Philippines cited as Standout - 74% led over all ASEAN countries

Philippines cited as standout

THE PHILIPPINES is poised to be the standout in Southeast Asia yet again, leading the pack in terms of economic growth and investor confidence, Standard Chartered Bank has projected.

In a survey of more than 900 investors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Manila emerged as the frontrunner among other key cities in the region, the British banking giant said in a report yesterday.

"The Philippines was the standout country in terms of the strength of on-the-ground sentiment… We expect the Philippines to see stronger investment growth this year, sustaining the strong momentum from 2012," Standard Chartered said.

Some 74% of investor-respondents in Manila expect to see better business prospects in 2013 compared to the year before, dwarfing scores in Jakarta (46%), Bangkok (44%), Singapore (44%) and Kuala Lumpur (41%).

The survey also found that investors in Manila are most worried about the European, American and Chinese markets this year. No one cited the Philippines as a concern. In comparison, 47% of investors in Kuala Lumpur said their own country worried them, followed by 43% in Singapore, 35% in Jakarta and 19% in Bangkok.

The peso is expected to get stronger, with 86% of investors in Manila saying they expect to see their currency appreciating against the dollar in 2013. Only 67% of investors in Bangkok, 52% in Kuala Lumpur, 50% in Singapore and 35% in Jakarta thought the same.

"We are optimistic that the Philippines will outperform the region and enjoy another year of strong growth momentum in 2013," Standard Chartered said.

It forecast that the country could grow by 5.8% this year and 6.1% next year, beating its 10-year average of 5.2%. The estimates, however, fall below the government targets of 6-7% and 6.5-7.5%, respectively. This follows the banner performance in 2012 when the gross domestic product (GDP) growth hit a stunning 6.6%, beating market expectations and the official goal of 5-6%.

According to Standard Chartered, the economy will likely be driven by domestic consumption yet again. Public and private investment should pick up too but exports could remain weak, acting as a "negative but limited drag on growth."

It also expected further progress in the public-private partnership (PPP) program, after eight projects -- mainly in infrastructure, transport and power -- were rolled out last year and others lined up for launch this year.

PEACE TO PROVIDE LIFT

Another upside to growth is the peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, it added. Citing its studies, the peace deal could add 0.1 percentage point to GDP in its first year of implementation, increasing to 0.3 percentage point by the fifth.

Standard Chartered also expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep policy rates on hold for now, then raise it by as much as 50 basis points by yearend. Rates could then be kept steady at that level next year.

Policy rates -- the benchmark for interest rates -- are at record lows of 3.5% and 5.5% for overnight borrowing and lending, respectively.

The rate hike could be prompted by an increase in the pace of inflation, it said. Higher energy and food prices, robust consumer spending and base effects could combine to push up inflation rate to 3.6% this year and 4% in 2014. These are well within the BSP target of 3-5% but much higher than the forecast full-year averages of 3% and 3.2% for 2013 and 2014, respectively.

The peso should remain strong, the bank said, underpinned by strong economic fundamentals. The local currency could climb to P39 against the dollar this year and P38 the year after.

The peso appreciated by some 6.8% against the greenback in 2012 -- one of the strongest performers in the region -- closing at P41.05 on the last trading day. So far this year, it has traded within the P40-to-a-dollar territory, much stronger than the P42-45 exchange rate assumed by the BSP.

Lastly, Standard Chartered said that reduction of the fiscal deficit is on track, especially with the recent increase in excise taxes on liquor and cigarettes, propelling the Philippines to bag its first ever investment grade credit rating.

The bank anticipates the deficit to fall to 1.8% of GDP in 2013 and 1.6% in 2014 -- against the cap of 2% for both years -- roughly equivalent to P238 billion and P266.2 billion, respectively.

"We expect at least two of the three main credit rating agencies to upgrade the Philippines to investment grade by end-2013…" it said.

"The case for investment grade is supported by a number of factors, including a resilient economy, a current account surplus, stable fiscal policy and the narrowing of the budget deficit."

The Philippines currently stands at one notch below investment grade with the three major credit rating agencies. It has a Ba1 rating with Moody's Investors Service and a BB+ rating with Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's. –

Read more in Business World Online 

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Leaked: Malaysian killed at least 10 pinoys everyday in Sabah: ASEAN rights body asked to probe abuses

The Philippine government is checking on reports of widespread abuses committed by Malaysian forces against Filipinos in Sabah.

The alleged abuses were committed in the course of the ongoing offensive against armed followers of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III in Lahad Datu.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said it has asked the international human rights body of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to look into the alleged human rights abuses.

"It is incumbent upon international human rights bodies to really try to look at the situation," CHR chair Loretta Ann Rosales told The STAR yesterday.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) also said it is investigating the alleged abuses in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Rosales said she is also looking at having a joint mission with Malaysia's SUHAKAM, its human rights body, to investigate the issue. She said the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights should launch its own probe.

"Ambassador Rosario Manalo herself is the head of the Commission on Women and Children of ASEAN. I will be writing her a letter," she said.

At the sub-regional level, Rosales said she would communicate with the SUHAKAM "to ask them if there is a possibility that we can have a joint mission to go to Sabah to look into alleged abuses."

She noted that alleged victims should definitely file complaints or write letters so that they can have access to justice but even without such complaints, "we should look into it motu propio."

