Prelate warns of unrest over "genuine land reform"

Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma has warned of social unrest if calls for "genuine land reform" are not addressed.

"That (social unrest) is a possibility because there are no other alternative for the small farmers to have their grievances attended to," Ledesma said.

The former vice-president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reiterated the call to the country’s lawmakers to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which is set to expire in June, convinced that the move would help avert the said social unrest.

"There have been unrest before and in a sense, agrarian reform is the social justice that could certainly address that unrest," said Ledesma. (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)

6 provinces declared malaria-free by DoH

Six new provinces have been declared malaria-free by the Department of Health (DoH).

The six new provinces deemed free from the mosquito-borne disease include Samar, Albay, Marinduque, Eastern Samar, Sorsogon, and Surigao del Norte.

According to Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, malaria-free means having no locally transmitted malaria cases for a specific period of time. The Philippines, along with the rest of the world, celebrated world malaria day yesterday. Incidentally, the Philippines has been declared malaria-free for the last five years.

"Although the Philippines does not contribute significantly to the global death toll of malaria, this does not mean that we can be complacent at our task; it means that there are still a quite a number of our countrymen who are at risk or suffering and this situation is unconscionable," Duque said.

DoH data indicate that out of the country’s 81 provinces, 59 are endemic for malaria.

Malaria cases and deaths in the country are going down, health authorities noted. In 2006, there were 35,405 cases and 122 deaths in the country which represents a 23 percent reduction compared to the 2005 malaria report. (Jenny F. Manongdo)

Bunye deplores Filipinos’ involvement in $ 100-M scam

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye yesterday expressed dismay over the involvement of Filipinos in the $ 100-million scam in the United States military’s health insurance system.

Bunye said Filipinos should remember they represent the Philippines wherever they are in the world and should act appropriately.

"Filipinos around the world have achieved international fame because of their individual achievements only to be shadowed by activities like this," Bunye said. "Wherever they are, they should represent the Philippines and act accordingly."

Court proceedings in the US have convicted 17 persons for the swindle of $ 100 million in the past decade from the US military’s health insurance program Tricare, the Associated Press news agency reported.

According to court records, health care providers in the Philippines conspired with retired US soldiers in filing claims from Tricare for health services never delivered, and the kickbacks were shared with the retirees.

Pentagon officials reportedly said that in 2003, two-thirds of the $ 61.8 million paid by Tricare to Philippine health providers -- or about $ 40 million in claims -- was fraudulent. (David Cagahastian)

Human rights advocates call for renewed vigilance

Delegates to the recently held Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday called for renewed vigilance among Filipinos in safeguard human rights as they aired strong fears of a resurgence of unexplained disappearances and murders of critics of the government.

In a press conference, human rights advocates led by Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary general of Karapatan and Rev. Rex Reyes Jr. of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines said that since the next United Nationssponsored UPR will take place four years from now, there are now fears that political killings and kidnappings will again occur and covered up by government.

Together with Mrs. Edith Burgos, mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, the Philippine delegation to the Geneva conferfence lashed at lashed at the Arroyo administration for "trying to make a fool of the United Nation’s human rights body by presenting a fabricated report on the current Philippine human rights situation." (Ben Rosario)