1.

8Mil-10,000BC The Cagayan Valley archaeological site has revealed stone tools
from the Pleistocene.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.F)

400000BC - 48000BC A human group, later called the Denisovans, lived in Asia
during this period. They then interbred with humans expanding from Africa along the
coast of South Asia. In 2010 fossil evidence from a Siberian cave in 2008 revealed
that their DNA was related to the DNA of people from New Guinea, which contained 4.8%
Denisovan DNA. 3-5% of the DNA from native people of Papua New Guinea, Australia, the
Philippines and other nearby islands came from Denisovans, who left Africa as far
back as 800,000 BC.
(SFC, 12/23/10, p.A4)(SSFC, 9/16/12, p.C11)

1400-1500 Vigan historic town on Luzon was established by Chinese traders by this
time.
(AM, Mar/Apr 97 p.F)

1521 March 9, Magellan sailed west, southwest towards the Philippines.

(V.D.-H.K.p.177-178)

1521 Mar 15, Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Philippine Islands, where he
was killed by natives the following month. [see Apr 26]
(PCh, 1992, p.172)(MC, 3/17/02)(AP, 3/16/97)

1521 Apr 7, Ferdinand Magellan landed on Cebu Island, Philippines. Italian

chronicler Antonio Pigafetta reported a thriving port with large supplies of rice and
gold. In 2003 the island was a booming commercial center with a population of 4
million.
(WSJ, 10/15/03, p.B2A)

1521 Apr 26, Magellan was killed in a fight with natives on Mactan Island.
Magellan named the Mariana Islands Islas de los Ladrones (Islands of Thieves), and
was killed by natives on Cebu. Juan Sebastian Elcano, Magellan’s second in command,
returned to Spain with 18 men and one ship, the Vittorio, laden with spices. His coat
of arms was augmented in reward with the inscription Primus circumdisti me: “You
were the first to encircle me.” Some 50,000 Chamorro people populated the islands.
[see Apr 27]
(V.D.-H.K.p.177-178)(SFEC,11/10/96,Z1p.2)(TL-MB, p.12)(SFEC, 3/7/99,Z1 p.4)
1521 April 27, Ferdinand Magellan (50), Portuguese explorer, was killed by
natives in the Philippines. [see Apr 26]
(AP, 4/27/99)

1565 Apr 27, First Spanish settlement in Philippines was established in Cebu
City.
(HN, 4/27/98)

1565 Philip II of Spain sent Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and 1,000 mercenaries
from Mexico to wrest the Philippines from Muslim sultans, who had ruled since the
12th century.
(SFC, 7/7/03, p.A6)

1565 Father Andres Urdaneta sighted land believed to be the California coast
while sailing on the Manila to Acapulco trade route.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)

1571 Mar 19, Spanish troops occupied Manila. [see May 19]
(MC, 3/19/02)

1571 May 19, Miguel Lopez de Lagazpi founded the city of Manila in the
Philippines and encountered Chinese settlements. [see Mar 19]
(DTnet, 5/19/97)(WSJ, 12/26/02, p.A1)

1586 Spanish Captain Francisco Gali died in Manila and Pedro de Unamuno took
command of his 2 ships to return to Acapulco.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)

1587 Oct 18, Spanish Captain Pedro de Unamuno discovered California. He landed
at a place he called Port San Lucas, later identified as Morro Bay City, while
sailing from Macao to Acapulco with a crew of Luzon Indians.
(SFC,10/17/97, p.A25)

1595 Jul, The Spanish galleon San Agustin departed the Philippines with 130
tons of cargo and 70 men. See Nov, 1595.
(SFC, 9/26/97, p.A21)(SFC, 8/23/11, p.C3)

1595 Nov, The San Agustin, a Spanish galleon from Manila, sank off the coast
of northern California near Point Reyes with a load of silks and porcelains from the
Orient. Skipper Sebastian Rodriguez Cermeno sailed with survivors in an open boat
2,500 miles to Acapulco.
(SFC, 9/26/97, p.A21)(SFC, 8/23/11, p.C3)

1603 Oct 20, A Chinese uprising in the Philippines failed after 23,000 killed.
(MC, 10/20/01)

1608 Shogun Ieyasu ordered Will Adams to go to the Philippines to invite the
Spanish Gov. Don Diego Vevero y Velasco to compete with the Portuguese for trade with
Japan.
(ON, 11/02, p.10)

1658 The sultan of Brunei gave Sabah, the northeastern part of Borneo, to the
sultan of Sulu, who ruled a part of what later became the Philippines.
(Econ, 2/23/13, p.39)

1672 Apr 2, Pedro Calungsod (b.1654), a Filipino teenager, was killed in

Tumon, Guam, along with Diego Luis de San Vitores, his Jesuit missionary priest, by
natives resisting their conversion efforts. In 2012 Pedro was named a saint in the
Catholic church.
(AP, 10/20/12)( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Calungsod)

1755 Jun 30, Philippines closed all non-Catholic Chinese restaurants.

(MC, 6/30/02)

1762 Oct 5, The British fleet bombarded and captured Spanish-held Manila in
the Philippines.
(HN, 10/5/98)

1773 The Royal Captain, a merchant ship of the British East India Co., was
lost off a coral reef in the Philippines.
(WSJ, 7/21/00, p.W2)

1814 In Legazpi the Mayon volcano erupted and 1,200 people were killed.
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A9)

1820 Mar 9-11, Philippines chased out foreigners and about 125 died.
(MC, 3/9/02)
1878 The sultan of Sulu leased Sabah in perpetuity to the British North Borneo
Company. In 1946 the company ceded control of Sabah to Britain.
(Econ, 2/23/13, p.39)

1890 Philippine brewer San Miguel began making beer.

(WSJ, 4/9/09, p.B1)

1898 Apr 24, US fleet under commodore Dewey steamed from Hong Kong to
Philippines.
(MC, 4/24/02)

1898 May 1, US Commodore George Dewey gave the command, "You may fire when you
are ready, Gridley," as his naval force destroyed a Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in
the Philippines. Dewey’s ships lobbed shells into Filipino-dug trenches and the
battle became a massacre. Navy Captain Charles Gridley earned a place in history
during the Battle of Manila Bay.
(AP, 5/1/97)(Hem, Dec. 94, p.70)(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.4)(HN 8/13/98)

1898 May 25, 1st US troop transport to Manila left San Francisco.
(SC, 5/25/02)

1898 Jun 12, The Philippines gained independence from Spain. Emilio Aguinaldo,
rebel leader, proclaimed Philippine independence. Aguinaldo served as the first
president.
(SFC, 6/8/96, p.A17)(SFC, 3/31/97, p.A14)(AP, 6/12/97)(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.4)

1898 Jul 8, US battle fleet under Adm. Dewey occupied Isla Grande at Manila.
(MC, 7/8/02)

1898 Aug 12, Fighting in the Spanish-American War came to an end. The peace
protocol ending the Spanish-American War was signed Dec 10 after three months and 22
days of hostilities. 460 US soldiers died in battle. The US paid Spain $20 million to
vacate Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Over the next 3 years US
casualties in the Philippines war totaled over 4,000.
(AP, 8/12/97)(WSJ, 2/23/98, p.A20)(HN, 8/12/00)(SSFC, 3/30/03, p.D1)(WSJ, 7/2/03,
p.B1)

1898 Aug 13, Manila, the capital of the Philippines, fell to the U.S. Army
under Adm. George Dewey. It was later reported that Dewey had agreed to sacrifice the
lives of American soldiers in order to give Spanish officers, who had retained dead
soldiers on payroll, a chance to report heavy fatalities back to Spain.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manila_(1898))(SSFC, 6/29/08, DB p.58)

1898 Dec 10, The United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, ending
the Spanish-American War. This ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam to the
United States. The US Senate ratified the treaty February 6, 1899. The US military
governed Puerto Rico from October 1898 until May 1900, when the US Congress
instituted a civil government. The civil government underwent many changes until a
Constitutional Assembly formed in 1950 and established a Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
which was proclaimed on July 25, 1952. [see Aug 12]
(AP, 12/10/97)(HN, 12/10/98)(HNQ, 7/28/01)

1898-1900 A 2-year battle against American troops was waged by the Filipinos who
sought independence, not a new colonial ruler.
(SFC, 6/9/97, p.A15)

1898-1905 The 9th Cavalry, a black unit from Fort Mason, was shipped to help
subdue the Philippines Insurrection.
(SFEC, 4/5/98, p.C14)

1899 Jan 10, Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo renounced the Treaty of Paris,
which annexed the Philippines to the United States.
(HN, 1/10/00)

1899 Jan 20, President William McKinley appointed a Philippine Commission led
by Jacob G. Schurman, president of Cornell University, to study the situation in the
island and to submit a report to serve as a basis for setting up a civil government.
Established on January 20, 1899, the commission issued findings in June suggesting
the ultimate independence for the islands but, for an indefinite period continued
U.S. rule.
(HNQ, 1/3/00)

1899 Feb 4, After an exchange of gunfire, fighting broke out between American
troops and Filipinos near Manila, sparking the Philippine-American War (also referred
to as the Philippine Insurrection of 1899). American soldiers patrolling in Santa
Mesa opened fire on Filipino soldiers near a bridge over the San Juan River.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1p.1)(HN, 2/4/00)
1899 Feb 5, The devastation from the battle of Santa Ana was captured in
photos by F. Tennyson Neely. The collection was published as "Fighting in the
Philippines."
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.1)

1899 Sep, The USS Charleston engaged in shellfire upon Subic Bay in the
Philippines.
(G, Spring/98, p.5)

1900 Jun 21, General Arthur MacArthur offered amnesty to Filipinos rebelling
against American rule.
(HN, 6/21/98)

1900 Dec 23, The Federal Party, which recognized American sovereignty, was
formed in the Philippines.
(HN, 12/23/98)

c1900 The Ordonez cannon was brought back to the Presidio in SF as a trophy of
war by William Randolph Hearst. It had been manufactured in Spain and was initially
captured by the Filipinos from the Spanish army. It reportedly suffered a direct hit
from US forces in an engagement near Subic Bay.
(SFC, 6/9/97, p.A15,16)(G, Spring/98, p.5)

1900 Pres. McKinley appointed Prof. Bernard Moses of Berkeley one of three
commissioners in the Philippines charged with developing a plan for governing the
islands once control was established.
(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.13)

1900 David Prescott Barrows was appointed as superintendent of schools in

Manila and then as chief of the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes with the task of
formulating plans to bring them under control for beneficent exploitation.
(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.14)

1901 Mar 23, A group of U.S. Army soldier led by Brig. Gen. Frederick Funston
captured Emilio Aguinaldo, the leader of the Philippine Insurrection of 1899.
(HN, 3/23/99)

1901 Jul 4, William H. Taft, later the 27th president of the United States,
became the American territorial governor of the Philippines. Taft soon appointed
Prof. Bernard Moses secretary of public instruction for the Philippines. Taft, who
had been solicitor general of the U.S. under President Benjamin Harrison, was a
federal circuit court judge when President William McKinley appointed him to serve as
president of the U.S. Philippines Commission in 1900-01. Later in 1901, President
Theodore Roosevelt named Taft the first civil governor of the Philippines Islands, a
post he held for four years.
(HN, 7/4/98)(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.13)(HNQ, 2/18/00)

1901 Sep 28, At Balangiga on Samar Island, Philippine villagers surprised a

the US military Company C, 9th Infantry Regiment. Church bells, used to signal the
attack, were taken by the Americans. 38 of 74 US soldiers were killed and all the
rest but 6 were wounded. Philippine casualties were estimated at 50-250 with 48
American soldiers killed.
(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)(SFC, 10/18/03, p.A18)

1901 US Brig. Gen’l. Jacob Smith ordered US Marine and Army units to turn the
island of Samar in the Philippines into a “howling wilderness” so that "even birds
could not live there" in retaliation for the Sep 5 attack at Balangiga. The mission
bells of Balangiga were taken as war booty and later placed in the F.E. Warren Air
Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo. A Marine major was court-martialed on murder charges for
executing 11 Filipino prisoners but was acquitted after he testified that he was
under orders to shoot every Filipino over age 10. Gen’l. Smith was found guilty of
misconduct and admonished.
(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.4)

1902 Jul 4, Pres. Roosevelt officially ended the Philippine-American War.

Estimates for the civilian people killed ranged from 250,000 to 1 million. Creighton
Miller in 1982 published "Benevolent Assimilation," a comprehensive account of the
conflict.
(SFEC, 1/31/99, Z1 p.1,4)(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)(PC, 1992, p.642)

1903 Jul 3, The first cable across the Pacific Ocean was spliced between
Honolulu, Midway, Guam and Manila. Teddy Roosevelt placed the atoll of Midway Island
under Navy supervision. The Commercial Pacific Cable Co. (later AT&T) set cable
across the Pacific via Midway Island and the first around the world message was sent.
The message took 9 minutes to circle the globe. [see Jul 4]
(SFEC, 7/20/97, p.T5)(HN, 7/3/98)

1903 Jul 4, Pacific Cable (SF, Hawaii, Guam, Philippines) opened, and Pres.
Teddy Roosevelt sent a message. [see Jul 3]
(Maggio, 98)

1903 David Prescott Barrows succeeded Bernard Moses as general superintendent

of the Philippine schools until 1909.
(SFEM, 1/30/00, p.14)

1905 US General Leonard Wood (b.1860) took over as military commander of the
Philippines.
(www.wood.army.mil/MGLeonardwood.htm)

1906 Mar, American forces killed some 900 Muslims including women and children
on Mount Dajo.
(SSFC, 11/25/01, p.D3)

1911 The Taal volcano erupted and 1,335 people were killed.
(SFC, 1/19/02, p.A14)

1916 Aug 29, The US Jones Law (Act of Congress of August 29, 1916), also known
as the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902
that earlier served as a constitution for the Philippine Islands. Manuel Luis Quezon
(1878-1944), Resident Commissioner to Washington, D.C. since 1909, pushed the passage
of the Jones Act.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones_Law_%28Philippines%29)(http://tinyurl.com/42m
k5ef)

1916 Oct 16, The Philippine Commission was abolished and the Philippine
Legislature was inaugurated. It consisted of the Senate and the House of
Representatives. Native legislators were 1st elected but the US governors general
remained in charge for years.
(www.senate.gov.ph/about/history.asp)(SSFC, 5/11/03, p.D6)

1916 US troops were still fighting skirmishes on some islands of the

Philippines to this time.
(WSJ, 11/19/97, p.A6)

1917 Sep 11, Ferdinand Marcos, Philippines Pres (1965-86), was born.
(MC, 9/11/01)
1920s Jose Garcia Villa was suspended from law school for publishing erotic
poems. A Manila court fined him for obscenity.
(SFC, 2/10/97, p.A20)

1921-1927 General Leonard Wood (b.1860) served a governor-general of the

Philippines.
(www.wood.army.mil/MGLeonardwood.htm)

1926 Jul 26, Philippines government asked the US to plebiscite for

independence.
(MC, 7/26/02)

1927 Jun 26, Direct commercial radio service between the Philippines and the
US was inaugurated with a message from Manila to SF.
(SFC, 6/21/02, p.G2)

1928 Mar 18, Fidel Ramos was born.

(WP, 6/29/96, p.A20)

1928 Aug 31, Jaime Lachica Sin was born on Panay Island. He was one of 16
children and became a cardinal of the Catholic Church in 1976.
(SSFC, 1/28/01, p.A19)

1930 Jose Garcia Villa (1909-1997) won the Philippine Free Press literary
contest for a short story and used the money to go to the US.
(SFC, 2/10/97, p.A20)

1932 Nov 27, Benigno Aquino Jr. (d.1983), Philippine opposition leader; was
born.
(MC, 11/27/01)

1933 Jan 12, US Congress recognized the independence of the Philippines.

(MC, 1/12/02)

1933 Jan 25, Corazon Aquino was born as Corazon Cojuangco. She defeated the
corrupt Ferdinand Marcos to become the President of the Philippines (1986-1992). Her
husband had been killed by Marcos’ gunmen.
(HN, 1/25/99)(www.answers.com/topic/coraz-n-aquino)
1934 May 1, The Philippine legislature accepted a U.S. proposal for
independence.
(HN, 5/1/98)

1934 May 7, World's largest pearl (6.4 kg) was found at Palawan, Philippines.
(MC, 5/7/02)

1935 May 14, A plebiscite in the Philippines ratified a independence

agreement.
(HN, 5/14/98)

1935 Nov 14, Manuel Luis Quezon was sworn in as the first Filipino president,
as the Commonwealth of Philippines was inaugurated. Pres. Roosevelt proclaimed the
Philippine Islands a free commonwealth.
(HN, 11/14/98)(AP, 11/14/97)

1935 Nov 22, Pan Am inaugurated the first transpacific airmail service, San
Francisco to Manila. The Pan Am China Clipper under Captain Ed Musick took off from
Alameda Point bound for the Philippines with 111,000 letters. It was the company's
first trans-Pacific flight. The plane was a 25-ton Martin M-130 flying boat with a
wingspan of 130 feet, and was the largest aircraft in world service.
(HN, 11/22/98)(Ind, 5/1/99, p.5A)(SFEM, 2/13/00, p.35)(NPub, 2002, p.13)

1935 Nov 29, The Pan Am China Clipper under Captain Ed Musick landed in manila
Bay in the Philippines after stops in Hawaii, Midway Island, Wake Island and Guam. It
was the company's first trans-Pacific flight.
(HFA, ‘96, p.18)(HN, 11/22/98)(Ind, 5/1/99, p.5A)(SFEM, 2/13/00, p.35)

1936 Jan 22, In San Francisco 5 Filipino men appeared before a municipal judge
on vagrancy charges and admitted to intermingling with white girls. Police chief
Quinn instructed police officers to take into custody all white girls seen with
Filipinos, together with their escorts.
(SSFC, 1/23/11, DB p.42)

1936 Oct 21, Pan Am inaugurated the first passenger flight from California to
the Philippines with 9 passengers.
(SFEM, 2/13/00, p.37)

1941 Mar 15, Philippine Airlines maid its maiden flight from Manila to Baguio.
 (SFC, 9/24/98, p.A19)

1941 Oct, The US decided to send some of the new Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses
to the Philippines. Unlike the older bombers, it was not feasible to dismantle them
and send them by ship -- so they had to be flown all the way. Aircraft range limits
dictated a roundabout route for the unprecedented flight of distance and scale -- 35
Fortresses were to be sent. Despite many problems they got to Clark Field, only to
have 17 of them destroyed a month and a half later when the Japanese bombed the field
a day after the Pearl Harbor attack.
(HNQ, 1/15/02)

1941 Dec 8, Japan attacked the Philippines. The United States entered World
War II as Congress declared war against Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl
Harbor.
(WUD, 1944, p.1683)(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7) (AP, 12/8/97)

1941 Dec 9, 1st US WW II bombing mission in Far East took place over Luzon,
Philippines.
(MC, 12/9/01)

1941 Dec 10, The US submarine Sealion was sunk in an air attack at Manila Bay.
10 crewman were captured by the Japanese and shipped to work in a Mitsubishi copper
mine in northern Japan.
(SSFC, 6/17/01, Par p.5)
1941 Dec 10, Luzon, Philippines, was occupied by Japanese troops.
(WUD, 1944, p.1683)(HN, 12/10/98)

1941 Dec 12, Buzz Wagner, the first official American ace of World War II,
took off on a lone reconnaissance mission over Aparri, Philippines. Because of
devastating losses by the U.S. fighter force two days earlier, orders had come down
restricting confrontation with enemy fighters if at all possible. His reconnaissance
mission turned into a combat mission when he descended from a patch of clouds and
found himself practically on top of two Japanese destroyers. Spotted and chased by a
pair of Japanese fighters, Wagner eluded the enemy and took out five of 12 enemy
planes. Four days later, Wagner and two associates went into combat over Vigan and
left behind 17 enemy planes destroyed or burning, with an unknown number of Japanese
dead lying on the runway. The mission garnered the most devastating results of the
air war to date.
(HNQ, 5/14/02)
1941 Dec 20, Japanese troops landed on Mindanao.
(MC, 12/20/01)

1941 Dec 22, Japanese troops made an amphibious landing on the coast of
Lingayen Gulf on Luzon, the Philippines.
(HN, 12/22/98)

1941 Dec 26, General Douglas MacArthur declared Manila an open city in the
face of the onrushing Japanese Army.
(HN, 12/26/98)

1941 Dec 27, Japanese bombers attacked Manila, despite its claim as an open
city.
(HN, 12/27/98)

1941 Dec 31, General MacArthur reported that U.S. lines in Manila had been
pushed back by the Japanese.
(HN, 12/31/98)

1942 Jan 2, The Philippine capital of Manila and the US Naval base at Cavite
were captured by Japanese forces.
(AP, 1/2/98)(HN, 1/2/02)

1942 Jan 5, U.S. and Filipino troops completed their withdrawal to a new
defensive line along the base of the Bataan peninsula.
(HN, 1/5/99)

1942 Jan 7, The World War II siege of Bataan began.

(AP, 1/7/98)

1942 Jan 18, General MacArthur repelled the Japanese in Bataan.

(HN, 1/18/99)

1942 Feb 22, President Franklin Roosevelt ordered Gen. Douglas MacArthur to
leave the Philippines.
(HN, 2/22/99)

1942 Mar 11, As Japanese forces continued to advance in the Pacific during
World War II Gen. Douglas MacArthur left Corregidor in the Philippines for Australia.
MacArthur, who subsequently vowed, "I shall return," kept that promise more than 2
1/2 years later. MacArthur relinquished command in the Philippines to Gen’l.
Jonathon Wainwright.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)(AP, 3/11/98)(http://tinyurl.com/736ws)

1942 Apr 3, The Japanese began their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino
troops at Bataan.
(HN, 4/3/99)

1942 Apr 9, In the Battle of Bataan, some 70,000 soldiers gathered at the
bottom of the Bataan peninsula during World War II. American and Philippine defenders
on Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces; the surrender was followed by the notorious
55-mile “Bataan Death March” which claimed nearly 10,000 lives. 12,000 American
soldiers surrendered to the Japanese and some 1000 died on the march. [see Apr 10]
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)(AP, 4/9/97)(HN, 4/9/98)(SSFC, 6/17/01, Par p.4)

1942 Apr 10, The 65-mile Bataan Death March began to a prison camp near
Cabanatuan. The prisoners were forced to march 85 miles in six days with only one
meal of rice during the entire journey. Some 10k-15k soldiers perished on the march.
Bataan is a peninsula of western Luzon in the Philippines. It was surrendered to the
Japanese in this year and retaken by American forces in 1945. [see Apr 9]
(HFA, ‘96, p.28)(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)(SFC, 4/25/97, p.A26)(MC, 4/10/02)

1942 Apr 12, Japan killed about 400 Filipino officers in Bataan.
(MC, 4/12/02)

1942 May 5, The first Japanese soldiers landed on the Philippine island of
Corregidor defended by only 13,000 soldiers under Gen’l. Wainwright. More than 1,000
Americans and Filipinos died in defense of the island.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T7)

1942 May 6, On Corregidor US Gen’l. Jonathan Wainwright surrendered his

forces, some 15,000 Americans and Filipinos, to the Japanese. This began a 3-year
ordeal for 4 doctors as POWs under the Japanese. In 2005 John A. Glusman authored
“Conduct Under Fire,” and account of their survival as POWs.
(AP, 5/6/97)(SSFC, 7/10/05, p.E4)(http://tinyurl.com/736ws)

1942 Jun 16, Lt. Edwin P. Ramsey led the last US cavalry charge at the village
of Morong in the Philippines. His mounted platoon of 27 men routed a force of
hundreds of Japanese soldiers.
(SFEC, 2/23/97, BR p.4)

1942-1945 The US promised over 250,000 Filipino fighters citizenship with full
military benefits during WW II. Shortly after the war the US Congress withdrew this
pledge. Citizenship was granted in 1990 and limited benefits in 1999.
(SFEC,12/14/97, Z1 p.4)(SFC, 3/24/00, p.A6)

1943 Apr, Magdaleno Sanchez Duenas, Philippine guerrilla fighter, (1914-2005)

assisted in the escape of 10 US servicemen from the Davao Penal Colony.
(SSFC, 3/6/05, p.A21)

