End of the season. Gaspar, Melchor and Balthazar treat children to sweets during the yearly celebration of the Feast of the Three Kings sponsored by Casino Español in Ermita. The first Sunday of January marks the end of the Christmas season which is celebrated in the Philippines starting December 16.
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Esperon makes pitch
for his extension
Says stay will sustain momentum in fight vs rebellion
BY VICTOR REYES
THE biggest challenge facing the
military this year is "sustaining the momentum" in the
counter-insurgency campaign, and AFP chief Gen.
Hermogenes Esperon, in an apparent pitch for extension,
said he is willing to have his term extended so he could
continue leading the fight against insurgents.
Esperon is reaching the mandatory
retirement age of 56 on February 9. There are talks that
President Arroyo might extend his tour of duty.
"If I will be given another chance,
in the form of extension, then I will be honored to
become again a part of the time in these times that we
need a call to urgency, especially so that we have
achieved a momentum against the communist party and the
New People’s Army," Esperon said over the weekend.
MALACAÑANG yesterday defended President
Arroyo’s convening of an energy summit, saying it is not a
political gimmick but meant to pick the brains of
stakeholders.
The Palace was reacting to the
statements of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and
Sen. Francis Escudero that the energy summit is just a
waste of time and energy and will not solve the oil price
problem.
World crude price reached a record-high
$100 per barrel Thursday, and the President expressed
relief that the strong peso is serving as a mitigating
measure to local price hikes.