Rosales called on concerned parties including media to be constructive in dealing with the matter because of its political ramifications.

"This is not an easy case," she told The STAR. "We should in fact come together – media, CHR, government, people – in order to address the question of how to protect the human rights of our own people in Malaysia, in Sabah, and work things out properly."

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, for her part, said her agency's relief efforts would go side by side with its probe on alleged abuses committed by Malaysian forces against Filipinos in Sabah.

"We are coordinating (with the DFA) based on interviews conducted with the people who arrived and (we are) getting feedback if there are human rights violations," Soliman said in a text message to The STAR.

"The DFA has coordinated with us on this matter," Soliman said.

She said the DSWD head office, in coordination with the DSWD-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Department of Agriculture, has sent a total of 1,000 sacks of rice and 1,500 food packs to Jolo, Sulu and another 1,000 sacks of rice and 1,500 food packs to Bonggao, Tawi-Tawi.

She said 500 food packs have also been sent to Basilan.

"The food packs, which include rice, noodles, and canned goods, have also been shipped through a naval vessel from Bonggao, Tawi-Tawi to Taganak, Turtle Island. It takes eight hours of travel given that the waves are high during these times," Soliman said.

She said the food packs would be distributed to approximately 512 individuals who went to Turtle Island, Tawi-Tawi from Sandakan.

She also reported that 432 displaced individuals from Sabah have been processed by social workers from DSWD-ARMM since March 8.

Reports reaching Zamboanga City said Malaysian police were also extorting money from Filipinos in Sandakan.

"It's not enough that we are subjected to beating, the Malaysian police were also asking us to pay," said 27-year old Jelan Adjaran.

Adjaran, a mother of four, arrived in Bongao along with 20 other refugees from Sandakan.

Adjaran, a native of Kidapawan and married to a carpenter from Bongao, had been living in Sabah for four years.

"Those who failed to give money were detained and their documents torn before their eyes," Adjaran said.

She said the constant raids and threats from Malaysian forces prompted them to leave in a hurry, carrying only their personal belongings in sacks. She said they had no intention of returning to Sabah.

Adjaran said the skipper of the boat that brought them to Tawi-Tawi had turned away many in their group for fear of getting unwanted attention from Malaysian authorities.

She also said it's the thought of not finding livelihood in the Philippines that she and other refugees now find unnerving.

More appeal

Tawi-Tawi Vice Gov. Ruby Sahali said a humanitarian crisis is now prevailing in her province as refugees continue to arrive from Sabah.

"People get killed everyday with no less than 10 Filipinos being killed everyday in Sabah," she said. "We hope government would send help this way."

She pointed out that the province is already running out of food for the evacuees.

"It is obvious that Malaysian authorities are targeting not just the forces of Kiram but civilians as well. The Malaysian government should respect Filipinos, especially civilians in Sabah. We are civilized nations and we should act as such," Makabayan senatorial candidate Teddy Casiño said.

"Malaysian authorities seem to be hunting Filipinos in Sabah and this has to be stopped. Malaysia is supposed to be our partner is promoting peace in Mindanao but now they are slaughtering our people," Casiño said. – With Delon Porcalla, Edith Regalado, Roel Pareño, Czeriza Valencia, Mayen Jaymalin, Alexis Romero

Report source from PHILSTAR 

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Litany of Sabah Abuses- Malaysian killing boy, RAPE and impregnation, shooting innocent civilians, abusing men etc.

Citizen's Commission on Human Rights International 

Manila Bulletin published the litany of Sabah enumerating the human rights violations including killing a 12-15 year old boy, alleged impregnating women in jail, dragging all the men outside the houses, kicked and hit them and some are ordered to run and shot them.. etc.

It is somewhat unbelievable because Malaysia is an Islam country and such Islam country is claiming as they are faithful Islam and they will not do any harm to other human. As it is "HARAM" or [a sin ]

Some information also leaked that Malaysia a faithful to Islam country is also funding several groups of rebels to attack Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines through MNLF which men in Sabah now are among of those MNLF rebel group funded by Malaysia in 70's-80's initiating rebellion in the Southern Philippines.

As leaked, these are the training camps in Malaysia that are directly supervised by the Malaysian government (funded and armed):

1) SABAH - funded, trained, and supplied (arms and weapons) MNLF at the height of its insurgency in the 70's and 80's in southern Philippines.

2) KELANTAN STATE - Malaysia's Islamic Party PAS gives sanctuary to the Malay Pattani people of Thailand and currently funding, training, and providing (arms and weapons) the P.U.L.O. (Pattani United Liberation Organization) to wage insurgency war against a sovereign nation of Thailand.

3) KEDAH - Sanctuary and training ground for Aceh People of Indonesia and currently funding the Free Aceh Movement to wage insurgency war against a sovereign nation Indonesia.

In contradiction, the MNLF group which was funded by Malaysia to create rebellion in the Southern Philippines is now among the member of the group of the Sultanate of Sulu Royal Army serving as Royal Security Guard of the Sulu Sultanate crowned Prince Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram who is returning back to Sabah (North Borneo) to re-claim their ancestral land.

Malaysia Human Rights Violation

The reported maltreatment of Filipinos in Malaysia following the outbreak of violence in Sabah is just the "tip of the iceberg," an official of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) told the Manila Bulletin yesterday.