1944 Mar 30, The U.S. fleet attacked Palau, near the Philippines.
(HN, 3/30/98)

1944 Jun 19, The Battle of the Philippine Sea (Battle of the Marianas), called
the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," began when Japanese naval forces attacked the stronger
U.S. naval forces. 280 Japanese planes were shot down by U.S. carrier- based planes
and anti-aircraft fire from U.S. ships. Americans shoot down 220 Japanese planes
while only losing 20.
(BEP, 1994)(DT, 6/19/97)(HN, 6/19/98)

1944 Sep, The U.S. 1st Marine Division sought to take Peleliu, to protect
General MacArthur's eastern flank as he tried to retake the Philippines, where he had
retreated from in 1942.
(HNQ, 8/29/01)

1944 Oct 19, US forces landed in the Philippines. [see Oct 20]
(MC, 10/19/01)

1944 Oct 20, Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore on A-Day (attack day) at
Leyte in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after he'd said, "I shall return." He landed
with Sergio Osmena, the president-in-exile, and Gen’l. Carlos Romulo, who later
served as foreign minister.
(AP, 10/20/97)(HN, 10/20/98)(SFC, 10/20/04, p.B3)

1944 Oct 21, The 1st Japanese kamikaze attack took place near Leyte Island;
gunners from both the flagship of the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Australia, and HMAS
Shropshire fired at, and reportedly hit, an unidentified Japanese aircraft. The plane
then flew away from the ships, before turning and flying into Australia, striking the
ship's superstructure above the bridge, and spewing burning fuel and debris over a
large area. A 200 kg (440 pound) bomb carried by the plane failed to explode. In 2002
Albert Axell and Hideaki Kase authored "Kamikaze: Japan's Suicide Gods." In 2006
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney authored “Kamikaze Diaries: Reflections of Japanese Student
Soldiers.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamikaze)(Econ, 7/8/06, p.79)

1944 Oct 23, In the Philippines the Battle of Leyte Gulf began. In 1947 C. Van
Woodward authored "The Battle of Leyte Gulf."
(AP, 10/23/97)(SFEC, 12/19/99, p.C14)

1944 Oct 24, The aircraft carrier USS Princeton was sunk by a single Japanese
plane during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
(HN, 10/24/98)(SFC, 6/22/01, p.D5)
1944 Oct 24, US air raid on Japanese battleships and cruisers in Sibuya Sea
sank the 65,000 ton Musashi battleship.
(SFC, 4/2/04, p.B7)

1944 Oct 25, Japanese were defeated in the Straits of Surigao in the Battle of
Leyte Gulf, the world's largest sea engagement. From this point on, the depleted
Japanese Navy increasingly resorted to the suicidal attacks of Kamikaze fighters.
(HN, 10/25/98)(MC, 10/25/01)

1944 Dec 14, The former NYK liner Oryoku Maru left Manila with 1619 American
POWs packed in the holds. U.S. Navy planes from the "Hornet" attacked, causing the
Hell Ship to sink the following day. Only 200 of the men survived.
(Internet)(SSFC, 2/15/04, p.A29)

1944 Dec 15, In the Philippines the opening of the battle for Luzon started
when MacArthur ordered troops ashore on the nearby island of Mindoro.
(HN, 12/15/98)(AP, 12/15/07)

1944 Dec 18, The US Third Fleet encountered a typhoon near the Philippines.
The naval destroyers "Hull," "Spence" & "Monaghan" sank in the typhoon. The storm
killed 778 American sailors. 62 of 264 men on the Hull were rescued. 24 of 340 men on
the Spence were rescued. 6 of 251 men on the Monaghan survived. In 1981 C. Raymond
Calhoun, the captain of the destroyer Dewey, authored “Typhoon: The Other Enemy.”
 (AH, 10/02, p.56, 60)

1945 Jan 9, American forces began landing at Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines,
107 miles from Manila. MacArthur finally mounted his invasion of Luzon.
(HN, 1/9/99)(AP, 1/9/99)

1945 Jan 30, US Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas executed a flawless
rescue of 486 POWs from Camp Cabanatuan north of Manila. In 2001 Hampton Sides
authored “Ghost Soldiers,” an account of the rescue.
(WSJ, 5/24/01, p.A20)(SSFC, 6/17/01, DB p.70)(AH, 2/05, p.16)y

1945 Feb 3, The month-long Battle of Manila began.

(HN, 2/3/99)

1945 Feb 5, US troops under General Douglas MacArthur entered Manila ("I have
returned!").
(MC, 2/5/02)

1945 Feb 6, MacArthur reported the fall of Manila, and the liberation of 5,000
prisoners.
(HN, 2/6/99)

1945 Feb 16, American paratroopers landed on Corregidor during World War II,
in a campaign to liberate the Philippines. The US proceeded to recapture the island
of Corregidor and nearly 6,000 Japanese soldiers leapt to their death off a ridge
rather than face capture and dishonor.
(SFEC, 12/15/96, p.T6)(AP, 2/16/98)(HN, 2/16/98)

1945 Feb 18, U.S. Marines stormed ashore at Iwo Jima.

(HN, 2/18/98)

1945 Feb 19, During World War II, some 30,000 US Marines landed on Iwo Jima,
an 8-sq. mile island of rock, volcanic ash and black sand, where they began a month-
long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces. The 36-day battle
took the lives of 7,000 Americans and about 20,000 of 22,000 Japanese defenders.
(SFC, 6/19/96, p.A20)(SFC, 9/21/00, p.C6)(AP, 2/19/08)

1945 Feb 23, During World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount
Suribachi, where they raised the American flag. Actually, there were two flag-
raisings that day, the second was the one captured in the famous Associated Press
photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal. John Bradley (d.1994), was one of the soldiers who
raised the US flag at Iwo Jima. The carnage on the 8-sq.-mile island continued for
another 31 days. One flag raising was captured by AP photographer Joseph Rosenthal
(1911-2006) and inspired the 1954 sculpture by Felix de Weldon (d.2003) erected in
Washington DC. Sgt. Bill Genaust filmed the event with a 16mm camera and died in
combat 9 days later.
(SFC, 9/21/00, p.C6)(SFC, 6/14/03, p.A21)(SFC, 8/21/06, p.A1)(AP, 2/23/07)

1945 Feb 24, American soldiers liberated the Philippine capital of Manila from
Japanese control during World War II.
(AP, 2/24/98)

1945 Feb 24, U.S. forces liberated prisoners of war in the Los Baños Prison in
the Philippines.
(HN, 2/24/99)

1945 Mar 2, The American flag is raised again over Corregidor, with General
Douglas MacArthur and members of his staff present. MacArthur, commander of U.S. Army
Forces in the Far East, reluctantly fled his headquarters on the rocky Philippine
island of Corregidor in March 1942 as the Japanese closed in. MacArthur praised the
gallant but futile defense of Corregidor as “an inspiration to carry on the struggle
until the Allies should fight their way back” and vowed to return one day. On
February 16, 1945, elements of the U.S. Sixth Army began the assault on Corregidor,
and after furious fighting, MacArthur made good on his promise.
(HN, 3/2/99)

1945 Mar 3, The Allies fully secured the Philippine capital of Manila from
Japanese forces during World War II.
(AP, 3/3/07)

1945 Mar 10, US troops landed on Mindanao.

(MC, 3/10/02)
1945 Mar 10, In the Philippines Pfc. Thomas Eugene Atkins (d. 1999 at 78)
repulsed a Japanese attack while wounded and killed 14 enemy soldiers in northern
Luzon.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.D6)

1945 Mar, Gen'l. Tomoyuki Yamashita retreated with 140,000 soldiers to the
Central Cordillera and Caraballo mountain ranges of northern Luzon island.
(SFC, 9/24/99, p.D6)

1945 Jun 18, Organized Japanese resistance ended on the island of Mindanao,
Philippines.
(HN, 6/18/98)

1945 Jun 28, General Douglas MacArthur announced the end of Japanese
resistance in the Philippines.
(HN, 6/28/98)

1945 Jul 5, US General Douglas MacArthur announced that the liberation of the
Philippines from its Japanese occupiers was complete.
(MC, 7/5/02)

1945 Sep 3, General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Japanese commander of the

Philippines, surrendered to Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright at Baguio.
(HN, 9/3/98)

1945 Filipino New Scouts were inducted into the US Army toward the end of WW
II. On Dec 16, 2003, Pres. Bush signed a measure that made Filipino American veterans
eligible for full Veterans Affair health care. Previous benefits were at half the
rate of US veterans.
(SFC, 12/17/03, p.A2)

1946 Feb 23, Japanese General Tomoyuki Yamashita was hanged in Manila, the
Philippines, after being found guilty by a US military commission of war crimes.
(AH, 2/06, p.15)

1946 Apr 3, Lt. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for
the Bataan Death March, was executed outside Manila in the Philippines.
(AP, 4/3/97)

1946 Jul 4, The Philippines became independent of U.S. sovereignty. The

Philippines, which officially became a territory of the United States in 1902, gained
its independence. In 1932 a movement to implement Philippine independence began to
grow. The Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, providing for independence after 12 years,
was unanimously accepted and a Philippine constitution approved by President
Roosevelt in February 1935. Manuel Quezon was elected the first president of the
Philippines on September 17, 1935. In 1937 a Joint Preparatory Commission on
Philippine Affairs was established by Roosevelt to recommend a program for economic
adjustment. The Republic of the Philippines was inaugurated.
(SFC, 3/31/97, p.A14)(AP, 7/4/97)(HNQ, 11/9/99)

1946 A US Congress Recision Act took away citizenship and benefits promised by
Pres. Roosevelt to Filipinos who had been drafted to fight under Gen. MacArthur. It
was enacted in part because of a $200 million grant to the Philippines following the
war.
(SSFC, 12/30/01, p.A25)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.A15)

1947 Mar 14, The U.S. signed a 99-year lease on naval bases in the
Philippines.
(HN, 3/14/98)

1950s Sarao Motors was begun and later became popular for the manufacture of
the popular jeepney passenger vehicles.
(SFC, 11/22/00, p.A18)

1951 Dec 4, Superheated gases rolled down Mount Catarman (Philippines),

killing 500.
(MC, 12/4/01)

1954 Sep 8, SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization), a sister organization

to NATO, was created under the Manila Pact by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense
Treaty, to stop communist spread in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). The
United States, Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, the Philippines,
Pakistan, and Thailand signed the mutual defense treaty. SEATO dissolved in 1977.
(HNQ, 4/2/01)(http://tinyurl.com/hpawj)

1957 Mar 17, In the Philippines a plane crash on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu killed
Pres. Ramon Magsaysay (b.1907). 25 of the 26 passengers and crew aboard were killed.
(AP, 8/2/10)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Magsaysay)

1957 Jose Cojuangco, the father of Corazon Aquino, promised various Philippine
government agencies that lent him money to buy Hacienda Luisita, a 14,800 acre sugar
plantation, that he would sell much of the land to the peasants who worked it. He
never did so.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.49)
1960 The Rockefeller and Ford foundations joined forces to found the Int’l.
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Losa Banos, Philippines.
(Hem., 12/96, p.82)

1961 In San Francisco Alex Esclamado (1929-2012) founded the Philippine News
out of his Sunset District family home. In 1972 it became a megaphone for the those
opposing the rule of Pres. Marcos. In 1989 Esclamado received the Philippine Legion
of Honor crediting his defense of democracy.
(SFC, 11/16/12, p.C6)

1961-1965 Diosdado Macapagal served as president.

(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A1)

1965 Sep 28, A volcano exploded on Luzon, Philippines; 500 killed.

(MC, 9/28/01)

1965 Nov 12, Ferdinand Marcos was elected president of Philippines.

(MC, 11/12/01)

1965 Dec 17, Ending an election campaign marked by bitterness and violence,
Ferdinand Marcos was declared president of the Philippines.
(HN, 12/17/98)

1965 Dec 30, Ferdinand E. Marcos was sworn in as the Philippine Republic's
sixth president.
(SFC, 8/23/96, p.A26)(HN, 12/30/98)

1965 The Taal Volcano erupted and killed nearly 200 people.
(SFC, 7/31/99, p.A14)

1966 Jul 4, Beatles were attacked in Philippines after insulting Imelda

Marcos.
(Maggio)

1966 The Asian Development Bank, headquartered in the Philippines, was created
to recycle the rich world’s surpluses to capital starved Asia.
(Econ, 5/12/07, p.45)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Development_Bank)
1967 Aug 8, The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was
established in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8
January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Laos and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia
on 30 April 1999.
(www.aseansec.org/64.htm)

1968 Dec 26, The underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) was
formed as a Maoist group. Its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) began waging
guerrilla warfare in 1969.
(SFC, 8/21/01, p.A6)(AP, 12/26/10)

1969 Dec 30, In the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989) won an

unprecedented second term as president.
(http://philippines-archipelago.com/history/marcos_regime.html)

1969 At their peak in 1969, 68,889 combat troops from Australia, New Zealand,
the Republic of Korea, Thailand and the Philippines were deployed in Vietnam.
(HNQ, 4/14/00)

1970 Nov 27, Pope Paul VI, visiting the Philippines, was slightly wounded at
the Manila airport by Benjamin Mendoza, a dagger-wielding Bolivian painter disguised
as a priest.
(AP, 11/27/02)

1971 Jan 24, Pvt. Rogelio Roxas (d.1993), a former Filipino soldier, allegedly
discovered the war treasure of Japanese Gen’l. Tomoyuki Yamashita in caves near
Baguio City. Roxas was arrested on May 18, 1971, and jailed for 5 years. The gold
bullion was reportedly taken away by Pres. Marcos.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A18)(SSFC, 3/4/01,
p.A28)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogelio_Roxas)

1971 Aug 21, There was a grenade attack on a political rally of the opposition
Liberal party. It nearly wiped out the party's senatorial slate running against
Marcos' Nacionalista Party. Marcos blamed the communists, but others believed that
Marcos planned the attack.
(SFC, 3/21/00, p.A23)

1971 Jun, Manuel Elizalde (d.1971), a Filipino official, allegedly found the
Tasaday, a lost Stone Age tribe, on Mindanao Island. Enthusiastic reports led to a
book, ''The Gentle Tasaday: A Stone Age People in the Philippine Rain Forest'' (1975)
by John Nance. Skeptics were dismayed in 1974 when Mr. Elizalde, citing a need to
protect the Tasadays from exploitation and the harmful effects of too much contact
with civilization, blocked any further visits by social scientists.
(SSFC, 6/22/03, p.M1)(http://tinyurl.com/6e97rz)

1972 Sep 21, Ferdinand Marcos (b.1929) signed Proclamation 1081 placing the
Philippines under a state of martial rule, which lasted for the next 14 years.
(www.geocities.com/pinoytv/martiallaw.htm)(http://tinyurl.com/6g67b4)

1972 Dec 7, Imelda Marcos, wife of Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos,

was stabbed and seriously wounded by an assailant who was then shot dead by her
bodyguards.
(AP, 12/7/97)

1972 The conflict between the government and Muslim rebels began. A full-scale
guerrilla war began in which some 120,000 people were killed by 1999.
(WSJ, 6/20/96, p.A1)(WSJ, 6/22/99, p.A19)

1973 Jan 17, A new Philippine constitution came into force.

(www.lawphil.net/consti/cons1973.html)

1974 Mar 9, Officer Hiroo Onoda (d.2014), the last Japanese soldier operating
in the Philippines, surrendered, 29 years after World War II ended. The Japanese
intelligence officer and WWII holdout, came out of hiding in fatigues patched many
times over, on Lubang island in the Philippines on his 52nd birthday.
(www.einsteinsfrig.com/onoda/index.html)(AP, 1/17/14)

1974 Jul 19, In the Philippines a Miss Universe beauty pageant was held and
thousands of squatters around Manila were forcibly moved out of sight. Amparo Munoz
of Spain won.
(SFC, 11/18/96, p.A12)(www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e3Gcv41T7I&feature=related)

1975 Jul 7, Philippines’ President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed Presidential

Decree No. 742 and Letter of Instruction 290 creating Western and Central Mindanao
regions in Mindanao and establishing the Office of the Regional Commissioner in both
regions.
(http://www.armm.gov.ph/armm-history/)
1976 In the Philippines a World Bank Conference was held and thousands of
squatters around Manila were forcibly moved out of sight.
(SFC, 11/18/96, p.A12)(http://tinyurl.com/yv4tka)
1976 In the Philippines the last execution until 1999 was made.
(SFC, 2/6/99, p.A12)
1976 Philippine student Yobie Benjamin was arrested and jailed for helping
lead protests at the Univ. of the Philippines against the dictatorship of Pres.
Ferdinand Marco. Benjamin spent 9 months in jail. He later established himself as an
entrepreneur and created GoodStorm, an e-commerce company, that was sold to
Zazzle.com in 2008. GoodStorm sold products on behalf of nonprofit organizations.
(SSFC, 10/18/09, p.A14)

1977 Mar 25, Philippines’ President Marcos, on March 25, 1977, signed
Presidential Proclamation No. 1628 forming an autonomous region in Southern
Philippines.
(http://www.armm.gov.ph/armm-history/)

1978 In the Philippines Tony Tan Caktiong formed Jollibee after realizing that
customers in his Manila ice cream parlor liked his soy and sugar seasoned burgers
better than his sundaes.
(http://jollibeephilippines.com/15/success-story-of-jollibee-in-the-
philippines/#more-15)

1979 May 3, In the Philippines a UN Conference on Trade and Development opened

as thousands of squatters around Manila were forcibly moved out of sight.
(SFC, 11/18/96, p.A12)(www.lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo1978/eo_497_1978.html)

1979 Jul 25, In the Philippines Batas Pambansa No. 20 was enacted creating the
Regional Autonomous Government in Western and Central Mindanao regions.
(http://www.armm.gov.ph/armm-history/)

1981 Feb 17, Pope John Paul II met with President Marcos in Manila.
(HN, 2/17/98)

1981 Emily Hahn, American writer (1905-1997), wrote: “The Islands: America’s
Imperial Adventures in the Philippines.”
(SFC, 2/19/96, p.A20)
1981 In the Philippines Hashim Salamat founded the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) when he and followers split from the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF).
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moro_Islamic_Liberation_Front)

1981-1989 In the Philippines leaders of the Communist Party and the New People's
Army later acknowledged that a number of rebel commanders killed 600-900 suspected
spies and government informers in the southern Mindanao region during the 1980s. In
2006 soldiers found mass graves in an area called "Garden," a hilly jungle near the
town of Inopacan in Southern Leyte province.
(AP, 8/31/06)

1983 Aug 21, Philippine opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., ending a
self-imposed exile in the United States, was shot dead moments after stepping off a
plane at Manila International Airport. Fabian Ver (d.1998 at 78), leader of the
Philippine army, was among 20 men later charged in the murder of Aquino. Ver fled to
Hawaii in 1986 along with Marcos.
(AP, 8/21/97)

1983 Sep 21, In the Philippines at least 7 people were killed in anti Marcos
demonstrations in Manila.
(http://tinyurl.com/3xjunn)

1983 In the Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos secretly took some $228,000
from the National Food Authority and transferred the money to a private account. In
2010 an anti-graft court ordered his wife, Imelda Marcos, to return the money plus 27
years of interest and $44,000 in damages and litigation costs.
(SSFC, 9/19/10, p.A4)

1984 The volunteer National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel)
was founded by Jose Concepcion with business and church leaders who were disgusted
with the corrupt elections run by the Marcos government.
(SFC, 5/13/98, p.A10)(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.5)

1984 In the Philippines the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was completed at a cost
of $2.3 billion, but remained dormant. In 2011 it was planned to open to tour groups
to teach them about nuclear power.
(AFP, 5/11/11)
1985 Rotary Int’l., a businessman’s club and global charity, following a
successful pilot study in the Philippines announced a plan to eradicate polio by
vaccinating every child under five at risk of catching it.
(Econ, 1/21/12, p.90)

1986 Feb 7, The Philippines held a presidential election marred by charges of

fraud against the incumbent, Ferdinand E. Marcos. Corazon Aquino defeated incumbent
dictator Ferdinand Marcos but fraudulent returns gave the election to Marcos.
(AP, 2/7/06)

1986 Feb 15, The Philippines National Assembly proclaimed Ferdinand E. Marcos
president for another six years, following an election marked by allegations of
fraud. Marcos was later ousted.
(AP, 2/15/06)

1986 Feb 22, In the Philippines a group of military officers mutinied against
Pres. Marcos and holed him up with a small force at a military camp in Manila,
leading to three days of protests by hundreds of thousands of citizens that finally
toppled him. The Catholic Church’s call for civil disobedience helped to overthrow
the dictatorship of Marcos.
(AP, 8/1/09)(Econ, 10/16/10, p.48)

1986 Feb 25, President Ferdinand E. Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years
of rule in the wake of a tainted election. Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency.
Pres. Ferdinand Marcos was forced from office after 20 years of rule. He was accused
of accumulating billions of dollars during his rule. The Marcoses fled to Hawaii and
Imelda Marcos left behind her 5,400 shoes.
(TMC, 1994, p.1986)(SFC, 8/23/96, p.A26)(AP, 2/25/98)

1986 Feb 28, In the Philippines Pres. Corazon Aquino signed executive order
No. 1 creating the Presidential Commission on Good Governance. It was created to
trace and recover assets stolen under the Marcos regime, estimated at up to $10
billion. By 2007 only a quarter of that number was retrieved.
(www.lawphil.net/executive/execord/eo1986/eo_1_1986.html)(Econ, 8/11/07, p.33)

1986 Feb, Eduardo Cojuangco (b.1935), aka Danding and crony capitalist to
Pres. Marcos, fled the Philippines. Cojuango had acquired a controlling stake in San
Miguel beer using public funds deposited in a bank that he controlled. In 1999 Mr.
Cojuango regained his position as head of the board of San Miguel even pending
litigation for 'ill-gotten wealth."
(WSJ, 8/30/99, p.A1,10)(www.asiaweek.com/asiaweek/98/0724/biz3.html)

1986 Nov 13, In the Philippines the body of opposition trade leader union
Rolando Olalia was found in a Manila suburb.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.5)(www.mahk.com/sc1613.htm)

1986 Nov 15, In the Philippines Japanese executive Noboyuki Wakaoji was
kidnapped. He was released after over four months in captivity allegedly after the
payment of a huge ransom. Two gang members wee later convicted sentenced to life
terms. In 2010 Rolando Fajardo, leader of the kidnapping gang, was arrested.
(www.pctc.gov.ph/papers/InternationalTerrorism.htm)(AFP, 11/1/10)

1986 Nov 23, Philippine President Corazon Aquino dismissed defense chief Juan
Ponce Enrile after reported coup attempt.
(AP, 11/23/02)

1986 In the Philippines the People Power Uprising took place on Manila’s main
thoroughfare, later renamed EDSA, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, after one of the
revolution’s heroes.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.4)
1986 In the Philippines the Communist New People’s Army staged Operation
Zombie, a bloody purge of suspected informers. In 2001 some 75 bodies were discovered
in 8 mass graves at Cagayan de Oro.
(SFC, 3/30/01, p.D4)

1987 May 11, Legislative elections in the Philippines gave pro-Aquino

candidates a large majority.
(www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107887.html)

1987 Sep 19, Philippine leftist opposition leader Leandro Alejandro (b.1960)
was murdered.
(SFEC, 7/12/98, Z1 p.5)

1987 Nov 26, Powerful typhoon whipped across Philippines, killing 270 people
and damaging or destroying 14,000 homes.
(AP, 11/26/02)

1987 Dec 20, The Dona Paz, a Philippine passenger ship, collided with the
tanker Vector off Mindoro island, setting off a double explosion. 4,375 people on the
ferry were killed as well as 11 of the tanker's 13-man crew.
(AP, 2/3/06)(Reuters, 8/17/13)

1987 A new constitution for the Philippines was drafted with checks and
balances to prevent a return to strongman rule.
(Econ, 7/3/04, p.20)
1987 The Philippines abolished the death penalty. Capital punishment was
reimposed in 1994 in response to widespread crime.
(SFC, 2/6/99, p.A12)(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A13)
1987 Ben Chan introduced his 1st Bench clothing store in the Philippines. By
2005 it grew to over 300 stores and opened up its 1st US store in Daly City, Ca.
(SFC, 6/4/05, p.C1)
1987 In the Philippines the government seized some 22 billion pesos from
billionaire Lucio Tan alleging in court Tan conspired with Dictator Marcos to acquire
them illegally. On June 13, 2012, an anti-graft court ruled that the seizure, about
$520 million at current exchange rates, was illegal.
(AFP, 6/14/12)

