC, 11/19/01, p.A14)
2001 Nov 19, Moro rebels
attacked the army near Jolo town. 4 soldiers were killed along with
51 rebels in a counterattack.
(SFC, 11/20/01, p.A17)
2001 Nov 22, The military
bombed rebel positions on Jolo island and hunted for supporters of
Gov. Nur Misuari, who was charged with rebellion. At least 100 of
Misuari’s men were reported killed since the Nov 19 attack.
(SFC, 11/23/01, p.A19)
2001 Nov 27, The military
reported 25 guerrillas killed along with 1 soldier in Zamboanga.
Rebels under Julhambri Misuari, nephew of arrested Gov. Misuari,
later released 89 hostages in exchange for safe passage out of
Zamboanga.
(SFC, 11/28/01, p.A3)
2001 Dec 23, Police rescued a
Canadian hostage, Pierre Belanger (51), held for 2 months by the
Pentagon gang in the village of Buena Vista.
(SFC, 12/24/01, p.A4)
2001 Dec 29, Philippine troops
raided a camp of Muslim rebels linked to Osama bin Laden and killed
13.
(WSJ, 12/31/01, p.A1)
2001 Louis H. Francia, NY poet
and journalist, authored “Eye of the Fish,” a record of his
Philippine travels.
(SSFC, 8/19/01, DB p.67)
2002 Jan 9, In the Philippines
Gen. Diomedio Villanueva said some 100 US military advisers will be
allowed to join front-line Philippine troops fighting Abu Sayyaf
rebels.
(SFC, 1/10/02, p.A8)
2002 Jan 15, Philippine police
arrested Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi of Indonesia, an alleged bomb-maker
in an al Qaeda linked terrorist cell. Ghozi admitted to providing
munitions and financing for the Dec 30, 2000, attack in Manila that
killed 22.
(WSJ, 1/21/02, p.A10)
2002 Jan 15, In the Philippines
15 people were killed in a shootout between Muslim demonstrators and
police in Jolo.
(SFC, 1/16/02, p.A7)
2002 Jan 31, US troops began a
6-month exercise for Filipino soldiers on Zamboanga, who were
hunting Abu Sayyaf extremists.
(SFC, 2/1/02, p.A24)
2002 Feb 6, The Philippine
opposition made a legal move that gave Pres. Arroyo 10 days to
justify the presence of US troops.
(SFC, 2/7/02, p.A12)
2002 Feb 21, A US MH-47E
Chinook helicopter with 10 soldiers crashed into the Mindanao Sea in
the Philippines. 3 bodies were found by local fishermen. A salvage
team found 5 more bodies Mar 30.
(SFC, 2/22/02, p.A17)(SFC, 2/23/02, p.A14)(SSFC,
3/29/02, p.A17)
2002 Mar 5, In the Philippines
a 6.8 earthquake struck about 10 miles under the sea some 147 miles
southwest of General Santos and 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 3/6/02, p.A8)
2002 Mar 12, Munib Assa, a
senior Abu Sayyaf guerrilla, was arrested in Zamboanga.
(SFC, 3/15/02, p.A12)
2002 Mar, Levi Celerio (91),
national artist and composer (leaf player), died.
(SFC, 4/4/02, p.A19)
2002 Apr 11, The ferry MV
Carmela with 240 passengers caught fire and at least 15 people were
killed.
(SFC, 4/11/02, p.A8)
2002 Apr 21, In the Philippines
3 explosions killed at least 14 people in General Santos. Abu Sayyaf
rebels claimed responsibility.
(SFC, 4/22/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr, In the Philippines
Benjaline Hernandez (22) was killed on Mindanao while teaching
peasant children and helping victims of the low-level conflict
between the Philippine army and the communist New People’s Army. He
mother later insisted that she was killed by gunmen from a
government-supported militia.
(SSFC, 2/25/07, p.A15)
2002 May 2, Salip Abdullah, a
key aide to Abu Sayyaf chief Janjalini, was captured in Labangal
village near General Santos.
(SFC, 5/3/02, p.A10)
2002 May 22, Philippine police
in Cotabato city arrested Noor Mohammad Umog, a Muslim Abu Sayyaf
leader.
(SFC, 5/24/02, p.A16)
2002 May 29, The US offered a
reward for as much as $5 million for the capture of Abu Sayyaf
leaders in the Philippines.
(SFC, 5/30/02, p.A10)
2002 May 30, It was reported
that dynamite fishing in the Philippines has put the native coral
reefs on the verge of collapse.
(SFC, 5/30/02, p.A1)
2002 Jun 7, In the Philippines
a yearlong hostage crisis came to an end as Martin Burnham, an
American missionary, was killed along with Philippine nurse Ediborah
Yap when troops stormed an Abu Sayyaf outpost on Mindanao. Burnham's
wife, Gracia Burnham, was wounded.
(SFC, 6/8/02, p.A1)(AP, 6/7/07)
2002 Jun 16, Philippine troops
shot dead one Muslim rebel and wounded an unknown number in their
first clash with the guerrillas since an American hostage was killed
in a rescue operation more than a week ago.
(Reuters, 6/16/02)
2002 Jun 19, In the Philippines
witnesses reported that 17 people were killed in a shootout between
members of a cult and security forces moving in to arrest their
leader on a remote southern Philippine island.
(Reuters, 6/19/02)
2002 Jun 21, Abu Sabaya (Aldam
Tilao), one of the Philippines' most wanted Muslim rebels and the
key man in last year's kidnapping of a U.S. missionary couple, was
reportedly shot and likely killed in a clash with government troops.
(Reuters, 6/21/02)(SFC, 6/22/02, p.A6)
2002 Jun 27, Muslim guerrillas
killed a Philippine army officer and wounded five soldiers in a
gunbattle on a southern island where three Indonesian seamen have
been held hostage for more than a week.
(Reuters, 6/27/02)
2002 Jul 1, Philippine
government forces using bomber planes and helicopters attacked
suspected Muslim rebel positions in the southern Philippines,
inflicting an undetermined number of casualties.
(Reuters, 7/1/02)
2002 Jul 2, Philippine Vice
President Teofisto Guingona resigned as foreign minister, settling
but perhaps not ending a public row with President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo over U.S. military exercises in the south of the country.
(Reuters, 7/2/02)
2002 Jul 8, Typhoon Chata'an
headed towards southern Japan after battering the Philippines, where
officials said it had killed 17 people -- including three South
Korean tourists who died when their boat capsized.
(Reuters, 7/8/02)
2002 Jul 9, Philippine
officials said they had arrested a Filipino Muslim suspected of
helping to procure more than a ton of explosives for al Qaeda-linked
Islamic radicals accused of plotting to bomb U.S. targets in
Singapore. A U.S-trained Philippine soldier and an undetermined
number of Muslim rebels were killed in fierce fighting on southern
Jolo island.
(Reuters, 7/9/02)
2002 Jul 15, Philippine gunmen
shot dead four supporters of candidates as Filipinos voted in local
community elections after a bloody campaign that left scores of
people dead. The 90 day election campaign left 71 people dead.
(Reuters, 7/15/02)
2002 Jul 21, In the Philippines
3 people drowned in floods and a landslide buried alive a family of
three as heavy rains pummeled the main island of Luzon, including
Manila.
(Reuters, 7/21/02)
2002 Jul 30, In the Philippines
some 2,000 leftist protestors slammed a U.S.-led anti-terror
exercise, ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell for
talks on combating terrorism.
(Reuters, 7/30/02)
2002 Aug 3, Philippine troops
captured seven suspected members of the Muslim Abu Sayyaf guerrilla
group said to be linked to al Qaeda.
(AP, 8/4/02)
2002 Aug 7, In the Philippines
Marxist rebels vowed all-out resistance against the government's
renewed campaign to crush their revolt after President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo ordered the deployment of troops in their
strongholds.
(Reuters, 8/7/02)
2002 Aug 22, In the Philippines
the heads of two Jehovah’s Witnesses were found at Patikul on Jolo
island, two days after the Abu Sayyaf rebels seized the two male
preachers and six other hostages.
(Reuters, 8/22/02)(SFC, 8/22/02, p.A1)
2002 Aug 23, An anti-graft
court in the Philippines froze the assets of former president Joseph
Estrada in connection with charges that he illegally amassed over
four billion pesos ($76.48 million) during his 31-month rule.
(Reuters, 8/26/02)
2002 Aug 25, Philippine troops
shot dead a notorious leader of a gang of kidnappers and rescued a
girl (4) and her nanny from a week-long captivity.
(Reuters, 8/25/02)
2002 Aug 25, Up to 10
guerrillas from a Philippine Marxist rebel group blacklisted by the
United States were killed when the military clashed with a 40-man
New People's Army (NPA) band in Rodriguez town, a Manila suburb.
(AP, 8/26/02)
2002 Sep 8, Philippine troops
shelled retreating Muslim guerrillas after capturing two rebel camps
in fighting on southern Jolo island that left at least 22 dead.
(Reuters, 9/8/02)
2002 Oct 2, In the Philippines
a bomb killed an American soldier in Zamboanga and was detonated by
a Filipino on a motorcycle who died in the blast that killed one
other person.
(Reuters, 10/3/02)(WSJ, 10/4/02, p.A1)
2002 Oct 10, In the southern
Philippines a bomb ripped through a bus terminal in Kidapawan City
in North Cotobato province, killed 6 people and wounding 2 dozen in
the latest of a series of bomb attacks in the violence-hit region.
(Reuters, 10/10/02)(SFC, 10/12/02, p.A11)
2002 Oct 11, The Philippine
military reported that marines clashed with Abu Sayyaf rebels on
Jolo Island and at least 11 soldiers were killed.
(SSFC, 10/12/02, p.A20)
2002 Oct 12, Seven Filipino
soldiers died and 25 others were wounded in a fierce clash with
Muslim rebels deep in the jungle of southern Sulu island.
(Reuters, 10/12/02)
2002 Oct 13, Philippine troops
pounded Muslim guerrilla positions with bombs and cannon fire,
killing 20 rebels, as fighting raged for the second day in the
country's troubled south.
(AP, 10/12/02)
2002 Oct 17, In the Philippines
bombings in Zamboanga killed 7 people and injured 152. Militants of
Abu Sayyaf were suspected.
(SFC, 10/18/02, p.A10)
2002 Oct 18, In the Philippines
a bomb ripped through a bus in Quezon City, a Manila suburb,
killing 2 people and injuring 20 others.
(AP, 10/18/02)(SFC, 10/19/02, p.A12)
2002 Oct 20, In the Philippines
a bomb exploded at an open-air Christian shrine in the southern city
of Zamboanga, killing one marine and wounding 16 people.
(Reuters, 10/20/02)
2002 Nov 4, China signed a
landmark agreement, “Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the
South China Sea,” with ASEAN (Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines,
Vietnam) on avoiding open conflict in the disputed South China Sea
Spratly Islands. Indonesia objected and Taiwan was barred from
signing.
(Reuters, 11/4/02)(Econ, 5/22/04,
p.40)(www.aseansec.org/13163.htm)
2002 Nov 6, Muslim guerrillas
strafed a southern Philippine village with automatic rifle fire,
killing seven people in retaliation for an offensive by troops.
(Reuters, 11/7/02)
2002 Nov 11, In the Philippines
a Fokker passenger plane, trailing smoke from its left engine,
plunged into Manila Bay shortly after taking off from Manila, with
18 of the 34 people aboard killed or missing and presumed dead.
(AP, 11/11/02)
2002 Nov 13, Philippine Muslim
gunmen linked to the al Qaeda network have demanded a ransom of 16
million pesos ($300,000) for their seven Indonesian and Filipino
hostages kidnapped in June and August.
(AP, 11/13/02)
2002 Nov 21, The United States
and the Philippines signed a controversial agreement which would
allow U.S. forces to use the Asian country as a supply point for
military operations.
(AP, 11/21/02)
2002 Nov 24, Philippine
communist rebels killed four soldiers when about 30 rebels opened
fire on a military convoy returning to base from a mission.
(Reuters, 11/25/02)
2002 Nov 25, Philippine
communist rebels, fleeing pursuing soldiers, torched a mobile phone
relay station at Puerto Galera, a resort close to the capital Manila
which is one of the country's best-known scuba diving spots.
(Reuters, 11/25/02)
2002 Dec 24, In the southern
Philippines a bomb believed planted by Muslim Moro rebels killed 16
people, including Mayor Saudie Ampatuan in Datu Piang.
(AP, 12/24/02)(SFC, 12/25/02, p.A16)(WSJ,
12/26/02, p.A1)
2002 Dec 26, In the southern
Philippines suspected Muslim rebels killed 12 workers as they rode
in a truck to a Canadian-owned mine. Extortion was suspected.
(WSJ, 12/27/02, p.A1)
2002 The Philippine budget
deficit was 5.4% of GDP.
(Econ, 3/26/05, p.72)
2002 Philippine mineral
reserves were estimated at $840 billion.
(Econ, 7/22/06, p.63)
2003 Jan 11, Philippine army
troops have occupied a southern mountain village in Sultan Kudarat
province after driving away a large group of Moro Islamic
separatists and a kidnap gang in fierce clashes that killed at least
20 rebels and allies.
(AP, 1/12/03)
2003 Feb 2, In the Philippines
a two-hour gun battle involving about 70 New People's Army rebels
killed two soldiers and five rebels near the town of Baganga in the
southern Davao Oriental province.
(AP, 2/2/03)
2003 Feb 8, Philippine troops
killed at least eight Abu Sayyaf rebels during a clash with the
guerrillas in the southern town of Patikul.
(AP, 2/9/03)
2003 Feb 19, In the
southern Philippines suspected separatist rebels attacked Poblacion.
They rounded up some villagers and gunned down 14 people.
(AP, 2/20/03)
2003 Feb 20, Pentagon
officials said they will send over 1,700 US troops to the
Philippines over the next few weeks to fight Muslim extremists.
(SFC, 2/21/03, A1)
2003 Feb 23, The
Philippine government said it will not permit U.S. forces to join
Filipino troops in combat against Muslim extremists.
(AP, 2/23/03)
2003 Mar 4, In the
Philippines a bomb hidden in a backpack exploded at the Davao
airport on Mindanao, killing 21 people and wounding some 150.
(AP, 3/4/03)(SFC, 3/5/03, p.A1)
2003 Mar 10, In the
southern Philippines suspected Muslim separatist rebels seized a
bus, and two people were killed before the gunmen escaped.
(AP, 3/10/03)
2003 Mar 25, Philippine troops
killed a senior commander of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group
in a raid on his hideout.
(AP, 3/26/03)
2003 Mar 29, In the Philippines
troops clashed with communist guerrillas in a hilly area near the
capital, and at least 24 were people killed.
(AP, 3/30/03)
2003 Apr 2, In the southern
Philippine city of Davao a bomb exploded near a bustling wharf, and
killed 16 people including two children.
(AP, 4/3/03)(SFC, 4/3/03, p.A11)
2003 Apr 5, In the southern
Philippines two bombings killed two people and wounded eight.
(AP, 4/5/03)
2003 Apr 13, In the southern
Philippines some 40 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters attacked
soldiers in Barira. The firefight left 12 guerrillas and possibly 3
soldiers dead.
(SFC, 4/15/03, p.A5)
2003 Apr 18, At least 13
Filipino devotees were nailed to wooden crosses north of Manila in
an annual Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
(AP, 4/18/03)
2003 Apr 25, The Philippines
reported its first deaths from SARS; Taiwan authorities quarantined
over 1,100 doctors, nurses and patients in a hospital and Asian
health chiefs met on ways to tackle the deadly flu-like disease.
(Reuters, 4/25/03)
2003 May 4, In the Philippines
Muslim guerrillas attacked the town of Siocon in the southern
province of Zamboanga del Norte, and took hostages as they withdrew
from fighting that killed at least 22 people.
(AP, 5/4/03)
2003 May 10, In the Philippines
a bomb exploded at a crowded market in a southern Koronadal city,
killing at least 9 people with 41 injured. Abu Sayyaf claimed
responsibility.
(AP, 5/11/03)
2003 May 18, In the Philippines
the Manila Water Co dumped large doses of the disinfectant into a
reservoir serving the eastern part of the capital after the young
man fell into an aqueduct while picking fruit.
(Reuters, 5/20/03)
2003 May 25, In the Philippines
a passenger ferry collided with a larger boat and sank at the mouth
of Manila Bay. At least 23 people were killed and 198 were rescued.
(AP, 5/25/03)
2003 May 28, In the southern
Philippines Muslim rebels declared a cease-fire and gave the
government 10 days to meet their demands or face renewed fighting.
(AP, 5/28/03)
2003 May 29, Tropical Storm
Linfa moved northeast of the Philippines toward Japan on Thursday
after leaving at least 25 people dead and more than 8,000 displaced
following five days of heavy rains and flooding.
(AP, 5/29/03)
2003 May 31, Clashes between
Philippine troops and Muslim separatist guerrillas left at least 23
dead, just days before a 10-day unilateral cease-fire was set to
begin.
(AP, 5/31/03)
2003 Jul 10, In the southern
Philippines a bomb exploded in a crowded market, killing at least
three people and injuring 26 others, including many children.
(AP, 7/10/03)
2003 Jul 14, In Manila Fathur
Rohman al-Ghozi, terror suspect, escaped from prison.
(Econ, 7/19/03, p.34)
2003 Jul 17, Philippine
president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that police corruption likely
led to the escape from prison of three terror suspects, including a
top bomb expert, and threatened to shake up the police force.
(AP, 7/17/03)
2003 Jul 18, The Philippine
government announced a cease-fire deal with a Muslim rebel group.
(AP, 7/18/03)
2003 Jul 22, Typhoon Imbudo,
the strongest in 5 years, hit the Philippines with winds of more
than 100 mph. At least six people were killed.
(AP, 7/23/03)
2003 Jul 27, In Manila some 300
mutinous Philippine troops, who seized a downtown residential
shopping complex, surrendered. This ended a 19-hour standoff with
government forces without a shot fired. Pres. Arroyo declared a
state of rebellion, which lasted to Aug 11. In 2008 Arroyo pardoned
9 military officers who apologized after being convicted of the
coup. In 2010 Antonio Trillanes IV, the most prominent of the 300
troops, was released from seven years in detention in a presidential
amnesty for military rebels.
(AP, 7/27/03)(WSJ, 8/12/03, p.A1)(AP,
5/12/08)(AP, 12/21/10)
2003 Aug 10, In the southern
Philippines army troops searching for a suspected Islamic militant
clashed with unidentified men, killing three gunmen.
(AP, 8/10/03)
2003 Aug 15, Philippine army
forces in a speedboat killed 4 suspected members of Abu Sayyaf, an
extremist Muslim group, in a clash at sea after getting a tip from
fishermen.
(AP, 8/17/03)
2003 Sep 13, In the southern
Philippines soldiers killed two suspected members of the Muslim
extremist Abu Sayyaf group and seized pictures of al-Qaida chief
Osama bin Laden and documents in Arabic language after storming a
rebel camp.
(AP, 9/13/03)
2003 Oct 7, In the Philippines
a detained Muslim terror suspect grabbed a guard's rifle and opened
fire at police headquarters in Manila, killing three officers and
wounding three others before he was fatally shot.
(AP, 10/7/03)
2003 Oct 12, In the Philippines
Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, terrorist bombmaker for Jemaah Islamiyah,
was killed in a shootout with police in Pigcauayan.
(SFC, 10/13/03, p.A7)
2003 Oct 18, Pres. Bush
addressed a special joint session of the Philippine Congress in
Manila. Some 290 families lost their homes in a shantytown of the
Batasan Hills, which faced the building where the address was to be
held. Bush promised to help the Philippines defeat terrorism by
aiding in the modernization of its under-equipped military.
Thousands of university students and other activists marched to
protest Bush's visit to Manila already tense over security concerns.
(SFC, 10/17/03, p.A5)(AP, 10/18/03)(SSFC,
10/19/03, p.A3)
2003 Nov 7, Philippine security
officers shot and killed the country's former top civil aviation
official and a navy reserve officer as they seized the Manila
airport control tower at gunpoint.
(AP, 11/8/03)
2003 Nov 22, The Diva2Diva show
at the Daly City, Ca., Cow Palace featured Filipino singers Kuh
Ledesma and Zsa Zsa Padilla.
(Ind, 11/15/03, p.1A)
2003 Dec 8, US District Judge
James Ware ruled that US toxic cleanup law doesn't apply abroad. A
suit by Filipinos sought that the US government be required to
assess pollution near 2 former military bases.
(SFC, 12/12/03, p.A6)
2003 Dec 13, Philippine Foreign
Secretary Blas Ople (76), a key ally of President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo in her support for Washington's war on terror, died of a
heart attack.
(AP, 12/14/03)
2003 Dec 16, Pres. Bush signed
a measure that made WW II Filipino American veterans eligible for
full Veterans Affair health care. Previous benefits were at half the
rate of US veterans. Veterans in the Philippines did not qualify.
(SFC, 12/17/03, p.A2)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.A15)
2003 Dec 19, In the Philippines
landslides and floods have killed at least 127 people, and 150
others were missing and feared dead.
