The Philippines’ Top 11 Headlines in the Year 2008
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These are the country’s achievements, tragedies, and failures.
Businessmen, professionals, or even the masses talked these hot issues about what happening in the Philippine last 2008. Therefore, I made a review of 11 hot topics of the country’s achievements, tragedies, and failures to share it with the Triond readers around the globe.
- Fuel prices reached 62 pesos per liter, and it went downward to 33 pesos per liter as the country experienced the world recession with the lay-offs in the Overseas Filipino Workers and BPO sectors as the prices of the commodities and services remained high levels.
- For the first time of the year, rice crisis occurred as the inflation hit double digits. Philippine government distributed coupons for the masses to line up for more affordable rice, which happened that the price reached 40 pesos a kilo.
- In June 21, 2008, Sulpicio Lines ship Princess of the Stars sailed at the eye of the typhoon Frank, and then it sinked. More that 700 people died. Rescue and subsequent retrieval operation were hampered when it was found that the ship’s cargo contained toxic pesticides.
- The signing of Memorandum of Agreement in Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) with MILF was temporary restrained due to the issue of Supreme Court last August 4, 2008 due to the heeded request from the local government in the region. The agreement aimed is to have the expanded Muslim Autonomy to the sections of Mindanao. The MOA-AD was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in October 2008.
- Former House Speaker Jose De Venecia was ousted from his position in February 2008 due to the lost of confidence of his LAKAS party mates and followed by the expose of his son and namesake on the government deal with broadband network provider ZTE.
- Former Senate President Manny Villar unseated from the position last November 2008 due to his allegations of double insertion in the C-5 extension budget in 2008.
- RCBC bank robbery in Cabuyao, Laguna turned out to be a Black Friday last May 16, 2008 as 10 people were killed. About 10 million pesos had been carted away by the robbers who allegedly wore police uniforms.
- Star witness Jun Lozada gained fame due to giving testimony on the broadband deal with ZTE corporation in China.
- Witness Jocjoc Bolante was hospitalized at St. Luke Hospital last October 2008 due to chest pains and other ailments shortly after he testified on the fertilizer fund scam that he allegedly mastermind last 2004 to divert funds for the election of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The fertilizer scam also linked to the murder of the journalist Marlene Esparat last 2005.
- President Arroyo faced the fourth impeachment complaint due to the allegations of corruptions surrounding the broadband network among other deals. However, the complaint was shot down by the president’s allies in Congress for insufficiency in substance not in form.
- Athlete of the Year Manny Pacquiao had three straight big wins this 2008. He affirmed to be the country’s best boxer. He earned millions in pay per view revenues and not coming back in politics.
If you have anything to add, suggest, or comments, just write it down. Thank you for viewing my blog and my review of this 2008 country’s achievements, tragedies, and failures.
1 Comment
Nice article! The rice crisis, I think, was caused less by inflation as by “neoliberal” policies that the government enacted (encouraged by the World Bank and the US) that caused the Philippine economy to move away from rice production when it has some of the richest rice fields in the world! Conrado de Quiros and Walden Bello wrote something about this in the past year. The ousting of De Venecia, was that followed or preceded by controversies involving his son–and also involving the president’s sons? Number 10 should be the number 1 story–and there’s nothing about the mass movement protests that threatened People Power IV at all!