1988 Oct 21, A federal grand jury in New York indicted former Philippine
President Ferdinand E. Marcos and his wife, Imelda, on charges of fraud and
racketeering. Marcos died before he could be brought to trial; his widow, Imelda, was
acquitted in 1990.
(AP, 10/21/98)

1988 Ed Gerlach, American priest, started the Bahay Tuluyan center for street
kids in the Ermita district (a former red-light area) of Manila.
(SFEC, 6/15/97, p.D1)

1988 The Philippine Congress, at the urging of Mrs. Aquino, passed the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), which limited individual landowners to
7 hectares of farmland, but the legislation was filled with loopholes.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.49)

1988 Rogelio Roxas testified that Ferdinand Marcos had used the help of a
Nevada mining engineer to import a smelter to melt down 1,000 tons of gold bullion
and a 3-foot gold statue of Buddha filled with diamonds. The treasure had been
confiscated from all over Asia by the Japanese.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A18)
1988 The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front split and the National Front
formed a separate organization. They signed a unity pact in 2001.
(SFC, 8/8/01, p.A8)

1988-1993 Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law to Osama bin Laden, operated the

Benevolence Int’l. Corp. in Manila.
(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)

1989 Apr 19, Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi financier, was arrested in Switzerland
at the request of the US Government, which is seeking his extradition to New York to
stand trial on charges of racketeering, fraud and obstruction of justice. He faced
charges stemming from ''illegal property dealings'' on behalf of Ferdinand E. Marcos,
the ousted President of the Philippines, and his wife, Imelda. In 1992 Khashoggi and
Imelda Marcos were found not guilty of racketeering by a jury in Manhattan.
(http://tinyurl.com/qp8da)(www.maykuth.com/Archives/marcos90.htm)

1989 Apr 21, In the Philippines there was a communist guerrilla ambush on Col.
James Nicolas Rowe. His car was raked with bullets near his office in the Manila
suburb of Quezon City, killing him and wounding his driver. Donato Continente and co-
defendant Juanito Itaas, who admitted being a member of the communist New People's
Army, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1991. The Supreme Court later
affirmed Itaas' sentence and reduced Continente's to 14 years after establishing he
was an accomplice. Continente was released in 2005.
(AP, 6/28/05)

1989 Sep 28, Deposed Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in
Hawaii at age 72. He was the author of 2 books: "The Law of Human Rights in the
Philippines" and "Democracy in the Philippines." Marcos’ corrupt US backed regime in
the Philippines spanned over twenty years. Corazon Aquino was his successor.
(SFC, 8/23/96, p.A26)(AP, 9/28/97)(SFC, 5/12/97, p.A18)

1990 Feb 17, The first set of Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
officials were elected. Due to electoral protest, the ARMM formally started to
function only on July 9, 1990 following the oath taking of Atty. Zacaria A. Candao as
First Regional Governor of ARMM.
(http://www.armm.gov.ph/armm-history/)

1990 Feb 19, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, snubbed by Philippine President
Corazon Aquino, met in Manila with Defense Minister Fidel Ramos to discuss the future
of U.S. bases in the country.
(AP, 2/19/00)

1990 Jul 16, A 7.7 earthquake in Philippines killed some 5,000 people.
(www.drj.com/drworld/content/w1_116.htm)

1990 US Pres. Bush signed a law granting Filipino fighters of WW II US

citizenship.
(SFEC,12/14/97, Z1 p.1,4)
1990 Stanley Karnow (1925-2013), American journalist, authored “In Our
Image,” a companion to a PBS documentary on the Philippines, which won the Pulitzer
Prize.
(SFC, 1/28/13, p.C4)

1991 Jun 12, The Mount Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines began erupting for
the 1st time in 600 years. [see Jun 15]
(AP, 6/12/01)(HN, 6/12/02)

1991 Jun 15, Mount Pinatubo (4,750 feet high) exploded in a cataclysmic
eruption. Due to early warning 56,000 people were evacuated and only 450 people died.
The eruption forced the closure of Clark Air Force Base in Angeles City and displaced
hundreds of families of the Aeta tribe. [see June 12]
(SSFC, 11/11/01, p.F4)(http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/1997/fs113-97/)

1991 Jun 29, Estrellita Vizconde and her 2 daughters, Carmela (18), and
Jennifer (7), were stabbed to death. Carmela was raped repeatedly and stabbed 17
times. In 2000 eight defendants, all members of rich families, were found guilty and
sentenced to life in prison. Two of the defendants were still at large.
(SFC, 1/7/00, p.D3)

1991 Nov 5, Nearly 7,000 people were killed in floods in the Philippines.
(AP, 11/5/01)

1991 Nov 26, The Stars and Stripes were lowered for the last time at Clark Air
Base in Angeles City, Philippines, as the United States abandoned one of its oldest
and largest overseas installations, which was damaged by a volcano.
(SFEC, 11/17/96, p.A12)(AP, 11/26/01)
1991 Dec 27, The United States and the Philippines announced that the United
States would abandon the Subic Bay naval base by the end of 1992.
(AP, 12/27/01)

1991 Abdujarak Abubakar Janjalani, a Muslim scholar with military training in

Libya, broke with the Moro National Liberation Front and formed “Abu Sayyaf,”
(bearer of the sword). Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law to Osama bin Laden, helped co-
found the Abu Sayyaf and acted as lead adviser to Abdurajak Janjalani, a young
Islamic radical.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A10)(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)

1991 The Abu Sayyaf group bombed a cargo ship in Zamboanga City.
(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)

1992 Jun 30, Fidel Ramos was sworn in as the new president of the Philippines.
Joseph Estrada was elected vice-president with twice as many votes in a separate
race.
(AP, 6/30/97)(SFEC,11/23/97, p.A25)

1992 Nov. 24, The US military closed the Subic Bay Naval Station and left the
Philippines.
(HFA, '96, p.18)(SFEC, 11/17/96, p.A12)

1992 Philippine Airlines was sold to tycoon Lucio Tan, but the government
retained a 20% interest.
(WSJ, 6/9/98, p.A14)

1993 May 25, In the Philippines Rogelio Roxas, a coin-collector and treasure
hunter, died from apparent poisoning as he prepared to leave for a court appearance
in Hawaii. In 1996 a Hawaiian court awarded the Golden Buddha Corp., a consortium
established by Roxas, $22 billion in damages to be collected from the Marcos estate
for the stolen Yamashita treasure.
(SFC, 10/12/97, p.A18)(www.state.hi.us/jud/20606.htm)

1993 Sep 9, Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was buried in his
homeland, four years after his death in exile.
(AP, 9/9/98)

1993 Sep 24, Imelda Marcos, wife of the late Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator
of the Philippines, was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment after being found guilty
on charges of widespread corruption. Imelda was also noted for her vast shoe
collection.
(www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/philipp.htm)

1994 Nov 13, President Clinton, visiting the Philippines, sought to assure
world leaders that his party's severe losses in midterm elections wouldn't undercut
his foreign policy.
(AP, 11/13/99)

1994 Dec 11, A Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo was bombed. A
Japanese passenger was killed and 10 people were injured. Later US prosecutors
accused Ramzi Ahmed Yousef of placing the bomb and of masterminding the 1993 bombing
of the World Trade Center. Yousef denied placing the airline bomb because he was
imprisoned at the time.
(SFC, 5/31/96, A4)

1994 The death penalty was restored due to widespread crime.

(SFC, 1/19/99, p.A7)(SFC, 6/26/99, p.A13)

1994 A federal jury in Hawaii awarded 9,539 victims and heirs $1.2 billion in
“exemplary damages” against the estate of former Philippine Pres. Ferdinand Marcos.
In 1995 the same jury awarded the plaintiffs $766 million for injury compensation. In
1996 an appeals court in San Francisco upheld the verdict. In 1999 a $150 million
settlement was reached with the funds to come from Marcos funds in Swiss banks.
(SFC, 12/18/96, p.C4)(SFC, 2/25/99, p.A12)

1995 Jan 6, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and Abdul Hakim Murad were arrested in Manila,
Philippines, when explosives that they were mixing blew up and alerted the police. In
their apartment were found bomb-making manuals and timers and evidence that they
intended to blow up US jetliners. They were found guilty by a jury in New York on
9/5/96.
(SFC, 9/6/96, p.C5)

1995 Jan 13, Authorities in the Philippines said they had unearthed a
conspiracy by militant Muslims to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his visit.
(AP, 1/13/00)

1995 Jan 14, Pope John Paul II addressed a huge rally in Manila, urging young
people to reject cynicism.
(AP, 1/14/00)

1995 Jan 15, Pope John Paul II celebrated a final Mass during his visit to the
Philippines, drawing millions of people.
(AP, 1/15/00)

1995 Apr, Abu Sayyaf rebels raided the market town of Ipil. The looted banks,
seized dozens of “human shields,” and executed 54 villagers.
(WSJ, 9/25/01, p.A12)

1995 May 21, Larry Lee Hillblom, co-founder and majority shareholder of DHL
Corp., disappeared into the Pacific Ocean in his World War II vintage seaplane. He
was conservatively valued at 500 million and willed most of his estate to a
charitable trust for medical research. $240 million was set aside for medical
research at UCSF. He named the Bank of Saipan as executor but left behind a number of
illegitimate children in the Philippines and the Mariana Islands who are laying claim
to his estate. In 1998 4 children won $90 million settlements each. Later it was
learned that many of his personal effects in Saipan were buried to avoid DNA tests
for paternity confirmation. In 2012 James D. Scurlock authored “The Life and Ruins
of a Billionaire Genius.”
(WSJ, 5/15/96, p.A1,8)(SFEC, 1/11/98, p.A1)(SFEC, 8/16/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 3/20/00,
p.A1)(SSFC, 2/12/12, p.F7)

1995 Nov 3, Typhoon Angela killed at least 500 people in the northern
Philippines and 200 were reported missing. Winds hit the main island of Luzon at 167
mph. Typhoon “Angela” ripped through the Philippines, killing more than 880
people.
(WSJ,11/6/95, p.A-1)(AP, 11/3/00)

1995 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas (Bearer of the Sword in Arabic), a small

fundamentalist splinter group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, massacred 53-54
people at Ipil near Zamboanga del Norte. They were reportedly trained in Libya and
fought in Afghanistan.
(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A11)(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A10)

1995 Tropical storm Zack killed at least 68 people and left thousands
homeless. The storm struck hardest on the islands of Negros and Panay.
(WSJ, 10/30/95, p.A-1)
1995 China seized Mischief Reef, part of the Spratly Islands in the South
China Sea, that were claimed by the Philippines.
(WSJ, 3/5/97, p.A16)(Econ, 3/31/07, SR p.7)

1996 Mar 19, A fire at a Quezon City nightclub in the Philippines killed at
least 149 young people celebrating the end of their school year.
(WSJ, 3/19/96, p.A-1)

1996 Mar (late), In a major mining accident an estimated 3 million tons of

tailings leaked from a drainage tunnel of the Marcopper Mining Corp. and smothered
the Boac River on the island province of Marinduque.
(SFC, 6/2/96, p.A-12)

1996 Jun, Talks opened between the government and Muslim rebels to end the 24-
year conflict that has killed 50,000 people in the southern islands.
(WSJ, 6/20/96, p.A1)

1996 Jun 23, a peace agreement was reached with Muslim rebels. Opponents fear
being under the administration of former rebels.
(SFC, 7/3/96, p.C3)

1996 Jul 28, Typhoon Gloria struck and killed at least 39 people on Luzon and
left 16 missing.
(WSJ, 7/29/96, p.A1)

1996 Aug 10, In the Philippines Mount Canlaon erupted and killed 3 climbers.
The mountain is one of 21 active volcanoes in the Philippines.
(SFC, 8/12/96, p.C1)

1996 Sep 2, In the Philippines an accord was signed between pres. Ramos and
Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebel leader Nur Misuari to end a 24-26 year
Muslim rebellion during which some 120,000 people were killed. Many Muslim rebels of
the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continued to fight.
(WSJ, 8/20/96, p.A1)(SFC, 8/20/96, p.A9)(SFC, 9/2/96, p.A12)(AP, 9/2/97)
(SFEM,12/21/97, p.23)(WSJ, 6/22/99, p.A19)

1996 Sep 24, About 3,000 slum dwellers marched to the Presidential Palace in
Manila to denounce the demolition of their homes. Wrecking crews have destroyed about
3,000 shanties with 13,000 more scheduled for destruction before the Asia Pacific
Economic Conference on Nov 24.
(SFC, 9/25/96, p.A10)

1996 Nov 15, Tropical storm Ernie ravaged 14 provinces and killed 16 people.
(SFC, 11/16/96, p.E4)

1996 Nov 20-1996 Nov 25, In the Philippines the summit of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) was to be held in Manila. APEC has 18 member
countries and its goal is to remove all trade barriers by 2020.
(SFC, 11/18/96, p.A12)(SFC, 11/23/96, p.A8)

1997 Feb 3, In the Philippines Roman Catholic Bishop Benjamin de Jesus was
shot to death in the city of Cotaboto on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 2/4/97, p.A9)

1997 Apr 25, A fire at the New Imperial Hotel in Cotabato City killed at least
24 people and scores were injured.
(SFC, 4/26/97, p.A12)

1997 May 15, Pres. Fidel Ramos visited California and planned to announce a
pact with Oracle Corp. to wire the country for long-distance phone service.
(SFC, 5/15/97, p.A21)

1997 May 31, From the Philippines it was reported that torrential rains from
Tropical Storm Levi killed at least 53 people.
(SFC, 5/31/97, p.A17)
1997 May 31, The 7-member ASEAN alliance, Association of Southeast Asian
Nations, met in Kuala Lumpur and agreed to allow Burma to become a member in July.
Laos and Cambodia were also to be admitted. The members were Thailand, Singapore, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam.
(SFEC, 6/1/97, p.D3)

1997 Jul 18, In the Philippines the government signed a general cease-fire
with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's 2nd largest Muslim rebel group.
(SFC, 7/19/97, p.A11)

1997 Jul, A $1.1 billion bailout package was arranged. The government was
obliged to raise interest rates and run a budget surplus.
 (SFC, 1/8/98, p.A7)

1997 Sep 13, In the Philippines the Mount Pinukis volcano, 120 miles east of
Zamboanga City, erupted after being dormant since 1985.
(SFC, 9/13/97, p.A20)

1997 Sep 20, Pres. Ramos announced that he would not run for re-election. A
mass protest was staged the next day anyway to prevent a change in the constitution
that would allow a 2nd term.
(SFEC, 9/21/97, p.A1)

1997 Oct 20, Typhoon Ivan with 93 mph winds plowed into the northeastern
Philippines.
(SFC,10/21/97, p.A13)

1997 Dec 12, In Switzerland the high court told Swiss banks to send some $500
million in assets of the late Ferdinand Marcos back to the Philippines.
(SFC,12/13/97, p.A14)

1998 Feb 2, In the Philippines a Cebu Pacific Air DC-9 crashed on Mount
Sumagaya as it approached for landing at Cagayan de Oro. 104 people were onboard.
Rescuers reached the wreckage the next day but found no survivors.
(SFC, 2/3/98, p.A6)(SFC, 2/4/98, p.C3)

1998 Feb 6, Mayor Brown of SF left for Manila and was expected to sign
agreements with Mayor Alfredo Lim for workshops on AIDS, student exchange programs,
and other deals, and celebrate 100 years of Philippine independence. Mayor Brown was
to continue on to Hanoi.
(SFC, 2/5/98, p.A18)

1998 Mar 22, A Philippine jetliner overshot its runway on landing and hit a
row of houses and a disco in Bacolod. 3 people were killed and a hundred injured.
(WSJ, 3/23/98, p.A1)

1998 Mar 26, Imelda Marcos claimed to have $800 million in foreign banks and
promised to give it all to the poor if she is elected in May.
(SFC, 3/27/98, p.A14)

1998 Apr 29, Imelda Marco withdrew from the presidential race.
 (SFC, 4/30/98, p.A8)

1998 May 11, Elections for a new president were held. Joseph Ejercito Estrada,
a former actor known as "Erap" (a Tagalog word for buddy), led the polls. He was
opposed by business groups and the Catholic Church. Estrada was declared the winner
on May 29.
(SFC, 5/11/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 5/12/98, p.A1)(SFC, 5/30/98, p.A10)(SFC, 7/6/99, p.A1)

1998 May 16, In the Philippines a fire at the Lung Center of the Philippines,
in a suburb of Manila, killed at least 8 people and another 14 were presumed dead.
(SFC, 5/16/98, p.A11)

1998 Jun 6, A strike by Philippine Airline workers abruptly grounded all

flights.
(SFC, 6/8/98, p.A17)

1998 Jun 30, Joseph Estrada took his oath of office as the nation’s 13th
president.
(SFC, 6/30/98, p.A10)

1998 Jul 5, Pres. Estrada announced that a yacht would be equipped as an

office to allow him to spend months in the central Visayas and Mindanao regions.
(SFC, 7/6/98, p.A9)

1998 Sep 18, In the Philippines the Princess of the Orient passenger ship sank
south of Manila near Fortune Island with 443 people on board. There were 311
confirmed survivors. The sinking was blamed on a shift in cargo in heavy seas. Rescue
efforts continued off the Philippines for the Princess of the Orient, a ferry which
had sunk in a storm, leaving at least 70 people dead and 80 others missing.
(SFC, 9/19/98, p.A14)(SFEC, 9/20/98, p.A19)(WSJ, 9/21/98, p.A1)(AP, 9/18/08)

1998 Sep 23, Philippine Airlines (b.1941) cancelled its last flight from San
Francisco and shut down operations due to financial problems. On Sep 28 Pres. Estrada
announced that the airline could reopen following a management agreement with its
largest union for a proposed rehabilitation plan.
(SFC, 9/24/98, p.A19)(SFC, 9/29/98, p.D1)

1998 Oct 14, In the Philippines Typhoon Zeb killed 21 people and forced some
31,000 from their homes. The death toll went up to 74.
 (SFC, 10/15/98, p.C4)(WSJ, 10/19/98, p.A1)(SFC, 10/22/98, p.C5)

1998 Oct 21, Typhoon Babs killed 4 people in the central Philippines. Another
11 were killed on the southern tip of Luzon. A total of 163 people were killed
including 71 from landslides on Catanduanes Island.
(SFC, 10/22/98, p.C5)(WSJ, 10/23/98, p.A1)(SFC, 10/24/98, p.A12)(SFEC, 10/25/98,
p.A20)(SFC, 10/26/98, p.A7)(SFC, 10/31/98, p.A8)

1998 Dec 3, In the Philippines a fire burned the Catholic Bahay Kalinga
orphanage in Manila and at least 28 people were killed including 23 children.
(SFC, 12/3/98, p.A21)(WSJ, 12/4/98, p.A1)

1998 The film Milagros was written by Manila playwright Rolando S. Tinio and
directed by Marilou Diaz-Abaya. It was about a stripper forced to face family issues
after her father dies.
(SFC, 5/20/98, p.E3)

1998 Abdujarak Abubakar Janjalani, founder of the Abu Sayyaf rebel group, was
killed by police in Mindanao. The group’s leadership passed to his brother, Khadaffy
Janjalani.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A10)(WSJ, 9/11/00, p.A30)

1999 Jan 2, In the Philippines rebels lobbed a grenade into a crowd watching
firemen fight a fire on Jolo Island and at least 10 people were killed and 74
injured. The Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were believed to be responsible.
(SFC, 1/4/99, p.A22)(WSJ, 1/4/99, p.A1)

1999 Feb 4, Philippine Pres. Estrada signed a document as “Jose Velarde” to

withdraw $10 million from an undeclared account. In 2000 Clarissa Ocampo, vice
president of Equitable Bank, testified to the false papers before an impeachment
court.
(SFC, 12/23/00, p.A12)
1999 Feb 4, Leo Echegaray, a house painter convicted of raping his 10-year
stepdaughter, was executed by lethal injection. It was the first execution there in
23 years.
(SFC, 2/5/99, p.A15)

1999 Feb 17, In the Philippines Brigadier Gen'l. Victor Obillo was kidnapped
by rebels of the New People's Army in the Baguio district of Davao City.
 (SFC, 2/18/99, p.A12)

1999 Feb, Some 60 people died in skirmishes between the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), led by Hashim Salamat, and the army. Guerrilla resistance
was based on Mindanao and called for independence.
(WSJ, 6/22/99, p.A19)

1999 Apr 22, A mudslide in Compostela Valley province left at least 14 people
dead in the village of Diwalwal.
(SFC, 4/24/99, p.A8)

1999 May 27, The Philippine Senate ratified an accord with the US for joint
military exercises.
(SFC, 5/28/99, p.D3)

1999 May 28, It was reported that an estimated 20,000 Ibaloi people on Luzon
Island were in the way of a new $1.2 billion San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam Project on
the Agno River.
(SFC, 5/28/99, p.A12)

1999 Jun 7, Elections were set for this date.

(WSJ, 12/3/98, p.A1)

1999 Jul 25, Raul Manglapus, former foreign secretary, writer, playwright,
linguist and musician, died at age 80.
(SFC, 7/27/99, p.A17)

1999 Aug 3, Three days of rain in the Manila area left 33 dead. At least 49
others died since the rains began on Aug 1.
(SFC, 8/4/99, p.A8)(SFC, 8/5/99, p.A12)

1999 Aug 12, In the Philippines a big explosion killed at least 7 people in
Manila and damaged the headquarters of the National Bureau of Investigation. Police
later blamed the explosion on dynamite that had been seized as evidence.
(WSJ, 8/13/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/14/99, p.12)(WSJ, 8/23/99, p.A1)

1999 Aug 20, In Manila some 150,000 people protested economic changes in the
constitution proposed by Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 8/21/99, p.A11)
1999 Sep, Ford Motor Co, planned to begin operating a $110 million car-
assembly plant in Laguna, 25 miles south of Manila.
(WSJ, 4/10/98, p.A9)

1999 Oct 6, Government officials and Muslim separatists agreed to halt a

series of deadly clashes in at least 2 southern provinces, Maguindanao and Sultan
Kudarat, and to start formal peace talks.
(SFC, 10/7/99, p.C2)

1999 Oct 7, In the Philippines Typhoon Dan left at least 7 people dead and
thousands of homes flooded. This was the 13th typhoon to hit the Philippines this
year.
(SFC, 10/8/99, p.A14)

1999 Nov 14, In the Philippines Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels clashed
with soldiers on Mindanao and 2 people were killed in Tibao.
(SFC, 11/15/99, p.A19)

1999 Nov 18, In the southern Philippines fighting between government troops
and separatist rebels left at least 32 dead.
(SFC, 11/19/99, p.D2)

1999 Nov 27, In the Philippines the 10-nation ASEAN summit opened.
(SFEC, 11/28/99, p.A10)

1999 Nov 28, ASEAN leaders in the Philippines agreed to increase cooperation
with Japan, China and South Korea in an "East Asia Forum" known as ASEAN+3 and to
move toward a common market.
(SFC, 11/29/99, p.A14)

1999 Nov 28, N.V.M. Gonzalez, Philippine author and retired Cal. State Prof at
Hayward, died in Manila at age 84. His novels included "The Winds of April" (1941),
"The Bamboo Dancers," and "A Season of Grace."
(SFC, 12/14/99, p.B4)

1999 Dec 12-1999 Dec 17, A 6.8 earthquake hit the Philippines at Luzon and at
least 5 people were killed. A 4.8 earthquake struck Leyte province. In Manila a power
outage was caused by jellyfish sucked into water intakes of power plants. The jelly
fish pulled from cooling pumps filled 50 dump trucks.
(SFC, 12/18/99, p.A28)

1999 Dec 22, In the Philippines the MV Asia South Korea ferry with 606
passengers sank southeast of Manila near Bantayan Island and at least 9 people were
killed. 58 people were missing.
(SFC, 12/23/99, p.C7)(SFC, 12/24/99, p.A11)

1999 In the Philippines residents were scheduled to move into the Smoky
Mountain housing project, built over the accumulation of 50 years of Manila's waste.
R-II Builders constructed an elaborate ventilation system to divert methane from the
project. The project was built for the 10,000 scavengers who once lived and worked in
the area.
(WSJ, 8/5/99, p.A1)
1999 In the Philippines Pres. Estrada suspended an air-rights pact with
Taiwan. The deal helped his friend Mr. Tan, the majority owner of Philippine
Airlines. The rest of the country suffered due to indirect routes to Taiwan.
(WSJ, 9/20/00, p.A6)
1999 In the Philippines Pres. Estrada pocketed a $3.7 million commission from
a state pension investment brokered by Jaime Dichaves.
(SFC, 1/8/02, p.A7)
1999 The Philippines enacted the Visiting Forces Agreement to let American
soldiers back into the country following the closures at Subic Bay and Clark Field.
(WSJ, 11/22/05, p.A13)
1999 The Philippines scuttled the Sierra Madre, a ship built by America during
WWII, in the Second Thomas shoal, an area know in the Philippines as Ayungin and in
China as Ren’ai.
(Econ, 3/22/14, p.46)

