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P52.27 - $1.00
AUGUST 23,  2002

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APRIL ROSS
PEREZ
Zamboanga, Philippines
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NOTES FROM 
DOWN UNDER 
BY HEROINA SANTOS ESPERAT
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EYE IN L.A.
Rejoicing in the misfortunes of others
By JOHN L. SHINN III
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POINTBLANK
ROLLY A. SAN JUAN
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BEHIND THE LINES
By BOB JALDON

L.A. BALAGUNERO
Was 'Balikatan' A Success?
By TITONG A. SAN JUAN
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FIRST PERSON
A 3,000-mile Journey
By CHITO ELAGO
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TABLE TALK
By MIKE APOSTOL

PERSPECTIVE 
FROM L.A.
By ANGEL Y. DAYAN

CHARLIE SACEDA:  Zamboangueño photojournalist based in Manila. (click here)

PHOTOS: Los Angeles party hosted by Junie and Faida Toribio in honor of Manny Dalipe last October 27.
(click here)

H I S T O R Y
The History of the Moros
By Vic Hurley

L.A. COMMUNITY NEWS
L.A.'s new Consul General is
Edwin D. Bael, a career diplomat from Dipolog City. (click here)

NEWS MEDIA
This was the front page of the maiden issue (May 1-7, 1996) of The Independent Observer, a weekly newspaper --- and sister publication of L.A. Zam-
boanga Times --- that was never published. It was to be printed and distributed in Zamboanga City. (click here)

SPECIAL  REPORT 

P R O F I L E 
R O L L Y   S A N T O S
By SONIA SALVADOR JEKUMS

I N T E R V I E W
Professor Thomas McKenna, author of, "Muslim Rulers and Rebels: Everyday Politics and Armed Separatism in the Southern Philippines."
By NERMEEN SHAIKH of AsiaSource

BANKING & FINANCE
Angel Y. Dayan & Associates

INVESTMENTS
Manuel A. Dalipe of the Zamboanga Freeport Authority talks about investment opportunities in Zamboanga City.    (click here)

REAL  ESTATE
*Phil Baños - Jacksonville, Florida 
*Sonia S. Jekums - Seven Gables Real Estate (Southern California)
*Oxy Lopez - Pinnacle Estate Properties (Los Angeles)
*Rene Reyes - (Zamboanga City)

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Photos by JOHN L. SHINN III / LAZT
Bob Jaldon in L.A. for visit
Veteran journalist Bob Jaldon (extreme right) is now in Los Angeles for a vacation. They visited John Atilano Shinn Jr. (2nd from right), father of LAZT founder-editor John Lasola Shinn III, in Covina, California last Thursday, August 22. They are, from left: LAZT managing editor Titong San Juan, Bob's son Sonny Jaldon, John A. Shinn Jr. and Bob Jaldon.

They were later joined by LAZT assistant editor Bobby Reyes (2nd from left), LAZT president and CEO Marita Enriquez-Branchflower (foreground, center), and Floramay Lasola Shinn (2nd from right), mother of LAZT founder-editor John (Boboy) Shinn III.

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Announcement
Do you have pictures that you want to share with us and our readers? Send us your family pictures, your party photos---so we can publish them here at LAZT. E-mail them to: The Editor.

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Caressa & Sammy
Caressa Toribio, only daughter of Junie and Faida Toribio, poses with new pet Sammy at  their  home in Sun Valley, California. 
Photo by GINO ESPAÑO LAZT Chief Photographer
 

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To:johnshinn3@lazamboangatimes.com
From: "Rene Camaongay" <RCAMA@amkor.com>
Date: 21 Aug 2002, 07:15:48 AM 
Subject: Rejoicing in the misfortunes of others 

   Hi Boboy ,
   You probably don't know me .  I belong to Ateneo HS class 74 ... you guys were probably in 1st year while we were in 4th year. Can't help but comment something on what you wrote very recently.      Forgive those that have wronged you and forget that sad chapter in your life .
    Move on and leave those behind .
    The heck with what other people say and think. You have nothing to be ashamed of .
   El cansa man lang sos. It is God who will judge us in the end anyway .
    Rejoice,  see you in the 2002 Ateneo Alumni home coming in Zamboanga .
    Best regards and God bless ,
    Rene Camaongay

EDITOR'S REPLY: Ren, I know you being one of our school varsity team's best basketball players during our time. I also know your younger brother who also played for our school team just like you. You made me real proud to be an Atenean during those games I've watched you and your brother played. I promise I will follow your advice.

