President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has praised the government of Indonesia for neutralizing the suspected mastermind of the Bali bombings who previously escaped local authorities.

The President said the death of Dulmatin in a police raid in Indonesia bolsters the global campaign to end terrorism.

"We congratulate Indonesian President (Susilo Bambang) Yudhoyono and the security forces of Indonesia for the Jakarta raid that led to the death of terrorist leader Dulmatin," the President said.

"In our global war on terror, every victory demonstrates that we will never relent in our fight for justice for terrorism's victims and peace for our nations. Indonesia's gains against terror, like the Philippines' own triumphs, inspire our united resolve to end this scourge," she added.

Dulmatin, allegedly trained by al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, was one of three militants killed in a shootout with police in Jakarta last Tuesday.

Dulmatin, an electronics expert, reportedly fired at officers during the raid on the outskirts of Jakarta.

His body was identified after DNA tests. The other two men killed were reportedly his bodyguards.

Authorities claimed that Dulmatin helped plan the suicide bombings in Bali that left 202 people dead in 2002.

He fled to Mindanao in 2003 and was wounded after escaping a raid by local security forces. (Genalyn Kabiling)

Erring vehicles
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Alberto Suansing urged commuters Friday to report supposed to be air-conditioned public utility vehicles (PUVs) but are operating with poorly-working air-conditioning units.

Suansing calls such PUVs particularly aircon buses and taxis as “air-kunwari” or “air-kuno” or pretending to be air-coned vehicles in Filipino.

“This is in violation of the terms and conditions of their franchise which is to have an efficient air-conditioning system,” Suansing said.

Aircon vehicles in the case of buses charge 20 percent higher than non-aircon units.

He urged commuters to report such erring PUVs to his mobile phone number 0918-944-7951.

Erring aircon PUVs could be fined P1,000 for having poorly-working air-conditioning system.

Commuters’ rights advocate National Council for Commuters’ Protection, Inc. (NCCP) said comfort in riding the PUV is among the rights of commuters.

NCCP President Elvira Medina said commuters are willing to pay higher fares for as long as they get a good service in return.

Medina said they have been demanding lower fares because current rates “do not commensurate to the poor service of the country’s dilapidated PUVs.”(JC Bello Ruiz)

OFWs appeal
Five overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were allegedly maltreated by their employer reiterated Friday their appeal to immediately recall the “inept” welfare and labor Filipino officials who are supposed to handle their case.

The OFWs were identified as Rolmar Castañeda, Marietta Montano, Jane Gerarman, Leonor Agorilla, and Glory Barangan.

They have stopped working since January 4, 2010 due to alleged labor malpractices committed by their employer, a manpower-outsourcing establishment based in Riyadh.

In a statement, they said that they had not been properly addressed by the company. They added that they had not been receiving salaries on top of previous, illegal wage deductions.

Agorilla has already requested her company to allow her to go home due to a communicable skin disease, but until now she had not been repatriated and had not been paid her salary. (Pam Brooke A. Casin)