Philippine News Digest 16
18 February - 01 March 2002
Contents:
Army told not to use minor members of Abu Sayaff
Child rapist wanted in US nabbed in RP
8,000 Filipinos lost jobs since January
E-courts: Justice at click of mouse
Army told not
to use minor members of Abu Sayaff
The secretary said no child should be a part or victim of war. At least
three children in Basilan admitted to being members of the Abu Sayaff. One of
them, a 12-year old boy, said he joined the group because two of his older
brothers are with the Abu Sayaff. normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Source: Julie S. Alipala, Philippine Daily Inquirer Mindanao Bureau,
1
March 2002.
Police caught Jeffrey Mark Clark, a fugitive
from the United States, February 24 in Cebu City where he had been hiding
since he entered the Philippines under an assumed name. Clark was convicted of
incest in 1997 and sentenced to go a three-year rehabilitation program for sex
offenders at the Oregon State Hospital. He, however, escaped a year later. Source: AFP report in Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1 March 2002.
The Department of Labor and Employment’s
(DOLE) Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics said 8,599 workers were laid
off between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 as more companies either downsize operations or
reported financial losses. The figure averaged 191 retrenched workers a day.
They will join the 4.2 million Filipinos who are currently unemployed. To
cushion the effects of the layoffs, Labor Secretary Patricio Sto. Tomas said
the government hopes to deploy 1 million Filipinos overseas this year, going
so far as to declare 2002 as the Year of the Overseas Employment Providers. normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Source: Blanche S. Rivera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 26 February 2002.
Pilot e-courts were being set up around the country and would be operational within the next three months, according to the Supreme Court’s chief information officer, Ivan Uy, and Assistant Solicitor General Karl Miranda. These courts will be upgraded in stages to include the following features: computer-aided transcription machines, video room, trial court website and computer link up to the Supreme Court. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, who initiated the creation of the country’s first electronic courts, said e-courts can eliminate or at the very least reduce case back logs the Philippine judicial system is notorious for . normal; mso-bidi-font-family: Source: Volt Contreras, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 18 February 2002.
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