Still packing a wallop a 35. Gerry Peñalosa sends Ratanachai Sor Vorapin to
the canvas in the eighth round en route to a technical knockout win to retain the World Boxing
Organization world bantamweight crown yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum. Story on Page 8.
***
Palace to House:
Review territory bill
Ermita commission accommodates China objection
BY REGINA BENGCO
MALACAÑANG has asked the House of
Representatives to adopt its position in the pending
Baselines bill that the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and
the Scarborough Shoal be treated as a "regime of
islands" instead of as part of the archipelagic baseline
of Philippine territory.
This was expressed in a letter to
Speaker Prospero Nograles by Executive Secretary Eduardo
Ermita.
By treating KIG and Scarbor-ough as
"regime of islands," the seas off the western side of
the Philippines extending to these areas will be
excluded from the country's territorial waters.
THE Federation of Free Farmers urged
yesterday the government to investigate a P2 billion salt
fertilization project and corn seed program of the
Philippine Coconut Authority, saying these violated
government rules on procurement.
"Only one supplier was allegedly
allowed to submit a bid because all other interested
bidders had earlier been disqualified by the PCA bidding
committee," said FFF president Leonardo Montemayor.
The PCA mandate is concentrated on the
strategic thrusts of farm productivity, product
diversification, trade and market development for coconut
farmers.
Don't blame population for
rice problem, says bishop
BY GERARD NAVAL
ARCHBISHOP Paciano Aniceto of Pampanga
yesterday said the problem of rice supply is caused by the
"mismanagement" by government officials in providing basic needs
of the people and the selfish interest of rice traders, and not
by the huge population.
"Mismanagement lang yan. Dapat bigyan natin
sila (farmers) ng support service, bigyan ng fertilizer,
irrigation, transportation," said Aniceto, chairman of the
Episcopal Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines.
Agriculture Secretary Yap has said rice
production has been increasing but has not kept pace with
population growth.