(AP, 12/20/03)(AP, 12/21/03)(AP, 12/22/03)
2003 Dec 21, More than 150
people were killed in mudslides in the Philippines. [see Dec 19]
(AP, 12/21/04)
2003 Dec 31, In the Philippines
a fire sparked by firecrackers swept through an old market in Lucena
City, killing at least 14 people who were trapped inside their
stalls.
(AP, 12/31/03)
2003 Jul 13, Hashim Salamat
(61), founder of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), died in
the Philippines. In the 1960s he was sent to Egypt where he obtained
an Islamic philosophy degree from Al Azhar college in 1967 and a
masters degree two years later.
(WSJ, 8/25/08,
p.A6)(www.newsflash.org/2003/05/ht/ht003629.htm)
2004 Jan 2, Philippine movie
star Fernando Po Jr. filed his candidacy for the presidency.
(SFC, 1/2/04, p.A2)
2004 Jan 4, In the southern
Philippines a bomb exploded at a packed basketball game, killing 11
people and wounding at least 68 including Parang Mayor Vivencio
Bataga, who was the likely target of the attack.
(AP, 1/4/04)(SFC, 1/5/04, p.A3)
2004 Jan 10, In the Philippines
3 rebels and 4 soldiers died when the guerrilla New People's Army
attacked a power plant south of Manila.
(AP, 1/10/04)
2004 Jan 12, In the Philippines
a huge fire in a Manila shantytown hurt at least 23 people,
destroyed thousands of homes and left about 25,000 residents
homeless.
(AP, 1/12/04)
2004 Jan 22, A Philippine
tribunal ordered the immediate transfer to the government of $683
million in illegally accumulated funds from Swiss bank accounts of
former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
(AP, 1/22/04)
2004 Jan 25, Rescuers in the
Philippines launched a massive search for 53 fishermen missing after
their boats were pounded by strong winds and high waves off three
northwestern provinces. At least two fishermen died.
(AP, 1/25/04)
2004 Feb 11, Philippine troops
rescued Alastair Joseph Onglingswan (35), a kidnapped American
businessman, who was chained by his neck and feet for 22 days by a
lone abductor.
(AP, 2/11/04)
2004 Feb 27, In the Philippines
a ferry explosion and fire killed at least two people, though 180
more were missing. The Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf claimed
responsibility. In 2008 Ruben Pestano Lavilla Jr. was arrested in
Bahrain and deported back to the Philippines for his role in the
bombing of the ferry which killed 116 people.
(AP, 2/29/04)(SFC, 9/1/08, p.A3)
2004 Mar 30, Philippine
officials reported the arrest of 4 Muslim extremists in the brutal
al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. They were found with a stash of
TNT targeted for terror attacks on trains and shopping malls in the
Philippine capital. A suspected Muslim extremist told police
interrogators he planted TNT in a television set on a ferry that
caught fire last month, killing more than 100 people
(AP, 3/30/04)
2004 Apr 8, In the Philippines
6 members of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group including
Hamsiraji Sali, a senior leader wanted by the US, were killed in a
clash with government troops on southern Basilan island. In Oct
three informants received $1 million for their help.
(AP, 4/8/04)(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)(SFC, 11/27/04,
p.A1)
2004 Apr 10, In the southern
Philippines more than 50 inmates, including many suspected members
of a Muslim extremist group, used a smuggled pistol to escape from
prison. At least nine were killed by police.
(AP, 4/10/04)
2004 May 10, In Philippine
elections voters cast ballots for president, vice president, the
House of Representatives, half of 24 seats in the Senate and about
17,000 municipal posts. Incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo opposed
film star Fernando Poe Jr. Arroyo won a narrow victory over her
movie star rival and her coalition gained a majority in the
legislature.
(AP, 5/10/04)(AP, 5/24/04)(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 May 10, In Philippine
elections Grace Padaca, physically impaired by childhood polio, was
elected governor of the poor northern Isabela province. This ended a
41-year monopoly by the Dy family.
(Econ, 3/19/05, p.47)
2004 May 18, A powerful typhoon
slammed into the Philippines, causing at least 19 deaths on eastern
islands in the archipelago.
(AP, 5/19/04)
2004 May 19, In the Philippines
Typhoon Nida left 31 people dead.
(SFC, 5/21/04, p.B10)
2004 Jun 13, Philippine air
force troops clashed with communist guerrillas camped out on a farm
near Manila and 3 rebels were killed.
(AP, 6/13/04)
2004 Jun 20, A Philippine
congressional committee announced, six weeks after the election,
that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has won another term in
office. In 2005 an audio file, allegedly wiretapped by military
intelligence, became available with Arroyo speaking to election’s
official Virgilio Garcillano. The “Hello Garci? file became popular
as a cell phone ring tone.
(AP, 6/20/04)(SFC, 6/22/05, p.A2)
2004 Jul 3, Tropical storm
Mindulle, the Korean word for dandelion, pushed toward South Korea
after killing at least 31 people in the Philippines and 18 in
Taiwan.
(Reuters, 7/3/04)(AP, 7/4/04)
2004 Jul 13, The Philippines
said it would withdraw its tiny peacekeeping force from Iraq as soon
as it can. The Philippine government made a direct appeal to
insurgents holding a Filipino hostage, pleading with them to show
mercy for the man they threatened to kill if the country did not
agree to pull its troops from Iraq early.
(AP, 7/13/04)
2004 Jul 19, The Philippines
said that it has completed the withdrawal of its peacekeeping
contingent from Iraq.
(AP, 7/19/04)
2004 Aug 13, A southern
Philippines court sentenced 17 members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu
Sayyaf militant group to death for kidnapping nurses from a hospital
there three years ago.
(AP, 8/13/04)
2004 Aug 27, Riot police used
water cannons to disperse protesters demanding that the Philippines
lift its ban on allowing its citizens to go to war-ravaged Iraq for
jobs.
(AP, 8/27/04)
2004 Nov 12, In the northern
Philippines a passenger train derailed and tumbled down a ravine
killing at least 10 people and injuring nearly 120 others.
(AP, 11/12/04)
2004 Nov 22, In the Philippines
29 people were confirmed dead with 84 others missing and feared dead
following tropical storm Muifa.
(AP, 11/22/04)
2004 Nov 30, The death toll
from landslides and flash floods in the eastern Philippines jumped
to nearly 340 with 150 others missing, after a second rainstorm hit
a region still reeling from last week's deadly typhoon. Excess
logging was blamed for the landslides. Only some 70,000 sq. km. of
forest remained from an estimated 300,000 a hundred years ago.
(AP, 11/30/04)(Econ, 12/11/04, p.42)
2004 Dec 2, In the Philippines
back-to-back storms killed more at least 842 people and left 751
missing. 1,100 were feared dead in the wake of Typhoon Nanmadol.
(AP, 12/4/04)(SFC, 12/10/04, p.A26)
2004 Dec 12, In the southern
Philippines a powerful explosion ripped through an outdoor market
packed with Christmas shoppers, killing at least 15 people and
injuring 58 others.
(AP, 12/12/04)
2004 Dec 14, Fernando Poe
(b.1939), former Philippine actor and presidential candidate, died
from a stroke in Manila. Poe, a star in over 200 films, lost the
recent elections to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by 1.1 million
votes.
(SFC, 12/14/04, p.B7)
2004 Dec, The Philippine
Supreme Court ruled to allow foreign firms to run mines in the
Philippines, overturning a negative decision last January.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.)
2004 The Philippine budget
deficit was 3.9% of GDP. Its consolidated public-sector debt was
almost 140% of GDP and some feared a default.
(Econ, 3/26/05, p.72)
2005 Jan 1, Philippines was
forecast for 4.5% annual GDP growth with a population at 87.9
million and GDP per head at $1,010.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.91)
2005 Feb 7, In the Philippines
hundreds of armed followers of a jailed former Muslim rebel leader
attacked government troops and occupied at least one army detachment
on violent southern Jolo island, sparking clashes that killed at
least 12 soldiers.
(AP, 2/7/05)
2005 Feb 12, Philippine couples
started gathering along a Manila bayside boulevard for a
pre-Valentine's Day kissing festival. Organizers hoped a million
couples will lock lips nationwide.
(AP, 2/12/05)
2005 Feb 14, Three bombs jolted
Manila and two other Philippine cities, killing at least 12 people
and wounding more than 100 others. The Muslim extremist group Abu
Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the blasts.
(AP, 2/14/05)(Econ, 2/19/05, p.41)
2005 Mar 9, In the southern
Philippines at least 27 children died from food poisoning after
eating a deep-fried caramelized cassava snack at school. Evidence
later revealed that a pesticide in the snack was the cause of death.
(AP, 3/9/05)(WSJ, 3/15/05, p.A1)
2005 Mar 14, A group of
Muslim-extremist inmates accused of carrying out some of the
Philippines' worst terrorist attacks agreed to surrender after a
botched jailbreak left at least 5 people dead. The deal later broke
down when the inmates demanded dinner first.
(AP, 3/14/05)
2005 Mar 15, In the Philippines
some of the country's most hardened terror suspects were killed in a
failed prison uprising that left 28 people dead. The inmates at Camp
Bagong Diwa in suburban Manila had agreed to surrender after their
failed jailbreak a day earlier, but the deal broke down when they
demanded food first.
(AP, 3/15/05)
2005 Mar 23, In Manila a terror
suspect said the southern Philippines has become a major training
ground for regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, graduating 23
bomb experts just days ago.
(AP, 3/23/05)
2005 Mar 24, In the southern
Philippines, Marlene Garcia Esperat (45), a columnist for a weekly
newspaper, was shot dead in her home in front of her children. Her
husband told a radio station that his wife had "many enemies because
of her exposes," mostly on corruption and other issues of
governance.
(AP, 3/26/05)
2005 Apr 14, In Haiti a
Filipino soldier was killed as U.N. forces pushed into a volatile
slum controlled by heavily armed gangs loyal to deposed President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
(AP, 4/15/05)
2005 Apr 28, A military
helicopter crashed into a wooded ravine on a northern Philippine
mountain, killing all nine people on board.
(AP, 4/29/05)
2005 May 10, Philip Agustin,
publisher of a weekly in Dingalan, Philippines, was shot dead in his
house. He had with him 500 copies of his newspaper featuring reports
on corruption in Dingalan.
(Econ, 6/18/05, p.39)
2005 May, An arc of windmills
started supplying electricity to 40 per cent of Ilocos Norte
province, the first source of clean energy introduced in the
Phillipines, a nation with 84 million people reliant on oil and gas.
(AFP, 10/12/05)
2005 Jun 11, In the Philippines
thousands of protesters demanded President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
step down during the biggest anti-government rally since allegations
surfaced that she fixed last year's election and her family received
gambling kickbacks.
(AP, 6/11/05)
2005 Jun 21, In Manila Cardinal
Jaime Sin (76) died. He was an outspoken advocate of democracy and
played a key role in the "people power" revolts (1986, 2001) that
ousted two Philippine presidents.
(AP, 6/21/05)(Econ, 7/2/05, p.77)
2005 Jun 29, Philippine Pres.
Gloria Macagapal Arroyo said her husband, implicated in bribes and
influence peddling, had agreed to leave the Philippines.
(WSJ, 6/30/05, p.A10)
2005 Jul 8, Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo's presidency was in tatters, her base of support eroding by
the hour, as former backers abandoned the Philippine leader and
added to calls for her resignation over an election scandal.
(AP, 7/8/05)
2005 Jul 13, Pressure grew for
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to quit as her
opponents staged the largest rally against her so far.
(AP, 7/13/05)
2005 Jul 25, Opposition
lawmakers in the Philippine parliament filed impeachment proceedings
against President Gloria Arroyo, accusing her of vote-rigging and
other allegations.
(AP, 7/25/05)
2005 Aug 10, In the southern
Philippines a series of powerful explosions described as terrorist
attacks ripped through Zamboanga city and injured at least 14
people.
(AP, 8/10/05)
2005 Aug 28, In the Philippines
a bomb stashed in a pack of clothes exploded on a ferry in Basilan
as it was loading passengers, injuring at least 30 people, including
nine children.
(AP, 8/28/05)
2005 Aug 30, In the Philippines
impeachment proceedings against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
fell into chaos, as opposition lawmakers walked out of a committee
hearing and claimed her backers were unjustly trying to quash the
case.
(AP, 8/30/05)
2005 Aug 31, In the Philippines
a congressional committee voted to quash all impeachment complaints
against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with the opposition
boycotting.
(AP, 8/31/05)
2005 Sep 23, In the southern
Philippines 3 teenagers were killed and at least 8 others wounded
when a retired army sergeant threw a grenade at a group of boys at a
town fiesta.
(AP, 9/24/05)
2005 Oct 4, A Philippine
provincial government filed a lawsuit in Nevada accusing Canadian
mining giant Placer Dome Inc. of damaging the environment and health
of residents of an island about 100 miles south of Manila. Placer
Dome was blamed for a March 1996 environmental accident that sent
millions of tons of open-pit copper mine waste down a river to the
Marinduque capital, Boac.
(AP, 10/4/05)
2005 Oct 7, Philippine
authorities said they had started an investigation to unmask
opposition figures suspected of involvement in the theft of
classified US documents in a widening spy scandal. Leandro
Aragoncillo, an FBI analyst in New Jersey, was suspected of passing
intelligence to the Philippines.
(AP, 10/7/05)(SFC, 10/7/05, p.A11)
2005 Oct 13, Philippine police
fired jets of water and used anti-riot shields to break up a march
by about 300 left-wing student activists demanding the ouster of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 10/13/05)
2005 Oct 26, Philippine troops
captured 7 suspected Muslim militants, including the leader of a
group of Islamic converts linked to the kidnappings of foreigners
and an alleged plot to bomb.
(AP, 10/26/05)
2005 Oct 26, In the Philippines
a tunnel in a gold mine on Mindanao collapsed after a blast and
about 50 people were feared dead.
(Reuters, 10/27/05)
2005 Oct 28, A Philippine court
sentenced to death an Indonesian and two Filipino Muslim militants
for their roles in the bombing of a Manila bus.
(AP, 10/28/05)
2005 Nov 1, In the Philippines
6 US Marines took part in a rape at the former US naval base at
Subic Bay. The incident soon fueled anti-US demonstrations in Manila
and objections to US presence in the Philippines. Prosecutors later
contended the victim (22) was attacked in a van at Subic Bay by
Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith as Lance Cpl. Keith Silkwood, Lance Cpl.
Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier cheered on the
assault. In Dec, 2006, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith (21) from St. Louis,
was convicted of raping a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years
in prison. He was the first American soldier convicted of wrongdoing
in the Philippines since the country shut down US bases here the
early 1990s. In 2009 his accuser submitted a five-page affidavit to
an appeals court saying she now doubts her own version of events. In
March it was revealed that Smith had paid the victim $2000 in
damages and that she had gone to live in America with her American
boyfriend. On April 23, 2009, the Philippine Court of Appeals
overturned the ruling against Smith, indicating the sexual act was
consensual.
(WSJ, 11/22/05, p.A13)(AP, 6/26/06)(AP,
12/4/06)(AP, 3/18/09)(Econ, 5/2/09, p.43)
2005 Nov 3, In the Philippines
the Asian Development Bank warned that a flu pandemic could kill 3
million people in Asia, trigger economic carnage in the region worth
almost $300 billion and push the world into a recession.
(AP, 11/3/05)
2005 Nov 5, Philippine security
forces captured a man they believed was Radulan Sahiron, Abu
Sayyaf's chief of staff, in Zamboanga Sibugay province, however it
turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. Sahiron was also
wanted by the US for attacks against Americans.
(AP, 11/5/05)(AP, 11/6/05)
2005 Nov 27, Philippine
President Gloria Arroyo declared the 23rd Southeast Asian Games open
in a glittering ceremony at the Aquino sports stadium in Central
Manila. An estimated 5,336 athletes will compete in 41 events which
will run from November 27 to December 5. The 11 participating
countries included Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and
Vietnam.
(AP, 11/27/05)
2005 Dec 9-2005 Dec 11, Fidel
Ramos, former president of the Philippines, and Michael Camdessus,
former managing IMF director, chaired the 1st annual meeting of the
Emerging Markets Forum at Templeton College, Oxford, England.
(Econ, 12/17/05, p.76)
2005 Dec 27, Philippine
prosecutors charged four US Marines with rape in what is seen as a
test case for a bilateral accord allowing American troops to train
here.
(AP, 12/27/05)
2005 Dec 29, Philippine media
reported that 2 US Marines, who were accused of raping a Filipina
woman, have been allowed to leave the Philippines after prosecutors
decided not to file charges against them.
(AFP, 12/29/05)
2005 Dec 31, Philippine
President Gloria Arroyo announced Indonesia's Lippo Group with local
partners is investing some three billion pesos (56.5 million
dollars) in a Philippine bank.
(AP, 12/31/05)
2005 Walden Bello, Philippine
economist, authored “Deglobalization, Ideas for a New World
Economy.”
(Econ, 2/21/09, p.59)
2005 The Philippine Department
of Labor refused 2 unions permission to go on strike at the Hacienda
Luisita sugar plantation. 7 workers were killed in a protest that
followed.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.50)
2006 Jan 8, In the Philippines
fire raced through a dormitory in Manila's congested university
district, killing at least eight people, including some clustered
near a second-floor exit.
(AP, 1/8/06)
2006 Jan 13, A Philippine judge
issued arrest warrants for four US Marines charged with rape,
putting pressure on the United States to hand them over to
Philippine authorities.
(AP, 1/13/06)
2006 Jan 15, An overcrowded
boat capsized during a religious sea parade in a remote central
Philippine province, and at least 16 people drowned and more were
missing.
(AP, 1/15/06)
2006 Jan 17, In the Philippines
4 officers, accused of leading hundreds of troops in a failed 2003
mutiny, escaped from an army prison. The army lieutenants were
identified as Lawrence San Juan, Sonny Sarmiento, Nathaniel Rabonza
and Patricio Bumindang.
(AP, 1/17/06)
2006 Jan 17, The US rejected a
Philippine request to hand over 4 Marines to be tried for rape,
setting off anti-American protests in Manila and elsewhere.
(WSJ, 1/18/06, p.A1)
2006 Jan 19, A Philippine
congressional committee approved a resolution calling on the
government to abrogate an accord allowing large-scale American
military exercises in the country after US officials refused to hand
over four US Marines accused of rape.
(AP, 1/19/06)
2006 Jan 31, The Philippine
health department warned that an AIDS crisis threatens the country
as the number of people who are HIV carriers has doubled in just
over three years.
(AP, 1/31/06)
2006 Jan 31, Philippines troops
killed at least 18 communist rebels in their bloodiest clash in
months. The clash happened outside Santa Ignacia town in Tarlac
province, about 80 miles north of Manila.
(AP, 1/31/06)
2006 Feb 4, In the Philippines
thousands of people lined up outside a stadium near Manila to watch
a TV game show surged toward the gates in the mistaken belief they
were open, and at least 88 people were trampled to death. Over 300
people were injured.
(AFP, 2/4/06)
2006 Feb 17, In the eastern
Philippines a rain-soaked mountainside disintegrated into a torrent
of mud, swallowing hundreds of houses and an elementary school in
sludge three stories high. 1,800 people were missing and feared
dead, which included nearly every man, woman and child who lived in
Guinsaugon. Logging in the area was cited as a contributing factor.
8.5 million acres of forests had been logged in the Philippines over
the last 15 years.
(AP, 2/18/06)(SFC, 2/18/06, p.A9)
2006 Feb 18, On the southern
Philippine island of Jolo, janitor for US troops was killed and 13
people wounded in an explosion near an army base. Abu Sayyaf was
suspected.
(AP, 2/18/06)
2006 Feb 22, In the Philippines
thousands of activists seeking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's
ouster clashed with riot police in Manila as they tried to march to
a monument to the 1986 "people power" revolt.
(AP, 2/22/06)
2006 Feb 24, In the Philippines
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency,
saying she had quashed a coup plot, and the military confined troops
to their camps to keep them from joining growing protests against
her rule.
(AP, 2/24/06)
2006 Feb 26, In the Philippines
a challenge to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's state of
emergency ended peacefully after disgruntled marine officers ended a
five-hour standoff that started when their commander was relieved of
duties.
(AP, 2/26/06)
2006 Feb 27, In the Philippines
police filed charges of rebellion against 16 people suspected of
plotting to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, as dozens
of protesters attempted to storm the legislature. Among those
charged were former opposition Sen. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, a
veteran of past coup attempts in the 1990s, five members of the
House of Representatives, a communist rebel leader and some
soldiers. In 2009 a military tribunal acquitted 11 officers of
plotting the foiled coup. The defendants were among a total of 28
military officers who were detained following the alleged plan to
force Arroyo from power.
(AP, 2/27/06)(AP, 10/15/09)
2006 Mar 3, In the Philippines
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lifted a week-old state of
emergency, justifying the controversial decree by claiming a coup
plot had been "a clear and present danger." Isabela City Mayor Luis
Biel II was shot and killed outside his office. Bodyguards killed
the gunman.
(AP, 3/3/06)(http://tinyurl.com/ytgzu6)
2006 Mar 23, Computer-savvy
Philippine protesters took civil disobedience to cyberspace,
launching a "virtual sit-in" campaign that urged online activists to
overwhelm the police Web site with numerous hits.
