Philippines Becoming Southeast Asia’s Terror Hotspot according to FTI-International Risk

Not so good news about the Philippines compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors.

 

Bloomberg: The Philippines has overtaken Indonesia and Thailand as the country facing the greatest threat from terrorism, according to FTI-International Risk, a security consultancy.

While the Philippines has made progress in containing the threat from armed groups such as the Abu Sayyaf, Moro Islamic Liberation Front and New Peoples’ Army, it lagged behind other countries in the region, FTI-International Risk’s Chairman Steve Vickers said in a report released today.

The U.S. State Department renewed its travel warning for the Philippines on Nov. 2, citing an October bus bombing that killed 10 people and warning attacks could extend “to include Manila.” Philippines ranks 130 out of 149 countries in the 2010 Global Peace Index compiled by the Sydney-based Institute of Economics & Peace. Thailand ranked 124, and Pakistan 145.

“Pakistan, southern Thailand and southern Philippines are the places where, unless you have a very compelling reason, you should not be going without professional support,” Vickers, who formerly commanded the Hong Kong Police Criminal Intelligence Bureau, said in a phone interview today.

Indonesia’s counter-terrorism program was successful in 2010, he said. Little progress had been made in tackling an insurgency in southern Thailand because the government there was distracted by violent protests in Bangkok, the FTI report said.

FTI-International Risk is a subsidiary of Palm Beach, Florida-based FTI Consulting Inc. that offers investigation and security consultancy services.

Isolated Trouble

The trouble in the Philippines is largely isolated in the south of the country, and while the government has made progress in suppressing the Abu Sayyaf, “in quiet times, you see them going back to what they do best, which is small-scale kidnapping and ransom,” Vickers said. “Some of it is purely criminal and has no link to terror groups,” he said.

Edwin Lacierda, a spokesman for Philippines President Benigno Aquino, said the report overstated the threat.

“It’s a matter of perception,” Lacierda said at a regular televised briefing. “The threat is not as grave as the think tank assesses it.”

The southern Philippine island of Mindanao is home to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and a stronghold for the military wing of the Communist Party, the New People’s Army, both branded terror organizations by the U.S.

Between 2005 and 2010, 1,536 people were killed in terror attacks in the Philippines, including those staged by the two groups, according to the U.S. National Counter-Terrorism website.

Two days ago, suspected Muslim militants killed five businessmen in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, Xinhua news service reported, citing an official.

Xstrata Attacks

Communist rebels have staged attacks on mining assets in the Philippines, derailing the government’s plan to attract overseas investors. At least two attacks on Xstrata Plc’s Tampakan copper project in Mindanao were staged in 2008.

The NPA has a policy of imposing taxes on state and private infrastructure projects within the areas of its operations, Satur Ocampo, a co-founder of the National Democratic Front, an alliance of organizations including the New People’s Army and the Communist Party of the Philippines, said in a 2009 interview. He declined to give an estimate of the tax collected.

A study three years earlier by Philippine Institute for Development Studies put the levy at between 5 percent and 10 percent.

Bombing cellular phone towers and other infrastructure is a way for rebels to assert their authority, Ocampo said.

‘Plain Banditry’

“It’s one form for the revolutionary government to demonstrate its political and military authority, to deliver a message to the contractors,” Ocampo said. “Of course, the government claims this is plain banditry.”

President Benigno Aquino’s government said in December the government will ensure security in mining sites and that the NPA’s extortion threatens investment.

The armed conflict in Mindanao between the government and the Muslim rebels resulted in an economic loss of more than $10 billion between 1975 and 2002, according to the World Bank.

The International Risk report’s findings “might affect the new investors” who rely on risk consultancy firms, said Earl Parreno, an analyst at the Institute for Political and Economic Reforms in Manila.