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Photo by JOHN L. SHINN III / LAZT
Hamon y manga con bagon
These fellows got together Wednesday, August 21, to try Marita's baked ham, manga con bagon and caldo puerco laced with spinach. They washed it down with margaritas afterwards. We just don't know if Binky and Ralston made it to work the next day. They are from left: Joby Shinn, Ralston Luna, Binky Shinn and Kenny Shinn. Inset: Marita Enriquez-Branchflower. Photo was taken in Covina, California.

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By John L. Shinn III
LAZT Founder-Editor
Rejoicing in the misfortunes of others   CLICK HERE

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Mass for Wally Lopez in L.A.
Photos by JOHN L. SHINN III / LAZT

More than 50 people attended Wally Lopez's mass in Los Angeles 
last Saturday, Aug. 17, which was held at the residence of Oxy 
and Babylynn Lopez in Panorama City, California.

Among those who came to attend the mass were, from left: Jun Lim, Benito Viguera, Oxy Lopez, Marita Enriquez-Branchflower, Titong San Juan and Gino Españo.

Oxy with his family. From left: Alina,16, Oxy, Celis, 5, wife Babylynn and Anjoline, 22.

Remembering Wally...
By JOHN L. SHINN III
LAZT Founder-Editor

The last time I saw Wally was in early 1997 when I went home to Zamboanga. I visited him at the family home in Nuñez. We spent two hours talking about life in America, his love life and we laughed when he asked me to tell his brother Oxy that he (Wally) knew what happened to Oxy's missing belt.
     I also visited him during my three previous trips to Zamboanga in 1995 and 1996 and Wally never told me that he had any medical problems. At the time I had no way of knowing since Wally always had that baby face smile on his face. And he's the type of person who would rather laugh and talk about the joys of life than dwell on pressing problems. 
     He was sad though that his marriage did not work out. I told him not to feel bad as I was also having problems with my marriage here in L.A.
     Besides his signature boyish smile, there's also one other thing that comes to my mind when I think of Wally. He was a deeply religious Atenean and Catholic. Rain or shine, Wally would set aside whatever he was doing and take that short walk along Nuñez to attend the 5:30 p.m. mass at St. Joseph church every Sunday afternoon.
     I felt a deep loss when I learned about Wally's death. But I feel happy with the thought that he is now in heaven with the Lord.
     We'll all miss you Wally...

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Thousands of Filipinos pray for Pope's health By JIM GOMEZ
Associated Press Writer 

     MANILA, Philippines - About 10,000 Filipinos gathered overnight to pray for the health of Pope John Paul ( news - web sites) II in the hope that the ailing pontiff may soon be able to visit Asia's largest predominantly Catholic nation. 
     The prayer festival, which ended Sunday morning, was the first of three planned public events in the Philippines in coming months to prepare for a possible papal visit in January. 
     The Vatican has said the 82-year-old pontiff, who first traveled to Manila in 1995, wants to revisit the Philippines but the trip has not yet been confirmed. 
     "We hope to see him here again like seven years ago," said Rommel Tucusin, who wore a jacket to ward off a light morning drizzle. 
     "I hope his health progresses so his program for the youth will continue," he said. 
      A Catholic Mass was also celebrated at the gathering, which was held at a seaside theater complex. 
      Andy Juan, another participant, said a papal visit would help strengthen his country, which has been wracked by economic difficulties, political divisions and crime. 
      The visit is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22-26 to coincide with the World Meeting of Families, a Roman Catholic conference held every three years that focuses on family values. The Manila gathering will be the first in Asia. 
      Despite the uncertainty surrounding the trip, church officials have begun meeting with police to coordinate security plans. During the pope's 1995 visit, Philippine security officials foiled a plot by a group of foreign Muslim extremists to assassinate him. 
      Some 5 million Filipinos welcomed the pope in 1995 — one of the largest welcomes ever for a visiting pope. 
      The pope has been struggling with symptoms of Parkinson's disease — heavily slurred speech and trembling hands — and is slowed by knee and hip aliments that make it difficult for him to walk or even stand. 
      The pope is currently on a nostalgic journey to his native Poland. The Vatican confirmed last Monday that he would return to Rome this week. French and German media have speculated that his current trip to his Polish hometown would be followed by retirement. 

