VILLAMOR AIRBASE — The Philippine Air Force lost 54 pilots this year with the majority working for commercial air carriers.

PAF chief Lt. Gen. Jose L. Reyes Jr. said this is the highest number of pilots who have left the service with most of them moving to airline companies.

Reyes attributed the resignation of PAF pilots to the spike in demand for seasoned aviators as the airline business is experiencing a phenomenal boom.

According to Reyes, airline companies in India and China are expanding at such a fast rate that they have placed big orders of wide-body aircraft from aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus Industrie.

Reyes said "airline companies are expanding at a phenomenal rate that the demand for pilots has increased tremendously."

"India is in need of 4,000 pilots while China needs 10,000 pilots," General Reyes said.

The PAF chief, however, downplayed earlier reports that there is an exodus of airforce pilots moving to private companies saying that only five percent of their pool of 1,084 pilots left the service, this year. (Anjo Perez and Louie Perez)

MNLF’s CC suspends Hussin as foreign affairs chairman

In an unprecedented act, 40 Central Committee (CC) members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have suspended Dr. Parouk S. Hussin indefinitely as chair of the group’s Foreign and International Affairs Committee.

MNLF Resolution 020, issued on Dec. 17 during a CC meeting in Cotabato City, said Hussin, former regional governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), had allegedly violated the MNLF Charter’s Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 5 for not protecting the interest of the MNLF and the Bangsamoro people when he sided with the Philippine government.

Reached by the Manila Bulletin, Hussin stood his ground and appeared not affected by the decision of his fellow MNLF leaders.

"I am unfazed by this development. Who are they to suspend me from the MNLF," Hussin said.

He said he has been working for the benefit of the MNLF and the Bangsamoro people for a good part of his life.

"But if it is the Moro people who do not want me to serve anymore as MNLF leader, then I am willing to go quit," he added.

The accusation versus Hussin, who had led MNLF delegations to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) heads of state summits and foreign ministers conferences when he was ARMM chief executive from Nov. 2001 to Sept. 30, 2005, reportedly was due to his stand that supports the Philippine government’s report that the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the MNLF and the government has been completed. (Edd K. Usman)

Youth’s need for right info on HIV cited

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) yesterday cited the need to provide the youth with the right information on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) particularly the Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV).

Dr. Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF country representative, said "a public awareness and information campaign will help provide the Filipino youth with the right and correct information that will make them conscious of STDs including HIV and AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) as well as encourage the young to delay sex."

A UNICEF study conducted by the Health Action Information Network (HAIN) entitled "A Study on the Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Behavior towards HIV/AIDS and Sexual Health among Filipino Youth" showed that a big percentage of the young people interviewed had misconceptions about HIV and AIDS.

Of the 4,111 young people aged 12 to 20 years old and 216 health workers surveyed in Metro Manila and in 10 selected provinces, more than 40 percent of the male respondents and 34 to 38 percent of the female respondents believe that AIDS is curable. Seventeen percent of the women and 27 percent of the men believe that antibiotics can prevent the spread of HIV.

Only 2 for every 10 believe that condoms can prevent both pregnancy and HIV while 77 percent said condoms are mainly for the prevention of pregnancy.

The UNICEF study also showed that the young are engaging in sex at an early age, majority of the respondents were introduced to sex at an average of 15.7 years old. (Christina I. Hermoso)