Aquino, who started his six-year term in June, vowed to fight corruption and bolster investments as he seeks to expand the economy by at least 7 percent starting this year. His government plans to pitch to investors more than 700 billion pesos ($15.9 billion) of road, port and railway projects.

source: Bloomberg

SBS Transit Bus struck by falling tree along Upper Thomson Road

AN SBS bus that had stopped at a bus stop along Upper Thomson Road to pick up passengers was struck by a falling tree on Saturday afternoon.

Bus captain Oh Yew Boon stands by his bus that was hit by a falling tree when he stopped at a bus-stop along Sembawang Road heading towards Thomson Road.

 

The police received a call at 4.35pm about the accident, which happened near Nee Soon Road. A spokesman said the tree had fallen onto a bus stop and a stationary bus that was in the bus bay. It had been raining at the time.

The bus' captain Oh Yew Boon said there were about 20 passengers on board the bus then, although no one was injured.

Officers from NParks subsequently arrived at the scene to extricate the fallen tree from the bus.

Bridge under construction at Punggol The Waterway collapses

A partially completed bridge at the construction site collapsed under the weight of rainwater on Sunday morning as reported by reader Simon Low to ST who took and sent in a picture from his flat in Block 638b Punggol Drive.

In an email report to ST, Mr Low said “This morning, I noticed part of the bridge had collapsed due to the heavy rain.”

“I believe the bridge also acted as a dam, but the water overflowed (from the right side) the partially built bridge, and pushed the bridge away.”

“The banks of the waterway on the right side of the bridge overflowed due to this morning's heavy rain. I wonder whether it will happen again once the waterway is fully completed.”

Flooding along Airport Boulevard

Two lanes along Airport Boulevard were closed on Sunday morning due to flooding along Airport Boulevard, leaving two passable.

However, flood waters cleared by noon, and the lanes have been reopened to traffic, confirmed the police.

Flooding at the junction of Tampines Avenue 12 & 9

The junction at Tampines Avenue 12 & 9 were closed at noon on Sunday afternoon because of flooding. One lane has been reopened to traffic so far.

Heavy Rains, Floods in Singapore

FLOODS have returned to Singapore amid heavy, incessant rain since Saturday.

Readers of The Straits Times Online have been sending in reports of flooding, which seem mostly concentrated in the eastern part of Singapore.

Awakening Cryztalrella wrote on The Straits Times’ Facebook fanpage: ‘Flooding along the whole road at Bedok Town park towards Bedok North Ave 3, i.e. after the PIE overhead bridge towards B07 Bus stop (Bus 18, 28, etc). It has become inaccessible during heavy downpour.’

On Twitter, quelynxandever and iamsurebbyrz reported flooding at the Singapore Expo, and Loyang Avenue near Changi prison.

User CW of citizen journalism site STOMP also sent in pictures of a flooded carpark at Tampines Street 32, which showed it submerged in water.

CW wrote: ‘The basement carpark was flooded during these two days of non-stop rain.’

On their website, the National Environment Agency said widespread moderate to heavy rain is expected between 11.30am and midnight on Sunday.

If you are affected by floods or know of places that are, we would greatly appreciate your telling us. Please send pictures and information to stonline@sph.com.sg

Singapore hit by “costly to prevent” floods

“Freak floods that happens only once in 50 years” according to Minister for Environment Mr Yaacob Ibrahim, have hit Singapore again on early Saturday morning for the 4th time in 2 months this year, not ‘once in 50 years as suggested’.

01Affected areas include Braddell Road, Changi Road, Joo Chiat, Telok Kurau,  Geylang and Bukit Timah, where trees were uprooted and rising floodwaters stranded several drivers in their vehicles. Parts of Kallang and Tanjong Katong were also flooded.

The hardest hit areas were Braddell Road, Joo Chiat Terrace, Changi Road, Bukit Timah and Delfi in Orchard Road with water rising to waist level.

According to the Straits Times, waters rose to knee-high level at the Tessarina Condo in Bukit Timah area, flooding the basement carpark. Some cars were almost submerged in water, prompting frantic residents to move them out to drier grounds.