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Pinoy refugees from Sabah are 
today's boat people
By Joan Orendain
Inquirer News Service

     This is Vietnamese boat people redux. 
     But this time, Filipinos are the refugees. They are either being rescued by the
Navy or are paying their way on overloaded small fishing and cargo vessels. 
     They are mostly Muslims, including hordes of infants and before the Aug. 24 deadline imposed by Malaysia for undocumented workers to leave. 
     Some of the new arrivals spent several weeks in Malaysian prisons. 
     All of 612 refugees have sought shelter on Mapun Island, a Shangri-la of 30,000 natives amid lush kamagong forests, uniformly laid-out coconut groves and the return-to-paradise Ernestine Lake. Still, the main island of the Cagayan de Tawi-Tawi group strains at the seams to be hospitable as it provides shelter, rice and medical attention to the desperate, sick and starving arrivals. 
     Tales of barely veiled terror, confusion and great sorrow abound among them. They speak haltingly only when spoken to. Otherwise, they are still while they queue up in the noonday sun to seek medical treatment for the large number of sick children. The children are still, too, the faintest whimper long gone from their parched throats. 
     The saga of this new wave of boat people began just after midnight on Aug. 1. While the Navy patrol ship BRP Sultan Kudarat under Capt. Alexander Pama was prowling the Sulu Sea for Commander Robot a nd his Abu Sayyaf cohorts, it spied an unlit fishing boat. Preparing to arrest what could be smugglers, Pama was shocked to discover a 30-foot fishing boat, the F/B Jamilla, capacity 30 passengers, groaning under the weight of 173 people, mostly women and children. 
      Packed tighter than sardines among bundles of their earthly belongings, Pama feared a squall would capsize the fishing boat. He arrested its master and asked the passengers to move to his vessel. A lass is seen making the Sign of the Cross as she comes aboard the Sultan Kudarat. 
      Commodore Ernesto de Leon happened to be on a Command Area Visit on the fringes of our border with Malaysia and rendezvoused with Pama's ship at Taganak, among the Turtle Islands. There, De Leon, commander of Naval Forces South, decided to ferry the refugees to Mapun, which he described as "the more affluent island." A choppy sea en route only served to drive home what the 173 refugees' fate could have been. 
      "Poor, poor, poor, the poorest of the poor," De Leon described the refugees. He recalled how the Philippine Navy similarly rescued two decades ago many a boatload of Southern Vietnamese fleeing the new communist regime. 
       "If we could do it for the Vietnamese, how much more should we be helping our own countrymen?" said Vice Adm. Victorino S. Hingco, flag officer in command of the Philippine Navy. He visited Mapun on Monday. 
        Hingco has asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to work out arrange-
ments for larger Navy ships to pick up more refugees from Sandakan before the Aug. 24 deadline

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Special Report
Reporters Without Borders report on the Philippines     CLICK HERE

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1,423 deported from Malaysia via Zambo 
BY GULF NEWS in Manila

     The local government of Zamboanga City, southern Philippines, received a total of 1,423 undocumented Filipinos on Friday night, following their deportation from Malaysia which has begun a crackdown against illegal immigrants there, a local newspaper said.
     The returning Filipinos arrived on the MV Maryjane, a passenger ship which makes regular runs between Sandakan in Sabah and Zamboanga. 
     They travelled for three days, the Manila Times said.
     A navy transport ship left Zamboanga City yesterday to ferry 1,000 more repatriates who had landed in nearby Tawi-Tawi. 
     Scores of Filipinos from Malaysia have started to arrive in Tawi-Tawi, according to Parisya Taradji, department of social welfare and development (DSWD) regional director in Zamboanga. 
      A Malaysian fast boat brought the undocumented Filipinos to Bongao, said Taradji.
      Filipinos who tried to escape a crackdown by the Malaysian government took some fishing boats to reach the Philippine waters, Taradji noted.
      The navy has assigned two other ships, M/V Bacolod City and M/V Dagupan City, to bring home more Filipinos who were caught in Malaysia for illegal stay.
      The two ships could accommodate only a total of 1,000 passengers, said Lt. Carlos Sabarre, acting navy spokesman.
      The ships will take two or three days to reach the port of Sandakan in Sabah from Zamboanga. 
      Zamboanga City has been assigned as the processing centre for the estimated 80,000 undocumented Filipinos who have to leave Malaysia by next Saturday. 
      The Philippine government is considering requesting two other transport ships from Australia to help in the repatriation of illegal Filipinos in Malaysia, said Foreign Secretary Blas Ople.
      He added it will be difficult to bring home all the undocumented Filipinos before August 24 with only two ships from the Philippine government and one commercial ship that plies between Zamboanga City and the Malaysian border.
      The immigration office in Zamboanga City is trying to coordinate with the Philippine consulate in Sabah in getting clearance from the Malaysian government for the Philippine naval boats to dock in Sabah to fetch the repatriates. 