The source, who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak in behalf of the ARMM, cited a litany of abuses that have been happening for years among many undocumented workers or migrants from the Philippines but never gained any attention from higher authorities.

"Finally, the sufferings of Filipinos in Sabah drew notice from Malacañang. We got similar, if not harsher, complaints directly from victims and made appropriate reports to higher authorities to no avail years ago," the official said.

Local journalists have actually exposed some documented abuses but the reports seemed to have been suppressed in the mainstream media in deference to the Manila-Kuala Lumpur diplomacy that bloomed with Malaysia's brokering of the Philippine government's peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the official said.

"As if a blessing in disguise, the Sabah crisis brought to fore the cases of abuses on Filipinos in Malaysia, especially those undocumented ones," the source said.

As early as 2011, the ARMM's Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) had been receiving direct reports from some Filipino victims of abuses ranging from alleged torture of males to sexual attacks on females in Malaysian detention centers in Sabah.

Some of the victims, whom Sabah authorities tagged as "halaw" (Malaysian term for rejected or unwanted" for lacking travel or working documents), had confirmed the cases of three Filipinas allegedly impregnated in jail, ARMM's DSWD and DOLE officials told a meeting in 2011.

Over the weekend, Malacañang said the alleged human rights violations perpetrated by the Malaysian police and military on non-combatants caught in the crossfire recently in Sabah are "unacceptable."

Tawi-Tawi, the nation's southernmost province and a component of ARMM, has been swamped by refugees fleeing Sabah amid horror stories of Malaysian forces staging indiscriminate raids on houses suspected of harboring remnants of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's followers, reports said.

A national daily said even pregnant women and children who are long-time residents of Sabah have been affected by Malaysian mortar attacks and house-to-house searches of people supporting the Sulu Sultan's royal army.

Refugees by the hundreds have reportedly fled on any boat available, including traditional wooden lepa, used by Badjaos in the Sabah town of Semporna.

Some of those who fled Sabah for Tawi-Tawi and Sulu, another ARMM province, said they were treated "like animals" by the Malaysian troops.

"They dragged all the men outside the houses, kicked and hit them," 32-year-old Amira Taradji said on Friday, recounting her family's ordeal in the hands of raiding policemen in Sandakan.

Taradji alleged that raiding Malaysian troops ordered Filipino men to run as fast as they could and then shot them. One of the fatalities was her brother, Jumali, she said.

Those Filipinos caught alive and detained were not being fed, she and other refugees told Sulu officials led by Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin.

Mayor Amin, who spoke to many refugees, said the situation was "alarming and disturbing" because the raiding troops no longer distinguish illegal immigrants from holders of MyKad, an identification card issued to Malaysian citizens and permanent residents.

The Bernama, Malaysia's national news agency, had confirmed police detention of Filipinos including four women for allegedly "abetting" the Sulu sultan's royal army.

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said Friday in a statement that while the "situation on the ground in the conflict zone in Sabah is still quite murky," Malaysia "should provide clear and accurate information on what had occurred" and "allow humanitarian access for the provision of emergency assistance to those affected."

On Sunday, the Malaysian police shot dead a teenage boy and injured a man, bringing the death toll to 62 as the Malaysian security forces continue to launch assaults to end the Filipino militant incursions in Malaysia's Sabah state.

Police chief Ismail Omar said the teenager, aged between 12 and 15, was killed when police sensed movements behind a bush and fired shots at it as they were frisking five people in Sungai Bilis village.

The identity of the teenager has yet to be disclosed. A man in his 30's were also injured in the shooting.

Two policemen were shot and injured by gunmen in overnight skirmishes as the Malaysian authorities said the militants showed no signs of backing down.

The Malaysian police on Sunday raised the number of people they arrested under suspicion of sympathizing with the militant to 85 from 79 last night.

Authorities said they are concentrating efforts to hunt down the militants holed up in Kampung Tanjung Batu and Kampung Tanduo by launching airstrikes and sifting them out house-to-house. Some of the militants were found to be posing as civilians, the police said.

The Malaysian forces and the Filipino militants have been fighting since last Friday in an intense standoff that left at least 62 people dead, including eight Malaysian policemen whom authorities said were brutally murdered.

Malaysia began an all-out raid codenamed "Sovereign Operation" on Tuesday that included airstrikes and ground assaults on several areas aiming to flush out the militants.

Analysts said Prime Minister Najib Razak is dealing with the incursion crisis carefully as it could reflect on the national polls that are due by June.

More than a thousand Filipino Muslims from Sabah have already arrived in Tawi-Tawi to escape from being caught in a crossfire or arrested and jailed by Malaysian authorities.

An old man named Amir Elias, who arrived here a few days ago, said Filipinos in Sabah have to flee to avoid being arrested, jailed, and maltreated by the Malaysian police.

"Our movement has become very difficult while we were there, because the Malaysian police are just arresting anybody at random and jailing them. Worse, the arrested Filipinos are being beaten by a rattan pole stick. You will surely pity them when you see them beaten by these policemen," Elias said.

At least 400 Filipinos were forced to leave Sabah due to fear of getting caught in the crossfire between the Malaysian security forces and Sulu royal army, based on the latest data of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

There were 432 displaced individuals from Sabah, who have been processed by social workers from DSWD-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) since March 8, according to DSWD Secretary Corazon Soliman.