The same paper reported that 60 people were evacuated by Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel in 20 different places, including passengers who were stuck in an SBS bus along Upper Thomson Road.

There were further reports by Netizens of fallen trees along Dorset Road causing traffic congestion, shops badly damaged by the flood along Upper Thomson Road and a flooded carpark at the Delfi Orchard which was hit by the worst flooding in 26 years in June just less than a month ago.

Despite a public outcry over the incompetency of the PAP government to prevent the frequent floods which caused millions of dollars of losses, PM Lee remained nonchalant about the inconveniences and losses the frequent flooding have caused to ordinary Singaporeans and even appeared to chide Singaporeans for having overly high expectations.

Last month, in a speech made at Lower Seletar Reservoir which was widely reported by MSM, PM Lee tried to exonerate the PAP government from any blame by coming up with the “lameretest”  excuse that it is very “costly” to keep Singapore “flood-free.”

He claimed that given Singapore’s “tropical climate”, any attempt to “wipe out” flooding in Singapore would require plenty of money and land without providing any concrete evidence or statistics to substantiate his claims.

In a nutshell, PM Lee deems spending Public Money on preventing floods “costly” but have no reservation whatsoever on giving a Massive Pay Rise (expected to be more than 8% this year) to Singapore’s “betteretest” multi-millionaire PAP ministers, who are already the “higheretest” paid political leaders in the world.

Ironically, 66% of eligible Singaporeans voted for a ruling party thats only interested in spending Public Money to enrich themselves instead of safeguarding the life and property of Singaporeans.

Singapore military offers help with flood recovery

There has been another offer of overseas assistance for flood devastated Queensland.

A day after the United States said it is ready to help, Singapore has offered military assistance.

Flooding has affected large parts of the state, including Rockhampton where the Fitzroy River is expected to peak today.

About 6,000 Singapore Armed Forces troops conduct military exercises in Shoalwater Bay near Rockhampton every year.

Singapore’s Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean has written to Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter and Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith offering assistance.

Mr Teo says Singapore Air Force helicopters based at Oakey on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland as well as Singaporean soldiers can help if required.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Accepting Applications for 2011 Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Exam

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2011 Foreign Service Officers (FSO) Examination.

The FSO Exams will be held on the following dates:

• Part I- Qualifying Test (20 Mar 2011)
• Part II – Preliminary Interview (04 and 06 Jun 2011)
• Part III – Written Examination (08 to 10 Jun 2011)
• Part IV – Oral Examination (12 to 14 Oct 2011)
• Part V – Psychological Examination (21-25 Nov 2011)

All parts of the examination will be conducted in the Philippines.

Applicants must meet the following basic criteria:

• Filipino citizen
• Less than thirty-five (35) years of age on 20 Mar 2011; and
• In possession of a four (4) year bachelor’s degree.

The list of additional requirements and the application form for the examination may be downloaded from the Embassy website (click on the links below).

Those interested may submit their duly accomplished application forms, together with all necessary supporting documents, in person at Window 1 of the Embassy no later than 5:00 pm on Wednesday, 2 February 2011.  Application forms may also be submitted in person to the DFA Main Office until 5:00 pm on Friday, 11 February 2011.

Applications will not be accepted beyond the set deadline.

To download the Examination Announcement and list of requirements, click here.
To download the 2011 FSO Examination application form, click here.

Bureau of Immigration stops 21,000 ‘OFWs’ with tourist visas at NAIA

More than 21,000 prospective overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Aug. to Dec. last year as part of the government’s intensified campaign against human trafficking, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration said.

Immigration officer-in-charge Ronaldo Ledesma said the 21,709 persons who were offloaded from their flights all had tourist visas but intended to work upon reaching their destinations, putting them at risk with abuses, exploitation and even incarceration.

The BI started its drive against the so-called ‘tourist workers’ in August after Ledesma was appointed OIC.

The campaign, which was launched on orders of President Benigno Aquino III and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, aims to protect undocumented OFWs, most of whom are victims of illegal recruitment and human trafficking syndicates.