(AP, 3/23/06)
2006 Mar 27, In the Philippines
a bomb exploded in a grocery store on southern Jolo island, killing
9 people and wounding 20. Police said an extortion attempt by
suspected militants was likely behind the bombing.
(AP, 3/27/06)
2006 Mar 29, Some 20 Filipino
seamen were seized after their oil tanker, the United Arab
Emirates-registered MT LIN1, offloaded its cargo at a southern
Somali port. The men were released in July 15 following
negotiations.
(AP, 7/16/06)
2006 Apr 14, In the Philippines
at least 11 devotees were nailed to crosses during Good Friday
reenactments of Christ's final hours.
(AP, 4/14/06)
2006 Apr 16, Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo, president of the Philippines, said in an Easter announcement
that she would commute the death sentences of some 1,200 convicts,
including about a dozen al-Qaida-linked militants.
(AP, 4/16/06)
2006 Apr 24, In the Philippines
government prosecutors filed rebellion charges against a former
senator, six leftist lawmakers and 42 others suspected of plotting a
coup in February against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 4/24/06)
2006 Apr 29, In the Philippines
military intelligence agents captured Abdasil Malangka Dima, an
alleged member of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group, in Isabela,
the capital of the southern island province of Basilan. He was
allegedly involved in the abduction of three Americans, including a
missionary couple, from a resort five years ago.
(AP, 4/29/06)
2006 May 1, Workers around the
world held May Day rallies to press for better factory conditions
and higher wages in mostly peaceful marches. Activists the
Philippines used the holiday to show their opposition to their
government in tense protests watched by police.
(AP, 5/1/06)
2006 May 4, A US federal court
ruled that over 9,500 victims of human rights abuses under Ferdinand
Marcos (1917-1989) were entitled to $35 million in a US account,
which he established in 1972. Damages awarded in 1995 reached nearly
$2 million.
(SFC, 5/5/06, p.B7)
2006 May 8, Five lawmakers who
took refuge in the Philippine legislature for two months while
facing coup accusations walked out of the building in triumph after
a court dismissed the charges.
(AP, 5/8/06)
2006 May 12, A small boat sank
during a tropical storm in the central Philippines, killing at least
21 people. Two other people were electrocuted in the storm, while
floods submerged 16 villages.
(AP, 5/13/06)
2006 May 24, Philippine
officials said the US States and the Philippines have forged a
security arrangement covering threats such as terrorism, piracy,
natural disasters and outbreaks of disease. The initiative was
launched last year and diplomatic notes for carrying out the
arrangement were exchanged in April.
(AP, 5/24/06)
2006 Jun 11, In the Philippines
a grenade blast wounded eight people in a market in Batangas
province. A nearly simultaneous explosion damaged a mobile police
station in Manila.
(AP, 6/11/06)
2006 Jun 13, In the eastern
Philippines 11 prisoners escaped from a jail after killing two
guards and wounding two others. The inmates were led by a communist
guerrilla, Jessie Galecio, who had escaped from jail twice before.
(AP, 6/14/06)
2006 Jun 20, Two Filipino oil
workers were kidnapped near the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt
in the southern Niger Delta.
(AFP, 6/20/06)
2006 Jun 23, In the southern
Philippines a car bomb exploded in a public market in Shariff Aguad
as a convoy carrying a provincial governor was passing by, killing
five people wounding 10 others.
(AP, 6/23/06)
2006 Jun 24, Philippines’
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a law abolishing the death
penalty, giving final approval to a measure that divided many
Filipinos.
(AP, 6/24/06)
2006 Jun 25, Two Filipino oil
workers, kidnapped in Nigeria's southern oil delta, were released
after five days in captivity.
(AP, 6/25/06)
2006 Jun 27, A US federal court
in Hawaii authorized partial compensation of $2,000 each to about
7,500 victims of human rights abuses under late Philippine dictator
Ferdinand Marcos.
(AP, 6/28/06)
2006 Jun, Philippines’
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave her security forces a 2-year
deadline and an extra 1 billion pesos ($19 million) to wipe out the
communist New People’s Army (NPA).
(Econ, 7/1/06, p.37)
2006 Jul 7, In the Philippines
6 fugitive military officers linked to a failed 2003 mutiny against
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were arrested.
(AP, 7/7/06)
2006 Jul 10, In the Philippines
a fire destroyed more than 200 shanties in a squatter colony north
of Manila, killing one resident, injuring 6 others and leaving about
5,000 people homeless.
(AP, 7/10/06)
2006 Jul 13, In the northern
Philippines a powerful Asian storm strengthen to a typhoon after
killing at least nine people.
(AP, 7/13/06)
2006 Jul 18, In the southern
Philippines Armando Pace (56), who often attacked corruption among
politicians and the illegal drug trade in Digos city, was gunned
down as he was riding home on a motorcycle. He was the ninth
journalist killed in the country this year and the 82nd since 1986,
based on a count by the National Union of Journalists of the
Philippines.
(AP, 7/18/06)
2006 Aug 3, Fresh fighting
broke out between Philippine forces and Al-Qaeda-linked militants
after four people were killed in a major operation to capture two
suspected Bali bombers.
(AFP, 8/3/06)
2006 Aug 8, The Philippine
Congress began hearing new impeachment complaints against President
Gloria Arroyo, linking her to corruption and human rights abuses and
alleging she cheated in the 2004 election.
(AFP, 8/8/06)
2006 Aug 11, An oil tanker sank
in rough seas off the Philippine coast of Guimaras Island, about 312
miles southeast of Manila. About 528,000 gallons of industrial fuel
was leaking from the accident.
(AP, 8/15/06)
2006 Aug 18, Greenpeace warned
a sunken Philippine oil tanker was a pollution timebomb as oil from
its punctured tanks destroyed coral reefs and washed up blackened
fish on pristine beaches. Oil trapped in the tanks of the Solar I,
which went down last week with 500,000 gallons of industrial oil on
board, could pour out at any time. To date some 50,000 gallons had
leaked into the sea close to the central island of Guimaras.
(AP, 8/18/06)
2006 Sep 4, Philippine marines
clashed with nearly 200 al-Qaida-linked rebels on Jolo Island. 6
government troops were killed and 19 wounded in the monthlong
US-backed offensive. In Dec the military said Khaddafy Janjalani,
head of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf, was killed in the fighting
and that his remains had been found. DNA evidence confirmed his
death.
(AP, 9/4/06)(AP, 12/27/06)(AP, 1/20/07)
2006 Sep 6, The Philippine
government said it will take full control of Manila airport's
controversial new airport terminal despite an international court
ruling to return it to its builders. Philippine International Air
Terminals Co Inc (PIATCO) built the terminal under a
"build-operate-transfer" contract, but in 2002 President Arroyo
revoked the contract on the grounds that certain terms were
illegally renegotiated by Joseph Estrada, her deposed predecessor.
(AP, 9/6/06)
2006 Sep 28, Typhoon Xangsane
battered the northern and central Philippines with rains and winds,
killing at least 76 people.
(AP, 9/29/06)(AFP, 10/1/06)
2006 Oct 3, In the Philippines
Bishop Alberto Ramento of Tarlac, former Obispo Maximo of the
Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), was found stabbed to death at
his rectory. He was a noisy critic of government security forces.
(Econ, 10/14/06, p.46)
2006 Oct 8, In the Philippines
about 30 communist guerrillas attacked an international airport
under construction in Silay City in Negros Occidental province,
using bombs to destroy equipment and seizing guns from guards.
(AP, 10/8/06)
2006 Oct 10, In the Philippines
a bomb exploded in the town of Makilala on the southern island of
Mindanao during a celebration to mark the town's 52nd anniversary.
12 people were killed and at least 42 injured. 5 people were injured
when a bomb planted by suspected Muslim extremists exploded in the
busy market of Tacurong City.
(AFP, 10/11/06)
2006 Oct 17, Philippine media
groups accused the president's husband of trying to muzzle a
critical press by filing a string of libel cases against 43
journalists and publishers.
(AP, 10/18/06)
2006 Oct 25, The Philippine
Supreme Court vetoed a move to change the presidential system to a
unicameral parliamentary government, dealing a blow to President
Gloria Arroyo's economic agenda.
(AP, 10/25/06)
2006 Oct 29, In the northern
Philippines Typhoon Cimaron blasted roofs off homes as it made
landfall, with officials saying it may be one of the most powerful
storms to ever hit the country.
(AP, 10/29/06)
2006 Oct 30, Typhoon Cimaron
swept across the northern Philippines, killing more than 15 people
in a barrage of landslides, uprooted trees and flooding.
(AP, 10/30/06)
2006 Oct 31, Typhoon Cimaron
headed toward eastern Vietnam after leaving at least 15 dead in
landslides and flooding in the northern Philippines.
(AP, 10/31/06)
2006 Nov 15, In the Philippines
Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan,” a coup-fomenting former army colonel,
and senator were arrested after a house-to-house chase on charges of
involvement in a February plot to overthrow the president.
(AP, 11/15/06)(SFC, 11/15/06, p.A4)
2006 Nov 25, In the southern
Philippines the Leonida II, a small ferry, capsized in rough waters,
leaving 19 passengers missing while 66 people were rescued.
(AP, 11/26/06)
2006 Nov 28, Noxious fumes from
chemical waste dumped into a Philippine creek forced thousands to
flee their homes and sickened dozens. Men told police they had
loaded chemical waste from a plastic factory and dumped the cargo in
Marilao, 15 miles north of Manila.
(AP, 11/28/06)
2006 Nov 30, Typhoon Durian,
the 4th major typhoon to hit the Philippines in four months,
killed 198 people and left 260 others missing. The figures included
109 people who died in mudslides on the slopes of the Mayon volcano
that also injured 130.
(AP, 12/1/06)
2006 Dec 1, Officials reported
that Typhoon Durian killed as many as 200 people when it tore
through the eastern Philippines. The storm was eventually blamed for
1,399 deaths.
(AP, 12/1/07)
2006 Dec 2, In the Philippines
rescuers scouring mountain villages buried under mud and boulders
loosed by a powerful typhoon discovered more bodies, raising the
death total to more than 300, with another 300 missing.
(AP, 12/2/06)
2006 Dec 4, Marine Lance Cpl.
Daniel Smith was convicted in the Philippines of raping a Filipino
woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
(AP, 12/4/07)
2006 Dec 4, Rescuers in the
Philippines all but gave up hope of finding survivors in
mudslide-swamped villages on the slopes of the Mayon volcano, five
days after Typhoon Durian killed an estimated 1,000 people.
(AP, 12/4/06)
2006 Dec 5, The first foreign
aid flights of food and medicines arrived in the eastern
Philippines. Officials said devastating mudslides had left at least
1,266 people dead or missing.
(AFP, 12/5/06)
2006 Dec 9, Typhoon Utor, the
2nd to hit the Philippines in two weeks, made landfall forcing the
evacuation of thousands in Eastern Samar province where hundreds
died in the last storm. Typhoon Utor killed at least 5 people.
(AP, 12/9/06)(Reuters, 12/10/06)
2006 Dec 22, The US said it
canceled a joint military exercise with the Philippines scheduled
for next year because of a dispute over the custody of a US Marine
appealing his rape conviction.
(AP, 12/22/06)
2006 Dec 25, A fire blamed on
illegally sold firecrackers swept through a department store in the
central Philippines on Christmas Day, killing 24 people who took
refuge in a restroom.
(AP, 12/25/06)
2006 Dec 29, A US Marine
convicted of raping a Filipino woman was whisked away from a Manila
jail to the US Embassy, almost a month after the US and Philippine
governments urged a local court to transfer him to American custody
during his appeal.
(AP, 12/29/06)
2007 Jan 3, In the northern
Philippines a minibus carrying partygoers from a beach collided with
a cargo truck, killing eight people and injuring 17.
(AP, 1/2/07)
2007 Jan 6, Philippine troops
killed six members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group,
including one wanted by the US for involvement in the kidnapping of
Americans.
(AP, 1/6/07)
2007 Jan 9, Philippine troops
killed Binang Sali, a senior al-Qaida-linked militant, who allegedly
led an urban terror unit of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf.
(AP, 1/10/07)
2007 Jan 10, In the southern
Philippines a bomb exploded across the street from a public market,
killing six people and wounding 22 others. A second blast in the
region hours later wounded two people near a police outpost.
(AP, 1/10/07)
2007 Jan 12, East Timor and
France signed non-aggression treaties with ASEAN member countries on
the sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit in the Philippine resort
city of Cebu. Both countries looked to strengthen ties with a bloc
representing a sixth of the world's people.
(AP, 1/13/07)
2007 Jan 13, ASEAN leaders
meeting in the Philippines signed an agreement to regulate migrant
workers.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.54)
2007 Jan 14, ASEAN leaders
meeting in the Philippines signed an agreement to liberalize the
trade in services between China and ASEAN countries.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.54)
2007 Jan 16, In the Philippines
Jainal Antel Sali Jr. (41), popularly known as Abu Sulaiman, a top
al-Qaida-linked militant, was killed. He was accused of kidnapping
three Americans in 2001 and of masterminding one of Southeast Asia's
worst terror attacks three years later. DNA evidence soon confirmed
Sulaiman’s death.
(AP, 1/17/07)(AP, 1/20/07)
2007 Jan 18, A Philippine
Marines platoon battled about 30 extremists under Abu Sayyaf veteran
Radullan Sahiron in the Jolo town of Patikul. Ten Abu Sayyaf members
and three government troops died in the hour-long fight, while three
militants were captured.
(AP, 1/18/07)
2007 Feb 2, Suspected Muslim
guerrillas stormed a Philippine jail and blasted a hole through a
wall, freeing three alleged bombers and dozens of other inmates. In
the southern Philippines 50 people were killed and 65 others injured
when a tanker truck exploded as it was negotiating a downhill
mountain road.
(AP, 2/2/07)(AP, 2/3/07)
2007 Feb 4, A Philippine marine
general and 19 others were released from a Muslim rebel camp where
they were held for two days by guerrillas demanding more benefits
under a 1996 peace accord.
(AP, 2/4/07)
2007 Feb 13, In Nigeria gunmen
released 24 Filipino sailors taken hostage in the lawless southern
oil-producing region.
(AP, 2/13/07)
2007 Feb 15, A leftist student
leader was murdered in the central Philippines, amid plans to set up
special tribunals to try people suspected of carrying out
extrajudicial killings. Farly Alcantara (22) was head of the League
of Filipino Students at Camarines Norte State College.
(AFP, 2/16/07)
2007 Feb 18, In the southern
Philippines an unidentified gunman fatally shot Hernani Pastolero
(64), the editor of a weekly newspaper in front of his home in the
village of Bulalo.
(AP, 2/19/07)
2007 Mar 6, Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law a package of
anti-terror measures that has drawn protests as a threat to civil
liberties.
(AP, 3/6/07)
2007 Mar 14, Philippine police
stormed a courtroom to end a 24-hour hostage standoff, freeing all
four captives who were held by a movie stuntman and his common-law
wife. The gunman was killed when he dropped a grenade during the
confrontation.
(AP, 3/14/07)
2007 Mar 27, The US offered a
$5 million reward for information leading to the capture of a
US-trained Malaysian engineer accused of involvement in a series of
deadly bombings in the Philippines.
(AP, 3/27/07)
2007 Mar 28, The health
department of Philippines said HIV/AIDS is ravaging the large
overseas work force, posing a long-term threat to one of Manila's
key sources of foreign exchange.
(AFP, 3/28/07)
2007 Mar 28, In the Philippines
Jun Ducat (56), a Manila day-care center owner armed with grenades
and guns, held more than 30 youngsters and teachers hostage on a
bus, then freed them after a 10-hour standoff that he used to
denounce corruption and demand better lives for impoverished
children.
(AP,
3/28/07)(http://english.people.com.cn/200703/29/eng20070329_362055.html)
2007 Apr 3, In the Philippines
Pete Amurin, a local election board official in the city of Puerto
Rincesa, capital of Palawan island west of Manila, was shot dead at
close range near his office.
(AFP, 4/4/07)
2007 Apr 4, In the Philippines
police said they found the bodies of two missing members of the
militant Peasant Movement of the Philippines, or KMP, near a river
in the northern town of Lailo in Cagayan province.
(AFP, 4/4/07)
2007 Apr 7, In the southern
Philippines 9 soldiers and a civilian were killed in a clash in a
small army camp in Jolo island’s Parang town.
(AP, 4/8/07)
2007 Apr 8, In the Philippines
Julia Campbell (40), American Peace Corps volunteer from Fairfax,
Va., was last seen in the town of Banaue in Ifugao province. Her
body was found April 18 in a shallow grave near Batad village. In
2008 Juan Duntugan was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 40
years in prison without parole.
(AP, 4/14/07)(AP, 4/18/07)(SFC, 4/19/07,
p.A8)(AP, 6/30/08)
2007 Apr 11, More than 50
Philippine military officers pleaded guilty to violating military
order and discipline in a plea bargain, escaping lengthy jail terms
for a failed mutiny in Manila nearly four years ago.
(AP, 4/11/07)
2007 Apr 13, Muslim rebels
fired mortar bombs on a Philippines marine base in the southern
island of Jolo, killing two soldiers and a child.
(Reuters, 4/14/07)
2007 Apr 15, Philippine marines
killed at least 8 Muslim rebels and captured two of their camps in
retaliation for a series of attacks that killed a child and two
soldiers.
(AP, 4/15/07)
2007 Apr 19, The heads of seven
men who were kidnapped by Muslim extremists on a volatile southern
island were delivered to a Philippine army detachment. The men, six
road project workers and a dried-fish factory worker, were kidnapped
at gunpoint in two separate incidents April 16 near the town of
Parang. A group of civilians was ordered to take the heads to Parang
by Muslim rebel commander Habier Malik.
(AP, 4/19/07)
2007 Apr 23, Philippine police
said they have identified a local woodcarver as a suspect in the
April 8 killing of Julia Campbell, a US Peace Corps volunteer, and
are following up leads on a possible accomplice. They named the
suspect as Juan Duntugan (25) from the village of Batad in Banaue
township. Duntugan gave himself up April 27 and confessed on
television, saying he would accept "whatever punishment you will
impose on me."
(AP, 4/23/07)(AP, 4/27/07)
2007 Apr 28, A Philippine air
force helicopter crashed on a busy street in Lapu Lapu City, Cebu
Island, pinning a motorcycle taxi and hitting another with its
spinning rotors. At least 9 people on the ground and one airman were
killed. Norberto Linao Jr., the mayor of Morong town in Bataan
province, escaped injury after assailants sprayed his house with
gunfire.
(AFP, 4/28/07)(AP, 4/30/07)
2007 Apr 30, In the northern
Philippines Mayor Julian Resuello of San Carlos died 2 days after he
was shot to death.
(AP, 4/30/07)
2007 May 3, Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that US-based Texas
Instruments Inc., the world's biggest maker of mobile phone chips,
will build a $1 billion plant in the Philippines, choosing the
country over China despite concerns about power costs.
(Reuters, 5/3/07)
2007 May 8, In the Philippines
a homemade bomb ripped through a billiards hall in Tacurong city,
killing three on the spot and five more overnight with 33 seriously
wounded. Officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of
Al-Qaeda-linked militants from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
(AFP, 5/9/07)
2007 May 9, In the Philippines
Ernie Tatoy (41), an aide to a gubernatorial candidate, was fatally
shot and his daughter (13) wounded, as violence in the run-up to
next week's local and congressional elections claimed its 100th
victim in four months.
(AP, 5/9/07)
2007 May 14, Filipinos braved
the threat of violence to choose local and congressional
representatives in elections. Wahab Akbar, governor of Basilan, was
elected congressman from Basilan. His 1st wife, Jum, was elected to
become governor of Basilan. His 2nd wife Cherrylyn was already mayor
of Isabela City.
(AP, 5/14/07)(SSFC, 9/9/07, p.F1)
2007 May 15, International
observers of elections in the Philippines said they witnessed
threats and vote-buying inside some southern precincts, and police
said two more people were killed in violence related to the voting.
(AP, 5/15/07)
2007 May 18, A powerful bomb
ripped through a teeming bus terminal in the violence-prone southern
Philippines, killing a 5-year-old boy and injuring about three dozen
other people.
(AP, 5/18/07)
2007 May 22, The Philippine
elections commission suspended the vote count from last week's polls
in southern Maguindanao province amid allegations of massive
cheating by pro-government supporters.
(AP, 5/22/07)
2007 May 23, Philippine
President Gloria Arroyo said she welcomed a greater global role by
Japan as she discussed a stalled free trade agreement in Tokyo.
(AP, 5/23/07)
2007 May 31, Australia and the
Philippines agreed to expand counter-terrorism cooperation, with
elite Australian troops to train their Philippine counterparts in
the restive south.
(AFP, 5/31/07)
2007 May 31, In the Philippines
6 armed men boarded a bus in Manila and started robbing passengers.
3 suspects, the bus driver and a passenger were killed.
(AP, 5/31/07)
2007 Jun 2, In the Philippines
a man armed with a 21-inch-long knife killed nine people, including
six children, and wounded 17 others in a rampage in central Samar
province.
(AP, 6/2/07)
2007 Jun 7, The US ambassador
to the Philippines handed over a $10 million reward to four Filipino
informants whose tip led to the killing of the country's two top
terror suspects.