Among those displaced were 93 men, 66 women, and 93 children, while the breakdown for the 180 individuals was not available at press time.

Meanwhile, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas yesterday met the younger brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram, and discussed the possibilities of "disengagement" of arms.

During the two-hour talk at the DILG's office in Camp Crame, Quezon City, the two considered the possibilities and mechanisms of disengagement although Roxas admitted that their talks are only "exploratory."

Relatedly, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) led by founding chairman Dante Jimenez yesterday urged the United States to make its voice heard on the Sabah standoff.

Jimenez noted that the United Nations has already called for the end of violence and to resort to dialogue, but Malaysia has not heeded the call

Jimenez also called on President Benigno S. Aquino III to start handling the standoff "hands on."

He led the VACC Board of Trustees Monday in visiting Sultan Jamalul Kiram III at Astanah Kiram in Maharlika Village, Taguig City. (With reports from PNA/Xinhua, Nonoy E. Lacson, Ellalyn B. De Vera, Czarina Nicole O. Ong, and Edd K. Usman)

With report from Manila Bulletin and RFTBP

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Malaysia has refused to listen to the UNITED NATIONS because they know too well that Sabah is not really their territory

 

Sabah: A case for Christian and Muslim unity

By : Bobit S. Avila - SHOOTING STRAIGHT  - PHILTAR Column

The standoff in Sabah has become an international issue that has caught the interest of United Nations' (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who has asked Malaysia to refrain from attacking the forces of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III who are holed out in a corner of Sabah, a territory that he has a legitimate claim. But Malaysia has refused to listen to the UN because they know too well that Sabah is not really their territory.

This is where President Benigno "P-Noy" Aquino III should wake up and start believing that the Philippines do have a legitimate claim to this corner of North Borneo. P-Noy doesn't need a committee to look into this case. All he needs to do is to read the March 25, 1963 debate between Senator Lorenzo Sumulong who delivered a speech questioning the Philippine claim to North Borneo, which was filed by then President Diosdado Macapagal on June 25, 1962. I was still in first year high school when this happened.

Sen. Sumulong's privilege speech was rebutted point-by-point a few days later by Sen. Jovito R. Salonga. You can Google this report because it is too long to discuss it here. However it seems that the stand of P-Noy is uncannily similar or close to that of his grand uncle Sen. Lorenzo Sumulong. On the other hand, I'm not surprised that he is taking his grand uncle's position in Sabah. But it matters not what's the President's stand is on the Sabah issue… what matters is, is the Sultan's claim on Sabah the truth or not?

But somehow the Sabah issue was grabbed by that fellow "Rip Van Winkle" and put into a decade's long slumber. But now the Filipino nation just woke up and realized that this was a historical faux pas on the part of all the previous Philippine governments, and it is high time to get this case finally settled once and for all. If the UN says it is owned by Malaysia, then let's put an end to this claim. But if the UN says that Sabah belongs to the Philippines… then by all means, let's move to secure this territory.

 

In the meantime, P-Noy should be advised to help all Filipinos in the area because they are Filipino citizens. But ordering the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to go on a fault-finding mission in this very delicate time will only fuel more animosity with our Muslim brothers. This is P-Noy's golden opportunity to unify Christians and Muslims in this highly-diverse nation of ours. Alas, once again P-Noy is missing the boat. All he needs to do is sit down with Sultan Jamalul Kiram III. If he could sit down with Al Haj Murad, a Muslim rebel, he ought to be talking with the legitimate owner and Sultan of Sulu and of Sabah.

Bring Sabah claim to the ICJ!

Written by NESTOR MATA - MALAYA

Razak, in turning a deaf ear to the UN chief's call to peacefully end the one-month-old conflict and causing the merciless slaughter of 61 Filipino Muslims and innocent women and children (as of this writing), may well be held liable for using a "policy of genocide" before the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"We just finished writing another letter informing the United Nations that Malaysia is not complying with their call to peacefully end violence in Sabah," Sultan Kiram told a press conference the other day. "We want them to investigate this genocide. I don't know why they do not want a cease-fire. It's very un-Islamic!"

If this move by Kiram succeeds, political watchers of the Sabah crisis forecasted, it may well affect the chances of Razak, who is running a close race for re-election in the coming Malaysian elections against the opposition party Pakatan Rakyat's Anwar Ibrahim. And they say that's the reason Razak, whose popularity is waning, ordered the massive attacks in order to "gain political credits."

Actually, according to an international law expert, Razak's defiance of the UN chief's call for peace may lead to his being tagged an "international outlaw" for defying the UN's call for peace which, in the eyes of the international community is a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Other watchers of the Sabah conflict say that President Noynoy Aquino himself can't escape being blamed for the "colossal bungling" of the situation in Sabah, as it relates to the territorial claim of the Sulu sultanate and the Philippine government, as well as the mounting casualties there. Instead of complying with his mandated constitutional duty as president of the Republic to preserve its territories and the lives of its citizens, Christians and Muslims alike, he has instead ordered the filing of criminal charges against the Sulu sultan's followers who are our Muslim brothers.

Obviously, the same political watchers say, Aquino and his Cabinet officials, especially his secretary of foreign affairs and secretary of justice, lacked an understanding of the history of our Filipino Muslim brothers and the Philippine claim to Sabah. They and their Palace mouthpieces showed their "scandalous ignorance" about the Philippine claim to Sabah when they said that it was "dormant." They do not know, for instance, that it is their bounden duty "to preserve and safeguard the historical and legal rights of the government of the Republic of the Philippines arising from its claim to dominion and sovereignty over the territory of North Borneo."