Suspected tourist workers are barred from boarding their flights once they fail to show the necessary clearance and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

Lawyer Maria Antonette Bucasas, BI airport operations division chief, said most of the offloaded passengers were bound for traditional OFW destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Middle East.

Bucasas reported that of the total offloaded passengers, 11,990 were intercepted at the NAIA 1 terminal, 6,397 at the NAIA 3, and 3,322 were at the NAIA 2.

Ledesma said some offloading cases are being investigated by the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) headed by Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, who is also undersecretary in charge of the immigration bureau.

“Hopefully, the investigations will result in the successful prosecution and conviction of the illegal recruiters and human traffickers who victimized and enticed these passengers to leave without proper documentation," Ledesma said.

He vowed to pursue without letup the BI’s drive against trafficking not only at the NAIA but in other major ports of the country of as well.

The government’s anti-trafficking drive was prompted by a US State Department report released last year listing the Philippines in Tier 2 of its human trafficking watch list. The US government has threatened to suspend all non-humanitarian aid to all countries with serious trafficking problems including the Philippines.

Singapore Police advises public on variations of Phone Scams

Scammers are coming up with new and innovative phone scams to convince victims to part with their money. There are many variations to phone scams. The most common ones are the Lottery Scam, Kidnap Scam and Impersonation Scam.

Lottery Scams!
Tricksters may call from overseas, email or SMS the recipients, informing them that they have won prize money in a foreign lottery. The tricksters would request for an advance payment in order to process the claims for prizes.

Kidnap Scams!
Tricksters would claim that the recipient's loved one had been kidnapped and demand that a ransom be transferred to specific bank account. These fake threats are usually accompanied by sounds of cries for help in the background.

Impersonation Scams!
Tricksters would impersonate law enforcement officials, advising victims to remit or transfer money to designated bank accounts in order to exonerate themselves from alleged crimes. These common allegations include failure to appear in court in relation to one's involvement in money laundering and unlicensed money lending cases.

1. The tricksters will impersonate foreign government officials such as the Interpol, Taiwan Police, China Police, etc.
2. The tricksters will ask the victims for their personal information and bank account details for verification purposes. In some occasions, they were able to recite the victim's personal information or bank account number.
3. The tricksters will send pre-recorded voice messages to the victims. The victims will need to press a number before their calls are answered by an operator. To lend credibility to their scams, the number that appeared on the recipient's phone reflects those belonging to local authorities such as:
    
   a. Supreme Court Quality Service Manager/ Enquiry Hotline: 63381034,
   b. CID Hotline: 64350000, or
   c. Police Emergency Hotline: 999
    
   This is commonly known as "Caller ID Spoofing", where advances in technology enable callers to lie about their identity through false numbers.

CRIME PREVENTION MEASURES

Lottery Scam

• Ignore notifications of a win in a lottery or lucky draw when you had not purchased any lottery ticket or participated in any lucky draw.
• Do not make any advance payment to claim any prize money. Winning a lucky draw or lottery does not require you to make any advance payment.
• Do not entertain such SMSes and calls.
• Be wary of get-rich-quick offers. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is probably a scam.

Kidnap Scam

• If the public receive kidnap scam calls, they should remain calm and try to contact their next-of-kin immediately. Should repeated attempts at contacting their loved-ones fail, they should then contact the police.
• In addition, the public could pose questions to the kidnapper to verify the identity of the purportedly kidnapped victim, for instance, the number of family members staying together or whether there are pets in the house, to help them establish if the call is indeed genuine.

Impersonation Scam

• Ignore any notification calls from unknown persons who claim to be government officials. All notices to attend court hearing would be notified by post or accompanied by an official letter.
• Police or court officials would not ask anyone who is in connection with a criminal case to make any transfer of funds to unknown bank accounts.
• Do not give your personal details such as NRIC and bank account numbers to anyone over telephone or e-mail.

Those who receive such calls may wish to pass on such information to the Police at a Neighbourhood Police Centre.