(AP, 6/7/07)
2007 Jun 9, The Philippines and
Laos, during a visit of Laotian PM Bouasone Bouphavanh, signed an
agreement hoping to boost the minuscule trade between them and
encourage their first investment links.
(AFP, 6/9/07)
2007 Jun 13, A Philippine court
acquitted Imelda Marcos, the flamboyant widow of dictator Ferdinand
Marcos, of five counts of tax evasion. Of more than 900 criminal and
civil cases, mostly for violation of graft and corruption laws
during her husband's 20-year rule, 40 criminal cases and fewer than
20 civil suits remained. The government said it has recovered at
least $1.7 billion in cash and assets from the Marcoses and their
associates over two decades, including Swiss bank deposits now worth
at least $680 million.
(AP, 6/13/07)
2007 Jun 15, In the southern
Philippines bombs went off on buses just a few minutes apart,
killing eight people and wounding at least 14 others.
(AP, 6/16/07)
2007 Jun 22, Philippine Justice
Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the government was dropping charges
against veteran coup-plotter Gregorio Honasan after he was elected
to the Senate last month.
(AP, 6/22/07)
2007 Jun 25, In the Philippines
Vicente Sumalpong, a reporter at a government-run radio station, was
fatally shot on southern Tawi Tawi island, the latest victim in a
string of killings of journalists.
(AP, 6/25/07)
2007 Jul 5, In the southern
Philippines 9 inmates fled jail after attacking guards. Pursuing
police officers fatally shot three of the escaped convicts and
recaptured four others. Two other inmates from the jail in southern
Cagayan de Oro city remained at large.
(AP, 7/6/07)
2007 Jul 8, In the Philippines
2 small planes collided in the air and crashed in a rice field north
of Manila, killing two Indian citizens and a Filipino flight
instructor.
(AP, 7/8/07)
2007 Jul 10, Some 50 Philippine
marines were heading back to camp when they were attacked by about
300 suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in Tipo Tipo town on southern
Basilan island. Troops recovered the bodies of 14 marines, some of
them beheaded.
(AP, 7/11/07)
2007 Jul 12, A Philippine ferry
sank southeast of Manila. At least 129 people survived the sinking
of the MV Blue Water Princess. 15 bodies were recovered and divers
said they found many more.
(AP, 7/13/07)
2007 Jul 19, Rev. Giancarlo
Bossi (57), an Italian priest held hostage for over a month in the
southern Philippines, was released.
(AP, 7/20/07)
2007 Jul 30, In the Philippines
southeast Asian foreign ministers agreed to set up a regional human
rights commission, overcoming fierce resistance from military-ruled
Myanmar. Myanmar agreed not to veto discussion over the human rights
commission at a November summit.
(AP, 7/30/07)(Econ, 8/4/07, p.36)
2007 Jul 31, ASEAN Plus Three
foreign ministers gathered in Manila on the eve of high-level
security talks. ARF, which includes the United States, European
Union, India, Pakistan, North and South Korea and other countries,
and will also hold talks here on Aug 1-2.
(AP, 7/31/07)
2007 Aug 1, The ASEAN summit
got underway in Manila. Diplomats held dozens of meetings in the
Philippine capital, using the annual gathering of nearly 30 nations
to confer on everything from the North Korean crisis to the conflict
in Darfur.
(AP, 8/1/07)
2007 Aug 2, FBI agents arrested
Rahmat Abdhir (43), aka Sean Kasem and Sean Kalimin, in San Jose,
Ca., for providing material support to his brother, Zulkifli Abdhir
(41), a US-trained engineer and terror suspect in the Philippines.
(SFC, 8/3/07, p.B5)
2007 Aug 9, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf extremists ambushed a truckload of troops going to
market, then fought a gunbattle with soldiers in pursuit. The death
toll included 25 soldiers and 27 militants on the volatile southern
island of Jolo.
(AP, 8/9/07)(AP, 8/10/07)
2007 Aug 18, In the Philippines
16 troops and dozens of Muslim extremists were killed in clashes
between government forces and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels on the southern
island of Basilan.
(AP, 8/18/07)
2007 Aug 26, In Manila,
Philippines, economic ministers of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN)
and China agreed to strengthen product standards and safety. The
move follows recalls of several tainted Chinese products from
international markets.
(AP, 8/26/07)
2007 Aug 28, Jose Maria Sison
(68), a Philippine communist leader, accused of commanding a rebel
uprising from exile for more than 20 years was arrested by Dutch
police in Utrecht on suspicion of ordering the murder of two former
allies in his home country. He was accused of ordering the killings
in 2003 and 2004 of Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, who were
gunned down in the Philippines.
(AP, 8/29/07)
2007 Aug, A census in the
Philippines put the population at almost 89 million.
(Econ, 4/26/08, p.62)
2007 Sep 12, In the Philippines
a court found former Pres. Joseph Estrada guilty of taking more than
$85 million in bribes and kickbacks and sentenced him to life
imprisonment, ending a trial that spanned 6 years.
(SFC, 9/12/07, p.A19)
2007 Sep 19, In the Philippines
the US embassy said the US government will spend 190 million dollars
over the next five years on development aid projects in the troubled
southern Philippines.
(AP, 9/19/07)
2007 Oct 3, A Dutch court
rejected a prosecution appeal against the release of Philippine
communist leader Jose Maria Sison, accused of being involved in
murders in the Philippines.
(AFP, 10/3/07)
2007 Oct 4, Philippine
President Gloria Arroyo called for increased trade with India at the
start of a three-day visit.
(AP, 10/4/07)
2007 Oct 19, In the Philippines
a powerful explosion ripped through three floors of a shopping mall
in the heart of Manila's financial district, killing 11 people,
injuring scores and sending police and troops on the highest state
of alert. Police later said a gas leak was the likely cause.
(AP, 10/19/07)(WSJ, 10/24/07, p.A1)
2007 Oct 25,
In the Philippines Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pardoned
Joseph Estrada (70), the ousted former president and action hero. He
was convicted last month on graft charges and given a life sentence.
He had been under house arrest since 2001.
(AP, 10/26/07)
2007 Nov 13, A bomb exploded at
an entrance of the Philippine House of Representatives, killing Rep.
Wahab Akbar, his driver and a staff person.
(AP, 11/13/07)
2007 Nov 15, The Philippine
government reached an agreement with the country's main Islamic
separatist group on carving out boundaries for a Muslim homeland in
the conflict-ridden south. In Manila 3 suspects were killed and
three arrested as police raided an Islamic militant hideout near the
Philippines legislature.
(AP, 11/15/07)(AFP, 11/15/07)
2007 Nov 25, In the Philippines
Typhoon Mitag hit Isabela province after killing 8 people in other
parts of the country. A week earlier Typhoon Hagibis left 13 people
before heading toward Vietnam. It then reversed direction and headed
back toward the Philippines.
(SFC, 11/26/07, p.A10)
2007 Nov 26, Philip Alston, a
New York University law professor charged by the UN Human Rights
Council with investigating extra-judicial killings in the
Philippines, reported that the military was in a state of denial
about its role in the deaths of about 800 opposition activists over
the past six years.
(AP, 11/26/07)
2007 Nov 26, In the Philippines
the death toll from Typhoon Mitag rose to 17, as search operations
began for a missing air force jet and a fishing vessel with 27
people aboard.
(AFP, 11/27/07)
2007 Nov 29, Philippines’
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo quickly quashed the latest threat
to her rule, dispatching troops and SWAT teams when dissident
military officers commandeered a five-star hotel after walking out
of their coup trial.
(AP, 11/29/07)
2007 Nov 30, In the Philippines
50 military officers and their supporters, including a former vice
president, were under arrest and others were being sought following
a failed attempt to trigger a "people power" revolt against the
president.
(AP, 11/30/07)
2007 Dec 2, About two dozen
protesters angry over a rape case involving a Marine stormed the
American Embassy. The protesters demanded the transfer to a
Philippine jail of Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, who was convicted
a year ago of raping a Filipino woman but has remained under U.S.
government custody.
(AP, 12/2/07)
2007 Dec 6, In the Philippines
14 Muslim Abu Sayyaf were sentenced to life in prison for the 2001
kidnapping of a US missionary couple and 18 others in a yearlong
jungle ordeal that prompted US-backed offensives against the
guerrillas.
(AP, 12/6/07)(SFC, 12/7/07, p.A4)
2007 Dec 7, Two gunmen barged
into a central Philippine town hall and killed the vice mayor, a
human rights advocate who had condemned a series of killings of
left-wing activists.
(AP, 12/8/07)
2007 Dec 13, In the Philippines
leaders of 2 separatist groups met with Seif al-Islam Khadafy, son
of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy, and said they should be able to
resolve differences that dated back to 1976 when the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front broke from the Moro National Liberation Front.
(SFC, 12/15/07, p.A9)
2007 Dec 15, Filipino soldiers
killed Abdulmibin Sakandal, a suspected Abu Sayyaf militant wanted
by Philippine and US authorities for alleged involvement in the 2000
kidnappings of 21 people, including Western tourists.
(AP, 12/16/07)
2008 Jan 3, In the southern
Philippines 2 al-Qaida-linked Muslim militants, including one wanted
for the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans and 17 other people from
a resort island, were captured in separate raids. Troops arrested
suspected Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Tuwatin Anahalul in Zamboanga del
Sur province's Margusatubig town.
(AP, 1/4/08)
2008 Jan 15, In the Philippines
gunmen ransacked a Roman Catholic school in the southernmost
Tawi-Tawi Island, fatally shooting Reynaldo Roda (55), a priest who
had received death threats from Muslim militants and abducting a
teacher.
(AP, 1/16/08)
2008 Jan 30, In the southern
Philippines a homemade bomb ripped through a fish processing plant,
killing three and injuring 27 workers.
(AP, 1/30/08)
2008 Jan 31, In the southern
Philippines Abu Sayyaf commander Wahab Upao, a Muslim militant who
allegedly gunned down a Roman Catholic priest in a raid on a school,
was killed in a clash with troops pursuing an Indonesian terror
suspect.
(AP, 1/31/08)
2008 Feb 2, Taiwan's president
inaugurated a runway on disputed Taiping island in the Spratlys
chain in the South China Sea, sparking a protest from the
Philippines which also claims sovereignty over the isle.
(AP, 2/3/08)
2008 Feb 4, In the Philippines
at least 7 civilians, including four children, were killed during a
military operation against al-Qaida-linked militants on southern
Jolo island.
(AP, 2/5/08)
2008 Feb 12, The Philippine
government called for calm amid growing street protests calling for
President Gloria Arroyo to resign over a corruption scandal which
has implicated her husband and a close aide.
(AP, 2/12/08)
2008 Feb 15, In the Philippines
thousands of protesters massed in Jakarta with some hurling tomatoes
at images of President Gloria Arroyo and her husband, demanding
their ouster for alleged corruption.
(AP, 2/15/08)
2008 Feb 17, Mohamad Baehaqi
(26), an alleged member of the Indonesia-based Jemaah Islamiyah
terror network, was arrested with two Filipinos during a raid on
their hide-out in the southern Philippines.
(AP, 2/19/08)
2008 Feb 25, Thousands of
Filipinos took to the streets and flocked to churches in a fresh
wave of nationwide protests on the anniversary of a 1986 grass-roots
revolt, calling for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign.
(AP, 2/25/08)
2008 Feb 29, Two former
Philippine presidents, once bitter foes, joined tens of thousands of
protesters at a rally to press for President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo's resignation over a raging corruption scandal.
(AP, 2/29/08)
2008 Mar 1, In the Philippines
a bomb wounded two Filipino soldiers and four women at a bar near a
military camp on Jolo Island, where US troops were conducting
counterterrorism training.
(AP, 3/2/08)
2008 Mar 3, A Red Cross
official said more than 900 people have been stricken with typhoid
in a city just south of the Philippine capital Manila. The disease
was spread out in 18 villages.
(AP, 3/3/08)
2008 Mar 5, Philippine
officials said soaring oil prices and the rising cost of living have
driven nearly four million people in the Philippines back into
poverty.
(AP, 3/5/08)
2008 Mar 10, A Manila court
acquitted the flamboyant widow of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos of
32 counts of illegally transferring wealth abroad during her
husband's 20-year rule.
(AP, 3/10/08)
2008 Mar 26, Philippine farmers
warned that the country was facing a serious rice supply crisis, as
the government signed a deal to import rice from Vietnam to boost
local reserves at a time of rising prices and shrinking global
stocks.
(AP, 3/26/08)
2008 Mar 26, In the southern
Philippines a passenger boat with 14 people on board capsized,
leaving only one known survivor, a man who swam several hours to
shore. Most of the missing were children.
(AP, 3/28/08)
2008 Mar 27, The
editor-in-chief of the local edition said the Philippines will get
its own edition of Playboy magazine, only without the nudity that
made the US version famous. The Philippine edition will be launched
on April 2 as a "mature lifestyle magazine."
(AFP, 3/27/08)
2008 Apr 4, President Gloria
Arroyo announced major investments to overhaul the Philippine
agriculture sector, as the country grapples with soaring rice prices
that have raised fears of social unrest.
(AFP, 4/4/08)
2008 Apr 8, A Philippine court
sentenced 9 military officers to jail terms ranging from 12 to 40
years for taking part in a foiled coup plot against President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo in 2003.
(AP, 4/8/08)
2008 Apr 15, In the northern
Philippines army troops clashed with communist rebels, leaving three
people dead in Quezon province's General Nakar town.
(AP, 4/15/08)
2008 Apr 18, In the northern
Philippines a passenger bus plunged into a ravine, killing nine
people and injuring more than 20.
(AP, 4/18/08)
2008 Apr 24, It was reported
that the US military’s health insurance program has been swindled
out of more than $100 million over the past decade in bogus claims
filed in the Philippines, where US bases were closed in 1992.
(SFC, 4/24/08, p.A4)
2008 Apr 30, In the southern
Philippines troops captured a camp that housed a bomb-making factory
of al-Qaida-linked militants after heavy fighting.
(AP, 4/30/08)
2008 May 3, The Asian
Development Bank, announced emergency funding to help poor countries
struggling with rice prices that have nearly tripled in four months.
The Manila-based organization made the announcement while meeting in
Spain.
(AP, 5/4/08)
2008 May 5, In the southern
Philippines communist rebels ambushed an army convoy with land mines
and machine-gun fire, killing three soldiers and wounding 13.
(AP, 5/5/08)
2008 May 16, In the Philippines
at least 8 bank employees and a security guard were lined up and
shot dead in the head in a bloody bank robbery in Cabuyao, Laguna
province. Another employee was in critical condition at a hospital.
On May 30 Ricardo Gomolon (38), a former soldier, was among three
people arrested over the murder of 10 people in one of the
Philippines' deadliest bank robberies. 2 suspects were still at
large.
(AP, 5/16/08)(AFP, 5/30/08)
2008 May 17, In the Philippines
Tropical Storm Halong made landfall in Pangasinan province,
northwest of Manila. By May 20 the death toll from the storm had
reached 37.
(AP, 5/21/08)
2008 May 19, In the Philippines
a man strafed several houses during a shooting spree in a town south
of Manila, killing eight people and wounding six others. Five of the
dead were children aged 4-12 years who were sleeping inside their
homes in Calamba town. The lone suspect escaped.
(AP, 5/19/08)
2008 May 22, Thailand's PM
Sundaravej pledged to sell rice to Manila at "negotiable" rates, as
he began a visit to the Philippines, which is working to boost its
stocks of the grain.
(AFP, 5/22/08)
2008 May 25, In the southern
Philippines at least 17 marines were wounded and two Muslim
separatist rebels killed as fierce prolonged fighting broke out on
Basilan island.
(AFP, 5/25/08)
2008 May 29, In the southern
Philippines 2 people were killed and 21 injured when suspected
terrorists detonated a bomb outside a US aid project office near an
air base.
(AP, 5/29/08)
2008 Jun 8, In the Philippines
a television news team was abducted in Sulu province by armed men,
believed to be members of Abu Sayaf. A cameraman was released on
June 12, but 2 colleagues remained captive.
(SFC, 6/11/08, p.A15)(AP, 6/13/08)
2008 Jun 19, Philippine
officials said Indanan township mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his son
Jun, who negotiated with al-Qaida-linked rebels for the release of
an abducted TV news anchor and three other people, have been
arrested as suspects in the June 8 kidnappings.
(AP, 6/19/08)
2008 Jun 20, Typhoon Fengshen
smashed into the Philippines' third largest island packing winds of
140 kilometers (87 miles) an hour as residents braced for flooding,
landslides and big waves. Flash floods and landslides triggered by
Typhoon Fengshen left more than 700 dead or missing in various parts
of the country.
(AFP, 6/20/08)(AFP, 6/21/08)(Econ, 6/28/08, p.49)
2008 Jun 21, In the Philippines
the Princess of Stars, carrying 862 passengers and crew, ran aground
and capsized 3 km (2 miles) from Sibuyan island in the center of the
archipelago. Nearly 800 passengers were missing as Typhoon Fengshen
killed scores and left a trail of destruction across the
archipelago. Only 48 survivors of the ferry were found, including 28
rescued the next day.
(Reuters, 6/22/08)(AP, 6/23/08)(Econ, 6/28/08,
p.49)
2008 Jun 28, In the southern
Philippines some 50 New People's Army guerrillas attacked a police
station and burned a cellular phone transmission tower, sparking
clashes with government forces that killed at least 11 people.
(AP, 6/29/08)
2008 Jun 29, In the central
Philippines heavy rains have triggered a landslide that killed at
least four people and injured 26 others.
(AP, 6/30/08)
2008 Jun 30, In the Philippines
gunmen killed journalist Bert Sison (62) and slightly wounded one of
his daughters, whose sister pretended to be dead and escaped
unharmed. The two daughters, also correspondents of the "Regional
Bulletin," which reports mostly crime stories and sometimes carries
articles critical of politicians.
(AP, 7/1/08)
2008 Jul 1, Officials said
Maoist rebels in the southern Philippines killed two soldiers in a
public market and torched a cellular phone tower as the latest
flare-up in the 40-year-old insurgency showed no sign of abating.
(AP, 7/1/08)
2008 Jul 3, In the southern
Philippines suspected communist guerrillas launched a series of
attacks, lobbing a grenade that killed three people and raiding a
police station and a gold mining company.
(AP, 7/3/08)
2008 Jul 16, The Philippine
government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front reached a deal to
create an ancestral homeland for 3 million Muslims.
(WSJ, 7/17/08, p.A8)
2008 Jul 24, In the southern
Philippines a homemade bomb ripped through a commuter bus, wounding
27 people. In North Cotabato province communist rebels attacked a
banana farm associated with Dole Foods Co. and a land mine hit a
security vehicle rushing to intervene, killing one and wounding
three others.
(AP, 7/24/08)
2008 Jul 28, In the Philippines
a packed commuter bus strayed into an oncoming lane and crashed
head-on into another bus on a highway south of Manila, killing at
least 11 people and injuring 29 others.
(AP, 7/29/08)
2008 Aug 4, The Philippine
Supreme Court, acting on a petition by Christian politicians,
blocked the signing of a key accord granting an expanded southern
homeland to minority Muslims as part of a deal to end decades of
bloody Islamic rebellion.
(AP, 8/4/08)(Econ, 8/9/08, p.41)
2008 Aug 10, In the Philippines
nearly 3,000 troops and police launched an attack after guerrillas
defied an ultimatum to withdraw from five towns in North Cotabato
province.
(AP, 8/11/08)
2008 Aug 11, Philippine attack
aircraft and artillery bombed Muslim rebel positions for a second
day, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster in North Cotabato
province with nearly 130,000 refugees forced to flee. Members of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked a town on the island
of Basilan, around 200 km (125 miles) southwest of where the main
fighting was taking place, and disrupted voting in local elections
there.
(Reuters, 8/11/08)
2008 Aug 12, Muslim guerrillas
began withdrawing from several occupied southern Philippine villages
following fierce fighting with government troops that has displaced
nearly 160,000 civilians during harvest time.
(AP, 8/12/08)
2008 Aug 15, In the Philippines
at least 15 hitchhikers were killed and 14 others injured when the
truck they were riding in plunged into a ravine outside Monkayo
township in the southern gold mining area on Diwalawal mountain.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 17, In the southern
Philippines Muslim guerrillas killed four soldiers and four
militiamen in an ambush of a military convoy.
(AP, 8/17/08)
2008 Aug 18, In the southern
Philippines separatists of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
attacked several towns and villages on Mindanao and killed 38
people.
(SFC, 8/19/08, p.A9)(AP, 8/20/08)
2008 Aug 20, Abdurahman
Macapaar (aka Commander Bravo) of the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), the Muslim rebel commander behind deadly raids in the
southern Philippines, declared an "all-out war" against the
government, saying his fighters were willing to die in battle.
(AFP, 8/20/08)
2008 Aug 20, Five people were
killed as Typhoon Nuri slammed into the northern Philippines,
triggering heavy rain and warnings of possible storm surges.
(AFP, 8/20/08)
2008 Aug 23, The Philippine
government said at least 48 soldiers and civilians and scores of
Muslim rebels have been killed in the southern Philippines in a week
of fighting triggered by the collapse of a peace deal. Muslim rebels
urged the Philippine government to halt a military offensive they
say threatens a years-long peace process and escalates violence in
the archipelago's troubled south.