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Special Announcement
    Looking for Batch '77 Pilar College High School Graduates. We will be having our Silver Jubilee on December 27, 2002 in Zamboanga City. For more information please contact the following:
    Lucy Lucas at hakunamatata40@yahoo.com 
    Araceli Sarines Gella at asgella@swiftfoods.com
    Cherry Reyes at creyes@brendantours.com
    Luna Hayag at merimoon@aol.com

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After 23 Years: A Reunion Of Sorts
     Twenty-three years after graduating from high school (Ateneo Class of '77) these three classmates met for the first time at Sanborn in Los Angeles last Friday night, August 16.
     From left: Gino Españo (LAZT chief photographer), Philippe Baños (Florida-based co-founder of Zamboanga.com) and LAZT's  John L. Shinn III. 
Photo by GINO ESPAÑO / LAZT 

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Oxy plays host to Philippe

LAZT PHOTO BY M.E.B.
Philippe Baños (right) arrived in L.A. Friday morning to attend Wally's mass this weekend. He'll stay with Oxy Lopez (middle) in Panorama City. LAZT's John L. Shinn III (left) met with them late in the after-
noon. Photo was taken at Oxy's residence after they had dinner.

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Photo courtesy of SyP
Our Future Tiger Woods
Playing a round of golf in Los Angeles, from left: Sonny Duque, Rolly Enriquez, Bong Regino and Raffy Reyes.

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Photo courtesy of TONY MAS
April Ross Perez
     Zamboangueña April Ross Perez (shown in this picture with Maritoni Mas, daughter of Tony Mas) bested 23 other beautiful and intelligent women to become Miss Earth Philippines 2002 last May 12.
  CLICK HERE FOR INFO ON APRIL

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Father Nacorda seeks House 
report on Lamitan siege
By Julie S. Alipala
Philippine Daily Inquirer

     ZAMBOANGA CITY - Father Cirilo Nacorda urged the House Committee on National Defense to come out with its findings and recommendations on the Lamitan siege. 
     "They seem so very quiet. I don't know why they are so very quiet. I did not hear any development from their inquiry," Nacorda said four days after the Senate released a report of its investigation which concluded that 3 military officers had helped the Abu Sayyaf escape a military dragnet in Lamitan town in June last year. 
     The priest admitted to the Inquirer that he was more excited about the findings of the House "because we requested them first to investigate deeper (on) the reported collusion between the military and the Abu Sayyaf bandits." 
     Representative Prospero Pichay, committee chair, told the Inquirer that the final draft is finished and is with the technica working group. 
     He said he was waiting for the committee's 85 members to sign the document before making it public. "It's just a matter of asking them to sign the draft," Pichay said. 
     Pichay said the report would focus on an earlier premise of collusion between the military and the Abu Sayyaf. 
     Nacorda said he hopes the House would also address the ransom issue. 
     The Senate committee on national defense and security and the committee on justice and human rights have recommended "convening of the court martial to 
Romeo Dominguez, Colonel Juvenal Narcise and Major Eliseo Campued. 
     Dominguez, Narcise and Campued were among the military officials accused by Nacorda, the parish priest of Lamitan who himself had been an Abu Sayyaf hostage, of allowing the bandits to leave the town. 