Indeed, we have a law that upholds the sovereign rights of the Philippines over Sabah and unless it's repealed, President Aquino is mandated by his constitutional oath of office to exercise that sovereignty peacefully, and one way is for him to act quickly by filing a case over the territorial dispute before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), just like other bloody disputes over lands among our Asian neighbors which are now pending before the UN's ICJ. And once the ICJ acts on the Philippine claim to Sabah, it will hopefully put to an end an irritant between our country and Malaysia.

Instead, President Aquino continues to blame Sultan Kiram and his   followers, led by his brother Rajah Muda Kiram, who are holed up somewhere in the jungles of Sabah, for destroying what he (Aquino) calls "good relations" with Malaysia, even as more Filipino Muslims are being slaughtered like a pack of animals in that northern territory of Borneo.

Our national honor does not mean   that we must to go to war over Sabah, but it is the sworn duty of Aquino, as president of all the Filipino people, Christians and Muslims alike, to assert our country's sovereign rights to Sabah, and not Malaysia.

Mr. President, you must heed the UN Chief's call for a "peaceful resolution" of the situation in Sabah, and then go the UN's International Court of Justice and file our territorial claim against Malaysia, pronto!

***

Quote of the Day: "International arbitration may be defined as the substitution of many burning questions for a smoldering one." --- Ambrose Bierce

Thought of the Day: "What we dignify with the name of peace is really only a short truce, in accordance with which the weaker party renounces his claims, whether just or unjust until such time as he can find an opportunity of asserting them with the sword." --- Vauvenargues

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Filipino refugees describe DEADLY crackdown in Sabah - Killings of civilians and Mykad residents

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—"They dragged all the males outside the house, kicked and hit them," Amira Taradji said  as she recounted her family's ordeal in Sandakan that started when Malaysian security forces began cracking down on suspected supporters of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III of Sulu.

Interviewed by phone from Patikul, Sulu, shortly after she arrived there Friday night with about 200 other refugees, Taradji, 32, claimed that Malaysian policemen would order Filipino men to run as fast as they could and would then gun them down.

Among those killed that way on Monday night during what she described as a zoning operation in a Filipino community in Sandakan was her brother, Jumadil, Taradji said.

Taradji, originally from Calinan in Davao City, is among some 400 people who have arrived in Sulu from such places in Sabah as Lahad Datu, Sempornah, Tawau and Kunak since the start of the week as violence triggered by a "homecoming" expedition to the east Malaysian state by followers of Kiram escalated.

Officials said there are now close to a thousand refugees from Sabah in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Hundreds more have arrived in smaller Philippine island near Sabah and many more Filipinos are expected to make the sea crossing, officials said.

The Inquirer reached Taradji by phone through the help of a Sulu local official shortly after she arrived in Patikul on a commercial vessel from Sabah late Friday.

Taradji said the constant raid on houses by Malaysian security forces was particularly dreadful for both Filipinos and Orang Suluk, as Sabahans who originated from Sulu are known.

Aside from the police abuse she said she witnessed in Sandakan, Taradji said Filipinos she encountered before leaving Sabah said they too had witnessed Filipino men being rounded up in Tawau and Kunak.

Some of the arrested men, who tried to dissuade the police from arresting them by waving immigration documents, were killed just the same for trying to evade the raiders, she said.

"Some of those arrested did not see jail because they were shot and killed," Taradji said.

Those who were jailed were not doing very well either because Malaysian authorities were allegedly starving them to death.

"Even if you have valid immigration document, you will not be spared. If you are lucky to reach the jail, you will die of starvation because they will not feed you," Taradji said.

Taradji had lived in Sandakan since she was six years old and is the holder of "Mykad," a type of identification card issued to Malaysian citizens and permanent residents.

She said that although she and here family were Mykad holders, they hastily abandoned their home when Malaysian policemen started arriving Monday night.

She said she saw how those caught during the raid suffered at the hands of Malaysian policemen.

"We sailed from Sandakan to nearby islands—from one island to another—until we reached a small island where we took a kumpit for the Philippines. We begged hard so they would allow us to ride one of the kumpits," she recounted.

Carla Manlaw, 47, said it was fear of the Malaysian policemen following stories of the abuse and killings that prompted her and other Filipinos to sail to Bongao in Tawi-Tawi.

Manlaw and 99 others, including children and the elderly, arrived in Philippine waters aboard two motorboats after sailing for about two hours from Sandakan. They were intercepted and escorted by a Philippine Navy ship until they reached Bongao late Friday.

"My employer has no problem with having a Filipino employee. But what bothered me was the police," she said.

Manlaw said the other Filipinos who sailed with her were afraid of  "what they will do to us."

Manlaw said when she heard that a vessel was returning to Bongao from Sandakan, she immediately grabbed her things and boarded it.

Mayor Hussin Amin of Jolo, Sulu, said the accounts of abuses by Malaysian policemen were so "alarming and disturbing" that the national government should already look into them.

He said he had spoken with a lot of evacuees and the stories were the same: Malaysian soldiers and policemen were not making any distinction between illegal immigrants and those issued Mykad cards.