(Reuters, 8/23/08)(AP, 8/23/08)
2008 Aug 25, A 41-year-old
Lockheed Martin C-130 military cargo plane crashed in the waters off
the southern Philippines. Two Philippine Air Force pilots and 7
crewmen were feared dead.
(AFP, 8/26/08)
2008 Sep 1, In the southern
Philippines a homemade bomb exploded at a bus terminal, killing four
people and injuring more than a dozen in Digos city in Davao del Sur
province.
(AP, 9/1/08)
2008 Sep 6-2008 Sep 7, In the
southern Philippines 6 people were killed after a landslide
triggered by heavy rains buried houses in the village of Masara.
Another landslide the next day killed 5 more people there. At least
16 people were left missing.
(AFP, 9/6/08)(AP, 9/7/08)
2008 Sep 22, In the Philippines
16 gold miners went into shafts during a typhoon that rapidly
flooded the tunnels in Benguet province. 2 bodies were retrieved on
Sep 25, 3 miners were rescued on Sep 29, 3 more on Sep 30, and 3
more on Oct 1. Two bodies were recovered on Oct 2 and one miner
remained missing. The last of the miners was rescued on Oct 3. He
was then arrested by police, who had a warrant for his arrest on
unrelated theft and robbery charges.
(AP, 9/29/08)(AP, 9/30/08)(AP, 10/1/08)(AP,
10/2/08)(AP, 10/4/08)
2008 Sep 26, In the Philippines
three soldiers were killed after they tripped landmines planted near
a New People's Army camp outside Lingig township in Surigao del Sur
province. Informants reported that eight guerrillas had been killed
since Sep 24 when army soldiers overran a rebel camp.
(AP, 9/26/08)
2008 Oct 8, Pirates in Somalia
released 15 Filipino seamen and four other crewmen of a chemical
tanker hijacked nearly two months ago, but were still holding 67
other Filipino sailors.
(AP, 10/9/08)
2008 Oct 9, Somali pirates
freed 20 Filipino seamen from a hijacked ship they held for more
than 80 days, as the Philippine government doubled the pay of
sailors passing through pirate-infested international waters. 47
Filipinos on three other ships were still in the hands of Somali
pirates. Pirates also released 29 Iranian crew members and their
cargo ship hijacked off Somalia's coast in late July.
(AP, 10/10/08)
2008 Oct 14, The Philippine
Supreme Court threw out a proposed accord to grant minority Muslims
expanded autonomy after Christian protests and renewed fighting
convinced the government to abandon the deal. The accord would have
expanded an existing six-province Muslim autonomous region in
Mindanao, subject to the agreement of local residents.
(AP, 10/14/08)
2008 Oct 15, Armed pirates
hijacked a Japanese-operated bulk carrier with 21 Filipino crew
members in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia. The ship African
Sanderling was released on January 12, 2009.
(AP, 10/15/08)(AP, 1/13/09)
2008 Oct 19, The Philippine
government said it would pay 50,000 (1,063 dollars) for every M-16
assault rifle surrendered by a communist insurgent who abandoned the
long-running rebellion.
(AP, 10/19/08)
2008 Oct 24, In the Philippines
communist rebels triggered a land mine and opened fire on a
Philippine army unit in an ambush that killed six soldiers on
Mindanao Island. The rebels manually triggered the US-made claymore
mine as the soldiers hiked past on a narrow mountain trail and then
opened fire.
(AP, 10/25/08)
2008 Oct 25, In the Philippines
communist guerrillas, disguised as anti-narcotics agents, barged
into a poorly guarded prison in Quezon province southeast of Manila
and freed seven of their comrades in a daring 15-minute attack
staged without firing a shot.
(AP, 10/26/08)
2008 Nov 4, In the Philippines
a ferry packed with commuters overturned after it was buffeted by
monsoon winds and huge waves, killing 42 people including 11
children. 76 people were rescued from the Don Dexter Cathlyn. It
capsized shortly after leaving port in central Masbate island.
Officials the next day detained the captain on suspicion of
operating the vessel illegally.
(AP, 11/4/08)(AP, 11/5/08)
2008 Nov 6, In the central
Philippines a small ferry capsized during a storm at Bagongon islet.
11 passengers drowned in waters just 200 yards offshore. 30 survived
a 3 remained missing.
(AP, 11/6/08)(AP, 11/7/08)
2008 Nov 10, Pirates near
Somalia hijacked the MT Stolt Strength. a Philippines chemical
tanker with 23 crew, bringing the total number of attacks in waters
off the African nation this year to 83. The ship was freed on April
21.
(AP, 11/11/08)(AFP, 4/21/09)
2008 Nov 17, In the Philippines
a gunman on a motorcycle killed Arecio Padrigao, a hard-hitting
Filipino radio commentator, in front of Bukindon State University in
southern Gingoog city. This was the seventh deadly attack on
reporters in the Philippines this year.
(AP, 11/17/08)
2008 Nov 19, Philippine health
officials said at least two people have died and more than 1,500 are
in hospital following a suspected outbreak of cholera in the
southern Philippines.
(AFP, 11/19/08)
2008 Nov 20, In the Philippines
a mother and her 3 children were among the six people killed after a
mudslide triggered by days of heavy rain buried houses in a southern
gold mining town.
(AP, 11/21/08)
2008 Dec 6, In the Philippines
gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades fired on police
officers who were tailing them, leaving at least 17 people dead in a
fierce shootout in a Manila suburb.
(AP, 12/6/08)
2008 Dec 7, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf and Muslim militants engaged in fierce clashes with
governments troops who took over a southern village on Basilan
island notorious as a hide-out for kidnappers and al-Qaida-linked
rebels. At least five soldiers were killed and dozens wounded.
(AP, 12/8/08)
2008 Dec 8, In the Philippines
suspected extortionists armed with automatic rifles and
rocket-propelled grenades attacked two cargo ships docked at a
southern port, wounding two crew members.
(AP, 12/9/08)
2008 Dec 14, In the
northeastern Philippines an overcrowded ferry capsized just short of
its destination in rough seas, causing terrified passengers to leap
into the sea. At least 30 people drowned.
(AP, 12/15/08)(AP, 12/16/08)
2008 Dec 23, In the southern
Philippines members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front attacked
villages in the Sultan Kudarat township, killing 9 civilians.
(SFC, 12/27/08, p.A6)
2008 Benito Vergara authored
“Pinoy Capital: The Filipino Nation in Daly City.”
(www.goodreads.com/book/show/6170014-pinoy-capital)
2009 Jan 14, Philippine
officials said weeklong rains have triggered flash floods,
landslides and sea surges across the Philippines, leaving at least
11 people dead and another 8 missing.
(AP, 1/14/09)
2009 Jan 15, In the Philippines
gunmen abducted three Red Cross workers in a southern Muslim
militant stronghold, prompting a search operation by US-backed
Filipino troops through dense jungles in the country's worst foreign
hostage crisis in nearly eight years. Seven suspects including three
police officers were later arrested in connection with a
wide-ranging official enquiry into the abductions on the southern
island of Jolo. Eugenio Vagni (63), Italian Red Cross worker, was
released on July 11. A Swiss and a Filipino, had been freed earlier
in the year by the militants.
(AP, 1/15/09)(AFP, 4/6/09)(AP, 7/11/09)
2009 Jan 29, In the Philippines
a powerful explosion destroyed a fireworks factory and a nearby
electronics plant south of Manila, killing at least six people and
injuring more than 40.
(AP, 1/29/09)
2009 Feb 9, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf militants holding three Red Cross workers tried to break
a military cordon that has boxed them in for days, setting off a
clash that wounded five marines and sparked concerns over the
hostages' safety.
(AP, 2/9/09)
2009 Feb 11, The Philippines
Supreme Court said in a statement it had ordered Manila to negotiate
with the US authorities for an "appropriate agreement on detention
facilities under Philippine authorities" for Lance Corporal Daniel
Smith. In 2006 Smith was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in jail
for raping a Filipina after he took part in military exercises north
of Manila in 2005.
(AFP, 2/11/09)
2009 Feb 13, In the southern
Philippines 9 gunmen snatched a Sri Lankan peace activist from his
home, the latest in a wave of kidnappings blamed on al-Qaida-linked
militants.
(AP, 2/13/09)
2009 Mar 10, The Philippine
president signed a law affirming sovereignty over islands also
claimed by China and Vietnam, sparking protests over the control of
strategic South China Sea islands. The Chinese Embassy issued a
statement expressing its "strong opposition and solemn protest" over
the signing of the law.
(AP, 3/11/09)
2009 Mar 17, Philippine marines
and al-Qaida-linked militants holding three Red Cross workers
clashed for a second day, leaving three troops and up to 7 Abu
Sayyaf militants dead.
(AP, 3/17/09)(AP, 3/18/09)
2009 Mar 29, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad threatened to behead one of three
Red Cross hostages, two Europeans and a Filipino, at 2 p.m. March
31, unless police and militiamen withdraw from 15 villages on Jolo
island.
(AP, 3/30/09)
2009 Mar 30, Fishermen in the
Philippines accidentally caught and soon ate a megamouth shark, one
of the rarest fishes in the world with only 40 others recorded to
have been encountered. The 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) 13-foot
(4-meter) megamouth died while struggling in the fishermen's net off
Burias island.
(AP, 4/7/09)
2009 Apr 2, In the southern
Philippines Islamic militants released a Filipina Red Cross aid
worker, leaving a Swiss and an Italian still held captive.
(AFP, 4/2/09)
2009 Apr 3, The Philippines
said it will take needed steps to be stricken from a list of four
nations blacklisted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development as uncooperative tax havens.
(AP, 4/3/09)
2009 Apr 4, In the Philippines
two homemade bombs exploded hours apart in the same bus, wounding
the conductor and five passengers in an attack police said may have
been the work of an extortion gang led by former Muslim rebels.
(AP, 4/4/09)
2009 Apr 18, Philippine
security forces rescued Andreas Notter (38), a Swiss Red Cross
worker held hostage since January 15 by Islamic guerrillas. The
government said it had no immediate details about a 2nd
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) hostage, Italian
national Eugenio Vagni (62), who was believed to be unwell and in
need of hernia surgery.
(AFP, 4/18/09)
2009 May 3, In the southern
Philippines 7 people were killed and 1,000 forced to flee their
homes as fresh fighting broke out when MILF separatist guerrillas
attacked civilians. The 12,000-member MILF has been waging a
decades-old insurgency to set up a Muslim state in the southern
Philippines, where Christian settlers now outnumber the original
inhabitants.
(AFP, 5/5/09)
2009 May 5, The Philippine
military rejected a US government assessment that labeled the
country's south as a terrorist safe haven. The US State Department
reported last week in its annual assessment of worldwide terrorism
that the southern Mindanao region, specifically predominantly Muslim
Sulu province, remains a sanctuary for extremists.
(AP, 5/5/09)
2009 May 7, In the Philippines
fighting in the southern island of Jolo broke out after Muslim
extremist Abu Sayyaf members ambushed Chief Superintendent Julasirim
Kasim, killing him and four of his men. Five rebels were also killed
in the attack. In retaliatory attacks that followed more than 20
Muslim extremists were killed.
(AP, 5/11/09)
2009 May 8, In the northern
Philippines Typhoon Cha-hom dumped heavy rains overnight, triggered
landslides and left at least 10 people dead and four missing.
(AP, 5/8/09)
2009 May 15, In Indonesia 6
Asia-Pacific countries, meeting at the World Oceans Conference,
agreed on a management plan to protect one of the world's largest
networks of coral reefs, promising to reduce pollution, eliminate
overfishing and improve the livelihoods of impoverished coastal
communities. The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries
and Food Security covered an area defined as the Coral Triangle,
which spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,
the Solomon Islands and East Timor.
(AP, 5/15/09)
2009 May 17, In the Philippines
police recovered the severed head of Doroteo Gonzales (61), a farm
owner kidnapped on April 25 by Muslim militants. Authorities said he
was likely beheaded because his family failed to pay ransom.
(AP, 5/18/09)
2009 May 18, In the southern
Philippines mudslides tumbled down a rain-soaked mountain, burying
dozens of shanties in a gold mining village and killing at least 26
people.
(AP, 5/19/09)
2009 May 30, In the central
Philippines communist rebels threw two grenades at army troops
helping treat villagers, killing two soldiers and a civilian who
covered a child with his body during the attack in Northern Samar
province.
(AP, 5/31/09)
2009 Jun 6, Philippine
government troops seized a Muslim separatist rebel camp in southern
Maguindanao province following three days of fighting that left 30
guerrillas dead.
(AP, 6/6/09)
2009 Jun 9, In the Philippines
lawyer and radio commentator Crispin Perez Jr. was killed in Mindoro
Occidental province by motorcycle-riding gunman. His wife said the
attack may have been work-related.
(AP, 6/17/09)
2009 Jun 11, In the southern
Philippines Ansar Venancio, a Filipino bomb expert from the Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI) group, was arrested in Marawi city. He is thought to
have carried out a deadly attack on Manila in 2000.
(AFP, 6/11/09)
2009 Jun 12, In the Philippines
fighting with the militant Moro Islamic Liberation Front left 10
dead and 20 wounded. Columnist Antonio Castillo was killed in
Masbate province by motorcycle-riding gunmen.
(AP, 6/13/09)(AP, 6/17/09)
2009 Jun 12, In New Jersey an
Indictment was unsealed today against three individuals who
allegedly hacked into the telephone systems of large corporations
and entities in the US and abroad and sold information about the
compromised telephone systems to Pakistani nationals residing in
Italy. Italian law enforcement conducted searches of approximately
10 locations in four regions of Italy and arrested the financiers of
the hacking activity. Those financiers allegedly used the
information to transmit over 12 million minutes of telephone calls
valued at more than $55 million over the hacked networks of victim
corporations in the US alone.
(SFC, 6/16/09,
p.A2)(http://newark.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2009/nk061209.htm)
2009 Jun 13, In the Philippines
Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants holding Eugenio Vagni (62), an
Italian Red Cross worker captive, killed five Philippine marines and
wounded 10 others in an ambush on southern Jolo Island.
(AP, 6/13/09)
2009 Jun 20, In the southern
Philippines suspected Muslim guerrillas hurled two grenades near a
crowded town plaza where a beauty contest was being held, killing at
least one person and wounding 32 others in the predominantly
Christian town of Maasim, Sarangani province.
(AP, 6/21/09)
2009 Jun 27, In the Philippines
two soldiers were shot dead by suspected Abu Sayyaf members as they
stepped outside of their camp to buy cigarettes in Tipo-tipo town,
Basilan Island.
(AP, 6/28/09)
2009 Jun 28, In the Philippines
7 policemen were killed in an attack by suspected Muslim guerrillas
on the restive southern island of Basilan.
(AFP, 6/28/09)
2009 Jul 5, In the southern
Philippines suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated a bomb near a
Roman Catholic cathedral in Cotabato city, killing at least five
people and wounding 46.
(AP, 7/5/09)
2009 Jul 7, In the Philippines
a crude bomb hidden on a motorcycle exploded in a port city on
southern Jolo island where al-Qaida-linked militants are active,
killing at least two people and wounding 24.
(AP, 7/7/09)
2009 Jul 15, In the Philippines
five employees of a logging company, including a woman, were seized
by eight guerrillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
in Kapai township in Lanao del Sur province. Army troops and police
rescued the victims on July 18 near Kapai without a fire fight.
Basit Kauyag was identified as the leader of the kidnappers.
(AP, 7/19/09)
2009 Jul 19,
Philippine officials said hundreds of marines and army troops have
been deployed to two islands in the southern Philippines for a new
offensive aimed at eradicating al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants
by the end of this year.
(AP, 7/19/09)
2009 Jul 23, The Philippine
government ordered its military to stop offensives against Muslim
separatist rebels in a bid to restart peace talks, a move welcomed
by the guerrillas.
(AP, 7/23/09)
2009 Aug 1, In the Philippines
former President Corazon Aquino (b.1933) died. The "people power"
uprising she led in 1986 brought down the repressive 20-year regime
of Ferdinand Marcos and served as an inspiration to nonviolent
resistance across the globe. Due to the time difference her death
was reported in the US on July 31.
(Reuters, 8/1/09)
2009 Aug 6, In the northern
Philippines heavy monsoon rains inundated wide areas, triggering
flash floods and landslides that killed 21 people, including two
French citizens and a Belgian who were touring Mount Pinatubo.
Typhoon Morakot left seven others missing in landslides and
floodwaters.
(AP, 8/7/09)(AP, 8/9/09)
2009 Aug 12, Philippine troops
overran two jungle camps of al-Qaida-linked militants in their
deadliest clash in years, with 23 soldiers and 31 guerrillas killed.
The two camps served as a stronghold and a bomb factory for the Abu
Sayyaf on Basilan. Troops found several bombs, booby traps and 15
assault rifles and grenade launchers.
(AP, 8/13/09)
2009 Aug 19, Philippine troops
clashed with about 30 Muslim gunmen, who took over Mantangule islet
in the southern part of Palawan Island, killing at least seven and
capturing two.
(AP, 8/19/09)
2009 Aug 21, Philippine police
arrested Dinno-Amor Rosalejos Pareja, also known as Khalil Pareja,
the alleged leader of a radical Islamist group believed to be
responsible for one of Southeast Asia's deadliest terror attacks.
Pareja is allegedly the leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a
group of Christian converts to Islam. The group is believed to be
behind the 2004 ferry bombing that killed 116 people in Manila Bay.
It was the second-most deadly terrorist attack in Southeast Asia
after the 2002 attack on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that
killed 202 people.
(AP, 8/21/09)
2009 Sep 6, In the southern
Philippines the Superferry 9, carrying nearly 1,000 passengers, sank
leaving at least 9 people dead. After rescue efforts one passenger
was left unaccounted.
(AFP, 9/6/09)(AP, 9/7/09)
2009 Sep 20, In the southern
Philippines clashes erupted when al-Qaida-linked militants resisted
attempts by government forces to serve arrest warrants on 3 of their
commanders. Troops took control of the Abu Sayyaf group's biggest
camp on the island of Jolo following rounds of air strikes.
(AP, 9/20/09)(AP, 9/21/09)
2009 Sep 21, Philippine marines
were ambushed by Abu Sayyaf fighters, as they were leaving a
newly-captured camp on Jolo Island, resulting in the deaths of 8
troopers and 5 guerrillas. Abu Sayyaf reinforcements had come in by
boat from the nearby islands of Basilan to help their comrades on
Jolo.
(AFP, 9/21/09)
2009 Sep 26, In the northern
Philippines nearly a month's worth of rain fell in six hours as
Tropical Storm Ketsana slammed ashore, stranding thousands on
rooftops in the capital's worst flooding in more than 42 years.
(AP, 9/26/09)
2009 Sep 27, In the northern
Philippines rescuers plucked bodies from muddy floodwaters and saved
drenched survivors from rooftops. The death toll in the Philippines
from Typhoon Ketsana reached 246 with 42 missing. The economic cost
was nearly $100 million.
(AP, 9/27/09)(AP, 9/30/09)
2009 Sep 29, In the southern
Philippines 2 US soldiers were killed in the deadliest attack
against American troops there since they began helping local forces
stamp out Muslim extremists in 2001. In 2011 Arabi Sali, suspected
of involvement in the roadside bombing that killed the 2 US
soldiers, was arrested.
(AFP, 9/29/09)(AP, 2/2/11)
2009 Oct 3, In the Philippines
Typhoon Parma cut a destructive path across the northern Philippines
killing at least 30 people and leaving more than a dozen villages
flooded, piling further misery on the Southeast Asian nation after
floods from Ketsana claimed 298 lives.
(AP, 10/4/09)(AP, 10/8/09)
2009 Oct 9, In the northern
Philippines driving rain on the heels of back-to-back storms
triggered dozens of landslides across, burying more than 225 people,
washing away villages and leaving almost an entire province under
water.
(AP, 10/9/09)(AP, 10/10/09)
2009 Oct 11, In the southern
Philippines 6 gunmen, believed to be Islamic militants, kidnapped
Michael Sinnott, a 78-year-old Irish priest near Pagadian. They
later demanded $2 million for his release. Sinnott was freed on Nov
12. Irish and Filipino authorities said neither country paid any of
the kidnappers' $2 million ransom demand.
(AFP, 10/11/09)(AP, 10/31/09)(AP, 11/12/09)
2009 Oct 15, A Philippine
military tribunal acquitted 11 officers of plotting a foiled Feb,
2006, coup against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 10/15/09)
2009 Oct 17, In the Philippines
a propeller-driven plane on a test flight crashed and burst into
flames in a suburb of Manila, killing at least four people onboard.
(AP, 10/17/09)
2009 Oct 22, In the Philippines
outbreaks of leptospirosis, spread by water contaminated with the
urine of rats, dogs and other animals, have compounded the problems
faced after back-to-back storms since late last month killed more
than 900 people. The WHO said it will send an emergency team to help
fight a bacterial disease outbreak that has killed at least 148
people and sickened nearly 2,000 in and around the flood-hit
capital.
(AP, 10/22/09)
2009 Oct 31, In the Philippines
Typhoon Mirinae, the 4th since late September, battered Manila and
surrounding provinces, sending residents of one town clambering onto
rooftops to escape rising waters. 20 people wee left dead with east
5 missing.