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AFP clears 3 officers of collusion 
with Abu Sayyaf
By Martin P. Marfil and Cynthia D. Balana
Inquirer News Service

     THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines on Monday cleared a two-star general, a colonel and a major suspected of colluding with Abu Sayyaf bandits despite a Senate report signed by 20 senators recommending the court martial of the three officers. 
     Only Sen. Gregorio Honasan did not sign the Senate report. 
     "We had an inquiry and they were cleared of any collusion with the Abu Sayyaf," Brig. Gen. Eduardo Purificacion, AFP spokesperson, said. 
     Purificacion was referring to Maj. Gen. Romeo Dominguez, Col. Juvenal Narcise and Maj. Eliseo Campued, whom the parish priest of Lamitan, Basilan, had accused of allowing the bandits to leave the town on June 2, 2001 after money changed hands. 
     The bandits, led by Abu Sabaya, stormed the Dr. Maria Torres Memorial Hospital the previous night, bringing with them the 20 hostages they seized  from the Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan on May 27, 2001. 
     The hostages included three Americans -- Martin and Gracia Burnham, and Guillermo Sobero. 
     Purificacion said a board of inquiry was formed after the then Army Inspector General, Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Rivera, came out with a report last year. But Purificacion said he could not remember when the inquiry was conducted. 
     In his report, Rivera blamed numerous factors, including the delay of reinforcements, for the escape of the main Abu Sayyaf group from Lamitan. 
     Rivera said higher-ups, who had failed to deliver the counter-terrorist force within two hours as promised, caused the delay. 
     He said the pursuit operations against the Abu Sayyaf were also delayed by the presence in Lamitan of government dignitaries like Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and then AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva. 
     But a 53-page Senate report cited enough evidence to hold Dominguez, Narcise and Campued liable for the escape of Sabaya and his men. 
     The report was prepared after the Senate committee on national defense and security and the committee on justice and human rights jointly conducted an investigation of the hostage-taking. 
     It said the three military officers could be charged with violating three provisions of the Articles of War. These are "misbehavior before the enemy and endangering the command because of recklessness and negligence (Article 76), conduct unbecoming of officers and gentlemen (Article 94) and disorder and conduct to the prejudice of military order and discipline (Article 97)." 
     Five senators -- Ramon Magsaysay (chair of the committee on national defense), Ramon Revilla, Renato Cayetano, Ralph Recto and Edgardo Angara -- approved the report without revision. 
     Sen. Francis Pangilinan, co-chair of the joint hearing in his capacity as head of  the committee on justice and human rights, signed the report but indicated that  he would file a separate "concurring and dissenting opinion." 
     Signing either with reservations or amendments were Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, John Osmeña, Robert Barbers, Panfilo Lacson, Joker Arroyo, Juan Flavier, Noli de Castro, Teresa Aquino-Oreta, Vicente Sotto III, Sergio Osmeña III, Robert Jaworski, Manny Villar and Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Majority Leader Loren Legarda. 
    Magsaysay said the report was based on three resolutions that sought to verify the alleged collusion between military officers and the Abu Sayyaf. The resolutions were filed by Barbers, Honasan and Lacson. 
    Magsaysay said the committee was able to establish the collusion based on overwhelming circumstantial evidence and the testimony of witnesses, including the Lamitan parish priest, Father Cirilo Nacorda. 

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LAZTs New A-Team Launched

LAZT Photos
L.A. Zamboanga Times Founder-Editor John L. Shinn III recently 
announced the appointments of the following, from left: Bobby
Reyes (Assistant Editor), Titong San Juan (Managing Editor) and 
Gino Españo (Chief Photographer). Insets from top:  Gines Villa
(Advertising Manager) and Marita Enriquez-Branchflower (Presi-
dent & CEO). Shinn finalized his decision after meeting with them 
last Sunday, August 4, in Los Angeles. 

LAZT Photos
The following, from left to right, were also appointed: Luchie Lucero (Vice-President, Northern California), Kenny L. Shinn (Vice-President, Southern California), Zeller L. Shinn (Webmaster & Art Director) and
Chito Elago (Bureau Chief, Hayward, California). 

From far left: Archael (Boy) Fernando (Vice-President for Operations), Amado D. (Nonie) Ledesma Jr. (Bureau Chief, Stockton, California) and Butch Alano (Bureau Chief, San Jose, California). No photo available for Ramon Lucas (Bureau Chief, Seattle, Washington) .