"Soldiers and policemen stormed their houses and even those with legitimate working papers like passports and IC papers were not spared. These documents were allegedly torn down before their eyes. Men were told to run and were shot if they did. Those who refused were beaten black and blue. Filipinos inside the jail were executed," Amin said as he recounted what the evacuees told him.

"We are asking our government to investigate now. Refugees from Sandakan and Sabah share  [the same] ordeals. If indeed what they have been telling us is true, then Malaysian authorities were not just targeting the Kirams in Lahad Datu," Amin said by phone late Friday.

He said for now, he tended to believe the stories told by the fleeing Filipinos that Filipino men—Tausug especially—were being killed on the streets and in detention centers in Malaysia.

"Our people are treated like animals there and this has to stop because they are no longer hitting the Kirams," Amin said.

Amin said one his reasons for believing the stories was his observation that children and women "are deeply traumatized seeing our police personnel inspecting them."

He said that during processing of some evacuees who arrived in Jolo this week, he saw how "some even attempted to jump off to the sea, thinking they were still in Malaysia."

"I spoke to them and gave them assurance that they were all home and no one will ever harm them now and the policemen securing the port were not Malaysians but Filipinos protecting them," Amin said.

Social welfare officials, who spoke to the Inquirer on condition of anonymity, said they anticipated that more than a thousand Filipinos from Sabah will be arriving  within the next few days.

One official said the sheer number of the expected returnees "will pose a problem" greater than what the 2002 deportation of Filipinos by Malaysian authorities  caused.

That year, some 64,000 Filipinos were forced out of Sabah due to lack of documents and feeding or relocating them proved to be a nightmare for officials.

Amirah Lidasan of the militant group Suara Bangsamoro said she pitied women and children who had to endure uncertainty at sea just to escape the Sabah violence.

The waters between Sabah and Tawi-Tawi and Sulu are known for huge waves that could engulf and capsize small vessels.

Taradji said one problem facing many Filipinos escaping the Sabah crackdown is how to earn a living in the Philippines.

She said she managed to bring with her some money for food and other needs for her family for a few days. But she and her husband were at a loss as to how to feed the family after that.

"We do not even know which way is Calinan now," Taradji said, adding that the Philippines was now a foreign land to her and her family after living for the past 26 years in Sabah.

Manlaw said the same thing when she spoke with the Inquirer in Bongao.

"We have no future here, unlike in Sabah where we hade clear jobs and livelihood," she said.

INQUIRER Global Nation

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United Nations' Ban meets Malaysian envoy on Sabah; HRW urges acccess to humanitarian aid, respect for rights

 (UPDATE - 10:41 a.m.) United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Malaysia's representative to the world body as he continued his bid to resolve the ongoing crisis in Sabah.

This developed as Human Rights Watch urged Malaysia to "provide clear and accurate information" on the situation in Sabah and to "ensure the protection of all civilians in the area and allow humanitarian access for the provision of emergency assistance to those affected by the violence."

A statement on Ban's UN page said he told Hussein Haniff, Malaysia's permanent representative, that "efforts should be made to ensure that human rights will be respected and loss of life will be prevented" as Malaysian forces continue operations to flush out followers of the sultanate of Sulu who landed in Sabah early last month to press their claim to the territory.

"The Secretary-General noted the efforts that were made by the governments of Malaysia and Philippines to find a peaceful resolution to the situation," the statement said.

"He reiterated his hope that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible, and that efforts will continue to be made to ensure respect for human rights and to avoid further loss of life," it added.

HRW deputy director for Asia Phil Robertson also joined calls for "all parties to the conflict" to "heed the call of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to 'act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards'."  

On Thursday, Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III announced that he was ordering his followers in Sabah to observe a unilateral ceasefire.

However, Malaysian officials, led by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, rejected the truce and said the only way to end to crisis was for the sultan's followers to surrender without conditions.

"We're concerned about the Malaysian government's use of the Security Offenses Special Measures Act to detain reportedly more than 50 individuals, and call on the government to either charge them with a recognizable criminal offense or release them," Robertson also said.

The operations, which have centered around Lahad Datu town, have so far claimed the lives of 52 Filipinos and eight Malaysian policemen, according to Malaysian security officials, although the sultanate has owned to only losing 10 dead, four wounded and 10 captured from the more than 200 of its followers led by the crown prince, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.

On Friday, Malaysian Armed Forces chief Gen Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said they believe Agbimuddin's group has gone into hiding to evade continuing operations to flush them out, which have included air strikes by fighter jets.

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Philippines should charge Malaysia with Genocide, says” International Law expert”

Reuters/Reuters - Malaysian soldiers move into Kampung Tanduo, where troops stormed the camp of an armed Filipino group, in Lahad Datu, Sabah state, in this handout photo taken March 5, 2013. REUTERS/Malaysia's Ministry of Defence/Handout

Genocide

This is the crime that the Malaysian government has been committing when it launched an all-out attack to end the standoff in Lahud Datu in Sabah, claims an expert.

Constitutional expert Marwil Llasos said Philippines should hold Malaysia liable for the death of Tausugs, a small ethnic group from Mindanao, in their attempt to drive away Kiram's followers from Sabah.

Llasos, who is running an independent campaign for Senate under Ang Kapatiran Party, was an understudy and protégé of University of the Philippines College of Law Dean Merlin Magallona.