(AP, 10/31/09)(AP, 11/1/09)
2009 Nov 2, In the central
Philippines a fire swept through a residential building as people
slept in a slum community, killing 16 residents including women and
children.
(AP, 11/2/09)
2009 Nov 3, In the Philippines
government troops attacked an Abu Sayyaf camp in the rebels'
southern stronghold before dawn, triggering a five-hour clash in
which five of the al-Qaida-linked militants were killed and one
government militiaman was wounded.
(AP, 11/3/09)
2009 Nov 2, Tropical Storm
Mirinae slammed into Vietnam's central coast, unleashing heavy rains
and winds and forcing more than 80,000 people to evacuate before
losing steam as it moved inland. The storm killed at least 98
people. Mirinae also killed two people in Cambodia and left 19
people dead and three missing in the Philippines.
(AP, 11/2/09)(AP, 11/3/09)(AFP, 11/5/09)
2009 Nov 13, Philippine Pres.
Gloria Macapagal signed a bill criminalizing all forms of torture
and prohibiting state authorities from suing secret detention
centers.
(SFC, 11/14/09, p.A2)
2009 Nov 19, In Las Vegas Manny
Pacquiao of the Philippines demolished Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto to
become the only man in history to win seven titles in as many weight
classes.
(AFP, 11/20/09)
2009 Nov 23, In the southern
Philippines dozens of gunmen hijacked a convoy carrying journalists,
and family and supporters of a candidate for provincial governor,
killing 57 people in Maguindanao province. In 2010 Senior Police
Officer Rainier Ebus testified he saw former Mayor Andal Ampatuan
Jr., the scion of the clan that was in control of southern
Maguindanao province, shoot about 40 of the 57 victims after
stopping their vehicles. Maguindanao is part of the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao, which was created as part of a 1996 peace
agreement with a large Muslim rebel group. The body of journalist
Reynaldo Momay (61), a photographer for a small-town newspaper, was
missing. He would be the 58th victim.
(AP, 11/23/09)(AP, 11/24/09)(AP, 11/10/10)(AP,
11/22/10)
2009 Nov 26, In the Philippines
Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Ampatua, surrendered to presidential
adviser Jesus Dureza in the provincial capital. He had allegedly led
dozens of police and pro-government militiamen in the Nov 23
massacre of an election convoy.
(AP, 11/26/09)
2009 Dec 1, In the Philippines
Andal Ampatuan Jr., the heir of a powerful clan, was charged in
connection with the Nov 23 ambush in which 57 people, more than half
journalists, were slaughtered. Three witnesses, who escaped,
reported seeing him and some 100 gunmen stopping cars at the scene
of the massacre.
(AP, 12/1/09)
2009 Dec 4, Philippine security
forces raided four compounds belonging to a powerful clan suspected
in the massacre of 57 people in the Philippines' worst political
violence. Soldiers using metal detectors, sniffer dogs and an
excavator dug up more than a dozen crates of bullets in the mansion
of a local mayor linked to last week's massacre.
(AP, 12/4/09)(Reuters, 12/4/09)
2009 Dec 5, Philippine Pres.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed Maguindanao province under martial
law. Government troops were reported to have taken Andal Ampatuan
Sr., the former provincial governor, into custody for his clan’s
role in the Nov 23 massacre that left 57 dead.
(SFC, 12/5/09, p.A2)
2009 Dec 6, Philippine troops
arrested 62 people and discovered another major weapons cache after
martial law was imposed in southern Maguindanao province following
the country's worst political massacre on Nov 23. About 20-30 armed
followers of the Ampatuan clan, the main suspect in massacre, opened
fire on police commandos while they were patrolling Datu Unsay
township, near the site of the massacre. Government negotiators were
trying to convince the gunmen to surrender to avoid bloodshed that
could harm civilians.
(AP, 12/6/09)(AP, 12/7/09)
2009 Dec 9, Philippine police
named 161 suspects in the Nov 23 massacre of 57 people in the
country's worst election violence, including government militiamen
led by members of a powerful clan facing murder and rebellion
charges.
(AP, 12/9/09)
2009 Dec 10, In the Philippines
gunmen abducted 65 students and teacher from a school in San Martin
village on Mindanao island. Suspected bandits trying to evade police
serving arrest warrants abducted dozens of villagers and were still
holding 57 hostages after releasing all the schoolchildren they had
seized.
(AFP, 12/10/09)(AP, 12/10/09)(Econ, 12/12/09,
p.48)
2009 Dec 11, In the Philippines
government-armed former militiamen freed 10 more hostages seized in
the remote south, and their leader demanded that murder charges
against them be dropped before they release 47 others.
(AP, 12/11/09)
2009 Dec 13, In the southern
Philippines tribal gunmen freed 47 hostages, but the region
continued to be wracked by violence. Suspected Islamic radicals
staged a deadly jail break in which 31 inmates were freed, including
comrades accused of beheading marines.
(AP, 12/13/09)(SSFC, 12/13/09, p.A4)
2009 Dec 15, In the Philippines
at least 9 communist rebels and one army soldier were killed in
clashes as troops closed in on a guerrilla encampment in southern
Bukidnon province.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2009 Dec 15, The Philippines'
most active volcano oozed lava and shot up plumes of ash, forcing
thousands of people to evacuate their homes and face the possibility
of a bleak Christmas in a shelter. State volcanologists raised the
alert level on the cone-shaped, 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) Mayon
volcano overnight to two steps below a major eruption.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2009 Dec 24, In the Philippines
3 floating bodies were found as search-and-rescue teams combed the
waters of Manila Bay for at least 24 people missing after a
passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat.
(AP, 12/24/09)
2009 Dec 26, In the Philippines
a roll-on, roll-off ferry, carrying at least 88 people and nine
cargo trucks, sank in the late evening off Verde Island. 6 people
were confirmed dead and at least 22 were missing.
(AP, 12/27/09)
2010 Jan 10, About 50,000
Philippine policemen began enforcing a 5-month ban on carrying guns
in public in hopes of avoiding bloodshed in the buildup to May
elections, arresting 18 violators at checkpoints across the country.
(AP, 1/10/10)
2010 Jan 16, In the Philippines
a fire raced through a slum near the main port Manila, leaving 4,000
people homeless and killing a 5-year-old girl.
(AP, 1/17/10)
2010 Jan 28, In the southern
Philippines a decades-old military plane crashed into a residential
area, killing a two-star air force general and eight other people.
(AP, 1/28/10)
2010 Feb 9, Philippine
prosecutors filed charges against Andal Ampatuan senior, the head of
a powerful clan, and 195 others in the biggest and deadliest murder
case since the country's WW II war crimes trials.
(AP, 2/9/10)(Econ, 2/20/10, p.40)
2010 Feb 11, The Philippines
launched a European-funded program to reduce the country's large
number of extralegal killings and disappearances of activists,
journalists and union workers. The EU has pledged euro3.9 million
($5.36 million) for the EU-Philippines Justice Support Program to
provide technical aid and training to bolster the country's criminal
justice system.
(AP, 2/11/10)
2010 Feb 18, Philippine troops
arrested Jumadali Arad, a suspected Muslim militant accused in the
high-profile kidnappings of three Americans, two of whom were later
killed, and dozens of Filipinos nine years ago.
(AP, 2/19/10)
2010 Feb 19, In the Philippines
2 soldiers were killed and one wounded on southern Basilan Island
when they tripped the wire on a homemade bomb during an operation to
track down militants.
(AP, 2/19/10)
2010 Feb 21, In the Philippines
Albader Parad, a top commander of the Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf,
was among six militants killed in fighting on Jolo island. Another
of those slain, Abdulhan Jumdail, was identified as the cousin of
Umbra Jumdail, one of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf.
(AFP, 2/21/10)
2010 Feb 27, In the southern
Philippines Al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militants killed 11 people, hours
after two hostages they were holding walked free.
(AFP, 2/27/10)
2010 Mar 3, A Philippine
official said a wildlife officer is suspected of stealing more than
1,500 pounds (700 kilograms) of smuggled elephant tusks seized last
year, an embarrassing setback for the country's anti-poaching
efforts. The ivory worth $65,000 was part of a 8,800-pound
(4,000-kilogram) shipment of tusks that was impounded at Manila
airport in July and turned over for disposal to the Protected Areas
and Wildlife Bureau.
(AP, 3/3/10)
2010 Mar 6, In the Philippines
guerrillas of the communist New People's Army (NPA) killed 11
government soldiers in a gun battle on Mindoro island.
(AFP, 3/6/10)
2010 Mar 7, Philippine marines
killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants in a raid on a
coastal hide-out but failed to capture a Malaysian terror suspect
long wanted by Washington.
(AP, 3/7/10)
2010 Mar 28, In the Philippines
2 marines were wounded and several Abu Sayyaf fighters were believed
killed as troops pursued militants in an offensive on Jolo island
that ended today. At least one body of an Abu Sayyaf fighter, killed
in the 2-day assault, was dug up by troops.
(AP, 3/28/10)(SFC, 3/29/10, p.A2)
2010 Mar 29, A Philippine court
dismissed rebellion charges against a powerful clan leader and
dozens of his followers but they remain in custody for their alleged
role in the Nov 23, 2009, election-related massacre of 57 people.
Prosecutors had charged Andal Ampatuan Sr., his four sons and
followers with rebellion for allegedly plotting to stage an armed
uprising after the government began to crack down on them when they
were linked to the massacre.
(AP, 3/29/10)
2010 Apr 2, In the Philippines
at least 23 devotees were nailed to crosses in San Fernando city to
mark Good Friday.
(SFC, 4/3/10, p.A2)
2010 Apr 4, In the Philippines
Carl Rieth (72), a Filipino businessman of Swiss descent, was
kidnapped from his beach-front home on the southern Zamboanga
peninsula. On June 16 Philippine troops rescued Reith.
(AFP, 4/6/10)(AP, 6/16/10)
2010 Apr 8, The Philippine
Supreme Court overturned a decision barring a gay rights group from
contesting national elections in May and recognized it as a
legitimate political party for the first time.
(AP, 4/8/10)
2010 Apr 13, In the Philippines
Muslim militants disguised as policemen and soldiers detonated bombs
and opened fire in a series of coordinated attacks in southern in
Isabela city, triggering clashes that killed at least 13 people. The
death toll included three marines, a police officer and three
militants, including Bensar Indama, the brother of militant leader
Puruji Indama, whose body was found in a police uniform.
(AP, 4/13/10)(AP, 4/14/10)
2010 Apr 18, In the Philippines
Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said he has ordered prosecutors to
remove the names of Zaldy Ampatuan, a former governor of a Muslim
autonomous region, and his brother-in-law Akhmad from the charge
sheets for lack of strong evidence linking them to the planning and
staging of the Nov 23, 2009, carnage in Maguindanao's Ampatuan
township.
(AP, 4/18/10)
2010 Apr 21, In the Philippines
an electrical fire forced a cargo plane's pilots to attempt an
emergency landing in a Philippine rice field when the Russian-made
Antonov-12 aircraft burst into flames, killing three of its six
crew. The dead included two Russian ground engineers and a
Bulgarian.
(AP, 4/22/10)
2010 Apr 25, In the Philippines
a huge fire sweeping through a shantytown outside Manila destroyed
about 600 houses leaving one person dead and some 10,000 people
homeless.
(AP, 4/25/10)(AP, 4/26/10)
2010 May 4, The Philippine
election commission ordered the recall of 76,000 memory cards to be
used in the country's first automated elections next week after some
were found to be defective, heightening jitters over a possible
failure of the new system.
(AP, 5/4/10)
2010 May 10, In the Philippines
the military reported 37 incidents of election day violence, with at
least nine dead and 12 wounded. That tally was low by the standards
of past Philippine elections. Frontrunner Senator Benigno "Noynoy"
Aquino was poised for a decisive victory despite technical problems
which caused long delays but did not derail the polls as feared.
Aquino grabbed over 40% of the estimated 37.5 million votes cast in
the country's first automated polls.
(Reuters, 5/10/10)(AFP, 5/11/10)
2010 May 16, In the Philippines
Muslim guerrillas said that they were ready to enter into peace
talks with Philippine president-apparent Benigno Aquino III after
years of little progress under his predecessor.
(AP, 5/16/10)
2010 May 17, Outgoing
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo swore in a new chief
justice whose appointment has been questioned by her apparent
successor, sparking fears of a constitutional crisis.
(AP, 5/17/10)
2010 May 17, In the Philippines
a helicopter carrying Quezon Gov. Rafael Nantes, two security
personnel and the pilot, crashed into houses south of Manila,
killing all four people aboard and a girl on the ground.
(AP, 5/17/10)
2010 Jun 1, Philippine
officials said elementary and high schools will start teaching basic
sex education as a pilot program in the conservative Roman Catholic
nation, brushing aside concerns by church leaders that it may
encourage promiscuity among the youth.
(AP, 6/1/10)
2010 Jun 5, In the Philippines
the military said Al-Qaida-linked militants have fatally shot three
abducted rubber farm workers after their families failed to pay a
ransom. Gunmen led by senior Abu Sayyaf commander Furuji Indama
seized the three men from a passenger minibus on May 27. They
demanded 3 million pesos ($64,000) in ransom from their families.
Muslim militants killed two villagers after fatally shooting three
hostages, apparently to avenge the deaths of comrades in a
government assault in the southern Philippines.
(AP, 6/5/10)(AP, 6/6/10)
2010 Jun 8, In the Philippines
a congressional count said Benigno Aquino III won more than 15
million votes in the May election, about 5.7 million ahead of his
closest opponent, ousted leader Joseph Estrada, who pledged to
support him. The 50-year-old bachelor and economics graduate will
officially become the nation's 15th president on June 30.
(AP, 6/8/10)
2010 Jun 12, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded three loggers in apparent retaliation
for government offensives near Maluso town on Basilan island.
(AP, 6/13/10)
2010 Jun 13, In the central
Philippines a bus rented by Iranian medical students plunged into a
ravine while negotiating a mountain road, killing 21 people and
injuring 26 others.
(AP, 6/13/10)(AP, 6/14/10)
2010 Jun 14, In the southern
Philippines a brazen gunman shot and killed Desidario Camangyan (52)
of Sunshine FM radio, as he hosted a singing contest before shocked
spectators in Davao Oriental province's Manay township.
(AP, 6/15/10)
2010 Jun 22, Philippine marines
killed two Muslim rebels in two clashes on Jolo island.
(AP, 6/24/10)
2010 Jun 23, In the southern
Philippines about 30 hooded attackers, believed to be Abu Sayyaf
militants, shot and hacked horrified victims as they ran for their
lives. Four people died and six were wounded in the ambush on a
village road on Basilan island.
(AP, 6/24/10)
2010 Jun 27, Philippine troops
attacked a communist rebel camp to rescue an abducted soldier and a
militiaman in the country's south, killing at least two communist
guerrillas but failing to find the captives.
(AP, 6/27/10)
2010 Jun 29, Philippine Pres.
Beningno Aquino III said that one of his first acts will be to
create a Truth Commission to probe the corruption he and his backers
say flourished under former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(WSJ, 7/2/10, p.A11)
2010 Jun 30, In the Philippines
Benigno Aquino III was sworn in as the country’s 15th president. He
promised to prosecute the corrupt and banish poverty as he urged
Filipinos to help him in a job he likened to a biblical burden.
(AP, 6/30/10)
2010 Jul 5, Authorities in
Iceland exhumed the body of American chess champion Bobby Fischer to
determine whether he is the father of a 9-year-old girl from the
Philippines.
(AP, 7/05/10)
2010 Jul 7, In the Philippines
officials said Nicanor Faeldon (44), a rebel soldier accused of
leading two failed coup attempts, has turned himself in to
authorities after 3 years on the run. Faeldon, a former bomb making
trainer with the marines, was accused of helping lead 300 soldiers
in taking over the upscale Oakwood Hotel and a nearby shopping
center in Manila's financial district of Makati in July 2003,
rigging the area with bombs.
(AP, 7/7/10)
2010 Jul 12, In the Philippines
when Canadian Geoffrey Alan Bennun (60) and his Filipino girlfriend
were shot to death after a robber broke into their hotel room. Four
days later, Briton James Bolton Porter (51) and his girlfriend were
killed by a gunman in their house in Angeles' Malabanas village.
About a week later a gunman killed American Albert Mitchell (70), a
veteran of the US Air Force, along with his Filipino wife, Janet
(53), and three Filipino staff inside their Angeles home [see July
27].
(AP, 7/27/10)
2010 Jul 14, In the Philippines
the first typhoon this year flooded parts of the capital, toppled
power lines and killed at least 26 people, many of them trying to
scramble to safety as the storm changed course. 38 people were
missing. Typhoon Conson came ashore on the east coast of Luzon the
previous night with winds of 75 miles per hour (120 km per hour).
(AP, 7/14/10)
2010 Jul 22, In the northern
Philippines an American man, Albert Mitchell, and four others were
found shot dead at his rented home.
(AFP, 7/22/10)
2010 Jul 25, In the Philippines
gunmen strafed the center of a southern township, killing an aide to
Vice Mayor Rasul Sangki, a key witness to the Nov 23, 2009, mass
killings.
(AP, 7/26/10)
2010 Jul 27, Philippine police
tracked down Mark Dizon (28), a suspect in a series of grisly
robberies and killings, with the help of his Facebook account. He
was accused of killing nine people, six Filipinos, an American, a
Canadian and a Briton, in three different robberies at hotels and
homes this month in Angeles city.
(AP, 7/27/10)
2010 Aug 2, In the Philippines
the 2010 winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards were announced.
Winners included Tadatoshi Akiba, the three-term mayor of Hiroshima,
who spearheaded a global campaign for nuclear disarmament, and
photographer Huo Daishan (56), who documented river pollution in his
native China. The awards are considered Asia's equivalent of the
Nobel Prize. Other awardees were physicists Christopher Bernido and
wife Maria Victoria Carpio-Bernido of the Philippines, who
introduced a novel way of teaching science, and Bangladeshi A.H.M.
Noman Khan, who set up service-and-training centers for helping
persons with disabilities.
(AP, 8/2/10)
2010 Aug 5, In the southern
Philippines a powerful bombing killed a man and wounded about a
dozen other people including a provincial governor at the Zamboanga
city airport.
(AP, 8/5/10)
2010 Aug 18, In the Philippines
a packed passenger bus negotiating a downhill curve plunged off a
Philippine mountain highway into a 100-foot (30-meter) ravine,
killing 41 people.
(AP, 8/18/10)
2010 Aug 21, In the Philippines
communist guerrillas, the New People’s Army, killed a local council
member in northern Samar province and then waited for police to
arrive. They then killed 8 police officers.
(SSFC, 8/22/10, p.A6)
2010 Aug 23, Philippine police
stormed a bus in downtown Manila after shots were heard from the
hostage-taker of 15 Chinese tourists. Former Senior Inspector
Rolando Mendoza (55), armed with a M16 rifle, had seized the busload
of Hong Kong tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force. 8
tourists were killed along with Mendoza. Ken Leung died trying to
subdue the gunman, who then killed his two daughters, Doris (21) and
Jessie (14). The only survivors were the mother, Amy, and son Jason
(18), who fell into a coma after suffering a head wound. Jason awoke
from his coma around mid October. On Dec 16 Manila said it will pay
compensation to the families of 8 Hong Kong tourists killed during
the botched hostage rescue.
(AP, 8/23/10)(AP, 8/24/10)(AP, 10/20/10)(AFP,
12/16/10)
2010 Aug 26, In the Philippines
fire broke out late at night, possibly when gasoline a man was
pouring into a container near an open stove caught alight, in two
crowded villages in Navotas city, north of the capital Manila. 2
people were killed and thousands left homeless.
(AP, 8/27/10)
2010 Aug 29, In Hong Kong an
estimated 80,000 people marched in honor of eight locals killed Aug
23 in a bus hijacking in Manila, denouncing the Philippine
government for botching the rescue operation and demanding justice
for the dead.
(AP, 8/29/10)
2010 Sep 4, Philippine police
commandos killed an Abu Sayyaf commander linked to last year's
kidnapping of Red Cross workers and gunned down two other militants
in a clash in the south. Gafur Jumdail and two of his men were
killed near Maimbung town on Jolo island after clashing with
commandos tracking a Malaysian militant and allied Filipino
fighters.
(AP, 9/5/10)
2010 Sep 6, Philippine
officials said the government has asked a court to outlaw the Abu
Sayyaf as a terrorist group under a 2007 anti-terrorism law and
blacklist more than 200 of its Islamic fighters blamed for two
decades of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.
(AP, 9/6/10)
2010 Sep 12, Philippine
authorities at Manila's airport found a newborn baby in a garbage
bag that was apparently unloaded from an airplane that landed from
the Middle East. On Sep 16 Rep. Lani Mercado said she met with the
mother, who told her that she had been raped by her employer while
working as a maid in Qatar and became pregnant.
(AP, 9/12/10)(AP, 9/16/10)
2010 Sep 19, Philippine troops
clashed with Abu Sayyaf gunmen in a southern coastal village and
killed Abdukarim Sali, a long-wanted militant who helped in the 2001
kidnapping of three American and 17 Filipino tourists and the
takeover of a hospital. Dozens of rebels from the larger Moro
Islamic Liberation Front attacked a village in Basilan's Lamitan
town, killing one villager and wounding another.