2000 Feb 20, 2nd round talks between the government and MILF separatists were
cancelled. Government troops had earlier begun a major offensive and captured a
section of Camp Omar in Maguindanao. Sporadic clashes ensued and dozens of people
were killed.
(SFC, 2/21/00, p.A14)

2000 Feb 24, In the Philippines the Mayon volcano erupted on Luzon.
(SFC, 2/25/00, p.A16)

2000 Feb 26, In the southern Philippines a series of bombings aboard Super
Five Express Buses left 41 people dead and 45 injured. Muslim separatist rebels were
suspected.
(SFEC, 2/27/00, p.A29)

2000 Mar 2, In the Philippines some 40 rebels of the New People's Army killed
10 soldiers at Balilihan in Bohol province.
(SFC, 3/3/00, p.D4)

2000 Mar 16, In the Philippines at least 23 people were killed in clashes
between rebels and army troops in Lanao del Norte province.
(SFC, 3/18/00, p.C16)

2000 Mar 20, The Abu Sayyaf Muslim rebel group seized over 50 hostages from 2
schools in Basilan province. Most of the hostages were children. 2 teachers were
released for ransom on July 21.
(SFC, 4/18/00, p.A10)(SFC, 7/22/00, p.C1)

2000 Apr 8, Fighting erupted on Mindanao when the army launched an offensive
to dislodge rebels from 5 towns in Lanao del Norte province.
(SFEC, 4/23/00, p.T9)

2000 Apr 10, In the Philippines government troops attacked Camp Bilai, a
Muslim rebel camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. A number of guerrillas were
killed. 278 rebels and 18 soldiers had died in clashes over the last month.
(SFC, 4/11/00, p.D4)

2000 Apr 12, In the Philippines the Arlahada ferryboat capsized after leaving
Jolo and at least 56 people died. Another 100 were missing and feared dead. The death
toll later rose to 133.
(SFC, 4/13/00, p.A16)(WSJ, 4/17/00, p.A1)

2000 Apr 16, In the Philippines at least 4 people were killed when gunmen
threw a grenade at police near a crowded church following a mall robbery.
(WSJ, 4/17/00, p.A1)

2000 Apr 17, Abu Sayyaf rebels on Basilan Island threatened to kidnap and kill
Americans if the US does not release the men convicted for bombing the World Trade
Center in New York.
(SFEC, 4/23/00, p.T9)
2000 Apr 19, An Air Philippines Boeing 737-200 jet crashed and all 131 people
aboard were killed on Samal Island following an attempted landing at Davao City. It
was the worst air crash in Philippine history
(SFC, 4/19/00, p.A1)(AP, 4/19/01)

2000 Apr 22, Some 1500 government troops launched a rescue operation on
Basilan Island to free the hostages seized on Mar 20.
(SFC, 4/29/00, p.A12)

2000 Apr 23, Philippine gunmen abducted 20-21 people from a Malaysian resort
on Sipadan Island. Islamic insurgents took credit for the attack. They later freed 2
hostages and demanded $2.4 million in ransom for 19 captives. 6 were released for
hundreds of thousands in ransom on July 21. [see Aug 27]
(SFC, 4/25/00, p.A10)(WSJ, 4/27/00, p.A1)(SFC, 7/15/00, p.A13)(SFC, 7/22/00,
p.C1)

2000 Apr 28, On Basilan Island government troops gained control of the rebel
stronghold after week of fighting that left 6 soldiers were dead and 32 wounded. No
hostages were recovered.
(SFC, 4/29/00, p.A12)

2000 Apr 29, Fighting on Basilan Island left 4 soldiers dead and 27 wounded.
On Sulu Island kidnappers made a written demands that included the return of barter
trade to the southern Philippines, a ban on large fishing boats to protect local
fishermen, and full implementation of a 1976 agreement that called for a 13-province
Muslim autonomous region.
(SFEC, 4/30/00, p.C14)

2000 May 2, Rebels at Talipao threatened to behead 2 hostages if military

troops were not pulled back.
(SFC, 5/3/00, p.A12)

2000 May 3, In the southern Philippines 2 hostages died as the military

clashed with rebels under Commander Robot (Ghalib Andang) at Talipao. On Basilan
Island 15 hostages, 9 children and 6 teachers, were rescued and 4 were killed when
government troops engaged the rebels. At Zamboanga, Mindanao, the MILF took some 100
hostages and at least 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 5/3/00, p.A12)(SFC, 5/4/00, p.A16)(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A14)
2000 May 4, The e-mail virus “I Love You” bug hit millions of computers
around the world. It was considered the most virulent, most damaging ($2.6 bil), most
costly and most rapidly spread virus to date. In Manila Onel de Guzman, a former
computing student, was later released with all charges dismissed due to lack of
evidence.
(SFC, 5/5/00, p.A1)(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A1)(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A11)

2000 May 5, In The Philippines the government and the MILF agreed to a 48-hour
cease-fire on Mindanao.
(SFC, 5/6/00, p.A11)

2000 May 7, In the Philippines 13 soldiers and 3 rebels were killed in a clash
on Basilan Island.
(SFC, 5/8/00, p.A13)

2000 May 8, Investigators arrested a Manila bank employee, Reomel Ramones,

suspected in the creation of the “Love Bug” computer virus.
(SFC, 5/9/00, p.A1)

2000 May 9, Reomel Ramones, suspect in the “Love Bug” computer virus case,
was released due to lack of evidence. His girlfriend, Irene de Guzman, failed to turn
herself in as promised.
(SFC, 5/10/00, p.A2)

2000 May 17, Islamic rebels asked for $2 million for the freedom of ailing
German hostage Renate Wallert. They also issued written conditions that included the
creation of an independent Islamic state and a global probe into the plight of the
Muslim minority.
(SFC, 5/18/00, p.A11)(WSJ, 5/18/00, p.A1)

2000 May 21, In the Philippines soldiers rescued 2 children held by hostages
on Basilan. 7 hostages still remained with Muslim rebels.
(SFC, 5/22/00, p.A11)

2000 May 28, Muslim guerrillas staged 3 attacks and killed at least 15 people
including 12 civilians in the southern Philippines. Separately 26 people were
arrested on suspicion of involvement in the recent Manila bombings.
(SFC, 5/29/00, p.A14)
2000 Jun 2, Over 30 Moro rebels were killed along with one government soldier
in North Cotabato province.
(SFC, 6/3/00, p.A12)

2000 Jun 23, The military captured Camp Rajamuda, a guerrilla stronghold in
Maguindanao and North Cotabato provinces. The weeklong operation left 4 guerrillas
and one soldier dead.
(SFC, 6/24/00, p.A13)

2000 Jun 28, In the Philippines Communist guerrillas killed 12 soldiers and an
army brigade commander in the town of Jones in northern Isabela province.
(SFC, 6/29/00, p.C6)

2000 Jul 5, In the Philippines the army carried out a large offensive against
Muslim separatists and bombarded the 25,000-acre Camp Abubakar on southern Mindanao.
(SFC, 7/6/00, p.A13)

2000 Jul 7, Typhoon Kai Tak killed at least 39 people in the Philippines and
moved on to Japan.
(SFC, 7/8/00, p.A11)(WSJ, 7/10/00, p.A1)

2000 Jul 9, Government troops captured the headquarters of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front at Camp Abubakar in Maguindanao province.
(SFC, 7/10/00, p.A10)

2000 Jul 10, In the Philippines a
suburb, collapsed and burst into flames.
Lupang Pangako shantytown at the Payatas
200 were feared to have died.
(SFC, 7/11/00, p.A14)(WSJ, 7/111/00,
p.C4)(SFC, 7/15/00, p.A24)
garbage dump in Quezon City, a Manila
At least 124 people were killed in the
dump. The camp was called the Promised Land.
p.A1)(SFC, 7/12/00, p.A10)(SFC, 7/13/00,

2000 Jul 22, Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines ambushed a truck
carrying workers for Maranao Planters and killed 13 people, including 3 women and a
2-year-old boy. 14 were wounded.
(SFC, 7/24/00, p.A16)

2000 Aug 18, Three Malaysians were released by Abu Sayyaf rebels.
 (WSJ, 8/21/00, p.A12)

2000 Aug 21, In the Philippines rebels killed 17 army soldiers in Negros
Occidental province.
(SFC, 8/22/00, p.A12)

2000 Aug 24, Police found the bodies of 5 truck drivers kidnapped 2 days
earlier in Maguindanao province.
(SFC, 8/25/00, p.D8)

2000 Aug 27, Kidnappers in the southern Philippines released 6 foreign

hostages for a reported $5 million in ransom. The 5 were part of a group of 21
kidnapped on Apr 23.
(SFC, 8/28/00, p.A11)

2000 Aug 28, Abu Sayyaf guerrillas abducted Jeffrey Schilling (24), their
first American hostage.
(SFC, 8/30/00, p.A1)

2000 Sep 1, Abu Sayyaf rebels demanded $10 million for the release of Jeffrey
Schilling and later said that Schilling had begun a hunger strike.
(SFC, 9/2/00, p.A12)

2000 Sep 8, Abu Sayyaf rebels freed 4 more hostages held since April 23. Libya
paid a reported $1 million per hostage. The hostages later reported that rebels had
raped female hostages.
(SFC, 9/9/00, p.A10)(SFEC, 9/10/00, p.C15)(SFC, 9/11/00, p.A14)

2000 Sep 10, In Malaysia Abu Sayyaf rebels kidnapped 3 men from Pandanan
Island off Borneo and took them to Jolo island in the Philippines.
(WSJ, 9/12/00, p.A1)

2000 Sep 14, Guerrillas bombed 3 gas stations and lawmakers planned to undo
economic reforms and nationalize oil imports to cut soaring fuel costs.
(WSJ, 9/15/00, p.A1)

2000 Sep 16, The military under orders from Pres. Estrada staged a surprise
attack on Abu Sayyaf rebels on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 9/16/00, p.A1)(SFEC, 9/17/00, p.A2)
2000 Sep 17, Military forces said 6 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas were killed and 20
arrested. The pursuit continued.
(SFC, 9/18/00, p.A8)

2000 Sep 19, A government court ruled that nearly $627 million in Swiss bank
deposits belonging to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos should go to the government.
(SFC, 9/20/00, p.A14)

2000 Sep 20, Two French television journalists were rescued from Abu Sayyaf
rebels. 7 rebels were reported killed and 20 captured after 5 days of fighting.
(SFC, 9/20/00, p.A14)

2000 Sep 25, It was reported that at least 3 civilians had been accidentally
killed by soldiers in pursuit of Abu Sayyaf rebels. Some 14,000 people were forced to
flee their homes.
(SFC, 9/25/00, p.A16)

2000 Sep 26, In the Philippines the Supreme Court announced an 18-month
sentence for Tommy Suharto for corruption.
(SFC, 9/27/00, p.A15)

2000 Sep 26, Philippine Abu Sayyaf rebels claimed to have escaped from Jolo
Island.
(SFC, 9/27/00, p.A15)

2000 Sep 27, In the Philippines 10 people died after some 50 rebels of the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front attacked farmers and soldiers in Carmen village, North
Cotabato province.
(SFC, 9/29/00, p.D2)

2000 Sep 27, Jolo Island villagers in Lapu dumped 3 Abu Sayyaf rebel bodies at
a police station. 3 villagers were also killed in the fight with rebels.
(SFC, 9/28/00, p.C2)

2000 Oct 2, On Jolo Island soldiers freed 12 Christian evangelists from Abu
Sayyaf rebels after one escaped and alerted the military. The guerrillas escaped with
5 remaining hostages.
(SFC, 10/3/00, p.A8)
2000 Oct 5, Pres Estrada presided over the surrender of 600 Muslim rebels.
(WSJ, 10/6/00, p.A1)

2000 Oct 9, Philippines Gov. Luis Singson of Ilocos Sur province charged that
Pres. Estrada received over $11 million in payoffs, mostly from illegal gambling.
(SFC, 10/10/00, p.A13)

2000 Oct 10, Military officials said 15 Abu Sayyaf rebels surrendered in
Talipao town on Jolo Island. 129 guerrillas were reported killed and 53 captured
during the recent assault on Jolo.
(SFC, 10/11/00, p.A4)

2000 Oct 14, Philippine troops arrested 36 suspected supporters of Abu Sayyaf
rebels and 6 others surrendered on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 10/16/00, p.F8)

2000 Oct 18, In the Philippines opposition legislators filed a resolution for
the impeachment of Pres. Estrada for taking bribes. Some 15,000 people massed in
Manila and called for Estrada’s resignation.
(SFC, 10/19/00, p.A17)

2000 Oct 19, In the Philippines at least 9 people were reported killed and 11
wounded in several attacks by the MILF.
(SFC, 10/20/00, p.D8)

2000 Oct 24, A rebel commander and 18 followers surrendered on Jolo Island.
(SFC, 10/25/00, p.A16)

2000 Oct 25, Three Malaysian hostages held by rebels were rescued on Jolo
Island.
(SFC, 10/25/00, p.A16)(SFC, 10/26/00, p.D8)

2000 Oct 29, In the Philippines Typhoon Xangsane left 14 dead on Luzon and
moved toward China.
(WSJ, 10/30/00, p.A1)

2000 Nov 2, Pres. Estrada offered to let voters decide his future in a
referendum as more members of his cabinet resigned.
 (SFC, 11/3/00, p.A18)

2000 Nov 4, Tens of thousands rallied in Manila for Pres. Estrada to resign.
(SFEC, 11/5/00, p.A1)

2000 Nov 9, Perfecto Yasay, the former SEC Chairman, charged that Pres.
Estrada forced him to resign. Yasay had accused the president of attempting to
influence an investigation of an Estrada friend. Yasay had also tried to block the
sale of a controlling stake in Philippine Long Distance Telephone for which Estrada
received a $20 million kickback.
(SFC, 11/10/00, p.D2)

2000 Nov 10, A landslide buried 11 children in Kabugao, Apayao province.

(SFC, 11/11/00, p.C18)

2000 Nov 13, The House of Representatives approved an impeachment trial to

address corruption charges against Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 11/14/00, p.A1)

2000 Nov 14, Some 20,000 marched in Manila for the ouster of Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 11/15/00, p.A12)

2000 Nov 20, Senators presented Pres. Estrada a 270-page articles of

impeachment for corruption and constitutional violations.
(SFC, 11/21/00, p.A12)

2000 Nov 24, In the Philippines Salvador "Bubby" Dacer, a publicist who
represented top political figures, was kidnapped and later killed along with his
driver. Police boss Sen. Panfilo Lacson was later linked to the killing. In 2009
Cesar Mancao, a former senior Philippine police official accused of the double
homicide, was extradited from the US after agreeing to testify in the case.
(AP, 6/4/09)(http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/3133909)

2000 Nov 25, Military troops retook Camp Bushra in Lanao del Sur province and
reported 10 rebels killed. The rebels reported 22 military casualties.
(SFC, 11/27/00, p.A8)

2000 Nov 28, At least 8 people were killed when government forces clashed with
a group that abducted Marilyn Tiu, the wife of a businessman in Zamboanga del Sur
province.
(SFC, 11/30/00, p.C7)

2000 Dec 9, It was reported that Tropical Storm Rumbia had killed at least 29
people in the Philippines.
(SFC, 12/9/00, p.D8)

2000 Dec 10, Pres. Estrada announced that he would order the commutation of
all death sentences to life imprisonment.
(SFC, 12/11/00, p.F8)

2000 Dec 14, In the southern Philippines Muslim extremists killed 3 passengers
on a motorcycle taxi.
(SSFC, 12/17/00, p.D11)

2000 Dec 30, In the Philippines 5 bomb blasts hit Manila and at least 22
people were killed. Muslim rebels were blamed. One of bombs was on a train and killed
at least 13. Police arrested 17 men on Jan 4. 7 Muslim guerrillas were indicted
including Salamat Hashim, chairman of the Moro Liberation Front. The Jemaah
Islamiyah, an militant group linked to al Qaeda, was involved in the train bombing.
In 2009 three men, including one of the Philippines' top terror suspects, were
sentenced to life in prison for one of the bombings that killed 11 people. The
attacks revealed close coordination among militants across the region.
(SFC, 12/30/00, p.A1)(SFC, 12/31/00, p.A1)(SFC, 1/5/01, p.D3)(SFC, 1/9/01,
p.A15)(WSJ, 8/13/02, p.A14)(AP, 1/23/09)

2001 Jan 15, In the Philippines flooding of the Balugo River and tributaries
drove some 12,000 people from their homes.
(SFC, 1/16/01, p.A10)

2001 Jan 16, The prosecution against Pres. Estrada quit after the Senate voted
to deny access to crucial evidence.
(SFC, 1/17/01, p.A10)

2001 Jan 20, Pres. Estrada stepped down as tens of thousands, united by cell
phone messages, marched on his residence. Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
(53), daughter of former pres. Diosdado Macapagal, took over power.
(SFC, 1/20/01, p.A1,12)
2001 Jan 26, Pres. Arroyo forced her Cabinet ministers to sign an 8-point
“covenant” that included pledges to show “respect for others,” live a simple
lifestyle and focus on the poor.
(SFC, 1/27/01, p.A14)

2001 Feb 6, Pres. Arroyo named Sen. Teofisto Guingona as her vice president.
Former pres. Estrada filed a suit disputing the legal basis for Arroyo’s presidency.
(SFC, 2/7/01, p.A12)

2001 Feb 7, Citizens filed a lawsuit against former Pres. Estrada to seize
some $400 million in unexplained wealth and give it to the government.
(SFC, 2/8/01, p.C3)

2001 Feb 19, Pres. Arroyo announced a cease-fire with southern separatists.
She hoped Mindanao rebels would reciprocate. Separately 10 people drowned and a dozen
were missing when their illegal ferry capsized as they tried to reach Malaysia for
work.
(SFC, 2/20/01, p.A9)

2001 Mar 2, The Supreme Court affirmed the legitimacy of Pres. Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo and denied immunity to former Pres. Estrada.
(SFC, 3/3/01, p.A12)

2001 Mar 15, Ten police officers were sentenced to death for accepting $13,265
in bribes from alleged drug dealers in 1999.
(SFC, 3/16/01, p.A16)

2001 Apr 5, Former Pres. Estrada was indicted for allegedly pocketing $82
million in kickbacks and payoffs over his 2 ½ years in office.
(SFC, 4/6/01, p.D6)

2001 Apr 7, Manila went dark for 14 hours when a transmission line overloaded
and cut power to 35 million people.
(WSJ, 4/9/01, p.A1)

2001 Apr 12, Government troops raided the Abu Sayyaf rebel camp on Jolo Island
and freed Jeffrey Schilling. Some of the rebels were killed and others wounded.
(SFC, 4/13/01, p.A1)
2001 Apr 16, Former Pres. Estrada turned himself in on an arrest warrant and
was released on bond. 5 of 8 charges were dropped the next day in order to
concentrate on his corruption case.
(SFC, 4/18/01, p.A13)

2001 Apr 24, Former Pres. Joseph Estrada was ordered to be arrested on charges
of plunder.
(SFC, 4/25/01, p.A8)

2001 Apr 25, Ousted Philippine President Joseph Estrada became the country's
first leader to be arrested for alleged corruption in office. Estrada was jailed on 8
charges.
(SFC, 4/26/01, p.A12)(AP, 4/25/02)

2001 Apr 30, In the Philippines the army went on alert after Cardinal Sin
urged people into the streets to defend democracy and Pres. Arroyo from defenders of
former Pres. Estrada. Some 20,000 followers of Estrada tried to storm the
presidential palace and at least 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 4/30/01, p.A8)(SFC, 5/1/01, p.A8)(WSJ, 5/1/01, p.A1)

2001 May 1, In the Philippines Pres. Arroyo declared a “state of rebellion”

and ordered the arrest of 2 senators and several military officials loyal to former
Pres. Estrada. Some 40,000 protesters marched on Malacanang Palace and 3 people were
killed.
(SFC, 5/2/01, p.A1)(SFC, 5/3/01, p.B1)

2001 May 6, Pres. Arroyo lifted the “state of rebellion” order.

(SFC, 5/7/01, p.C1)

2001 May 14, Midterm elections were held for half the Senate and the entire
House of Representatives and 17,600 municipal and provincial posts. The Communist
associated Nation First Party won 3 seats.
(SFC, 5/14/01, p.A9)(SFC, 8/21/01, p.A6)

2001 May 15, Gunmen killed a policeman and stole ballot boxes as voting
continued. Arroyo’s party held a flimsy lead.
(WSJ, 5/16/01, p.A1)

2001 May 22, Two workers were killed at the Pearl Farms resort on Samal Island
during an attack by suspected Muslim rebels. Guards repulsed the attack.
(SFC, 5/24/01, p.C3)

2001 May 24, Muslim rebels kidnapped 40 people traveling from Basilan to
Babuan Island.
(SFC, 5/26/01, p.A10)

2001 May 27, Gunmen abducted 21 people from the Dos Palmas Island Resort in
Palawan province, Philippines. Guillermo Sobero from Corona, Ca., was one of the 3
abducted Americans. The Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility. Sobero was later beheaded.
Missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham were among the kidnapped. A $300,000 ransom
for the Burnhams was paid in 2002, but the rebels then asked for $200,000 more. [see
Jun 7, 2002]
(SSFC, 5/27/01, p.A12)(SFC, 5/29/01, p.A8)(SFC, 10/25/01, p.C2)(SFC, 11/27/01,
p.A6)(SFC, 4/27/02, p.A11)

2001 Jun 2, Government forces engaged Muslim separatists at Lamitan on Basilan

Island. At least 12 soldiers were killed in 2 days of fighting. New hostages were
reported taken. It was later reported that army officers accepted bribes to allow Abu
Sayyaf rebels to escape.
(SFC, 6/2/01, p.A8)(SSFC, 6/3/01, p.A16)(SFC, 8/25/01, p.A9)

2001 Jun 12, On Basilan Island Muslim rebels claimed to have beheaded
Guillermo Sobero of Corona, Ca., one of the hostages kidnapped May 27.
(SFC, 6/12/01, p.A8)(SFC, 6/13/01, p.D4)

2001 Jun 14, Francis Ganzon, a Muslim cleric, and Kimberly Jao (13) were
released by Abu Sayyaf rebels on Basilan Island. Mohaimin Sahi, a Muslim cleric
negotiator taken captive a few days earlier, was also released.
(SSFC, 6/17/01, p.A13)

2001 Jun 21, On Zamboanga 3 severed heads were found in the area where Muslim
extremists claimed to have killed Guillermo Sobero of Riverside, Ca.
(SFC, 6/22/01, p.A15)

2001 Jun 22, The Philippine government signed a peace agreement with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front.
(SFC, 6/23/01, p.A9)
2001 Jun 24, In Legazpi the Mayon volcano erupted and at least 7,000 villagers
fled their homes.
(SFC, 6/25/01, p.A9)

2001 Jun, The US indicted 5 Philippine Abu Sayyaf leaders including Hamsiraji
Sali and Khadaffy Janjalany for the May 27 kidnapping of 3 Americans.
(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)

2001 Jul 3, At Zamboanga Abu Sayyaf rebels freed 2 hostages and warned the
government to withdraw from Muslim-majority islands or face more kidnappings.
(SFC, 7/4/01, p.A12)
2001 Jul 3, In the Philippines 53 people were left dead in landslides from
Typhoon Utor as the storm moved toward Taiwan.
(WSJ, 7/5/01, p.A1)(SFC, 7/6/01, p.D3)

2001 Jul 8, Police in General Santos City arrested Nadzmie Sabtulah, a high-
ranking member of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists.
(SFC, 7/9/01, p.A8)

2001 Aug 2, Abu Sayyaf extremists seized 36 Filipinos civilians on Basilan

island and beheaded 10 of them.
(SFC, 8/4/01, p.A6)(SSFC, 8/5/01, p.A14)

2001 Aug 4, Philippine soldiers rescued 13 hostages of the 36 seized by Abu

Sayyaf rebels on Aug 2.
(SSFC, 8/5/01, p.A14)