Llasos, also an expert on international law, issued the statement as he expressed disappointment with the way the Philippine government is handling the fluid situation in Lahud Datu.

 "If Malaysian authorities are attacking a particular tribe or a particular group like the Tausug and they do it indiscriminately, affecting those who are not part of the alleged outlaws from the members of the Royal Army of the Sultanate of Sulu, that is an international crime," Llasos said.

"They are committing genocide, which can make the Malaysian authorities liable under the international humanitarian laws," the practicing lawyer added.

The Tausugs are a minority of people living in Mindanao and Malaysia who originally came from the Sulu archipelago.

Llasos noted the Aquino administration should prioritize holding Malaysian government liable instead of looking for violations that Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's followers may have committed in sailing overseas to press their claim over the disputed territory, even without the authority from the Philippine government.

He clarified Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's declaration of all-out attacks to defend its "honour and sovereignty against Sulu intruders" does not justify Malaysia's disregard against 600,000 Filipino non-combatants already living in Sabah before the security threat occurred.

Llasos criticized Malaysia for not considering the unarmed civilians who went with Kiram's brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin, when its police launched mopping operations against at least 200 followers.

In an interview with Yahoo! Southeast Asia, Llasos also took a swipe at the Aquino government for the way it is taking care of Philippine interest at the height of Sabah issue.

Llasos expressed frustration at President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's insensitivity to the cultural sentiments of Kiram's followers, which he said may blow out of proportion.

"The cue came from no less than the president when he called those people (Tausug) as outlaws. So if they are outlaws, the Malaysian authorities will consider them as criminals and will shoot them on site," he explained.

"There is no sensitivity to the Tausug psyche and culture. The way the government is handling the Sabah issue really shows the ineptness and incompetence of this administration," he noted.

The international law expert highlighted President Aquino's "ignorance" about the country's long-standing historical and legal claims on Sabah.

Related story: What ex-President Fidel Ramos thinks

Last week, President Aquino ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to study the Philippines' claim over the oil-rich territory in North Borneo.

The chief executive also ordered Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to probe if Kiram's followers committed violations.

"The president is clueless on most of these issues. My God! He doesn't know that as early as 1962 there was already legal study that was already conducted," Llasos said.

During the time of former President Diosdado Macapagal, recognized international law experts – former Senators Arturo Tolentino and Jovito Salonga – have studied and documented the nation's claims on Sabah.

He is also blaming the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for its failure to gather intelligence report about the planned movement from Kiram's followers, which could have prevented the Sabah standoff.

Llasos is baffled as to why the military failed to do its job in spite of gargantuan funds that go the AFP commands in Mindanao.

"That (Sabah standoff) should not have happened if there is a military intelligence from the very beginning, if the president or the government was able to detect their (Kiram's followers) move to go to sabah," he said.

"This government is clueless and who is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces. Second, there was no backdoor negotiation asking (the Malaysian government) to spare their lives," he added.

On Tuesday, a Malaysian government spokesperson said at least 27 people were killed after Malaysian soldiers launched violent operations against Kiram's followers.

Malaysia's "drastic steps" began a few hours after the ultimatum for Kiram's followers to leave Sabah expired last week.

While working as an editorial assistant at the Institute of International Legal Studies, Llasos helped publish a book entitled "The Philippines Claim over a Portion of North Borneo: Documents, Materials, and Cases" in 2003.

Yahoo News

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Philippines compromised for Allowing China Export to Europe used the Philippines to avoid TAX

Bloomberg reported 27 Nation bloc in Europe Extends Levy on Chinese Stainless-Steel Screws to Philippines.

The European Union extended to the Philippines a tariff on stainless-steel screws and bolts from China, saying Chinese exporters used the country to evade the levy meant to aid EU producers like Italy's Bontempi Vibo SpA.

The EU said Chinese exporters of stainless-steel fasteners shipped them to Europe via the Philippines to dodge the 27.4 percent duty. This is the outcome of a probe that also covered Malaysia and Thailand, where the EU concluded that no Chinese circumvention took place.

The import tax "was circumvented by trans-shipment via the Philippines," the 27-nation bloc said in a decision today in Brussels. The extension exempts two Philippine companies -- Multi-Tek Fasteners Inc. and Rosario Fasteners Corp. -- and will take effect after publication in the EU's Official Journal within a week.

The EU renewed the trade protection against China in January 2012 for another five years to help European producers that also include Bulnava Srl of Italy, Germany's Reisser Schraubentechnik GmbH and France's Ugivis SA counter below-cost, or "dumped," imports from the Asian country. The 27.4 percent levy is the maximum of three rates, which depend on the Chinese exporter. The lowest levy is 11.4 percent.

At the time, the EU also reimposed for five years anti- dumping duties as high as 23.6 percent on stainless-steel fasteners from Taiwan.

The extension of the maximum levy against China to the Philippines is the outcome of a circumvention probe that the EU began last June and will apply retroactively to imports as of that time, when the bloc also began to register shipments of stainless-steel fasteners from the Philippines.

Source: Bloomberg 

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Malaysia ignores United Nations & Sulu Sultan Kiram call for ceasefire in Sabah North Borneo

United Nations Secretary general Ban Ki-Moon Call for Ceasefire in Sabah, NorthBorneo

Malaysia's prime minister on Thursday rejected a ceasefire call by the Sultanate of Sulu & North Borneo (Philippines) His Majesty Sultan Jamalul Kiram in Sabah, North Borneo.

