By TJ Burgonio
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–In business, it pays to go green, to embrace one’s roots, and to engage small communities.

Ask the owner of Binalot, a fast-food chain famous for its low-budget Pinoy meals wrapped in banana leaves harvested in a poor farmers’ community in Laguna, a neighboring province of Metro Manila.

As it continues to make good business through its 35 outlets, mostly inside malls in Metro Manila, the young company is starting to gain international recognition.

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By TJ Burgonio
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–In the eyes of fellow environmentalists, Von Hernandez is the kind who walks his talk, and gets the job done.

It’s no surprise then that Hernandez has been named by Time magazine as among this year’s “Heroes of the Environment,” along with Al Gore, Mikhail Gorbachev and Prince Charles and other personalities.

The Greenpeace campaign director was cited for his relentless campaign against trading in waste and highly polluting waste incinerators that led the Philippines to ban waste incineration in 1999, the first country to do so.

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By Momar G. Visaya, Contributor
INQUIRER.net

NEW YORK–A soldier of Filipino descent emerged victorious at the recently concluded 2007 Best Warrior Competition held Oct. 1-5 at Fort Lee, Virginia and was declared the Department of Army’s Soldier of the Year.

Spc. Heyz T. Seeker, who represented the US Army Special Operations Command, won the grueling competition after competing with 12 other soldiers in tests of physical fitness and military skills ranging from marksmanship to first aid.

“It’s still sinking in. I was really overwhelmed at first,” Spc. Seeker told the Asian Journal in a telephone interview Thursday, Oct 11.

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By Margaux Ortiz
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–Imagine going to Manila Bay and coming face-to-face with a shark or even a school of fierce barracudas.

Come December, this awesome scene would be experienced by Filipinos — adults and children alike — with the completion of the Manila Ocean Park just behind the Quirino Grandstand at the Rizal Park.

The ocean park, a P1-billion project of Singaporean and Malaysian investors, is the first world-class marine park to adopt a “fusion concept,” according to Manila Ocean Park president Lim Chee Yong.

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By Edwin Fernandez
Inquirer

CAMP SIONGCO, Shariff Kabunsuan–An alert used clothing (ukay-ukay) vendor, police and military authorities yesterday foiled a bombing attempt in a densely populated public market in Tacurong City.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesperson of the military’s 6th Infantry Division, said a suspected terrorist group allied with the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah planted a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) at a stall selling used clothing along a busy street in Tacurong City, an agricultural city rocked by more than a dozen bomb attacks in the past two years.

The vendor noticed the explosive left unattended near the stall of his merchandise at about 7 a.m. He immediately carried the device to a children’s park and reported his discovery to the police.

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By Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines–Thousands of Filipinos joined an international campaign to end global poverty Wednesday by standing up and making a symbolic pledge in the world’s most populous region, where more than 640 million live on less than $1 a day.

The pledge in part rejects excuses that allow 50,000 people to die every day because of extreme poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor. It urges government leaders to save the lives of the poorest citizens, tackle inequality, govern fairly, fight corruption, and fulfill human rights.

The “Stand Up, Speak Out” pledge is part of the UN campaign to promote the Millennium Development Goals that include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, and ensuring a sustainable environment by 2015.

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By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–The Bureau of Immigration has relaxed its rules for returning Filipinos or “balikbayans” by giving them a one-year visa-free stay in the country, Commissioner Marcelino Libanan has said.

A balikbayan principally refers to a former Philippine citizen who has become a naturalized citizen of another country.

Libanan said they decided to ease the bureau’s rule after being swamped with queries and complaints from returning Filipinos who claimed that they were confused by some immigration officers who would give them a 21-day stay instead of one year on the pretext that they have been to the country more than once over a 12-month period.

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By Vicente Labro
Inquirer

BALANGIGA, Eastern Samar–With fervor and pride, they again paid tribute to their forebears who left behind a legacy of love for freedom.

People of the century-old coastal town of Balangiga in Eastern Samar commemorated the 106th anniversary of the victory of their forefathers against American invaders on Sept. 28, hoping anew that the historic Balangiga Bells taken as war booty by US soldiers will eventually be returned.

A festive mood pervaded the town as the historic event was marked, albeit with less pomp as before. Photo shows a dance drama depicting American soldiers taking away the church bells of Balangiga.

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By TJ Burgonio
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines–He isn’t hanging up his gloves yet. But Manny Pacquiao now wants to focus on a larger-than-life fight outside the ring — protecting the Philippine Eagle from extinction.

The boxing icon bared his plans to help preserve one of the world’s rarest and most powerful birds after he was showered with red, white and blue confetti at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Pacquiao, 28, fresh from his second conquest of Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera in Las Vegas last Oct. 7, flew in early Thursday to a subdued, less festive welcome after a planned motorcade in Manila was scuttled.

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By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO–The poor have ceased being just receivers and the rich, the givers. They both participate in building families and communities in Pampanga.

This is the “paradigm shift” that Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio, a Catholic priest, said he had helped introduce in his first 100 days in office.

It manifested also in the ability of Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao and provincial board members to “rise above their disagreements” with him and “putting the needs of the people above all else,” he said.

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