2001 Aug 7, The Islamic and National fronts signed a separate unity pact to
bridge their 23-year split. Muslim separatists agreed to a cease-fire with the
government. Only the Abu Sayyaf was left fighting the government.
(SFC, 8/8/01, p.A8)

2001 Aug 18, A pre-dawn fire swept through the Manor Hotel in Quezon City and
at least 68 people, trapped behind security bars, were killed
(SFC, 8/18/01, p.A10)

2001 Oct 1, The trial of former Pres. Estrada had a brief start and was
postponed to Oct 17. Estrada showed up against his will, without his legal team and
clad in slippers.
 (SFC, 10/2/01, p.A10)

2001 Oct 4, Government forces captured 13 members of Abu Sayyaf and killed
another in a southern clash.
(SFC, 10/5/01, p.D6)

2001 Oct 17, Gunmen abducted an Italian priest, Giuseppe Pierantoni (45), in
Dimataling, Zamboanga del Sur. He was freed Apr 8, 2002.
(WSJ, 10/18/01, p.A1)(SFC, 4/8/02, p.A7)

2001 Oct 23, In the Philippines 6 suspected Muslim rebels surrendered and 3
were captured.
(SFC, 10/25/01, p.C2)

2001 Oct 23, US military officers were sent to the Philippines to assess how
the US might help the local war against terrorism.
(SFC, 10/24/01, p.A13)

2001 Oct 28, In Zamboanga a bomb exploded at a food court and at least 6
people were killed. Abu Sayyaf rebels were blamed.
(SFC, 10/29/01, p.A9)

2001 Oct 30, Marvin Deonzon (27) was arrested following the weekend bomb
attack. Deonzon claimed to be part of the al Qaeda network and warned of another 40
bombs planted around Zamboanga.
(WSJ, 11/1/01, p.A17)

2001 Nov 7, In the Philippines tropical storm Lingling left at least 68 people
dead from floods and landslides.
(SFC, 11/8/01, p.A20)

2001 Nov 8, In the Philippines the toll from tropical storm Lingling climbed
to at least 350 people. The storm left more than 200 dead and moved to Vietnam.
(SFC, 11/9/01, p.A18)(WSJ, 11/9/01, p.A1)(SFC, 11/13/01, p.A14)(AP, 11/8/02)

2001 Nov 17, Communist guerrillas opened fire on soldiers in Cateel town. 18
soldiers and 10 rebels were killed.
(SFC, 11/19/01, p.A14)
2001 Nov 19, Moro rebels attacked the army near Jolo town. 4 soldiers were
killed along with 51 rebels in a counterattack.
(SFC, 11/20/01, p.A17)

2001 Nov 22, The military bombed rebel positions on Jolo island and hunted for
supporters of Gov. Nur Misuari, who was charged with rebellion. At least 100 of
Misuari’s men were reported killed since the Nov 19 attack.
(SFC, 11/23/01, p.A19)

2001 Nov 27, The military reported 25 guerrillas killed along with 1 soldier
in Zamboanga. Rebels under Julhambri Misuari, nephew of arrested Gov. Misuari, later
released 89 hostages in exchange for safe passage out of Zamboanga.
(SFC, 11/28/01, p.A3)

2001 Dec 23, Police rescued a Canadian hostage, Pierre Belanger (51), held for
2 months by the Pentagon gang in the village of Buena Vista.
(SFC, 12/24/01, p.A4)

2001 Dec 29, Philippine troops raided a camp of Muslim rebels linked to Osama
bin Laden and killed 13.
(WSJ, 12/31/01, p.A1)

2001 Louis H. Francia, NY poet and journalist, authored “Eye of the Fish,” a
record of his Philippine travels.
(SSFC, 8/19/01, DB p.67)

2002 Jan 9, In the Philippines Gen. Diomedio Villanueva said some 100 US
military advisers will be allowed to join front-line Philippine troops fighting Abu
Sayyaf rebels.
(SFC, 1/10/02, p.A8)

2002 Jan 15, Philippine police arrested Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi of Indonesia,
an alleged bomb-maker in an al Qaeda linked terrorist cell. Ghozi admitted to
providing munitions and financing for the Dec 30, 2000, attack in Manila that killed
22.
(WSJ, 1/21/02, p.A10)
2002 Jan 15, In the Philippines 15 people were killed in a shootout between
Muslim demonstrators and police in Jolo.
(SFC, 1/16/02, p.A7)
2002 Jan 31, US troops began a 6-month exercise for Filipino soldiers on
Zamboanga, who were hunting Abu Sayyaf extremists.
(SFC, 2/1/02, p.A24)

2002 Feb 6, The Philippine opposition made a legal move that gave Pres. Arroyo
10 days to justify the presence of US troops.
(SFC, 2/7/02, p.A12)

2002 Feb 21, A US MH-47E Chinook helicopter with 10 soldiers crashed into the
Mindanao Sea in the Philippines. 3 bodies were found by local fishermen. A salvage
team found 5 more bodies Mar 30.
(SFC, 2/22/02, p.A17)(SFC, 2/23/02, p.A14)(SSFC, 3/29/02, p.A17)

2002 Mar 5, In the Philippines a 6.8 earthquake struck about 10 miles under
the sea some 147 miles southwest of General Santos and 4 people were killed.
(SFC, 3/6/02, p.A8)

2002 Mar 12, Munib Assa, a senior Abu Sayyaf guerrilla, was arrested in
Zamboanga.
(SFC, 3/15/02, p.A12)

2002 Mar 13, In the Philippines Agus Dwikarna (b.1964), a Jemaah Islamiya
Terrorist Operations Facilitator, was arrested. In July he was convicted of carrying
C-4 plastic explosives and bomb parts at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport
as he and two other Indonesians were leaving Manila for Bangkok. He was sentenced to
a prison term of 10 to 17 years. In 2014 Dwikarna was deported back to Indonesia.
(www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/agus_dwikarna.htm)(AP, 3/5/14)

2002 Mar, Levi Celerio (91), national artist and composer (leaf player), died.
(SFC, 4/4/02, p.A19)

2002 Apr 11, The ferry MV Carmela with 240 passengers caught fire and at least
15 people were killed.
(SFC, 4/11/02, p.A8)

2002 Apr 21, In the Philippines 3 explosions killed at least 14 people in

General Santos. Abu Sayyaf rebels claimed responsibility.
(SFC, 4/22/02, p.A1)
2002 Apr, In the Philippines Benjaline Hernandez (22) was killed on Mindanao
while teaching peasant children and helping victims of the low-level conflict between
the Philippine army and the communist New People’s Army. He mother later insisted
that she was killed by gunmen from a government-supported militia.
(SSFC, 2/25/07, p.A15)

2002 May 2, Salip Abdullah, a key aide to Abu Sayyaf chief Janjalini, was
captured in Labangal village near General Santos.
(SFC, 5/3/02, p.A10)

2002 May 22, Philippine police in Cotabato city arrested Noor Mohammad Umog, a
Muslim Abu Sayyaf leader.
(SFC, 5/24/02, p.A16)

2002 May 29, The US offered a reward for as much as $5 million for the capture
of Abu Sayyaf leaders in the Philippines.
(SFC, 5/30/02, p.A10)

2002 May 30, It was reported that dynamite fishing in the Philippines has put
the native coral reefs on the verge of collapse.
(SFC, 5/30/02, p.A1)

2002 Jun 7, In the Philippines a yearlong hostage crisis came to an end as

Martin Burnham, an American missionary, was killed along with Philippine nurse
Ediborah Yap when troops stormed an Abu Sayyaf outpost on Mindanao. Burnham's wife,
Gracia Burnham, was wounded.
(SFC, 6/8/02, p.A1)(AP, 6/7/07)

2002 Jun 16, Philippine troops shot dead one Muslim rebel and wounded an
unknown number in their first clash with the guerrillas since an American hostage was
killed in a rescue operation more than a week ago.
(Reuters, 6/16/02)

2002 Jun 19, In the Philippines witnesses reported that 17 people were killed
in a shootout between members of a cult and security forces moving in to arrest their
leader on a remote southern Philippine island.
(Reuters, 6/19/02)
2002 Jun 21, Abu Sabaya (Aldam Tilao), one of the Philippines' most wanted
Muslim rebels and the key man in last year's kidnapping of a U.S. missionary couple,
was reportedly shot and likely killed in a clash with government troops.
(Reuters, 6/21/02)(SFC, 6/22/02, p.A6)

2002 Jun 27, Muslim guerrillas killed a Philippine army officer and wounded
five soldiers in a gunbattle on a southern island where three Indonesian seamen have
been held hostage for more than a week.
(Reuters, 6/27/02)

2002 Jul 1, Philippine government forces using bomber planes and helicopters
attacked suspected Muslim rebel positions in the southern Philippines, inflicting an
undetermined number of casualties.
(Reuters, 7/1/02)

2002 Jul 2, Philippine Vice President Teofisto Guingona resigned as foreign

minister, settling but perhaps not ending a public row with President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo over U.S. military exercises in the south of the country.
(Reuters, 7/2/02)

2002 Jul 8, Typhoon Chata'an headed towards southern Japan after battering the
Philippines, where officials said it had killed 17 people -- including three South
Korean tourists who died when their boat capsized.
(Reuters, 7/8/02)

2002 Jul 9, Philippine officials said they had arrested a Filipino Muslim
suspected of helping to procure more than a ton of explosives for al Qaeda-linked
Islamic radicals accused of plotting to bomb U.S. targets in Singapore. A U.S-trained
Philippine soldier and an undetermined number of Muslim rebels were killed in fierce
fighting on southern Jolo island.
(Reuters, 7/9/02)

2002 Jul 15, Philippine gunmen shot dead four supporters of candidates as
Filipinos voted in local community elections after a bloody campaign that left scores
of people dead. The 90 day election campaign left 71 people dead.
(Reuters, 7/15/02)

2002 Jul 21, In the Philippines 3 people drowned in floods and a landslide
buried alive a family of three as heavy rains pummeled the main island of Luzon,
including Manila.
(Reuters, 7/21/02)

2002 Jul 30, In the Philippines some 2,000 leftist protestors slammed a U.S.-
led anti-terror exercise, ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Colin Powell for
talks on combating terrorism.
(Reuters, 7/30/02)

2002 Aug 3, Philippine troops captured seven suspected members of the Muslim
Abu Sayyaf guerrilla group said to be linked to al Qaeda.
(AP, 8/4/02)

2002 Aug 7, In the Philippines Marxist rebels vowed all-out resistance against
the government's renewed campaign to crush their revolt after President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo ordered the deployment of troops in their strongholds.
(Reuters, 8/7/02)

2002 Aug 22, In the Philippines the heads of two Jehovah’s Witnesses were
found at Patikul on Jolo island, two days after the Abu Sayyaf rebels seized the two
male preachers and six other hostages.
(Reuters, 8/22/02)(SFC, 8/22/02, p.A1)

2002 Aug 23, An anti-graft court in the Philippines froze the assets of former
president Joseph Estrada in connection with charges that he illegally amassed over
four billion pesos ($76.48 million) during his 31-month rule.
(Reuters, 8/26/02)

2002 Aug 25, Philippine troops shot dead a notorious leader of a gang of
kidnappers and rescued a girl (4) and her nanny from a week-long captivity.
(Reuters, 8/25/02)
2002 Aug 25, Up to 10 guerrillas from a Philippine Marxist rebel group
blacklisted by the United States were killed when the military clashed with a 40-man
New People's Army (NPA) band in Rodriguez town, a Manila suburb.
(AP, 8/26/02)

2002 Sep 8, Philippine troops shelled retreating Muslim guerrillas after

capturing two rebel camps in fighting on southern Jolo island that left at least 22
dead.
(Reuters, 9/8/02)
2002 Oct 2, In the Philippines a bomb killed an American soldier in Zamboanga
and was detonated by a Filipino on a motorcycle who died in the blast that killed one
other person.
(Reuters, 10/3/02)(WSJ, 10/4/02, p.A1)

2002 Oct 10, In the southern Philippines a bomb ripped through a bus terminal
in Kidapawan City in North Cotobato province, killed 6 people and wounding 2 dozen in
the latest of a series of bomb attacks in the violence-hit region.
(Reuters, 10/10/02)(SFC, 10/12/02, p.A11)

2002 Oct 11, The Philippine military reported that marines clashed with Abu
Sayyaf rebels on Jolo Island and at least 11 soldiers were killed.
(SSFC, 10/12/02, p.A20)

2002 Oct 12, Seven Filipino soldiers died and 25 others were wounded in a
fierce clash with Muslim rebels deep in the jungle of southern Sulu island.
(Reuters, 10/12/02)

2002 Oct 13, Philippine troops pounded Muslim guerrilla positions with bombs
and cannon fire, killing 20 rebels, as fighting raged for the second day in the
country's troubled south.
(AP, 10/12/02)

2002 Oct 17, In the Philippines bombings in Zamboanga killed 7 people and
injured 152. Militants of Abu Sayyaf were suspected.
(SFC, 10/18/02, p.A10)

2002 Oct 18, In the Philippines a bomb ripped through a bus in Quezon City,
a Manila suburb, killing 2 people and injuring 20 others.
(AP, 10/18/02)(SFC, 10/19/02, p.A12)

2002 Oct 20, In the Philippines a bomb exploded at an open-air Christian

shrine in the southern city of Zamboanga, killing one marine and wounding 16 people.
(Reuters, 10/20/02)

2002 Nov 4, China signed a landmark agreement, “Declaration on the Conduct of

Parties in the South China Sea,” with ASEAN (Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam)
on avoiding open conflict in the disputed South China Sea Spratly Islands. Indonesia
objected and Taiwan was barred from signing.
(Reuters, 11/4/02)(Econ, 5/22/04, p.40)(www.aseansec.org/13163.htm)

2002 Nov 6, Muslim guerrillas strafed a southern Philippine village with

automatic rifle fire, killing seven people in retaliation for an offensive by troops.
(Reuters, 11/7/02)

2002 Nov 11, In the Philippines a Fokker passenger plane, trailing smoke from
its left engine, plunged into Manila Bay shortly after taking off from Manila, with
18 of the 34 people aboard killed or missing and presumed dead.
(AP, 11/11/02)

2002 Nov 13, Philippine Muslim gunmen linked to the al Qaeda network have
demanded a ransom of 16 million pesos ($300,000) for their seven Indonesian and
Filipino hostages kidnapped in June and August.
(AP, 11/13/02)

2002 Nov 21, The United States and the Philippines signed a controversial
agreement which would allow U.S. forces to use the Asian country as a supply point
for military operations.
(AP, 11/21/02)

2002 Nov 24, Philippine communist rebels killed four soldiers when about 30
rebels opened fire on a military convoy returning to base from a mission.
(Reuters, 11/25/02)

2002 Nov 25, Philippine communist rebels, fleeing pursuing soldiers, torched a
mobile phone relay station at Puerto Galera, a resort close to the capital Manila
which is one of the country's best-known scuba diving spots.
(Reuters, 11/25/02)

2002 Dec 24, In the southern Philippines a bomb believed planted by Muslim
Moro rebels killed 16 people, including Mayor Saudie Ampatuan in Datu Piang.
(AP, 12/24/02)(SFC, 12/25/02, p.A16)(WSJ, 12/26/02, p.A1)

2002 Dec 26, In the southern Philippines suspected Muslim rebels killed 12
workers as they rode in a truck to a Canadian-owned mine. Extortion was suspected.
(WSJ, 12/27/02, p.A1)
2002 The Philippine budget deficit was 5.4% of GDP.
(Econ, 3/26/05, p.72)
2002 Philippine mineral reserves were estimated at $840 billion.
(Econ, 7/22/06, p.63)

2003 Jan 11, Philippine army troops have occupied a southern mountain village
in Sultan Kudarat province after driving away a large group of Moro Islamic
separatists and a kidnap gang in fierce clashes that killed at least 20 rebels and
allies.
(AP, 1/12/03)

2003 Feb 2, In the Philippines a two-hour gun battle involving about 70 New
People's Army rebels killed two soldiers and five rebels near the town of Baganga in
the southern Davao Oriental province.
(AP, 2/2/03)

2003 Feb 8, Philippine troops killed at least eight Abu Sayyaf rebels during a
clash with the guerrillas in the southern town of Patikul.
(AP, 2/9/03)

2003 Feb 19, In the southern Philippines suspected separatist rebels

attacked Poblacion. They rounded up some villagers and gunned down 14 people.
(AP, 2/20/03)

2003 Feb 20, Pentagon officials said they will send over 1,700 US troops to
the Philippines over the next few weeks to fight Muslim extremists.
(SFC, 2/21/03, A1)

2003 Feb 23, The Philippine government said it will not permit U.S. forces
to join Filipino troops in combat against Muslim extremists.
(AP, 2/23/03)

2003 Mar 4, In the Philippines a bomb hidden in a backpack exploded at the

Davao airport on Mindanao, killing 21 people and wounding some 150.
(AP, 3/4/03)(SFC, 3/5/03, p.A1)

2003 Mar 10, In the southern Philippines suspected Muslim separatist rebels
seized a bus, and two people were killed before the gunmen escaped.
(AP, 3/10/03)
2003 Mar 25, Philippine troops killed a senior commander of the Muslim
extremist Abu Sayyaf group in a raid on his hideout.
(AP, 3/26/03)

2003 Mar 29, In the Philippines troops clashed with communist guerrillas in a
hilly area near the capital, and at least 24 were people killed.
(AP, 3/30/03)

2003 Apr 2, In the southern Philippine city of Davao a bomb exploded near a
bustling wharf, and killed 16 people including two children.
(AP, 4/3/03)(SFC, 4/3/03, p.A11)

2003 Apr 5, In the southern Philippines two bombings killed two people and
wounded eight.
(AP, 4/5/03)

2003 Apr 13, In the southern Philippines some 40 Moro Islamic Liberation Front
fighters attacked soldiers in Barira. The firefight left 12 guerrillas and possibly 3
soldiers dead.
(SFC, 4/15/03, p.A5)

2003 Apr 18, At least 13 Filipino devotees were nailed to wooden crosses north
of Manila in an annual Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion.
(AP, 4/18/03)

2003 Apr 25, The Philippines reported its first deaths from SARS; Taiwan
authorities quarantined over 1,100 doctors, nurses and patients in a hospital and
Asian health chiefs met on ways to tackle the deadly flu-like disease.
(Reuters, 4/25/03)

2003 May 4, In the Philippines Muslim guerrillas attacked the town of Siocon
in the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, and took hostages as they withdrew
from fighting that killed at least 22 people.
(AP, 5/4/03)

2003 May 10, In the Philippines a bomb exploded at a crowded market in a

southern Koronadal city, killing at least 9 people with 41 injured. Abu Sayyaf
claimed responsibility.
 (AP, 5/11/03)

2003 May 18, In the Philippines the Manila Water Co dumped large doses of the
disinfectant into a reservoir serving the eastern part of the capital after the young
man fell into an aqueduct while picking fruit.
(Reuters, 5/20/03)

2003 May 25, In the Philippines a passenger ferry collided with a larger boat
and sank at the mouth of Manila Bay. At least 23 people were killed and 198 were
rescued.
(AP, 5/25/03)

2003 May 28, In the southern Philippines Muslim rebels declared a cease-fire
and gave the government 10 days to meet their demands or face renewed fighting.
(AP, 5/28/03)

2003 May 29, Tropical Storm Linfa moved northeast of the Philippines toward
Japan on Thursday after leaving at least 25 people dead and more than 8,000 displaced
following five days of heavy rains and flooding.
(AP, 5/29/03)

2003 May 31, Clashes between Philippine troops and Muslim separatist
guerrillas left at least 23 dead, just days before a 10-day unilateral cease-fire was
set to begin.
(AP, 5/31/03)

2003 Jul 10, In the southern Philippines a bomb exploded in a crowded market,
killing at least three people and injuring 26 others, including many children.
(AP, 7/10/03)

2003 Jul 14, In Manila Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, terror suspect, escaped from
prison.
(Econ, 7/19/03, p.34)

2003 Jul 17, Philippine president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that police
corruption likely led to the escape from prison of three terror suspects, including a
top bomb expert, and threatened to shake up the police force.
(AP, 7/17/03)
2003 Jul 18, The Philippine government announced a cease-fire deal with a
Muslim rebel group.
(AP, 7/18/03)

2003 Jul 22, Typhoon Imbudo, the strongest in 5 years, hit the Philippines
with winds of more than 100 mph. At least six people were killed.
(AP, 7/23/03)

2003 Jul 27, In Manila some 300 mutinous Philippine troops, who seized a
downtown residential shopping complex, surrendered. This ended a 19-hour standoff
with government forces without a shot fired. Pres. Arroyo declared a state of
rebellion, which lasted to Aug 11. In 2008 Arroyo pardoned 9 military officers who
apologized after being convicted of the coup. In 2010 Antonio Trillanes IV, the most
prominent of the 300 troops, was released from seven years in detention in a
presidential amnesty for military rebels.
(AP, 7/27/03)(WSJ, 8/12/03, p.A1)(AP, 5/12/08)(AP, 12/21/10)

2003 Aug 10, In the southern Philippines army troops searching for a suspected
Islamic militant clashed with unidentified men, killing three gunmen.
(AP, 8/10/03)

2003 Aug 15, Philippine army forces in a speedboat killed 4 suspected members
of Abu Sayyaf, an extremist Muslim group, in a clash at sea after getting a tip from
fishermen.
(AP, 8/17/03)

2003 Sep 13, In the southern Philippines soldiers killed two suspected members
of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group and seized pictures of al-Qaida chief Osama
bin Laden and documents in Arabic language after storming a rebel camp.
(AP, 9/13/03)

2003 Oct 7, In the Philippines a detained Muslim terror suspect grabbed a

guard's rifle and opened fire at police headquarters in Manila, killing three
officers and wounding three others before he was fatally shot.
(AP, 10/7/03)

2003 Oct 12, In the Philippines Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, terrorist bombmaker
for Jemaah Islamiyah, was killed in a shootout with police in Pigcauayan.
(SFC, 10/13/03, p.A7)
2003 Oct 18, Pres. Bush addressed a special joint session of the Philippine
Congress in Manila. Some 290 families lost their homes in a shantytown of the Batasan
Hills, which faced the building where the address was to be held. Bush promised to
help the Philippines defeat terrorism by aiding in the modernization of its under-
equipped military. Thousands of university students and other activists marched to
protest Bush's visit to Manila already tense over security concerns.
(SFC, 10/17/03, p.A5)(AP, 10/18/03)(SSFC, 10/19/03, p.A3)

2003 Nov 7, Philippine security officers shot and killed the country's former
top civil aviation official and a navy reserve officer as they seized the Manila
airport control tower at gunpoint.
(AP, 11/8/03)

2003 Nov 22, The Diva2Diva show at the Daly City, Ca., Cow Palace featured
Filipino singers Kuh Ledesma and Zsa Zsa Padilla.
(Ind, 11/15/03, p.1A)

2003 Dec 8, US District Judge James Ware ruled that US toxic cleanup law
doesn't apply abroad. A suit by Filipinos sought that the US government be required
to assess pollution near 2 former military bases.
(SFC, 12/12/03, p.A6)

2003 Dec 13, Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople (76), a key ally of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her support for Washington's war on terror, died
of a heart attack.
(AP, 12/14/03)

2003 Dec 16, Pres. Bush signed a measure that made WW II Filipino American
veterans eligible for full Veterans Affair health care. Previous benefits were at
half the rate of US veterans. Veterans in the Philippines did not qualify.
(SFC, 12/17/03, p.A2)(SFC, 12/30/03, p.A15)

2003 Dec 19, In the Philippines landslides and floods have killed at least 127
people, and 150 others were missing and feared dead.
(AP, 12/20/03)(AP, 12/21/03)(AP, 12/22/03)

2003 Dec 21, More than 150 people were killed in mudslides in the Philippines.
[see Dec 19]
 (AP, 12/21/04)

2003 Dec 31, In the Philippines a fire sparked by firecrackers swept through
an old market in Lucena City, killing at least 14 people who were trapped inside
their stalls.
(AP, 12/31/03)

2003 Jul 13, Hashim Salamat (61), founder of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), died in the Philippines. In the 1960s he was sent to Egypt where he obtained
an Islamic philosophy degree from Al Azhar college in 1967 and a masters degree two
years later.
(WSJ, 8/25/08, p.A6)(www.newsflash.org/2003/05/ht/ht003629.htm)