Malaysian forces are currently hunting for the Islamic militants in a remote region of Borneo island where they landed last month to assert a long-dormant territorial claim in what has become Malaysia's worst security crisis in years.

Their Manila-based leader called for ceasefire at midday but Prime Minister Najib Razak, who flew to the region Thursday to inspect security operations, said he told Philippine leader Benigno Aquino by phone the offer was rejected.

"I told President Aquino they must lay down their arms immediately," Najib told reporters in a village near the area where up to 300 militants were being searched for.

"They have to surrender their arms and they have to do it as soon as possible."

The Sultan, Jamalul Kiram III, declared a unilateral ceasefire for 12:30 pm (0430 GMT) and urged Malaysia to reciprocate.

But Najib said Malaysian forces would continue to press the offensive, adding that still more soldiers would be sent in to the hilly region of vast oil palm estates and pockets of jungle.

Anger has mounted in Malaysia over the incursion, which began February 12 when fighters arrived from the southern Philippines to press Kiram's claim to the area.

Kiram says he is heir to the Sultanate of Sulu, which once ruled islands that are now part of the southern Philippines, as well as Sabah.

An estimated 100-300 militants were holed up in the sleepy farming village of Tanduo for three weeks until a pair of deadly shootouts with security forces at the weekend triggered a military assault with jet fighters and ground forces Tuesday.

However, the attack appears to have merely scattered the fighters, and security forces were combing through huge palm groves for them. Sporadic exchanges of fire have been reported since the assault.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged a peaceful resolution of the bizarre incursion, which has led to at least 28 reported deaths -- 20 militants and eight police officers.

It has been reported also that Malaysian forces massacred 40 innocent Civilian in Sabah that alarmed the Sultan.

"(Ban) urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation," said a statement released by his office late Wednesday.

Kiram declared the "unilateral ceasefire... in order to reciprocate the call of the UN to preserve lives", said his spokesman.

Malaysia's military assault appears to have failed, with authorities confirming just one kill so far.

They have not explained how the militants -- said to be alive and well and in contact with their Manila comrades -- were able to escape a tight security cordon built up over three weeks.

Tension is running high in eastern Sabah due to the incursion, and residents of some towns have fled after police said gunmen were spotted in other areas down the coast, raising fears of a wider guerrilla infiltration.

Late Wednesday, police said the bodies of six police officers killed in a weekend ambush in the coastal town of Semporna were mutilated.

"The bodies of dead police personnel were found to have been brutally mutilated by the armed intruders," a statement said, giving no further details.

Police have said six militants responsible for the Semporna ambush were later killed by reinforcements.

The incursion has proven a delicate situation for the two neighbours, with Manila earlier calling for Malaysian restraint just before Tuesday's military assault was launched.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said late Wednesday that his government might seek Kiram's extradition if Manila failed to take action, but the Philippine government said that was unlikely, citing the lack of an extradition treaty.

With report from RFTBP & MSN News

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WEF lists Philippines as one of tourism sector's “rising stars”

(Updated 11:54 a.m.) The World Economic Forum reported on Thursday that the Philippines now one of the world's "rising stars" and the most improved Asian nation in terms of travel and tourism.

The Philippines "is the most improved country in the region," WEF said in its "Travel and Competitiveness" report, noting the country's "comparative strengths" in natural resources, price competitiveness, and a "very strong" prioritization of the sector.

In the WEF ranking of 140 countries, the Philippines placed 82, up from 94 in the WEF 2011 list that  covered 139 countries.

"Government spending on the sector as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) is now first in the world, and tourism marketing and branding campaigns are seen to be increasingly effective," the WEF report read, referring to the Aquino administration's tourism initiatives and branding—"It's more fun in the Philippines"—campaign.  

"In addition, the country has been ensuring that several aspects of its policy rules and regulations regime are conducive to the development of the... sector," it added.

WEF listed better protection of property rights, more openness toward foreign investments, and few visa requirements for foreign visitors as areas where the Philippines fared well in terms of policy.

In a statement on the report's release, WEF called the Philippines along with Panama—whose ranking jumped to 37 from 52—as the world's "rising stars" due to " policy improvements supporting the [travel and tourism] industry."

The report noted the Philippines should improve on other areas to further raise its ranking.

"However, other areas—such as the difficulty of starting a business in the country, in both cost and length of the process—remain a challenge," the report  read.

"Moreover, safety and security concerns; inadequate health and hygiene; and underdeveloped ground transport, tourism, and ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure are all holding back the potential of the economy's competitiveness," it added.

Last month, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said his department is targeting a bigger contribution of  tourism to the GDP and partnering with other agencies in improving travel infrastructure and policies.

The government wants to attract 10 million foreign tourists in the country. Last year, there were 4.3 million foreigners who traveled to the Philippines.

The WEF report, meanwhile, noted that Switzerland remained as the world's most competitive travel and tourism destination in 2013.

Germany maintained its second best ranking, while Austria inched up to the third spot from fourth place.

Conceived in 1971 by European business leaders, WEF is an independent international organization that aims to engage business, political, academic and governments to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 assessed 140 economies based on the extent of  factors and policies in place to develop and make the sector more attractive. — Siegfrid Alegado/VS,

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