PHILIPPINES: Leftist Ocampo, Maza guest senatorial candidates of Rightist NP (tags)
MANILA, Philippines - Extreme Left party-list Reps. Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna (People First) and Liza Maza of Gabriela Women's Party have finally decided to run as guest senatorial candidates of the Nacionalista Party, after Manuel Villar Jr., a billionaire businessman and senator, announced that the NP had severed its ties with the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL - New Society Movement), which was founded by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
War in Mindanao :Palace, AFP reject OIC call for ceasefire in Sulu (tags)
Manila-- Malacañang is giving full support to the military offensive against renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces in Sulu, which entered its fourth day of fierce fighting yesterday. While the government acknowledges the appeal of the 47-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to disengage forces, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there must be an assurance against further attacks from the renegade forces. Nearly 8,500 families ( 40,000 people)have fled the fighting and thousands crammed into schools and gymnasiums in downtown Jolo, relying on food rations from disaster agencies. The mass evacuations are a bitter development for conflict-scarred residents, who had hoped Jolo was becoming a more stable place after a long-running military campaign to rid the island of scores of Islamic militants.
Bolante wants US to give him asylum (tags)
Former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante has sought political asylum in the US, where he has been detained after US immigration canceled his visa last week. A source in the Department of Foreign Affairs said Bolante asked for asylum about 1 a.m. on Thursday, Manila time. The information jibes with the report of the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) that Bolante’s lawyer in Los Angeles confirmed he had requested asylum.