(AP, 9/19/10)
2010 Sep 22, In the Philippines
Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, told local reporters that his group wanted a
"substate" that he likened to a US state. He said it would not be
independent and would be under a "unitary government.".
(AP, 9/23/10)
2010 Sep 23, In the Philippines
President Benigno Aquino ordered a halt to the demolition of
thousands of squatter shanties in Manila following violent street
protests.
(AFP, 9/24/10)
2010 Oct 4, In the northern
Philippines motorcycle-riding gunmen killed a regional trial court
judge, prompting calls to exempt judges from a current gun ban.
(AP, 10/4/10)
2010 Oct 12, Philippine
President Benigno Aquino III granted amnesty to officers and
soldiers accused of plotting to overthrow his predecessor. Only a
handful of the original 300 troops who took up arms against
then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in July 2003 remained in
military custody on charges of mutiny and coup attempt.
(AP, 10/12/10)
2010 Oct 18, In the Philippines
the strongest cyclone in years killed at least 36 people, leaving a
wasteland of fallen trees and power poles and sending thousands
scampering to safety in near-zero visibility. Super Typhoon Megi was
forecast next to head toward China and Vietnam.
(AP, 10/18/10)(AP, 10/19/10)(AP, 10/22/10)
2010 Oct 21, In the southern
Philippines a bomb ripped through a passenger bus, killing at least
10 people and wounding nine in an attack authorities say may have
been carried out by an extortion gang with links to Muslim
militants.
(AP, 10/21/10)
2010 Oct 22, In the Philippines
ex-convict Fely Mateo stabbed 9 people at the Talisayan Elementary
School in Zamboanga City, killing 3, before parents wrestled away
his knife and stabbed him to death with it. The man killed a
teacher, a 5th-grader and an elderly man who was among those who
tried to grab the attacker's knife.
(AP, 10/22/10)(AP, 10/20/10)
2010 Nov 1, Philippine
investigators arrested Rolando Fajardo, one of the country's most
elusive fugitives. He was wanted over the 1986 kidnapping of a
Japanese executive.
(AFP, 11/1/10)
2010 Nov 12, Philippine
President Benigno Aquino III lashed out at the US and five other
Western allies for issuing what he said were unverified warnings of
a possible terrorist attack in the Southeast Asian nation at a time
when it is trying to bolster its lackluster tourism industry.
(AP, 11/12/10)
2010 Nov 13, In Texas Manny
Pacquiao, boxer and Filipino congressman, cemented his claim to
being the best fighter in the world by dominating the bigger but
slower Antonio Margarito of Mexico. Pacquiao earned a guaranteed $15
million.
(AP, 11/14/10)
2010 Dec 1, In the Philippines
suspected communist guerrillas seized a passenger bus then opened
fire on pursuing government forces in a running gunbattle that
killed at least four people in San Francisco town, Quezon province.
(AP, 12/1/10)
2010 Dec 3, The Philippine
government and communist rebels announced they will resume peace
negotiations to end the 41-year-old Maoist insurgency early next
year after the talks were suspended more than six years ago.
(AP, 12/3/10)
2010 Dec 8, In the Philippines
Pres. Benigno Aquino III lashed out at a Supreme Court decision
rejecting an investigative body he created to look into alleged
corruption during his predecessor's administration, vowing his
anti-graft battle would not be deterred by the setback.
(AP, 12/8/10)
2010 Dec 10, Philippine
President Benigno Aquino III ordered prosecutors to drop criminal
charges against 43 health workers arrested by the army as suspected
communist rebels 10 months ago, saying their rights were violated.
(AP, 12/10/10)
2010 Dec 14, In the central
Philippines suspected communist guerrillas killed 10 army soldiers
returning to their camp after being recalled from combat two days
before a Christmas cease-fire. A boy (9) also was killed in the
crossfire when the New People's Army guerrillas detonated land mines
then opened fire on the soldiers near where villagers were swimming
in a river in Northern Samar province.
(AP, 12/15/10)
2010 Dec 19, In the northern
Philippines a fire rapidly swept through a 5-storey budget hotel in
Tuguegarao burning to death 15 people, several crammed in bathrooms
where they fled in panic. Nine of the victims were nursing students
in town to take a licensing exam. The death toll rose to 16 after
one person died in a hospital
(AP, 12/19/10)(AP, 12/20/10)
2010 Dec 25, In the southern
Philippines a bomb exploded during Christmas Day Mass at a chapel
inside a police camp on Jolo island, wounding 6 people. The next day
Pres. Aquino said that investigators had identified a suspect and a
possible "terror plot" in the bombing.
(AP, 12/25/10)(AFP, 12/27/10)
2010 Dec 26, In the Philippines
Communist rebels threatened more attacks despite looming peace talks
with the government, as they marked the insurgency's 42nd
anniversary by defiantly marching with their weapons in public view.
(AP, 12/26/10)
2010 Dec 27, In the Philippines
US Lt. Cmdr. Scintar Buenviaje Mejia (35) died of head injuries
after jumping from a second-floor staircase while a security guard
escorted him to the bathroom. He was arrested a day earlier with
what was thought to be cocaine. Tests later showed the white powder
wasn't an illegal drug.
(AP, 12/28/10)
2010 Dec 29, In the Philippines
a gift-wrapped grenade exploded and killed a woman (31) when she
opened the package inside her house in an upscale neighborhood of
Manila.
(AP, 12/29/10)
2010 Dec 31, In the Philippines
Councilman Reynaldo Dagsa was shot dead in Manila. A photograph
identified one gunmen, who was captured Jan 3 along with an
accomplice. One suspect was a car thief who was out on bail and
likely sought revenge against Dagsa for ordering his arrest last
year. The main shooter, Arnel Buenaflor, was captured on Jan 6 in a
boarding house in Aurora township.
(AP, 1/4/11)(AP, 1/7/11)
2011 Jan 2, In the Philippines
a bus has collided with a passenger jeep in a province south of
Manila, killing 7 members of a family who were returning home from a
Christmas vacation. Landslides and floods, after days of heavy rain,
killed at least 17 people including 8 children.
(AP, 1/2/11)(AP, 1/3/11)(AP, 1/4/11)
2011 Jan 9, In the Philippines
more than a million Roman Catholics joined a raucous religious
procession in Manila to honor a centuries-old black statue of Jesus
Christ that they believe possesses mystical powers. Nearly 600 were
treated for injuries.
(AP, 1/9/11)
2011 Jan 18, Negotiators from
the Philippines government and communist rebels agreed to resume
peace talks after informal meetings in Norway.
(AP, 1/18/11)
2011 Jan 18, Philippine
disaster authorities said stormy weather since late December has
killed 56 people and left at least 19 missing, mostly fishermen lost
in rough seas.
(AP, 1/18/11)
2011 Jan 23, In the northern
Philippines suspected communist rebels shot and killed Rizal town
police chief Antonio Rueco, and four other officers, including his
wife, after detonating roadside bombs under their patrol car.
(AP, 1/23/11)
2011 Jan 24, In the Philippines
a gunman fatally shot Jerry Ortega, a radio broadcaster who had been
critical of corrupt officials in the southern Philippines. Police
captured the fleeing assailant with the help of passing firemen and
bystanders.
(AP, 1/24/11)
2011 Jan 25, In the Philippines
a bomb on a packed bus killed 5 people. Investigators recovered
fragments of an 81 mm mortar round and a Nokia cell phone used in
the bombing that also wounded 13 other people in Makati city, the
financial district of Manila. On June 2 Ryan Sison, a suspect in the
bombing, was arrested in a raid in Lucena city in Quezon province.
(AFP, 1/25/11)(AP, 1/26/11)(AP, 6/3/11)
2011 Jan 27, In the Philippines
a temporary elevator at a building construction site in Manila
plunged 25 floors, killing 10 workers.
(AP, 1/27/11)
2011 Jan 29, In the Philippines
a huge fire fanned by strong winds from Manila Bay swept through a
congested village in Manila, killing 12 people and displacing nearly
2,000.
(AP, 1/30/11)
2011 Feb 2, A Philippine
official said police commandos have arrested Arabi Sali, an
al-Qaida-linked militant allegedly involved in the killing of
American tourists and two US soldiers in the southern Philippines in
September, 2009. Allegations that former military chiefs benefited
from massive corruption led to calls for the government to get
serious about reforming the armed forces.
(AP, 2/2/11)(SFC, 2/3/11, p.A2)
2011 Feb 3, In the Philippines
President Benigno Aquino III ordered a logging moratorium in the
country, blaming devastating floods on unmitigated logging and
deforestation. A weeklong downpour culminated in raging flash floods
that surged through the streets of Jolo's coastal provincial
capital, sweeping away stilt houses and damaging hundreds of homes
killing at least 5 people. Disaster officials said at least 9 other
people have died in floods elsewhere in the Philippines this week,
adding to more than 70 lives lost in heavy rainfall between late
December and the end of January.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011 Feb 3, In the Philippines
the military and rebels said hundreds of rival Muslim rebels have
clashed over land in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 13
dead and thousands of villagers displaced in the monthlong fighting.
(AP, 2/3/11)
2011 Feb 5, In the Philippines
guerrillas leaders said Ameril Umbra Kato, a rogue Muslim rebel
commander, has formed a separate faction of several hundred fighters
and rejected peace talks to end the decades-long secessionist
rebellion.
(AP, 2/5/11)
2011 Feb 7, In the Philippines
Pres. Benigno Aquino III signed a proclamation granting amnesty to
rebel soldiers who participated in military uprisings in 2003 and
2006.
(SSFC, 2/13/11, p.A4)(http://tinyurl.com/2azzq9m)
2011 Feb 8, In the Philippines
retired Gen. Angelo Reyes (65) apparently committed suicide at his
mother's grave. Reyes, who headed the military from 2001 to 2003,
was at the center of a congressional probe into one of the biggest
corruption scandals to have hit the Philippine armed forces.
(AP, 2/8/11)
2011 Feb 12, In the southern
Philippines army troops captured a jungle encampment of
al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf gunmen and killed five militants in a
gunbattle that also left two soldiers dead near the village of
Baiwas. Among the dead was Juhaiber Alamsirul, a close aide of Abu
Sayyaf commander Nurhassan Jamiri, who has been blamed for
beheadings and kidnappings.
(AP, 2/13/11)
2011 Feb 18, In the Philippines
rebels freed army officer Mario Veluz, who they snatched at gunpoint
on Feb. 6 along a road near Bukidnon province.
(AP, 2/20/11)
2011 Feb 19, In the Philippines
police officer Jorge Sabatin walked free after being wounded and
snatched by New People's Army guerrillas in a Feb. 1 attack on a
police outpost in Agusan del Sur province's Trento town.
(AP, 2/20/11)
2011 Feb 19, In Nevada Filipino
fighter Nonito Donaire stopped Mexico's Fernando Montiel in the
second round to take the World Boxing Council and World Boxing
Organization bantamweight titles.
(AFP, 2/20/11)
2011 Feb 20, In the Philippines
rebels said police officer Jerwel Montecillo Tugade has been ordered
released after being abducted Feb. 7 in Davao Oriental province. A
fourth captive, army soldier Bryan Canedo, was still being held and
questioned after he was seized Feb. 7 in Compostela Valley Province.
(AP, 2/20/11)
2011 Feb 21, In the Philippines
four kidnappers were killed and a policeman wounded during a foiled
attempt to abduct a Chinese-Filipino businessman in southern North
Cotabato province's Midsayap township.
(AP, 2/21/11)
2011 Feb 24, In the Philippines
lawyers said about 7,500 victims of human rights abuses during late
dictator Ferdinand Marcos' regime will receive compensation for
their suffering starting next week, 25 years after a peaceful revolt
forced Marcos into exile in Hawaii.
(AP, 2/24/11)
2011 Feb 26, In the Philippines
communist rebels killed three soldiers and wounded four others in an
ambush in the foothills of a mountain near Asipulo township in
Ifugao province. Government and rebel negotiators last week resumed
talks in Norway after more than six years and agreed to negotiate a
settlement of the 42-year conflict.
(AP, 2/27/11)
2011 Mar 2, The Philippine
military deployed two warplanes near a disputed area in the South
China Sea after a ship searching for oil complained it was harassed
by two Chinese patrol boats. The Chinese vessels later left without
confrontation at the Reed Bank, which is near the disputed Spratly
Islands that are claimed by the Philippines, China and other
nations.
(AP, 3/3/11)
2011 Mar 10, In the southern
Philippine suspected Abu Sayyaf militants detonated a powerful bomb
near a school on Jolo island, killing at least three people and
wounding nine others.
(AP, 3/10/11)
2011 Mar 11, In the southern
Philippines a gold miner was killed and five others dug up alive by
fellow miners after their hut got buried by a landslide in Pantukan
town.
(AP, 3/13/11)
2011 Mar 13, In the Philippines
police commandos raided a house in Lamitan town on southern Basilan
island in search of the former mayor linked to the 2007 bombing that
killed a lawmaker but they instead captured Nawaf Jainuddin. He was
allegedly one of several Abu Sayyaf gunmen who seized several
hostages and staged deadly attacks in 2001 in Lamitan.
(AP, 3/14/11)
2011 Mar 19, In the southern
Philippines suspected communist rebels stormed the main police
station in Panabo city, killing an officer and wounding four others
in a daring attack on a government center that was repulsed by
outnumbered police officers.
(AP, 3/20/11)
2011 Mar 22, Philippine
lawmakers overwhelmingly impeached Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez,
the country's chief corruption investigator, long accused of
protecting former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from
prosecution.
(AP, 3/22/11)
2011 Mar 25, The Philippine
Catholic church led tens of thousands of Filipinos in one of the
biggest rallies against a proposed family planning law, saying it
will promote artificial contraception and lead to more abortions.
(AP, 3/25/11)
2011 Mar 26, Philippine Sen.
Panfilo Lacson, who fled double murder charges more than a year ago,
returned to the country after a court voided the arrest warrant
against him. He had been charged with the killings of high-profile
publicist Salvador "Bubby" Dacer and his driver in 2000, but has
denied involvement.
(AP, 3/26/11)
2011 Mar 29, Intelligence
officials in Indonesia and Philippines said Umar Patek (40), a
suspected member of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah
Islamiyah, has been arrested in Pakistan. The senior Indonesian
al-Qaida operative was wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings. Patek's
exact whereabouts were not immediately known.
(AP, 3/30/11)
2011 Apr 1, In the southern
Philippines gunmen linked to a criminal gang kidnapped 16 people,
most of them teachers, from an elementary school graduation ceremony
in Prosperidad town. At least four small-scale miners were buried
alive in a landslide in the mountainous Tampakan area.
(AP, 4/2/11)(AFP, 4/2/11)
2011 Apr 4, In the southern
Philippines armed tribesmen freed a boy after getting food and water
but kept at least 12 other hostages in jungle captivity to demand
the release of jailed relatives and friends.
(AP, 4/4/11)
2011 Apr 5, The Philippines'
largest Muslim rebel group acknowledged that its ranks include child
soldiers and said its leaders would meet with United Nations
representatives for talks on how to wean the youths from war.
(AP, 4/5/11)
2011 Apr 6, In the Philippines
armed tribesmen under pressure from government troops abandoned 13
hostages they held six days to demand the release of jailed
relatives, then escaped in the southern jungle.
(AP, 4/6/11)
2011 Apr 8, A Philippine court
ordered the widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos to return 12 million
pesos ($280,000) her husband pocketed from the government's food
agency in 1983.
(AP, 4/11/11)
2011 Apr 16, In the Philippines
army Scout Rangers encountered about 15 Abu Sayyaf gunmen in a
remote village of Al Barka township on Basilan island. The clash
killed 2 al-Qaida-linked gunmen and left three soldiers wounded.
(AP, 4/16/11)
2011 Apr 22, In the Philippines
at least 21 people were missing and three confirmed dead after a
night-time landslide ravaged a gold mining village in a mountainous
area of Mindanao.
(AP, 4/22/11)
2011 Apr 26, The
Philippines-based Asian Development Bank said world food prices that
surged 30 percent in the first two months of the year threaten to
push millions of Asians into extreme poverty and cut economic
growth.
(AP, 4/26/11)
2011 Apr 29, Philippines’s
Pres. Benigno Aquino forced the resignation of ombudsman Merceditas
Gutierrez, the state’s chief prosecutor of official corruption. She
was accused of failing to prosecute cases of alleged corruption
within the administration of former president Gloria Arroyo, who had
appointed her.
(Econ, 5/7/11, p.46)
2011 May 5, In the Philippines
Arabani Jakiran (39) was arrested amid an intensified manhunt for
al-Qaida-linked militants to pre-empt any possible revenge attacks
for Osama Bin Laden's killing this week in Pakistan.
(AP, 5/6/11)
2011 May 8, In the Philippines
a police intelligence unit arrested Asdatul Sahirun, a suspected
member of the Abu Sayyaf extremist movement, at a shopping mall in
the Manila’s Malate tourist district.
(AP, 5/8/11)
2011 May 8, In the Philippines
tropical storm Aere slammed into the eastern coast, bringing heavy
rains and landslides. At least 22 people were left dead and
thousands forced to leave their homes.
(AFP, 5/8/11)(AP, 5/10/11)
2011 May 9, A Philippine
anti-graft court approved a much-criticized plea bargain deal
between prosecutors and former Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who was
accused of plunder. Garcia had pleaded guilty to the lesser charges
of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering. He was released
on bail in December pending sentencing on the lesser charges.
(AP, 5/9/11)
2011 May 9, Malaysian police
said they have arrested Abdul Majid Kunji Mohamad, a Singaporean
businessman, suspected of channeling funds to southern Philippine
militants.
(AP, 5/9/11)
2011 May 12, In the southern
Philippines communist rebels killed a security guard for an
American-owned gold mining company and took the weapons of three
others.
(AP, 5/12/11)
2011 May 25, In the Philippines
Typhoon Songda roared toward the country's northeast.
(AP, 5/25/11)
2011 May 29, In the Philippines
workers cleaned up more than 750 tons of fish that have died and
rotted on fish farms in Taal Lake near Taal volcano south of Manila.
Scientists said the onset of the rainy season led to a sharp drop in
water temperatures depleting oxygen levels.
(AP, 5/29/11)(AFP, 5/29/11)
2011 May 30, In the southern
Philippines suspected Abu Sayyaf militants launched bomb attacks
that wounded five army soldiers who were hunting them amid a
crackdown on kidnappings.
(AP, 5/31/11)
2011 May 30, Authorities in the
Philippines detained 122 Vietnamese fishermen after seven boats were
intercepted in Philippine waters.
(AP, 5/30/11)
2011 Jun 7, A Philippine court
froze $23 million in bank accounts and assets of the Ampatuan family
linked to the 2009 politically motivated massacre of at least 57
people.
(SFC, 6/8/11, p.A2)
2011 Jun 16, In the Philippines
a Protestant church group sued former Philippine President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo, claiming security forces under her control killed
and tortured at least six of its members.
(AP, 6/16/11)
2011 Jun 22, In the Philippines
Gregorio "Comrade Roger" Rosal (64), a popular Mao cap-wearing
Filipino guerrilla, died of a heart attack. He had given a voice and
face to one of Asia's longest-running Marxist insurgencies as its
spokesman.
(AP, 10/9/11)
2011 Jun 24, In the Philippines
more than 53,000 people were in evacuation centers after fleeing
their homes following days of torrential rains caused by Tropical
Storm Meari.
(AFP, 6/24/11)
2011 Jun 29, In the southern
Philippines flashfloods left at least 25 people dead, mostly
children. Another 15 people were missing.
(SSFC, 7/3/11, p.A4)
2011 Jun, Scientists from the
Philippines and the California Academy of Sciences completed a
6-week study of the island of Luzon and discovered over 3000 new
species of land animals, plants and deep sea creatures.
(SFC, 6/25/11, p.A8)
2011 Jul 1, In the Philippines
government "environment enforcers" wearing mint-green Polo T-shirts
fanned out across Manila to start handing out penalties for smoking
in public places of 500 pesos ($11.50), following a month-long trial
period.
(AFP, 7/1/11)
2011 Jul 5, In the Philippines
Darcy Hans Rentenberg (53), a retired Canadian missionary, was
reported missing 10 days after he left his flat in nearby Mandaue
city. On July 16 police said they had found his body and arrested a
family-of-three who owned the farm where the corpse was buried.
(AFP, 7/16/11)
2011 Jul 12, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf militants snatched Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann (41), her son
Kevin (14) and her nephew, Romnick Jakaria, while they were
vacationing with relatives on an island near southern Zamboanga
city. The Filipino-American woman was freed On Oct 2 after 2½
months of captivity. Jakaria (19) escaped on Nov 13. Her son was
freed on Dec 10.
(AP, 10/3/11)(AP, 11/13/11)(AP, 12/10/11)
2011 Jul 27, In the Philippines
winners were announced for Asia's Magsaysay award this year for
giving green technologies to the poor. They included US-trained
Indian engineer Harish Hande (44) for bringing solar lights to a
country where half of all households have no electricity; Indonesian
social worker Tri Mumpuni (46) was recognized after her IBEKA
foundation built 60 small power plants harnessing the energy of
water stored in dams to bring electricity to half a million people;
and Dutch marine engineer Auke Idzenga's Alternative Indigenous
Development Foundation won for using an ancient, near-forgotten
technology, the ram pump, to help impoverished communities on Negros
island. Other winners included a man who set up an Islamic school
for girls in Indonesia, a lender to India's poorest, and a man
working to restore democracy in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge
murdered his father.