2004 Jan 2, Philippine movie star Fernando Po Jr. filed his candidacy for the
presidency.
(SFC, 1/2/04, p.A2)

2004 Jan 4, In the southern Philippines a bomb exploded at a packed basketball

game, killing 11 people and wounding at least 68 including Parang Mayor Vivencio
Bataga, who was the likely target of the attack.
(AP, 1/4/04)(SFC, 1/5/04, p.A3)

2004 Jan 10, In the Philippines 3 rebels and 4 soldiers died when the
guerrilla New People's Army attacked a power plant south of Manila.
(AP, 1/10/04)

2004 Jan 12, In the Philippines a huge fire in a Manila shantytown hurt at
least 23 people, destroyed thousands of homes and left about 25,000 residents
homeless.
(AP, 1/12/04)

2004 Jan 22, A Philippine tribunal ordered the immediate transfer to the
government of $683 million in illegally accumulated funds from Swiss bank accounts of
former dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
(AP, 1/22/04)

2004 Jan 25, Rescuers in the Philippines launched a massive search for 53
fishermen missing after their boats were pounded by strong winds and high waves off
three northwestern provinces. At least two fishermen died.
 (AP, 1/25/04)

2004 Feb 11, Philippine troops rescued Alastair Joseph Onglingswan (35), a
kidnapped American businessman, who was chained by his neck and feet for 22 days by a
lone abductor.
(AP, 2/11/04)

2004 Feb 27, In the Philippines a ferry explosion and fire killed at least two
people, though 180 more were missing. The Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf claimed
responsibility. In 2008 Ruben Pestano Lavilla Jr. was arrested in Bahrain and
deported back to the Philippines for his role in the bombing of the ferry which
killed 116 people.
(AP, 2/29/04)(SFC, 9/1/08, p.A3)

2004 Mar 30, Philippine officials reported the arrest of 4 Muslim extremists
in the brutal al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. They were found with a stash of TNT
targeted for terror attacks on trains and shopping malls in the Philippine capital. A
suspected Muslim extremist told police interrogators he planted TNT in a television
set on a ferry that caught fire last month, killing more than 100 people
(AP, 3/30/04)

2004 Apr 8, In the Philippines 6 members of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf
group including Hamsiraji Sali, a senior leader wanted by the US, were killed in a
clash with government troops on southern Basilan island. In Oct three informants
received $1 million for their help.
(AP, 4/8/04)(SFC, 4/9/04, p.A3)(SFC, 11/27/04, p.A1)

2004 Apr 10, In the southern Philippines more than 50 inmates, including many
suspected members of a Muslim extremist group, used a smuggled pistol to escape from
prison. At least nine were killed by police.
(AP, 4/10/04)

2004 May 10, In Philippine elections voters cast ballots for president, vice
president, the House of Representatives, half of 24 seats in the Senate and about
17,000 municipal posts. Incumbent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo opposed film star Fernando
Poe Jr. Arroyo won a narrow victory over her movie star rival and her coalition
gained a majority in the legislature.
(AP, 5/10/04)(AP, 5/24/04)(WSJ, 5/25/04, p.A1)
2004 May 10, In Philippine elections Grace Padaca, physically impaired by
childhood polio, was elected governor of the poor northern Isabela province. This
ended a 41-year monopoly by the Dy family.
(Econ, 3/19/05, p.47)

2004 May 18, A powerful typhoon slammed into the Philippines, causing at least
19 deaths on eastern islands in the archipelago.
(AP, 5/19/04)

2004 May 19, In the Philippines Typhoon Nida left 31 people dead.
(SFC, 5/21/04, p.B10)

2004 Jun 13, Philippine air force troops clashed with communist guerrillas
camped out on a farm near Manila and 3 rebels were killed.
(AP, 6/13/04)

2004 Jun 20, A Philippine congressional committee announced, six weeks after
the election, that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has won another term in office.
In 2005 an audio file, allegedly wiretapped by military intelligence, became
available with Arroyo speaking to election’s official Virgilio Garcillano. The
“Hello Garci? file became popular as a cell phone ring tone.
(AP, 6/20/04)(SFC, 6/22/05, p.A2)

2004 Jul 3, Tropical storm Mindulle, the Korean word for dandelion, pushed
toward South Korea after killing at least 31 people in the Philippines and 18 in
Taiwan.
(Reuters, 7/3/04)(AP, 7/4/04)

2004 Jul 13, The Philippines said it would withdraw its tiny peacekeeping
force from Iraq as soon as it can. The Philippine government made a direct appeal to
insurgents holding a Filipino hostage, pleading with them to show mercy for the man
they threatened to kill if the country did not agree to pull its troops from Iraq
early.
(AP, 7/13/04)

2004 Jul 19, The Philippines said that it has completed the withdrawal of its
peacekeeping contingent from Iraq.
(AP, 7/19/04)

2004 Aug 13, A southern Philippines court sentenced 17 members of the al-
Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militant group to death for kidnapping nurses from a hospital
there three years ago.
(AP, 8/13/04)

2004 Aug 27, Riot police used water cannons to disperse protesters demanding
that the Philippines lift its ban on allowing its citizens to go to war-ravaged Iraq
for jobs.
(AP, 8/27/04)

2004 Nov 12, In the northern Philippines a passenger train derailed and
tumbled down a ravine killing at least 10 people and injuring nearly 120 others.
(AP, 11/12/04)

2004 Nov 22, In the Philippines 29 people were confirmed dead with 84 others
missing and feared dead following tropical storm Muifa.
(AP, 11/22/04)

2004 Nov 30, The death toll from landslides and flash floods in the eastern
Philippines jumped to nearly 340 with 150 others missing, after a second rainstorm
hit a region still reeling from last week's deadly typhoon. Excess logging was blamed
for the landslides. Only some 70,000 sq. km. of forest remained from an estimated
300,000 a hundred years ago.
(AP, 11/30/04)(Econ, 12/11/04, p.42)

2004 Dec 2, In the Philippines back-to-back storms killed more at least 842
people and left 751 missing. 1,100 were feared dead in the wake of Typhoon Nanmadol.
(AP, 12/4/04)(SFC, 12/10/04, p.A26)

2004 Dec 12, In the southern Philippines a powerful explosion ripped through
an outdoor market packed with Christmas shoppers, killing at least 15 people and
injuring 58 others.
(AP, 12/12/04)

2004 Dec 14, Fernando Poe (b.1939), former Philippine actor and presidential
candidate, died from a stroke in Manila. Poe, a star in over 200 films, lost the
recent elections to Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo by 1.1 million votes.
(SFC, 12/14/04, p.B7)

2004 Dec, The Philippine Supreme Court ruled to allow foreign firms to run
mines in the Philippines, overturning a negative decision last January.
(Econ, 12/18/04, p.)

2004 The Philippine budget deficit was 3.9% of GDP. Its consolidated public-
sector debt was almost 140% of GDP and some feared a default.
(Econ, 3/26/05, p.72)
2004 Philippine police and soldiers killed 7 farmworkers at the Hacienda
Luisita, a sugar plantation owned by the family of the Beningno Aquino.
(Econ, 5/12/12, p.48)

2005 Jan 1, Philippines was forecast for 4.5% annual GDP growth with a
population at 87.9 million and GDP per head at $1,010.
(Econ, 1/8/05, p.91)

2005 Feb 7, In the Philippines hundreds of armed followers of a jailed former

Muslim rebel leader attacked government troops and occupied at least one army
detachment on violent southern Jolo island, sparking clashes that killed at least 12
soldiers.
(AP, 2/7/05)

2005 Feb 12, Philippine couples started gathering along a Manila bayside
boulevard for a pre-Valentine's Day kissing festival. Organizers hoped a million
couples will lock lips nationwide.
(AP, 2/12/05)

2005 Feb 14, Three bombs jolted Manila and two other Philippine cities,
killing at least 12 people and wounding more than 100 others. The Muslim extremist
group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the blasts.
(AP, 2/14/05)(Econ, 2/19/05, p.41)

2005 Mar 9, In the southern Philippines at least 27 children died from food
poisoning after eating a deep-fried caramelized cassava snack at school. Evidence
later revealed that a pesticide in the snack was the cause of death.
(AP, 3/9/05)(WSJ, 3/15/05, p.A1)

2005 Mar 14, A group of Muslim-extremist inmates accused of carrying out some
of the Philippines' worst terrorist attacks agreed to surrender after a botched
jailbreak left at least 5 people dead. The deal later broke down when the inmates
demanded dinner first.
 (AP, 3/14/05)

2005 Mar 15, In the Philippines some of the country's most hardened terror
suspects were killed in a failed prison uprising that left 28 people dead. The
inmates at Camp Bagong Diwa in suburban Manila had agreed to surrender after their
failed jailbreak a day earlier, but the deal broke down when they demanded food
first.
(AP, 3/15/05)

2005 Mar 23, In Manila a terror suspect said the southern Philippines has
become a major training ground for regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, graduating
23 bomb experts just days ago.
(AP, 3/23/05)

2005 Mar 24, In the southern Philippines, Marlene Garcia Esperat (45), a
columnist for a weekly newspaper, was shot dead in her home in front of her children.
Her husband told a radio station that his wife had "many enemies because of her
exposes," mostly on corruption and other issues of governance.
(AP, 3/26/05)

2005 Apr 14, In Haiti a Filipino soldier was killed as U.N. forces pushed into
a volatile slum controlled by heavily armed gangs loyal to deposed President Jean-
Bertrand Aristide.
(AP, 4/15/05)

2005 Apr 28, A military helicopter crashed into a wooded ravine on a northern
Philippine mountain, killing all nine people on board.
(AP, 4/29/05)

2005 May 10, Philip Agustin, publisher of a weekly in Dingalan, Philippines,

was shot dead in his house. He had with him 500 copies of his newspaper featuring
reports on corruption in Dingalan.
(Econ, 6/18/05, p.39)

2005 May, An arc of windmills started supplying electricity to 40 per cent of

Ilocos Norte province, the first source of clean energy introduced in the
Philippines, a nation with 84 million people reliant on oil and gas.
(AFP, 10/12/05)
2005 Jun 11, In the Philippines thousands of protesters demanded President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo step down during the biggest anti-government rally since
allegations surfaced that she fixed last year's election and her family received
gambling kickbacks.
(AP, 6/11/05)

2005 Jun 21, In Manila Cardinal Jaime Sin (76) died. He was an outspoken
advocate of democracy and played a key role in the "people power" revolts (1986,
2001) that ousted two Philippine presidents.
(AP, 6/21/05)(Econ, 7/2/05, p.77)

2005 Jun 29, Philippine Pres. Gloria Macagapal Arroyo said her husband,
implicated in bribes and influence peddling, had agreed to leave the Philippines.
(WSJ, 6/30/05, p.A10)

2005 Jul 8, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's presidency was in tatters, her base of
support eroding by the hour, as former backers abandoned the Philippine leader and
added to calls for her resignation over an election scandal.
(AP, 7/8/05)

2005 Jul 13, Pressure grew for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to
quit as her opponents staged the largest rally against her so far.
(AP, 7/13/05)

2005 Jul 25, Opposition lawmakers in the Philippine parliament filed

impeachment proceedings against President Gloria Arroyo, accusing her of vote-rigging
and other allegations.
(AP, 7/25/05)

2005 Aug 10, In the southern Philippines a series of powerful explosions

described as terrorist attacks ripped through Zamboanga city and injured at least 14
people.
(AP, 8/10/05)

2005 Aug 28, In the Philippines a bomb stashed in a pack of clothes exploded
on a ferry in Basilan as it was loading passengers, injuring at least 30 people,
including nine children.
(AP, 8/28/05)
2005 Aug 30, In the Philippines impeachment proceedings against President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo fell into chaos, as opposition lawmakers walked out of a
committee hearing and claimed her backers were unjustly trying to quash the case.
(AP, 8/30/05)

2005 Aug 31, In the Philippines a congressional committee voted to quash all
impeachment complaints against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with the opposition
boycotting.
(AP, 8/31/05)

2005 Sep 23, In the southern Philippines 3 teenagers were killed and at least
8 others wounded when a retired army sergeant threw a grenade at a group of boys at a
town fiesta.
(AP, 9/24/05)

2005 Oct 4, A Philippine provincial government filed a lawsuit in Nevada

accusing Canadian mining giant Placer Dome Inc. of damaging the environment and
health of residents of an island about 100 miles south of Manila. Placer Dome was
blamed for a March 1996 environmental accident that sent millions of tons of open-pit
copper mine waste down a river to the Marinduque capital, Boac.
(AP, 10/4/05)

2005 Oct 7, Philippine authorities said they had started an investigation to

unmask opposition figures suspected of involvement in the theft of classified US
documents in a widening spy scandal. Leandro Aragoncillo, an FBI analyst in New
Jersey, was suspected of passing intelligence to the Philippines.
(AP, 10/7/05)(SFC, 10/7/05, p.A11)

2005 Oct 13, Philippine police fired jets of water and used anti-riot shields
to break up a march by about 300 left-wing student activists demanding the ouster of
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 10/13/05)

2005 Oct 26, Philippine troops captured 7 suspected Muslim militants,

including the leader of a group of Islamic converts linked to the kidnappings of
foreigners and an alleged plot to bomb.
(AP, 10/26/05)
2005 Oct 26, In the Philippines a tunnel in a gold mine on Mindanao collapsed
after a blast and about 50 people were feared dead.
 (Reuters, 10/27/05)

2005 Oct 28, A Philippine court sentenced to death an Indonesian and two
Filipino Muslim militants for their roles in the bombing of a Manila bus.
(AP, 10/28/05)

2005 Nov 1, In the Philippines 6 US Marines took part in a rape at the former
US naval base at Subic Bay. The incident soon fueled anti-US demonstrations in Manila
and objections to US presence in the Philippines. Prosecutors later contended the
victim (22) was attacked in a van at Subic Bay by Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith as Lance
Cpl. Keith Silkwood, Lance Cpl. Dominic Duplantis and Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier
cheered on the assault. In Dec, 2006, Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith (21) from St. Louis,
was convicted of raping a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was
the first American soldier convicted of wrongdoing in the Philippines since the
country shut down US bases here the early 1990s. In 2009 his accuser submitted a
five-page affidavit to an appeals court saying she now doubts her own version of
events. In March it was revealed that Smith had paid the victim $2000 in damages and
that she had gone to live in America with her American boyfriend. On April 23, 2009,
the Philippine Court of Appeals overturned the ruling against Smith, indicating the
sexual act was consensual.
(WSJ, 11/22/05, p.A13)(AP, 6/26/06)(AP, 12/4/06)(AP, 3/18/09)(Econ, 5/2/09, p.43)

2005 Nov 3, In the Philippines the Asian Development Bank warned that a flu
pandemic could kill 3 million people in Asia, trigger economic carnage in the region
worth almost $300 billion and push the world into a recession.
(AP, 11/3/05)

2005 Nov 5, Philippine security forces captured a man they believed was
Radulan Sahiron, Abu Sayyaf's chief of staff, in Zamboanga Sibugay province, however
it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. Sahiron was also wanted by the US
for attacks against Americans.
(AP, 11/5/05)(AP, 11/6/05)

2005 Nov 27, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo declared the 23rd Southeast
Asian Games open in a glittering ceremony at the Aquino sports stadium in Central
Manila. An estimated 5,336 athletes will compete in 41 events which will run from
November 27 to December 5. The 11 participating countries included Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor
and Vietnam.
 (AP, 11/27/05)

2005 Dec 9-2005 Dec 11, Fidel Ramos, former president of the Philippines, and
Michael Camdessus, former managing IMF director, chaired the 1st annual meeting of
the Emerging Markets Forum at Templeton College, Oxford, England.
(Econ, 12/17/05, p.76)

2005 Dec 27, Philippine prosecutors charged four US Marines with rape in what
is seen as a test case for a bilateral accord allowing American troops to train here.
(AP, 12/27/05)

2005 Dec 29, Philippine media reported that 2 US Marines, who were accused of
raping a Filipina woman, have been allowed to leave the Philippines after prosecutors
decided not to file charges against them.
(AFP, 12/29/05)

2005 Dec 31, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo announced Indonesia's Lippo
Group with local partners is investing some three billion pesos (56.5 million
dollars) in a Philippine bank.
(AP, 12/31/05)

2005 Walden Bello, Philippine economist, authored “Deglobalization, Ideas for

a New World Economy.”
(Econ, 2/21/09, p.59)
2005 The Philippine Department of Labor refused 2 unions permission to go on
strike at the Hacienda Luisita sugar plantation. 7 workers were killed in a protest
that followed.
(Econ, 12/10/05, p.50)

2006 Jan 8, In the Philippines fire raced through a dormitory in Manila's

congested university district, killing at least eight people, including some
clustered near a second-floor exit.
(AP, 1/8/06)

2006 Jan 13, A Philippine judge issued arrest warrants for four US Marines
charged with rape, putting pressure on the United States to hand them over to
Philippine authorities.
(AP, 1/13/06)
2006 Jan 15, An overcrowded boat capsized during a religious sea parade in a
remote central Philippine province, and at least 16 people drowned and more were
missing.
(AP, 1/15/06)

2006 Jan 17, In the Philippines 4 officers, accused of leading hundreds of

troops in a failed 2003 mutiny, escaped from an army prison. The army lieutenants
were identified as Lawrence San Juan, Sonny Sarmiento, Nathaniel Rabonza and Patricio
Bumindang.
(AP, 1/17/06)
2006 Jan 17, The US rejected a Philippine request to hand over 4 Marines to be
tried for rape, setting off anti-American protests in Manila and elsewhere.
(WSJ, 1/18/06, p.A1)

2006 Jan 19, A Philippine congressional committee approved a resolution

calling on the government to abrogate an accord allowing large-scale American
military exercises in the country after US officials refused to hand over four US
Marines accused of rape.
(AP, 1/19/06)

2006 Jan 31, The Philippine health department warned that an AIDS crisis
threatens the country as the number of people who are HIV carriers has doubled in
just over three years.
(AP, 1/31/06)
2006 Jan 31, Philippines troops killed at least 18 communist rebels in their
bloodiest clash in months. The clash happened outside Santa Ignacia town in Tarlac
province, about 80 miles north of Manila.
(AP, 1/31/06)

2006 Feb 4, In the Philippines thousands of people lined up outside a stadium

near Manila to watch a TV game show surged toward the gates in the mistaken belief
they were open, and at least 88 people were trampled to death. Over 300 people were
injured.
(AFP, 2/4/06)

2006 Feb 17, In the eastern Philippines a rain-soaked mountainside

disintegrated into a torrent of mud, swallowing hundreds of houses and an elementary
school in sludge three stories high. 1,800 people were missing and feared dead, which
included nearly every man, woman and child who lived in Guinsaugon. Logging in the
area was cited as a contributing factor. 8.5 million acres of forests had been logged
in the Philippines over the last 15 years.
(AP, 2/18/06)(SFC, 2/18/06, p.A9)

2006 Feb 18, On the southern Philippine island of Jolo, janitor for US troops
was killed and 13 people wounded in an explosion near an army base. Abu Sayyaf was
suspected.
(AP, 2/18/06)

2006 Feb 22, In the Philippines thousands of activists seeking President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's ouster clashed with riot police in Manila as they tried to
march to a monument to the 1986 "people power" revolt.
(AP, 2/22/06)

2006 Feb 24, In the Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a
state of emergency, saying she had quashed a coup plot, and the military confined
troops to their camps to keep them from joining growing protests against her rule.
(AP, 2/24/06)

2006 Feb 26, In the Philippines a challenge to President Gloria Macapagal

Arroyo's state of emergency ended peacefully after disgruntled marine officers ended
a five-hour standoff that started when their commander was relieved of duties.
(AP, 2/26/06)

2006 Feb 27, In the Philippines police filed charges of rebellion against 16
people suspected of plotting to overthrow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, as
dozens of protesters attempted to storm the legislature. Among those charged were
former opposition Sen. Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, a veteran of past coup attempts in
the 1990s, five members of the House of Representatives, a communist rebel leader and
some soldiers. In 2009 a military tribunal acquitted 11 officers of plotting the
foiled coup. The defendants were among a total of 28 military officers who were
detained following the alleged plan to force Arroyo from power.
(AP, 2/27/06)(AP, 10/15/09)

2006 Mar 3, In the Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lifted a

week-old state of emergency, justifying the controversial decree by claiming a coup
plot had been "a clear and present danger." Isabela City Mayor Luis Biel II was shot
and killed outside his office. Bodyguards killed the gunman.
(AP, 3/3/06)(http://tinyurl.com/ytgzu6)
2006 Mar 23, Computer-savvy Philippine protesters took civil disobedience to
cyberspace, launching a "virtual sit-in" campaign that urged online activists to
overwhelm the police Web site with numerous hits.
(AP, 3/23/06)

2006 Mar 27, In the Philippines a bomb exploded in a grocery store on southern
Jolo island, killing 9 people and wounding 20. Police said an extortion attempt by
suspected militants was likely behind the bombing.
(AP, 3/27/06)

2006 Mar 29, Some 20 Filipino seamen were seized after their oil tanker, the
United Arab Emirates-registered MT LIN1, offloaded its cargo at a southern Somali
port. The men were released in July 15 following negotiations.
(AP, 7/16/06)

2006 Apr 14, In the Philippines at least 11 devotees were nailed to crosses
during Good Friday reenactments of Christ's final hours.
(AP, 4/14/06)

2006 Apr 16, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, president of the Philippines, said in an
Easter announcement that she would commute the death sentences of some 1,200
convicts, including about a dozen al-Qaida-linked militants.
(AP, 4/16/06)

2006 Apr 24, In the Philippines government prosecutors filed rebellion charges
against a former senator, six leftist lawmakers and 42 others suspected of plotting a
coup in February against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 4/24/06)

2006 Apr 29, In the Philippines military intelligence agents captured Abdasil
Malangka Dima, an alleged member of the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group, in
Isabela, the capital of the southern island province of Basilan. He was allegedly
involved in the abduction of three Americans, including a missionary couple, from a
resort five years ago.
(AP, 4/29/06)

2006 May 1, Workers around the world held May Day rallies to press for better
factory conditions and higher wages in mostly peaceful marches. Activists the
Philippines used the holiday to show their opposition to their government in tense
protests watched by police.
(AP, 5/1/06)

2006 May 4, A US federal court ruled that over 9,500 victims of human rights
abuses under Ferdinand Marcos (1917-1989) were entitled to $35 million in a US
account, which he established in 1972. Damages awarded in 1995 reached nearly $2
million.
(SFC, 5/5/06, p.B7)

2006 May 8, Five lawmakers who took refuge in the Philippine legislature for
two months while facing coup accusations walked out of the building in triumph after
a court dismissed the charges.
(AP, 5/8/06)

2006 May 12, A small boat sank during a tropical storm in the central
Philippines, killing at least 21 people. Two other people were electrocuted in the
storm, while floods submerged 16 villages.
(AP, 5/13/06)

2006 May 24, Philippine officials said the US States and the Philippines have
forged a security arrangement covering threats such as terrorism, piracy, natural
disasters and outbreaks of disease. The initiative was launched last year and
diplomatic notes for carrying out the arrangement were exchanged in April.
(AP, 5/24/06)

2006 Jun 11, In the Philippines a grenade blast wounded eight people in a
market in Batangas province. A nearly simultaneous explosion damaged a mobile police
station in Manila.
(AP, 6/11/06)

2006 Jun 13, In the eastern Philippines 11 prisoners escaped from a jail after
killing two guards and wounding two others. The inmates were led by a communist
guerrilla, Jessie Galecio, who had escaped from jail twice before.
(AP, 6/14/06)

2006 Jun 20, Two Filipino oil workers were kidnapped near the Nigerian oil
city of Port Harcourt in the southern Niger Delta.
(AFP, 6/20/06)
2006 Jun 23, In the southern Philippines a car bomb exploded in a public
market in Shariff Aguad as a convoy carrying a provincial governor was passing by,
killing five people wounding 10 others.
(AP, 6/23/06)

2006 Jun 24, Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a law
abolishing the death penalty, giving final approval to a measure that divided many
Filipinos.
(AP, 6/24/06)

2006 Jun 25, Two Filipino oil workers, kidnapped in Nigeria's southern oil
delta, were released after five days in captivity.
(AP, 6/25/06)

2006 Jun 27, A US federal court in Hawaii authorized partial compensation of

$2,000 each to about 7,500 victims of human rights abuses under late Philippine
dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
(AP, 6/28/06)

