This Week in the Philippines #5

Riots, US military sneakiness, UN misconduct, bomb threats, and a quick fix to illegal immigration...


Source: Corbis

Possible uprising in support of former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is apparently bracing for a repeat of Edsa III in the aftermath of a verdict on the plunder case against detained President Joseph “Erap” Estrada.Edsa III, an uprising led by thousands of Estrada’s mostly poor supporters in an attempt to restore him to Malacañang on May 1, 2001, was suppressed by former Vice President Gloria Arroyo, who, on Jan. 21 of that year, led a military-backed coup that toppled the now jailed leader and catapulted her to the presidency.

US military builds "temporary structures" in the Philippines
American officials in Manila yesterday denied that the United States is building a military base in Mindanao, but admitted that it is constructing “temporary” structures across Mindanao worth at least $14.4 million for “medical, logistical and administrative services” to be used by US soldiers.

UN asked to recall its highest official in Philippines
Former senator Wigberto Tañada and 48 other leaders of non-government organizations have asked the United Nations to recall its highest official in the Philippines for alleged arbitrariness, unilateralism, abuse, and harassment. In a petition, members of the civil society community said: “Arbitrariness. Unilateralism. Abuse. Harassment. These are words we do not normally attribute to the UN.”

Manila under alert for terrorist bombings
Police have tightened security in malls in the eastern part of Metro Manila following reports that groups aligned with the Abu Sayyaf—the Jemaah Islamiyah and Rajah Solaiman Movement—could be planning “sympathy attacks” in public places in the metropolis.

Immigration bureau asks illegal aliens to stay
The Bureau of Immigration urged all overstaying aliens on Monday to come out and legalize their status as he assured them that they would not be arrested should they request for an extension of their stay in the country.

11 Photos from My Travels

I have spent a good deal of August trekking around the Philippines getting away from the crowded streets, smoggy air, and noise pollution of Manila to bathe in energizing springs, greet powerful mountains, and devour (organic) food grown a few yards away from the kitchen.

Here is what I saw:
























A month and a half left in the Philippines.

How time flies...

Trafficking Spreads HIV/AIDS in Asia

Source: Corbis

From Reuters:

About 300,000 women and children are trafficked across Asia each year, accelerating the spread of HIV/AIDS, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

"Trafficking ... contributes to the spread of HIV by significantly increasing the vulnerability of trafficked persons to infection," said Caitlin Wiesen-Antin, HIV/AIDS regional coordinator, Asia and Pacific, for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "Both human trafficking and HIV greatly threaten human development and security."

UNAIDS estimates 5.4 million people were living with HIV in the Asia Pacific region in 2006, with anywhere between 140,000 and 610,000 people dying from AIDS-related illnesses.

That makes it the world's second largest number of people living with HIV after sub-Saharan Africa, where 25.8 million people are infected with the virus.

Read the full article here

No More Pedophile Tourists

Source: Corbis

From the Washington Post:

One sexual predator, when interviewed by the FBI, described his experience with foreign child prostitutes this way: "It's like being a star. They want to try my food. They want to see what clothes I wear. They want to watch my television." Such "stars" are the global consumers of innocence, exercising a particularly brutal form of power over the poorest, most vulnerable children on Earth.

About 25 percent of sex tourists targeting children are from the United States, traveling to Latin America, Asia and Africa in search of abomination on the modified American plan.

Another predator told the FBI that he shouldn't be prosecuted because the girls he used were professionals.

In his case, they ranged from 13 to 15 years old.

Read the full article here

iPods used to fight trafficking in Europe

From the Sunday Sun:

HUNDREDS of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being spent on a scheme to help a police force tackle human trafficking.

The devices, which can hold huge quantities of information, have been preloaded with recorded messages in a variety of different languages.

The idea is to provide victims of human trafficking with basic information in their language while officers wait for a qualified interpreter.

The messages have been recorded in Albanian, Portuguese, Czech, French, Lithuanian, Malay, Mandarin, Romanian, Russian and Thai.

Anti-Trafficking TV

Another installment of trafficking-related video clips from around the web

The Politics Behind Human Trafficking


Actor Ron Livingston on Child Sex Trafficking & his New Film HOLLY


Stay tuned for more...

The Feast Returns

ALL DAY BUFFET

Before I left for the Philippines I helped start All Day Buffet, an organization dedicated to connecting young adults to important humanitarian issues throughout the world.

It's a simple idea: Inspire Action. Change the world. Have Fun.

I'm happy to announce we're back and better than ever! We have a new website and a growing community in the Big Easy. And now we are starting a series of happy hours called 'Cause for Drinks.'

Come join us next Wednesday, Aug. 22nd, for our very first one at Gallery Bar in NYC and LePhare in New Orleans. $2 from every drink purchased will go towards school supplies for kids in under-resourced schools in NYC and helping to educate veteran child soldiers in Ghana.

When:
Wednesday, August 22, 2007, 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Where:
(NYC) Gallery Bar, 120 Orchard Street (Between Delancy & Rivington) - Map

(NO) Le Phare, 523 Gravier - Map

Being in the Philippines I am unable to attend, but I will be there in spirit.

Hats off to those who organized this event and have various surprises and treats in the pipeline. Although I'm on the other side of the world I'm overjoyed to see your hard work come to fruition- congratulations and thank you for keeping the idea alive!

Cheers!