(AFP, 7/27/11)
2011 Jul 27, In the Philippines
heavy rains and floods battered the northeast for a third day,
swamping homes of about a half million people. Tropical Storm
Nock-ten was expected to blow out of the country to the South China
Sea by July 28 after cutting through the heart of Luzon Island. The
death toll reached 52 with 27 still missing.
(AP, 7/27/11)(AFP, 7/31/11)
2011 Jul 28, In the Philippines
Abu Sayyaf militants killed 7 marines, severing the heads of two of
them, and wounded 27 others who were about to raid their jungle camp
in southern Sulu province. The militants withdrew into the woods
after 5 hours of fighting and government forces captured their
hide-out.
(AP, 7/28/11)(AFP, 7/29/11)
2011 Jul 30, Tropical Storm
Nock-ten hit north-central Vietnam killing one person. The storm had
already left at least 50 people dead in the Philippines.
(SSFC, 7/31/11, p.A4)
2011 Jul 31, Tropical storm
Mufia, named after a Chinese flower, approached the Philippines. It
had already left 2 people dead and caused the 2,400-ton MV Trans
Asia Malaysia cargo ship to sink. All 155 aboard were rescued.
(AFP, 7/31/11)
2011 Aug 1, In the Philippines
8 police officers were arrested after Commission on Human Rights
chief Loretta Ann Rosales alerted the interior ministry to two
videos she said showed a group of naked and blindfolded police
recruits being force-fed and rubbed with red-hot chilies. 6 more
officers were soon arrested in a widening investigation.
(AFP, 8/4/11)
2011 Aug 2, In the Philippines
waist-deep floods have swamped the streets in Manila after a night
of monsoon rains closed down schools and government offices. In the
southern Philippines an improvised bomb exploded in front of a gun
store in Cotabato city, killing at least one person and wounding 9
others, including a 7-year-old girl. Typhoon Muifa killed four
people in the Philippines even though it did not make landfall.
(AP, 8/2/11)(AP, 8/6/11)
2011 Aug 3, In Kuwait a
24-year-old Filipina domestic worker, reportedly blinded by her
employer, sought refuge at the Philippines Embassy after escaping
from her employer last month.
(SSFC, 8/7/11, p.A4)
2011 Aug 10, In the Philippines
6 suspected car thieves and a police officer were killed in two gun
battles in Manila.
(AFP, 8/10/11)
2011 Aug 12, In the southern
Philippines two men were killed when a bomb they were allegedly
carrying exploded prematurely along a highway.
(AP, 8/12/11)
2011 Aug 15, In the southern
Philippines a car bomb killed 2 people and wounded seven in an
attack targeting Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, who took
office after many of his relatives were slain in the country's worst
political massacre in 2009. Mangudadatu was unhurt. Authorities
arrested a suspect after a witness saw him leaving the bomb-laden
car and fleeing the scene of the attack in Tacurong City.
(AP, 8/15/11)(AP, 8/18/11)
2011 Aug 17, In the Philippines
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front vice chairman Ghazali Jaafar said
its central committee plans to issue a resolution declaring that
Ameril Umbra Kato is no longer a member unless he returns to its
fold, an unlikely prospect since he has rejected earlier calls to
rejoin. Kato has opposed the main rebel group's peace talks with the
government and called for jihad, or holy war, for a separate Muslim
state.
(AP, 8/17/11)
2011 Aug 21, In the central
Philippines the steel-hulled inter-island ferry, M/V Island
Fastcraft 1, with at least 75 people caught fire then sank amid
stormy weather, leaving 3 people dead, one missing while the rest
were rescued.
(AP, 8/21/11)
2011 Aug 23, The Philippines'
largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, rejected
a government proposal for autonomy in the country's south as
inadequate but said they will continue talks.
(AP, 8/23/11)
2011 Aug 27, In the Philippines
a slow-moving typhoon made landfall, drenching most of the north and
triggering landslides that killed five children and a man digging
for gold. Super-typhoon Nanmadol killed at least 16 people and left
flattened bridges and blocked roads in its wake as it moved away
from the Philippines and churned towards Taiwan.
(AP, 8/27/11)(AP, 8/28/11)(AFP, 8/29/11)
2011 Aug 30, Philippine
President Benigno Aquino flew to China, on a mission to secure
billions of dollars in business deals as the two sides look to move
beyond a territorial row.
(AFP, 8/30/11)
2011 Sep 3, In the Philippines
villagers and veteran hunters in Bunawan township in Agusan del Sur
province captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to
make the star of a planned ecotourism park.
(AP, 9/5/11)
2011 Sep 11, Philippine army
troops killed three gunmen allied with the al-Qaida-affiliated Abu
Sayyaf group in a clash that also wounded a soldier on southern
Basilan island.
(AP, 9/11/11)
2011 Sep 19, In the southern
Philippines dozens of army troops killed three Abu Sayyaf militants
and rescued a kidnap victim in a clash near Sumisip town on Basilan
island.
(AP, 9/19/11)
2011 Sep 20, In the Philippines
a 13-year-old boy shot his 16-year-old friend inside a busy mall
then turned the weapon on himself. He died the next day and left the
other boy brain dead, raising questions about gun control in a
country awash in firearms. Police said the shooting was a crime of
passion and that the boys were in a romantic relationship after
meeting through Facebook in May.
(AP, 9/21/11)
2011 Sep 25, In the Philippines
suspected Muslim militants attacked government troops guarding a
school construction site in a rebel stronghold, igniting a clash
that killed 13 gunmen, two marines and at least one villager in Sulu
province.
(AP, 9/25/11)
2011 Sep 26, Philippine
authorities evacuated more than 100,000 people, closed schools and
grounded flights as Typhoon Nesat, one of the biggest typhoons of
the year, bore down on the Southeast Asian country.
(AFP, 9/26/11)
2011 Sep 27, Typhoon Nesat
smashed into the Philippines, leaving at least 35 people dead, with
the capital Manila enduring waist-deep floods, blackouts and
dramatic storm surges.
(AFP, 9/27/11)(AP, 9/29/11)
2011 Oct 1, Typhoon Nalgae
lashed the Philippines, killing at least 3 people person and
bringing fresh misery for more than a million people trapped by
earlier storm floods.
(AFP, 10/1/11)(AP, 10/2/11)
2011 Oct 3, In the Philippines
more than 200 heavily armed communist rebels of the New People's
Army stormed three mining companies in a weakly secured southern
region, burning heavy equipment, disarming guards and briefly
holding several people in Surigao del Norte province.
(AP, 10/3/11)
2011 Oct 4, Philippine police
on southern Jolo island arrested Abu Sayyaf gunman Adzhar Mawalil
(32), who allegedly helped behead seven Filipino workers while
singing a militant song in a grisly 2007 crime.
(AP, 10/5/11)
2011 Oct 6, Philippine police
rescued a government midwife kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants
after a brief firefight near Parang township on Jolo island.
Evangeline Taverisma (55) was kidnapped on Aug 3. An army soldier
was killed and three others wounded in the gunbattle near Esperanza
town in southern Agusan del Sur province. Troops captured a New
People's Army encampment and 12 assault rifles and hit several of
the undetermined number of rebels.
(AP, 10/6/11)
2011 Oct 9, In the southern
Philippines suspected homemade bombs exploded in a budget hotel and
at a cockfighting arena, wounding at least 11 people in Zamboanga
city.
(AP, 10/9/11)
2011 Oct 10, Philippine army
troops battled communist guerrillas in a running gunbattle that
killed eight rebels and a soldier in the mountainous north, in the
latest flare-up in the 42-year insurgency despite on-and-off peace
talks.
(AP, 10/10/11)
2011 Oct 12, Philippine
President Benigno Aquino announced a $1.66 billion program to help
his country cope with the deepening global economic turmoil.
(AFP, 10/12/11)
2011 Oct 16, In the Philippines
Emmanuel Ponce (55), shot his wife, three of his children and their
maid with a pistol while having breakfast in Talisay town, Cebu
province, and then killed himself. He spared his favorite daughter
(14).
(AP, 10/16/11)
2011 Oct 17, In the Philippines
Rev. Fausto Tentorio (59), an Italian Catholic priest who was about
to travel to a clergy meeting, was shot dead in his southern parish.
He was the third Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions
missionary to be killed on southern Mindanao Island.
(AP, 10/17/11)
2011 Oct 18, In the Philippines
19 soldiers were killed 13 wounded and 3 left missing in a clash on
Basilan island with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the
country's largest Muslim guerrilla group.
(AFP, 10/18/11)(AFP, 10/19/11)
2011 Oct 19, The Philippine
navy apologized to China for accidentally ramming one of its fishing
boats a day earlier near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South
China Sea.
(AP, 10/19/11)
2011 Oct 21, In the southern
Philippines 3 South Korean businessmen went missing. Officials later
said they were abducted by unidentified men who lured them with a
fake mining investment project. Police launched a search for Wu
Seok-bung, Kim Nam-du, Choi In-soo and at least one Filipino guide
after they failed to return to their hotel in Cagayan de Oro city.
Choi In-soo escaped on Nov 25. Wu Seok-bung and Kim Nam-du were
abandoned on Nov 26 as troops moved in. The guide was killed during
captivity.
(AP, 11/7/11)(AP, 11/27/11)
2011 Oct 26, In the Philippines
a building-sized edifice carved with the Bible's Ten Commandments
was unveiled on a hill overlooking the northern resort city of
Baguio, making it the largest tablet of its kind, according to
Guinness World Records.
(AFP, 10/26/11)
2011 Oct 28, The Philippine
government said it will seize three Manila properties belonging to
flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos as payment for money she
embezzled nearly three decades ago.
(AFP, 10/28/11)
2011 Oct 30, Philippine bomber
planes and troops assaulted a mountain stronghold of the
al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the south in a new offensive
targeting a key Malaysian terrorism suspect and allied Filipino
gunmen. The military air and ground assault killed 3 Abu Sayyaf
commanders and 2 other militants around the Abu Sayyaf jungle lair
near Karawan village in Sulu province's Indanan town after OV-10
planes bombed the area. Primary targets Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir,
also known as Marwan, and Abu Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdail escaped
along with 2 other Asian militants and dozens of Abu Sayyaf
fighters.
(AP, 10/30/11)(AP, 10/31/11)
2011 Nov 2, The Philippines,
one of the world's largest labor exporters, announced a ban on the
deployment of workers to 41 countries, including war-torn
Afghanistan and booming India, where Filipino officials say there
are inadequate protections against labor abuse. Nearly 10 percent of
the Philippine population of 94 million work abroad.
(AP, 11/2/11)
2011 Nov 3, The Philippine
government and Muslim rebels agreed to continue peace talks despite
the Oct 18 clashes that killed 19 soldiers in a southern province.
(AP, 11/3/11)
2011 Nov 8, The Philippine
justice secretary barred former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
from seeking medical treatment abroad while she faces complaints of
electoral cheating.
(AP, 11/8/11)
2011 Nov 18, In the Philippines
police arrested former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on charges of
electoral fraud. Police allowed her to remain in hospital for health
reasons.
(SFC, 11/19/11, p.A2)
2011 Nov 20, South Korean
President Lee Myung-Bak arrived in Manila for a three-day state
visit at the invitation of Philippine President Benigno Aquino.
(AP, 11/20/11)
2011 Nov 27, In the southern
Philippines suspected Islamic militants detonated a powerful bomb
that killed at least three people and wounded 27 others in a budget
hotel packed with wedding guests in Zamboanga city.
(AP, 11/27/11)
2011 Nov 29, Philippine
authorities in Zamboanga captured Hussein Ahaddin, an
al-Qaida-linked bomber suspected in at least six attacks, including
a 2002 karaoke bar explosion that killed an American Green Beret and
a hotel blast this week that killed three people.
(AP, 11/30/11)
2011 Dec 2, In the Philippines
6 fishermen, from China's southern island province of Hainan, were
arrested in waters off western Palawan province's Balabac township,
for catching endangered sea turtles. Officials said the fishermen's
mother ship may have escaped when their speedboat was intercepted.
(AP, 12/4/11)
2011 Dec 3, In the Philippines
more than 1,000 gays, lesbians and transgenders marched in Manila to
demand equal rights, an end to discrimination, and more support for
AIDS programs.
(AP, 12/3/11)
2011 Dec 5, In the Philippines
several armed men abducted Warren Rodwell (53) of Australia from his
home in the seaside town of Ipil on Mindanao island, then fled on
speed boats. The kidnappers mailed four pictures of Rodwell before
Christmas to his Filipino wife then called her to demand an initial
ransom of $23,000 (1 million pesos). The ransom was soon raised to
$2 million.
(AFP, 12/5/11)(AP, 1/1/12)(AP, 1/5/12)
2011 Dec 8, China executed a
Filipino drug trafficker (35) despite a clemency appeal by
Philippine Pres. Benigno Aquino III.
(SFC, 12/9/11, p.A2)
2011 Dec 10, In the Philippines
a four-seater cargo plane crashed onto a crowded Manila slum,
sparking a fire that killed 13 people and left five missing and at
least another 20 injured.
(AFP, 12/10/11)
2011 Dec 12, In the Philippines
the House of Representatives impeached chief justice Renato Corona
over charges his 15-member court had made a series of rulings that
hindered government moves to prosecute ex-leader Gloria Arroyo. The
proceedings will move to the Senate, where a trial will determine if
Corona must step down.
(AFP, 12/12/11)
2011 Dec 13, In the Philippines
police arrested Benjamin Abalos, the former elections chairman, on
charges he aided the vote fraud allegedly ordered by former
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 12/13/11)
2011 Dec 17, Tropical storm
Washi whipped the southern Philippines, unleashing mammoth floods
across vast areas that left 440 people dead and nearly 200 missing.
(AP, 12/17/11)
2011 Dec 18, In the southern
Philippines rescuers struggled to help survivors and a ravaged city
prepared for a mass burial as the death toll from devastating flash
floods rose past 650. Some 900 people were missing.
(AFP, 12/18/11)
2011 Dec 19, In the southern
Philippines the death toll from devastating flash floods rose to 927
and was expected to climb higher as relief workers recovered more
bodies from Mindanao.
(AFP, 12/19/11)
2011 Dec 20, Philippines’
President Benigno Aquino flew to Mindanao to survey the devastation
by air, coordinate the relief effort. Some 1249 were killed after
tropical storm Washi lashed the southern island of Mindanao.
(AFP, 12/20/11)(AP, 12/27/11)
2011 Dec 30, Philippine police
arrested a member of an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group. The suspect
allegedly took part in the kidnapping of guests and workers of a
resort in the western Philippines in 2001 including an American
couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, and a Chilean-born American,
Guillermo Sobero.
(AFP, 12/30/11)
2011 In the Philippines
communist guerrillas killed about 100 government troops and police
and waged 447 attacks this year continuing decline in their 43-year
insurgency. The number of armed rebel fighters dropped 7.8 percent
last year to 4,043.
(AP, 1/22/12)
2012 Jan 1, In the Philippines
an estimated 739 people suffered injuries during New Year
celebrations including 712 sounded by fireworks and 22 by gunfire. A
boy (10) died from massive injuries due to explosives packed in a
can.
(SFC, 1/2/12, p.A3)
2012 Jan 3, In the Philippines
some 50 New People's Army guerrillas assaulted a government militia
outpost guarding a village in Agusan del Norte province, killing a
militiaman and two rebels. A weeklong rebel cease-fire ended on Jan
2.
(AP, 1/3/12)
2012 Jan 5, In the southern
Philippines a landslide tore through a tiny gold-mining village,
killing at least 31 people in Napnapan village, Mindanao island. Up
to 39 people were still missing.
(AP, 1/5/12)(AFP, 1/6/12)(AFP, 1/8/12)
2012 Jan 16, In the Philippines
a historic impeachment trial of the nation’s top judge began in one
of Pres. Benigno Aquino's boldest yet most divisive moves to tackle
pervasive corruption. Renato Corona was accused of violating the
constitution in his efforts to protect graft-tainted former
president Gloria Arroyo from prosecution, while also for allegedly
amassing a personal fortune above the limits of his salary.
(AFP, 1/16/12)
2012 Jan 22, A Philippines’
military statement said communist insurgents have stepped up
"extortion-based violence" and attacks on "soft targets" to raise
funds amid waning public support. It also said the strength of the
New People’s Army (NPA) has fallen to just over 4,000 last year from
about 4,300 in 2010.
(AFP, 1/23/12)
2012 Jan 24, Philippine customs
authorities seized unclaimed items, which appeared to have been
meant for cooking something illegal. They had waited a month to see
who would claim the suspicious shipment of "kitchen equipment" from
Taiwan. A Chinese drug syndicate is suspected to have arranged the
shipment to use the drumloads of chemicals, heating equipment and
other items to produce large quantities of methamphetamine.
(AP, 1/24/12)
2012 Jan 25, In the Philippines
an artillery round accidentally exploded while a welder and police
commandos tinkered with it with an acetylene torch, killing four
people, including two policemen, in Manila.
(AP, 1/25/12)
2012 Jan 25, The UN said that
the worldwide fishing industry could benefit from a $50 billion
boost annually if stocks were allowed time to recover. A UN
Environment Program report released in the Philippine said 32
percent of the world's fish stocks have already been depleted by
years of overfishing and poor coastal management.
(AFP, 1/25/12)
2012 Jan 30, In the Philippines
an accidental grenade blast killed a communist rebel and wounded 11
civilians, including 7 children, in southern Bukidnon province's
Kibawe township.
(AP, 1/30/12)
2012 Feb 1, In the southern
Philippines gunmen abducted Swiss and Dutch tourists and a Filipino
bird photographer and took the trio away by boat on Tawi-Tawi island
province.
(AP, 2/1/12)
2012 Feb 2, The Philippine
military said it killed three of Southeast Asia's top Islamic
militants in a US-backed airstrike, including Malaysian bombmaker
Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan, though his body was not yet
found. Marwan was accused of being a senior member of regional
terror network Jemaah Islamiyah and behind multiple bomb attacks in
the Philippines. In 2007 the US government offered a $5-million
reward for his capture. At least 15 people were killed including
Filipino Abu Pula, also known as Doctor Abu and Umbra Jumdail, one
of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf militant organization and
Singaporean Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah, another top name in Jemaah
Islamiyah. On Feb 5 two security officials said that new
intelligence showed that Jumdail was killed but that the two foreign
terror suspects were alive and were not in the Abu Sayyaf lair that
was bombed.
(AFP, 2/2/12)(SFC, 2/3/12, p.A4)(SFC, 2/4/12,
p.A3)(AP, 2/5/12)
2012 Feb 6, In the Philippines
a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Negros island and set off
landslides. 58 people were killed and 60 left missing.
(AP, 2/6/12)(AP, 2/7/12)(AP, 2/8/12)(AP, 3/6/12)
2012 Feb 11, Philippine
government agents in Manila arrested Dr. Eric Chan, alias Eric Uy
Garchitorena, accused of defrauding a California health care program
of more than $3 million.
(AP, 2/14/12)
2012 Feb 19, In the Philippines
gunmen fired two grenades at the Kidapawan city jail and then
engaged policemen and guards in a brief firefight before
withdrawing. At least one civilian was killed in the crossfire.
(AP, 2/19/12)
2012 Feb 29, The Philippines
said it would push ahead with plans to expand oil and gas
exploration in waters also claimed by China, as it brushed off a
fresh Chinese warning.
(AFP, 2/29/12)
2012 Mar 1, The Philippines
Bureau of Internal Revenue filed a complaint after boxer Manny
Pacquiao failed to submit tax documents despite three notices and a
subpoena.
(AP, 3/8/12)
2012 Mar 1, In the Philippines
Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel leader Mohagher Iqbal said that
the three commanders on southern Basilan island were suspended for
three months after an investigation by Malaysian-led peace monitors
found they violated a cease-fire accord with the government. The
commanders involved in an October clash that killed 19 soldiers and
endangered a years-long cease-fire.
(AP, 3/1/12)
2012 Mar 3, In the Philippines
a bomb exploded in a commercial district of the southern island of
Jolo leaving 2 dead and 13 wounded. The Abu Sayyaf group was blamed.
(AFP, 3/3/12)
2012 Mar 6, In the Philippines
a 5.2 earthquake struck leaving 10 people injured. It was centered
at sea just two miles (3 km) north of Masbate City on the island
province of Masbate.
(AP, 3/6/12)
2012 Mar 11, In the Philippines
Daily Tribune reporter Fernan Angeles (41) was beaten and shot six
times with a pistol by unidentified men near his home in Pasig city,
a suburb of Manila. He appeared to have been suspected of leaking
information about a drug syndicate's operation to authorities.
(AP, 3/12/12)
2012 Mar 16, In the Philippines
a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern island of Dinagat
and left at least 45 people injured, most of them shoppers who
panicked and rushed in a stampede for the exits.
(AFP, 3/16/12)
2034 Estimates in 2006
predicted that the population of the Philippines would double by
this time.
(Econ, 2/25/06, p.50)
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Subject = Philippines