2006 Jun, Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave her security
forces a 2-year deadline and an extra 1 billion pesos ($19 million) to wipe out the
communist New People’s Army (NPA).
(Econ, 7/1/06, p.37)

2006 Jul 7, In the Philippines 6 fugitive military officers linked to a failed

2003 mutiny against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were arrested.
(AP, 7/7/06)

2006 Jul 10, In the Philippines a fire destroyed more than 200 shanties in a
squatter colony north of Manila, killing one resident, injuring 6 others and leaving
about 5,000 people homeless.
(AP, 7/10/06)

2006 Jul 13, In the northern Philippines a powerful Asian storm strengthen to
a typhoon after killing at least nine people.
(AP, 7/13/06)

2006 Jul 18, In the southern Philippines Armando Pace (56), who often attacked
corruption among politicians and the illegal drug trade in Digos city, was gunned
down as he was riding home on a motorcycle. He was the ninth journalist killed in the
country this year and the 82nd since 1986, based on a count by the National Union of
Journalists of the Philippines.
(AP, 7/18/06)

2006 Aug 3, Fresh fighting broke out between Philippine forces and Al-Qaeda-
linked militants after four people were killed in a major operation to capture two
suspected Bali bombers.
(AFP, 8/3/06)

2006 Aug 8, The Philippine Congress began hearing new impeachment complaints
against President Gloria Arroyo, linking her to corruption and human rights abuses
and alleging she cheated in the 2004 election.
(AFP, 8/8/06)

2006 Aug 11, An oil tanker sank in rough seas off the Philippine coast of
Guimaras Island, about 312 miles southeast of Manila. About 528,000 gallons of
industrial fuel was leaking from the accident.
(AP, 8/15/06)

2006 Aug 18, Greenpeace warned a sunken Philippine oil tanker was a pollution
timebomb as oil from its punctured tanks destroyed coral reefs and washed up
blackened fish on pristine beaches. Oil trapped in the tanks of the Solar I, which
went down last week with 500,000 gallons of industrial oil on board, could pour out
at any time. To date some 50,000 gallons had leaked into the sea close to the central
island of Guimaras.
(AP, 8/18/06)

2006 Sep 4, Philippine marines clashed with nearly 200 al-Qaida-linked rebels
on Jolo Island. 6 government troops were killed and 19 wounded in the monthlong US-
backed offensive. In Dec the military said Khaddafy Janjalani, head of the al-Qaida-
linked Abu Sayyaf, was killed in the fighting and that his remains had been found.
DNA evidence confirmed his death.
(AP, 9/4/06)(AP, 12/27/06)(AP, 1/20/07)

2006 Sep 6, The Philippine government said it will take full control of Manila
airport's controversial new airport terminal despite an international court ruling to
return it to its builders. Philippine International Air Terminals Co Inc (PIATCO)
built the terminal under a "build-operate-transfer" contract, but in 2002 President
Arroyo revoked the contract on the grounds that certain terms were illegally
renegotiated by Joseph Estrada, her deposed predecessor.
(AP, 9/6/06)

2006 Sep 28, Typhoon Xangsane battered the northern and central Philippines
with rains and winds, killing at least 76 people.
(AP, 9/29/06)(AFP, 10/1/06)

2006 Oct 3, In the Philippines Bishop Alberto Ramento of Tarlac, former Obispo
Maximo of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), was found stabbed to death at his
rectory. He was a noisy critic of government security forces.
(Econ, 10/14/06, p.46)

2006 Oct 8, In the Philippines about 30 communist guerrillas attacked an

international airport under construction in Silay City in Negros Occidental province,
using bombs to destroy equipment and seizing guns from guards.
(AP, 10/8/06)

2006 Oct 10, In the Philippines a bomb exploded in the town of Makilala on the
southern island of Mindanao during a celebration to mark the town's 52nd anniversary.
12 people were killed and at least 42 injured. 5 people were injured when a bomb
planted by suspected Muslim extremists exploded in the busy market of Tacurong City.
(AFP, 10/11/06)

2006 Oct 17, Philippine media groups accused the president's husband of trying
to muzzle a critical press by filing a string of libel cases against 43 journalists
and publishers.
(AP, 10/18/06)

2006 Oct 25, The Philippine Supreme Court vetoed a move to change the
presidential system to a unicameral parliamentary government, dealing a blow to
President Gloria Arroyo's economic agenda.
(AP, 10/25/06)

2006 Oct 29, In the northern Philippines Typhoon Cimaron blasted roofs off
homes as it made landfall, with officials saying it may be one of the most powerful
storms to ever hit the country.
(AP, 10/29/06)
2006 Oct 30, Typhoon Cimaron swept across the northern Philippines, killing
more than 15 people in a barrage of landslides, uprooted trees and flooding.
(AP, 10/30/06)

2006 Oct 31, Typhoon Cimaron headed toward eastern Vietnam after leaving at
least 15 dead in landslides and flooding in the northern Philippines.
(AP, 10/31/06)

2006 Nov 15, In the Philippines Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan,” a coup-

fomenting former army colonel, and senator were arrested after a house-to-house chase
on charges of involvement in a February plot to overthrow the president.
(AP, 11/15/06)(SFC, 11/15/06, p.A4)

2006 Nov 25, In the southern Philippines the Leonida II, a small ferry,
capsized in rough waters, leaving 19 passengers missing while 66 people were rescued.
(AP, 11/26/06)

2006 Nov 28, Noxious fumes from chemical waste dumped into a Philippine creek
forced thousands to flee their homes and sickened dozens. Men told police they had
loaded chemical waste from a plastic factory and dumped the cargo in Marilao, 15
miles north of Manila.
(AP, 11/28/06)

2006 Nov 30, Typhoon Durian, the 4th major typhoon to hit the Philippines in
four months, killed 198 people and left 260 others missing. The figures included 109
people who died in mudslides on the slopes of the Mayon volcano that also injured
130.
(AP, 12/1/06)

2006 Dec 1, Officials reported that Typhoon Durian killed as many as 200
people when it tore through the eastern Philippines. The storm was eventually blamed
for 1,399 deaths.
(AP, 12/1/07)

2006 Dec 2, In the Philippines rescuers scouring mountain villages buried

under mud and boulders loosed by a powerful typhoon discovered more bodies, raising
the death total to more than 300, with another 300 missing.
(AP, 12/2/06)
2006 Dec 4, Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith was convicted in the Philippines of
raping a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison.
(AP, 12/4/07)
2006 Dec 4, Rescuers in the Philippines all but gave up hope of finding
survivors in mudslide-swamped villages on the slopes of the Mayon volcano, five days
after Typhoon Durian killed an estimated 1,000 people.
(AP, 12/4/06)

2006 Dec 5, The first foreign aid flights of food and medicines arrived in the
eastern Philippines. Officials said devastating mudslides had left at least 1,266
people dead or missing.
(AFP, 12/5/06)

2006 Dec 9, Typhoon Utor, the 2nd to hit the Philippines in two weeks, made
landfall forcing the evacuation of thousands in Eastern Samar province where hundreds
died in the last storm. Typhoon Utor killed at least 5 people.
(AP, 12/9/06)(Reuters, 12/10/06)

2006 Dec 22, The US said it canceled a joint military exercise with the
Philippines scheduled for next year because of a dispute over the custody of a US
Marine appealing his rape conviction.
(AP, 12/22/06)

2006 Dec 25, A fire blamed on illegally sold firecrackers swept through a
department store in the central Philippines on Christmas Day, killing 24 people who
took refuge in a restroom.
(AP, 12/25/06)

2006 Dec 29, A US Marine convicted of raping a Filipino woman was whisked away
from a Manila jail to the US Embassy, almost a month after the US and Philippine
governments urged a local court to transfer him to American custody during his
appeal.
(AP, 12/29/06)

2007 Jan 3, In the northern Philippines a minibus carrying partygoers from a

beach collided with a cargo truck, killing eight people and injuring 17.
(AP, 1/2/07)
2007 Jan 6, Philippine troops killed six members of the al-Qaida-linked Abu
Sayyaf group, including one wanted by the US for involvement in the kidnapping of
Americans.
(AP, 1/6/07)

2007 Jan 9, Philippine troops killed Binang Sali, a senior al-Qaida-linked

militant, who allegedly led an urban terror unit of the Muslim extremist group Abu
Sayyaf.
(AP, 1/10/07)

2007 Jan 10, In the southern Philippines a bomb exploded across the street
from a public market, killing six people and wounding 22 others. A second blast in
the region hours later wounded two people near a police outpost.
(AP, 1/10/07)

2007 Jan 12, East Timor and France signed non-aggression treaties with ASEAN
member countries on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit in the Philippine resort
city of Cebu. Both countries looked to strengthen ties with a bloc representing a
sixth of the world's people.
(AP, 1/13/07)

2007 Jan 13, ASEAN leaders meeting in the Philippines signed an agreement to
regulate migrant workers.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.54)

2007 Jan 14, ASEAN leaders meeting in the Philippines signed an agreement to
liberalize the trade in services between China and ASEAN countries.
(Econ, 1/20/07, p.54)

2007 Jan 16, In the Philippines Jainal Antel Sali Jr. (41), popularly known as
Abu Sulaiman, a top al-Qaida-linked militant, was killed. He was accused of
kidnapping three Americans in 2001 and of masterminding one of Southeast Asia's worst
terror attacks three years later. DNA evidence soon confirmed Sulaiman’s death.
(AP, 1/17/07)(AP, 1/20/07)

2007 Jan 18, A Philippine Marines platoon battled about 30 extremists under
Abu Sayyaf veteran Radullan Sahiron in the Jolo town of Patikul. Ten Abu Sayyaf
members and three government troops died in the hour-long fight, while three
militants were captured.
 (AP, 1/18/07)

2007 Feb 2, Suspected Muslim guerrillas stormed a Philippine jail and blasted
a hole through a wall, freeing three alleged bombers and dozens of other inmates. In
the southern Philippines 50 people were killed and 65 others injured when a tanker
truck exploded as it was negotiating a downhill mountain road.
(AP, 2/2/07)(AP, 2/3/07)

2007 Feb 4, A Philippine marine general and 19 others were released from a
Muslim rebel camp where they were held for two days by guerrillas demanding more
benefits under a 1996 peace accord.
(AP, 2/4/07)

2007 Feb 13, In Nigeria gunmen released 24 Filipino sailors taken hostage in
the lawless southern oil-producing region.
(AP, 2/13/07)

2007 Feb 15, A leftist student leader was murdered in the central Philippines,
amid plans to set up special tribunals to try people suspected of carrying out
extrajudicial killings. Farly Alcantara (22) was head of the League of Filipino
Students at Camarines Norte State College.
(AFP, 2/16/07)

2007 Feb 18, In the southern Philippines an unidentified gunman fatally shot
Hernani Pastolero (64), the editor of a weekly newspaper in front of his home in the
village of Bulalo.
(AP, 2/19/07)

2007 Mar 6, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law a
package of anti-terror measures that has drawn protests as a threat to civil
liberties.
(AP, 3/6/07)

2007 Mar 14, Philippine police stormed a courtroom to end a 24-hour hostage
standoff, freeing all four captives who were held by a movie stuntman and his common-
law wife. The gunman was killed when he dropped a grenade during the confrontation.
(AP, 3/14/07)

2007 Mar 27, The US offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the
capture of a US-trained Malaysian engineer accused of involvement in a series of
deadly bombings in the Philippines.
(AP, 3/27/07)

2007 Mar 28, The health department of Philippines said HIV/AIDS is ravaging
the large overseas work force, posing a long-term threat to one of Manila's key
sources of foreign exchange.
(AFP, 3/28/07)
2007 Mar 28, In the Philippines Jun Ducat (56), a Manila day-care center owner
armed with grenades and guns, held more than 30 youngsters and teachers hostage on a
bus, then freed them after a 10-hour standoff that he used to denounce corruption and
demand better lives for impoverished children.
(AP, 3/28/07)(http://english.people.com.cn/200703/29/eng20070329_362055.html)

2007 Apr 3, In the Philippines Pete Amurin, a local election board official in
the city of Puerto Rincesa, capital of Palawan island west of Manila, was shot dead
at close range near his office.
(AFP, 4/4/07)

2007 Apr 4, In the Philippines police said they found the bodies of two
missing members of the militant Peasant Movement of the Philippines, or KMP, near a
river in the northern town of Lailo in Cagayan province.
(AFP, 4/4/07)

2007 Apr 7, In the southern Philippines 9 soldiers and a civilian were killed
in a clash in a small army camp in Jolo island’s Parang town.
(AP, 4/8/07)

2007 Apr 8, In the Philippines Julia Campbell (40), American Peace Corps
volunteer from Fairfax, Va., was last seen in the town of Banaue in Ifugao province.
Her body was found April 18 in a shallow grave near Batad village. In 2008 Juan
Duntugan was convicted of the murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison without
parole.
(AP, 4/14/07)(AP, 4/18/07)(SFC, 4/19/07, p.A8)(AP, 6/30/08)

2007 Apr 11, More than 50 Philippine military officers pleaded guilty to
violating military order and discipline in a plea bargain, escaping lengthy jail
terms for a failed mutiny in Manila nearly four years ago.
(AP, 4/11/07)
2007 Apr 13, Muslim rebels fired mortar bombs on a Philippines marine base in
the southern island of Jolo, killing two soldiers and a child.
(Reuters, 4/14/07)

2007 Apr 15, Philippine marines killed at least 8 Muslim rebels and captured
two of their camps in retaliation for a series of attacks that killed a child and two
soldiers.
(AP, 4/15/07)

2007 Apr 19, The heads of seven men who were kidnapped by Muslim extremists on
a volatile southern island were delivered to a Philippine army detachment. The men,
six road project workers and a dried-fish factory worker, were kidnapped at gunpoint
in two separate incidents April 16 near the town of Parang. A group of civilians was
ordered to take the heads to Parang by Muslim rebel commander Habier Malik.
(AP, 4/19/07)

2007 Apr 23, Philippine police said they have identified a local woodcarver as
a suspect in the April 8 killing of Julia Campbell, a US Peace Corps volunteer, and
are following up leads on a possible accomplice. They named the suspect as Juan
Duntugan (25) from the village of Batad in Banaue township. Duntugan gave himself up
April 27 and confessed on television, saying he would accept "whatever punishment you
will impose on me."
(AP, 4/23/07)(AP, 4/27/07)

2007 Apr 28, A Philippine air force helicopter crashed on a busy street in
Lapu Lapu City, Cebu Island, pinning a motorcycle taxi and hitting another with its
spinning rotors. At least 9 people on the ground and one airman were killed. Norberto
Linao Jr., the mayor of Morong town in Bataan province, escaped injury after
assailants sprayed his house with gunfire.
(AFP, 4/28/07)(AP, 4/30/07)

2007 Apr 30, In the northern Philippines Mayor Julian Resuello of San Carlos
died 2 days after he was shot to death.
(AP, 4/30/07)

2007 May 3, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that US-
based Texas Instruments Inc., the world's biggest maker of mobile phone chips, will
build a $1 billion plant in the Philippines, choosing the country over China despite
concerns about power costs.
(Reuters, 5/3/07)

2007 May 8, In the Philippines a homemade bomb ripped through a billiards hall
in Tacurong city, killing three on the spot and five more overnight with 33 seriously
wounded. Officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda-linked militants
from Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
(AFP, 5/9/07)

2007 May 9, In the Philippines Ernie Tatoy (41), an aide to a gubernatorial

candidate, was fatally shot and his daughter (13) wounded, as violence in the run-up
to next week's local and congressional elections claimed its 100th victim in four
months.
(AP, 5/9/07)

2007 May 14, Filipinos braved the threat of violence to choose local and
congressional representatives in elections. Wahab Akbar, governor of Basilan, was
elected congressman from Basilan. His 1st wife, Jum, was elected to become governor
of Basilan. His 2nd wife Cherrylyn was already mayor of Isabela City.
(AP, 5/14/07)(SSFC, 9/9/07, p.F1)

2007 May 15, International observers of elections in the Philippines said they
witnessed threats and vote-buying inside some southern precincts, and police said two
more people were killed in violence related to the voting.
(AP, 5/15/07)

2007 May 18, A powerful bomb ripped through a teeming bus terminal in the
violence-prone southern Philippines, killing a 5-year-old boy and injuring about
three dozen other people.
(AP, 5/18/07)

2007 May 22, The Philippine elections commission suspended the vote count from
last week's polls in southern Maguindanao province amid allegations of massive
cheating by pro-government supporters.
(AP, 5/22/07)

2007 May 23, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said she welcomed a greater
global role by Japan as she discussed a stalled free trade agreement in Tokyo.
(AP, 5/23/07)
2007 May 31, Australia and the Philippines agreed to expand counter-terrorism
cooperation, with elite Australian troops to train their Philippine counterparts in
the restive south.
(AFP, 5/31/07)
2007 May 31, In the Philippines 6 armed men boarded a bus in Manila and
started robbing passengers. 3 suspects, the bus driver and a passenger were killed.
(AP, 5/31/07)

2007 Jun 2, In the Philippines a man armed with a 21-inch-long knife killed
nine people, including six children, and wounded 17 others in a rampage in central
Samar province.
(AP, 6/2/07)

2007 Jun 7, The US ambassador to the Philippines handed over a $10 million
reward to four Filipino informants whose tip led to the killing of the country's two
top terror suspects.
(AP, 6/7/07)

2007 Jun 9, The Philippines and Laos, during a visit of Laotian PM Bouasone
Bouphavanh, signed an agreement hoping to boost the minuscule trade between them and
encourage their first investment links.
(AFP, 6/9/07)

2007 Jun 13, A Philippine court acquitted Imelda Marcos, the flamboyant widow
of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, of five counts of tax evasion. Of more than 900
criminal and civil cases, mostly for violation of graft and corruption laws during
her husband's 20-year rule, 40 criminal cases and fewer than 20 civil suits remained.
The government said it has recovered at least $1.7 billion in cash and assets from
the Marcoses and their associates over two decades, including Swiss bank deposits now
worth at least $680 million.
(AP, 6/13/07)

2007 Jun 15, In the southern Philippines bombs went off on buses just a few
minutes apart, killing eight people and wounding at least 14 others.
(AP, 6/16/07)

2007 Jun 22, Philippine Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said the government
was dropping charges against veteran coup-plotter Gregorio Honasan after he was
elected to the Senate last month.
(AP, 6/22/07)

2007 Jun 25, In the Philippines Vicente Sumalpong, a reporter at a government-

run radio station, was fatally shot on southern Tawi Tawi island, the latest victim
in a string of killings of journalists.
(AP, 6/25/07)

2007 Jul 5, In the southern Philippines 9 inmates fled jail after attacking
guards. Pursuing police officers fatally shot three of the escaped convicts and
recaptured four others. Two other inmates from the jail in southern Cagayan de Oro
city remained at large.
(AP, 7/6/07)

2007 Jul 8, In the Philippines 2 small planes collided in the air and crashed
in a rice field north of Manila, killing two Indian citizens and a Filipino flight
instructor.
(AP, 7/8/07)

2007 Jul 10, Some 50 Philippine marines were heading back to camp when they
were attacked by about 300 suspected Abu Sayyaf guerrillas in Tipo Tipo town on
southern Basilan island. Troops recovered the bodies of 14 marines, some of them
beheaded.
(AP, 7/11/07)

2007 Jul 12, A Philippine ferry sank southeast of Manila. At least 129 people
survived the sinking of the MV Blue Water Princess. 15 bodies were recovered and
divers said they found many more.
(AP, 7/13/07)

2007 Jul 19, Rev. Giancarlo Bossi (57), an Italian priest held hostage for
over a month in the southern Philippines, was released.
(AP, 7/20/07)

2007 Jul 30, In the Philippines southeast Asian foreign ministers agreed to
set up a regional human rights commission, overcoming fierce resistance from
military-ruled Myanmar. Myanmar agreed not to veto discussion over the human rights
commission at a November summit.
(AP, 7/30/07)(Econ, 8/4/07, p.36)
2007 Jul 31, ASEAN Plus Three foreign ministers gathered in Manila on the eve
of high-level security talks. ARF, which includes the United States, European Union,
India, Pakistan, North and South Korea and other countries, and will also hold talks
here on Aug 1-2.
(AP, 7/31/07)

2007 Aug 1, The ASEAN summit got underway in Manila. Diplomats held dozens of
meetings in the Philippine capital, using the annual gathering of nearly 30 nations
to confer on everything from the North Korean crisis to the conflict in Darfur.
(AP, 8/1/07)

2007 Aug 2, FBI agents arrested Rahmat Abdhir (43), aka Sean Kasem and Sean
Kalimin, in San Jose, Ca., for providing material support to his brother, Zulkifli
Abdhir (41), a US-trained engineer and terror suspect in the Philippines.
(SFC, 8/3/07, p.B5)

2007 Aug 9, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf extremists ambushed a truckload of

troops going to market, then fought a gunbattle with soldiers in pursuit. The death
toll included 25 soldiers and 27 militants on the volatile southern island of Jolo.
(AP, 8/9/07)(AP, 8/10/07)

2007 Aug 18, In the Philippines 16 troops and dozens of Muslim extremists were
killed in clashes between government forces and Al-Qaeda-linked rebels on the
southern island of Basilan.
(AP, 8/18/07)

2007 Aug 26, In Manila, Philippines, economic ministers of Southeast Asian

countries (ASEAN) and China agreed to strengthen product standards and safety. The
move follows recalls of several tainted Chinese products from international markets.
(AP, 8/26/07)

2007 Aug 28, Jose Maria Sison (68), a Philippine communist leader, accused of
commanding a rebel uprising from exile for more than 20 years was arrested by Dutch
police in Utrecht on suspicion of ordering the murder of two former allies in his
home country. He was accused of ordering the killings in 2003 and 2004 of Romulo
Kintanar and Arturo Tabara, who were gunned down in the Philippines.
(AP, 8/29/07)
2007 Aug, A census in the Philippines put the population at almost 89 million.
(Econ, 4/26/08, p.62)

2007 Sep 12, In the Philippines a court found former Pres. Joseph Estrada
guilty of taking more than $85 million in bribes and kickbacks and sentenced him to
life imprisonment, ending a trial that spanned 6 years.
(SFC, 9/12/07, p.A19)

2007 Sep 19, In the Philippines the US embassy said the US government will
spend 190 million dollars over the next five years on development aid projects in the
troubled southern Philippines.
(AP, 9/19/07)

2007 Oct 3, A Dutch court rejected a prosecution appeal against the release of
Philippine communist leader Jose Maria Sison, accused of being involved in murders in
the Philippines.
(AFP, 10/3/07)

2007 Oct 4, Philippine President Gloria Arroyo called for increased trade with
India at the start of a three-day visit.
(AP, 10/4/07)

2007 Oct 19, In the Philippines a powerful explosion ripped through three
floors of a shopping mall in the heart of Manila's financial district, killing 11
people, injuring scores and sending police and troops on the highest state of alert.
Police later said a gas leak was the likely cause.
(AP, 10/19/07)(WSJ, 10/24/07, p.A1)

2007 Oct 25, In the Philippines Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pardoned
Joseph Estrada (70), the ousted former president and action hero. He was convicted
last month on graft charges and given a life sentence. He had been under house arrest
since 2001.
(AP, 10/26/07)

2007 Nov 13, A bomb exploded at an entrance of the Philippine House of

Representatives, killing Rep. Wahab Akbar, his driver and a staff person.
(AP, 11/13/07)

2007 Nov 15, The Philippine government reached an agreement with the country's
main Islamic separatist group on carving out boundaries for a Muslim homeland in the
conflict-ridden south. In Manila 3 suspects were killed and three arrested as police
raided an Islamic militant hideout near the Philippines legislature.
(AP, 11/15/07)(AFP, 11/15/07)

2007 Nov 25, In the Philippines Typhoon Mitag hit Isabela province after
killing 8 people in other parts of the country. A week earlier Typhoon Hagibis left
13 people before heading toward Vietnam. It then reversed direction and headed back
toward the Philippines.
(SFC, 11/26/07, p.A10)

2007 Nov 26, Philip Alston, a New York University law professor charged by the
UN Human Rights Council with investigating extra-judicial killings in the
Philippines, reported that the military was in a state of denial about its role in
the deaths of about 800 opposition activists over the past six years.
(AP, 11/26/07)
2007 Nov 26, In the Philippines the death toll from Typhoon Mitag rose to 17,
as search operations began for a missing air force jet and a fishing vessel with 27
people aboard.
(AFP, 11/27/07)

2007 Nov 29, Philippines’ President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo quickly quashed
the latest threat to her rule, dispatching troops and SWAT teams when dissident
military officers commandeered a five-star hotel after walking out of their coup
trial.
(AP, 11/29/07)

2007 Nov 30, In the Philippines 50 military officers and their supporters,
including a former vice president, were under arrest and others were being sought
following a failed attempt to trigger a "people power" revolt against the president.
(AP, 11/30/07)

2007 Dec 2, About two dozen protesters angry over a rape case involving a
Marine stormed the American Embassy. The protesters demanded the transfer to a
Philippine jail of Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, who was convicted a year ago of
raping a Filipino woman but has remained under U.S. government custody.
(AP, 12/2/07)

2007 Dec 6, In the Philippines 14 Muslim Abu Sayyaf were sentenced to life in
prison for the 2001 kidnapping of a US missionary couple and 18 others in a yearlong
jungle ordeal that prompted US-backed offensives against the guerrillas.
(AP, 12/6/07)(SFC, 12/7/07, p.A4)

2007 Dec 7, Two gunmen barged into a central Philippine town hall and killed
the vice mayor, a human rights advocate who had condemned a series of killings of
left-wing activists.
(AP, 12/8/07)

2007 Dec 13, In the Philippines leaders of 2 separatist groups met with Seif
al-Islam Khadafy, son of Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy, and said they should be able
to resolve differences that dated back to 1976 when the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
broke from the Moro National Liberation Front.
(SFC, 12/15/07, p.A9)

2007 Dec 15, Filipino soldiers killed Abdulmibin Sakandal, a suspected Abu
Sayyaf militant wanted by Philippine and US authorities for alleged involvement in
the 2000 kidnappings of 21 people, including Western tourists.
(AP, 12/16/07)

2008 Jan 3, In the southern Philippines 2 al-Qaida-linked Muslim militants,

including one wanted for the 2001 kidnapping of three Americans and 17 other people
from a resort island, were captured in separate raids. Troops arrested suspected Abu
Sayyaf sub-leader Tuwatin Anahalul in Zamboanga del Sur province's Margusatubig town.
(AP, 1/4/08)

2008 Jan 15, In the Philippines gunmen ransacked a Roman Catholic school in
the southernmost Tawi-Tawi Island, fatally shooting Reynaldo Roda (55), a priest who
had received death threats from Muslim militants and abducting a teacher.
(AP, 1/16/08)

2008 Jan 30, In the southern Philippines a homemade bomb ripped through a fish
processing plant, killing three and injuring 27 workers.
(AP, 1/30/08)

2008 Jan 31, In the southern Philippines Abu Sayyaf commander Wahab Upao, a
Muslim militant who allegedly gunned down a Roman Catholic priest in a raid on a
school, was killed in a clash with troops pursuing an Indonesian terror suspect.
(AP, 1/31/08)
2008 Feb 2, Taiwan's president inaugurated a runway on disputed Taiping island
in the Spratlys chain in the South China Sea, sparking a protest from the Philippines
which also claims sovereignty over the isle.
(AP, 2/3/08)

2008 Feb 4, In the Philippines at least 7 civilians, including four children,

were killed during a military operation against al-Qaida-linked militants on southern
Jolo island.
(AP, 2/5/08)

2008 Feb 12, The Philippine government called for calm amid growing street
protests calling for President Gloria Arroyo to resign over a corruption scandal
which has implicated her husband and a close aide.
(AP, 2/12/08)

2008 Feb 15, In the Philippines thousands of protesters massed in Jakarta with
some hurling tomatoes at images of President Gloria Arroyo and her husband, demanding
their ouster for alleged corruption.
(AP, 2/15/08)

2008 Feb 17, Mohamad Baehaqi (26), an alleged member of the Indonesia-based
Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, was arrested with two Filipinos during a raid on
their hide-out in the southern Philippines.
(AP, 2/19/08)

2008 Feb 25, Thousands of Filipinos took to the streets and flocked to
churches in a fresh wave of nationwide protests on the anniversary of a 1986 grass-
roots revolt, calling for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign.
(AP, 2/25/08)

2008 Feb 29, Two former Philippine presidents, once bitter foes, joined tens
of thousands of protesters at a rally to press for President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo's resignation over a raging corruption scandal.
(AP, 2/29/08)

2008 Mar 1, In the Philippines a bomb wounded two Filipino soldiers and four
women at a bar near a military camp on Jolo Island, where US troops were conducting
counterterrorism training.
 (AP, 3/2/08)

2008 Mar 3, A Red Cross official said more than 900 people have been stricken
with typhoid in a city just south of the Philippine capital Manila. The disease was
spread out in 18 villages.
(AP, 3/3/08)

2008 Mar 5, Philippine officials said soaring oil prices and the rising cost
of living have driven nearly four million people in the Philippines back into
poverty.
(AP, 3/5/08)

2008 Mar 10, A Manila court acquitted the flamboyant widow of late dictator
Ferdinand Marcos of 32 counts of illegally transferring wealth abroad during her
husband's 20-year rule.
(AP, 3/10/08)

2008 Mar 26, Philippine farmers warned that the country was facing a serious
rice supply crisis, as the government signed a deal to import rice from Vietnam to
boost local reserves at a time of rising prices and shrinking global stocks.
(AP, 3/26/08)
2008 Mar 26, In the southern Philippines a passenger boat with 14 people on
board capsized, leaving only one known survivor, a man who swam several hours to
shore. Most of the missing were children.
(AP, 3/28/08)

2008 Mar 27, The editor-in-chief of the local edition said the Philippines
will get its own edition of Playboy magazine, only without the nudity that made the
US version famous. The Philippine edition will be launched on April 2 as a "mature
lifestyle magazine."
(AFP, 3/27/08)

2008 Apr 4, President Gloria Arroyo announced major investments to overhaul

the Philippine agriculture sector, as the country grapples with soaring rice prices
that have raised fears of social unrest.
(AFP, 4/4/08)

2008 Apr 8, A Philippine court sentenced 9 military officers to jail terms

ranging from 12 to 40 years for taking part in a foiled coup plot against President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2003.
(AP, 4/8/08)

2008 Apr 15, In the northern Philippines army troops clashed with communist
rebels, leaving three people dead in Quezon province's General Nakar town.
(AP, 4/15/08)

2008 Apr 18, In the northern Philippines a passenger bus plunged into a
ravine, killing nine people and injuring more than 20.
(AP, 4/18/08)

2008 Apr 24, It was reported that the US military’s health insurance program
has been swindled out of more than $100 million over the past decade in bogus claims
filed in the Philippines, where US bases were closed in 1992.
(SFC, 4/24/08, p.A4)

2008 Apr 30, In the southern Philippines troops captured a camp that housed a
bomb-making factory of al-Qaida-linked militants after heavy fighting.
(AP, 4/30/08)

2008 May 3, The Asian Development Bank, announced emergency funding to help
poor countries struggling with rice prices that have nearly tripled in four months.
The Manila-based organization made the announcement while meeting in Spain.
(AP, 5/4/08)

2008 May 5, In the southern Philippines communist rebels ambushed an army

convoy with land mines and machine-gun fire, killing three soldiers and wounding 13.
(AP, 5/5/08)

2008 May 16, In the Philippines at least 8 bank employees and a security guard
were lined up and shot dead in the head in a bloody bank robbery in Cabuyao, Laguna
province. Another employee was in critical condition at a hospital. On May 30 Ricardo
Gomolon (38), a former soldier, was among three people arrested over the murder of 10
people in one of the Philippines' deadliest bank robberies. 2 suspects were still at
large.
(AP, 5/16/08)(AFP, 5/30/08)

2008 May 17, In the Philippines Tropical Storm Halong made landfall in
Pangasinan province, northwest of Manila. By May 20 the death toll from the storm had
reached 37.
(AP, 5/21/08)

2008 May 19, In the Philippines a man strafed several houses during a shooting
spree in a town south of Manila, killing eight people and wounding six others. Five
of the dead were children aged 4-12 years who were sleeping inside their homes in
Calamba town. The lone suspect escaped.
(AP, 5/19/08)

2008 May 22, Thailand's PM Sundaravej pledged to sell rice to Manila at

"negotiable" rates, as he began a visit to the Philippines, which is working to boost
its stocks of the grain.
(AFP, 5/22/08)

2008 May 25, In the southern Philippines at least 17 marines were wounded and
two Muslim separatist rebels killed as fierce prolonged fighting broke out on Basilan
island.
(AFP, 5/25/08)

2008 May 29, In the southern Philippines 2 people were killed and 21 injured
when suspected terrorists detonated a bomb outside a US aid project office near an
air base.
(AP, 5/29/08)

2008 Jun 8, In the Philippines a television news team was abducted in Sulu
province by armed men, believed to be members of Abu Sayaf. A cameraman was released
on June 12, but 2 colleagues remained captive.
(SFC, 6/11/08, p.A15)(AP, 6/13/08)

2008 Jun 19, Philippine officials said Indanan township mayor Alvarez Isnaji
and his son Jun, who negotiated with al-Qaida-linked rebels for the release of an
abducted TV news anchor and three other people, have been arrested as suspects in the
June 8 kidnappings.
(AP, 6/19/08)

2008 Jun 20, Typhoon Fengshen smashed into the Philippines' third largest
island packing winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) an hour as residents braced for
flooding, landslides and big waves. Flash floods and landslides triggered by Typhoon
Fengshen left more than 700 dead or missing in various parts of the country.
 (AFP, 6/20/08)(AFP, 6/21/08)(Econ, 6/28/08, p.49)

2008 Jun 21, In the Philippines the Princess of Stars, carrying 862 passengers
and crew, ran aground and capsized 3 km (2 miles) from Sibuyan island in the center
of the archipelago. Nearly 800 passengers were missing as Typhoon Fengshen killed
scores and left a trail of destruction across the archipelago. Only 48 survivors of
the ferry were found, including 28 rescued the next day.
(Reuters, 6/22/08)(AP, 6/23/08)(Econ, 6/28/08, p.49)

2008 Jun 28, In the southern Philippines some 50 New People's Army guerrillas
attacked a police station and burned a cellular phone transmission tower, sparking
clashes with government forces that killed at least 11 people.
(AP, 6/29/08)

2008 Jun 29, In the central Philippines heavy rains have triggered a landslide
that killed at least four people and injured 26 others.
(AP, 6/30/08)

2008 Jun 30, In the Philippines gunmen killed journalist Bert Sison (62) and
slightly wounded one of his daughters, whose sister pretended to be dead and escaped
unharmed. The two daughters, also correspondents of the "Regional Bulletin," which
reports mostly crime stories and sometimes carries articles critical of politicians.
(AP, 7/1/08)

2008 Jul 1, Officials said Maoist rebels in the southern Philippines killed
two soldiers in a public market and torched a cellular phone tower as the latest
flare-up in the 40-year-old insurgency showed no sign of abating.
(AP, 7/1/08)

2008 Jul 3, In the southern Philippines suspected communist guerrillas

launched a series of attacks, lobbing a grenade that killed three people and raiding
a police station and a gold mining company.
(AP, 7/3/08)

2008 Jul 16, The Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front
reached a deal to create an ancestral homeland for 3 million Muslims.
(WSJ, 7/17/08, p.A8)

2008 Jul 24, In the southern Philippines a homemade bomb ripped through a
commuter bus, wounding 27 people. In North Cotabato province communist rebels
attacked a banana farm associated with Dole Foods Co. and a land mine hit a security
vehicle rushing to intervene, killing one and wounding three others.
(AP, 7/24/08)

2008 Jul 28, In the Philippines a packed commuter bus strayed into an oncoming
lane and crashed head-on into another bus on a highway south of Manila, killing at
least 11 people and injuring 29 others.
(AP, 7/29/08)

2008 Aug 4, The Philippine Supreme Court, acting on a petition by Christian

politicians, blocked the signing of a key accord granting an expanded southern
homeland to minority Muslims as part of a deal to end decades of bloody Islamic
rebellion.
(AP, 8/4/08)(Econ, 8/9/08, p.41)

2008 Aug 10, In the Philippines nearly 3,000 troops and police launched an
attack after guerrillas defied an ultimatum to withdraw from five towns in North
Cotabato province.
(AP, 8/11/08)

2008 Aug 11, Philippine attack aircraft and artillery bombed Muslim rebel
positions for a second day, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster in North
Cotabato province with nearly 130,000 refugees forced to flee. Members of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked a town on the island of Basilan, around 200
km (125 miles) southwest of where the main fighting was taking place, and disrupted
voting in local elections there.
(Reuters, 8/11/08)

2008 Aug 12, Muslim guerrillas began withdrawing from several occupied
southern Philippine villages following fierce fighting with government troops that
has displaced nearly 160,000 civilians during harvest time.
(AP, 8/12/08)

2008 Aug 15, In the Philippines at least 15 hitchhikers were killed and 14
others injured when the truck they were riding in plunged into a ravine outside
Monkayo township in the southern gold mining area on Diwalawal mountain.
(AP, 8/15/08)
2008 Aug 17, In the southern Philippines Muslim guerrillas killed four
soldiers and four militiamen in an ambush of a military convoy.
(AP, 8/17/08)

2008 Aug 18, In the southern Philippines separatists of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) attacked several towns and villages on Mindanao and killed 38
people.
(SFC, 8/19/08, p.A9)(AP, 8/20/08)

2008 Aug 20, Abdurahman Macapaar (aka Commander Bravo) of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF), the Muslim rebel commander behind deadly raids in the
southern Philippines, declared an "all-out war" against the government, saying his
fighters were willing to die in battle.
(AFP, 8/20/08)
2008 Aug 20, Five people were killed as Typhoon Nuri slammed into the northern
Philippines, triggering heavy rain and warnings of possible storm surges.
(AFP, 8/20/08)

2008 Aug 23, The Philippine government said at least 48 soldiers and civilians
and scores of Muslim rebels have been killed in the southern Philippines in a week of
fighting triggered by the collapse of a peace deal. Muslim rebels urged the
Philippine government to halt a military offensive they say threatens a years-long
peace process and escalates violence in the archipelago's troubled south.
(Reuters, 8/23/08)(AP, 8/23/08)

2008 Aug 25, A 41-year-old Lockheed Martin C-130 military cargo plane crashed
in the waters off the southern Philippines. Two Philippine Air Force pilots and 7
crewmen were feared dead.
(AFP, 8/26/08)

2008 Sep 1, In the southern Philippines a homemade bomb exploded at a bus

terminal, killing four people and injuring more than a dozen in Digos city in Davao
del Sur province.
(AP, 9/1/08)

2008 Sep 6-2008 Sep 7, In the southern Philippines 6 people were killed after
a landslide triggered by heavy rains buried houses in the village of Masara. Another
landslide the next day killed 5 more people there. At least 16 people were left
missing.
 (AFP, 9/6/08)(AP, 9/7/08)

2008 Sep 22, In the Philippines 16 gold miners went into shafts during a
typhoon that rapidly flooded the tunnels in Benguet province. 2 bodies were retrieved
on Sep 25, 3 miners were rescued on Sep 29, 3 more on Sep 30, and 3 more on Oct 1.
Two bodies were recovered on Oct 2 and one miner remained missing. The last of the
miners was rescued on Oct 3. He was then arrested by police, who had a warrant for
his arrest on unrelated theft and robbery charges.
(AP, 9/29/08)(AP, 9/30/08)(AP, 10/1/08)(AP, 10/2/08)(AP, 10/4/08)

2008 Sep 26, In the Philippines three soldiers were killed after they tripped
landmines planted near a New People's Army camp outside Lingig township in Surigao
del Sur province. Informants reported that eight guerrillas had been killed since Sep
24 when army soldiers overran a rebel camp.
(AP, 9/26/08)

2008 Oct 8, Pirates in Somalia released 15 Filipino seamen and four other
crewmen of a chemical tanker hijacked nearly two months ago, but were still holding
67 other Filipino sailors.
(AP, 10/9/08)

2008 Oct 9, Somali pirates freed 20 Filipino seamen from a hijacked ship they
held for more than 80 days, as the Philippine government doubled the pay of sailors
passing through pirate-infested international waters. 47 Filipinos on three other
ships were still in the hands of Somali pirates. Pirates also released 29 Iranian
crew members and their cargo ship hijacked off Somalia's coast in late July.
(AP, 10/10/08)

2008 Oct 14, The Philippine Supreme Court threw out a proposed accord to grant
minority Muslims expanded autonomy after Christian protests and renewed fighting
convinced the government to abandon the deal. The accord would have expanded an
existing six-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, subject to the agreement
of local residents.
(AP, 10/14/08)

2008 Oct 15, Armed pirates hijacked a Japanese-operated bulk carrier with 21
Filipino crew members in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia. The ship African Sanderling
was released on January 12, 2009.
(AP, 10/15/08)(AP, 1/13/09)
2008 Oct 19, The Philippine government said it would pay 50,000 (1,063
dollars) for every M-16 assault rifle surrendered by a communist insurgent who
abandoned the long-running rebellion.
(AP, 10/19/08)

2008 Oct 24, In the Philippines communist rebels triggered a land mine and
opened fire on a Philippine army unit in an ambush that killed six soldiers on
Mindanao Island. The rebels manually triggered the US-made claymore mine as the
soldiers hiked past on a narrow mountain trail and then opened fire.
(AP, 10/25/08)

2008 Oct 25, In the Philippines communist guerrillas, disguised as anti-

narcotics agents, barged into a poorly guarded prison in Quezon province southeast of
Manila and freed seven of their comrades in a daring 15-minute attack staged without
firing a shot.
(AP, 10/26/08)

2008 Nov 4, In the Philippines a ferry packed with commuters overturned after
it was buffeted by monsoon winds and huge waves, killing 42 people including 11
children. 76 people were rescued from the Don Dexter Cathlyn. It capsized shortly
after leaving port in central Masbate island. Officials the next day detained the
captain on suspicion of operating the vessel illegally.
(AP, 11/4/08)(AP, 11/5/08)

2008 Nov 6, In the central Philippines a small ferry capsized during a storm
at Bagongon islet. 11 passengers drowned in waters just 200 yards offshore. 30
survived a 3 remained missing.
(AP, 11/6/08)(AP, 11/7/08)

2008 Nov 10, Pirates near Somalia hijacked the MT Stolt Strength. a
Philippines chemical tanker with 23 crew, bringing the total number of attacks in
waters off the African nation this year to 83. The ship was freed on April 21.
(AP, 11/11/08)(AFP, 4/21/09)

2008 Nov 17, In the Philippines a gunman on a motorcycle killed Arecio

Padrigao, a hard-hitting Filipino radio commentator, in front of Bukindon State
University in southern Gingoog city. This was the seventh deadly attack on reporters
in the Philippines this year.
 (AP, 11/17/08)

2008 Nov 19, Philippine health officials said at least two people have died
and more than 1,500 are in hospital following a suspected outbreak of cholera in the
southern Philippines.
(AFP, 11/19/08)

2008 Nov 20, In the Philippines a mother and her 3 children were among the six
people killed after a mudslide triggered by days of heavy rain buried houses in a
southern gold mining town.
(AP, 11/21/08)

2008 Dec 6, In the Philippines gunmen armed with automatic weapons and
grenades fired on police officers who were tailing them, leaving at least 17 people
dead in a fierce shootout in a Manila suburb.
(AP, 12/6/08)

2008 Dec 7, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf and Muslim militants engaged in
fierce clashes with governments troops who took over a southern village on Basilan
island notorious as a hide-out for kidnappers and al-Qaida-linked rebels. At least
five soldiers were killed and dozens wounded.
(AP, 12/8/08)

2008 Dec 8, In the Philippines suspected extortionists armed with automatic

rifles and rocket-propelled grenades attacked two cargo ships docked at a southern
port, wounding two crew members.
(AP, 12/9/08)

2008 Dec 14, In the northeastern Philippines an overcrowded ferry capsized

just short of its destination in rough seas, causing terrified passengers to leap
into the sea. At least 30 people drowned.
(AP, 12/15/08)(AP, 12/16/08)

2008 Dec 23, In the southern Philippines members of the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front attacked villages in the Sultan Kudarat township, killing 9
civilians.
(SFC, 12/27/08, p.A6)

2008 Benito Vergara authored “Pinoy Capital: The Filipino Nation in Daly
City.”
(www.goodreads.com/book/show/6170014-pinoy-capital)

2009 Jan 14, Philippine officials said weeklong rains have triggered flash
floods, landslides and sea surges across the Philippines, leaving at least 11 people
dead and another 8 missing.
(AP, 1/14/09)

2009 Jan 15, In the Philippines gunmen abducted three Red Cross workers in a
southern Muslim militant stronghold, prompting a search operation by US-backed
Filipino troops through dense jungles in the country's worst foreign hostage crisis
in nearly eight years. Seven suspects including three police officers were later
arrested in connection with a wide-ranging official enquiry into the abductions on
the southern island of Jolo. Eugenio Vagni (63), Italian Red Cross worker, was
released on July 11. A Swiss and a Filipino, had been freed earlier in the year by
the militants.
(AP, 1/15/09)(AFP, 4/6/09)(AP, 7/11/09)

2009 Jan 29, In the Philippines a powerful explosion destroyed a fireworks

factory and a nearby electronics plant south of Manila, killing at least six people
and injuring more than 40.
(AP, 1/29/09)

2009 Feb 9, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf militants holding three Red Cross
workers tried to break a military cordon that has boxed them in for days, setting off
a clash that wounded five marines and sparked concerns over the hostages' safety.
(AP, 2/9/09)

2009 Feb 11, The Philippines Supreme Court said in a statement it had ordered
Manila to negotiate with the US authorities for an "appropriate agreement on
detention facilities under Philippine authorities" for Lance Corporal Daniel Smith.
In 2006 Smith was convicted and sentenced to 40 years in jail for raping a Filipina
after he took part in military exercises north of Manila in 2005.
(AFP, 2/11/09)

2009 Feb 13, In the southern Philippines 9 gunmen snatched a Sri Lankan peace
activist from his home, the latest in a wave of kidnappings blamed on al-Qaida-linked
militants.
(AP, 2/13/09)
2009 Mar 10, The Philippine president signed a law affirming sovereignty over
islands also claimed by China and Vietnam, sparking protests over the control of
strategic South China Sea islands. The Chinese Embassy issued a statement expressing
its "strong opposition and solemn protest" over the signing of the law.
(AP, 3/11/09)

2009 Mar 17, Philippine marines and al-Qaida-linked militants holding three
Red Cross workers clashed for a second day, leaving three troops and up to 7 Abu
Sayyaf militants dead.
(AP, 3/17/09)(AP, 3/18/09)

2009 Mar 29, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad threatened
to behead one of three Red Cross hostages, two Europeans and a Filipino, at 2 p.m.
March 31, unless police and militiamen withdraw from 15 villages on Jolo island.
(AP, 3/30/09)

2009 Mar 30, Fishermen in the Philippines accidentally caught and soon ate a
megamouth shark, one of the rarest fishes in the world with only 40 others recorded
to have been encountered. The 1,100-pound (500-kilogram) 13-foot (4-meter) megamouth
died while struggling in the fishermen's net off Burias island.
(AP, 4/7/09)

2009 Apr 2, In the southern Philippines Islamic militants released a Filipina

Red Cross aid worker, leaving a Swiss and an Italian still held captive.
(AFP, 4/2/09)

2009 Apr 3, The Philippines said it will take needed steps to be stricken from
a list of four nations blacklisted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development as uncooperative tax havens.
(AP, 4/3/09)

2009 Apr 4, In the Philippines two homemade bombs exploded hours apart in the
same bus, wounding the conductor and five passengers in an attack police said may
have been the work of an extortion gang led by former Muslim rebels.
(AP, 4/4/09)

2009 Apr 18, Philippine security forces rescued Andreas Notter (38), a Swiss
Red Cross worker held hostage since January 15 by Islamic guerrillas. The government
said it had no immediate details about a 2nd International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) hostage, Italian national Eugenio Vagni (62), who was believed to be unwell
and in need of hernia surgery.
(AFP, 4/18/09)

2009 May 3, In the southern Philippines 7 people were killed and 1,000 forced
to flee their homes as fresh fighting broke out when MILF separatist guerrillas
attacked civilians. The 12,000-member MILF has been waging a decades-old insurgency
to set up a Muslim state in the southern Philippines, where Christian settlers now
outnumber the original inhabitants.
(AFP, 5/5/09)

2009 May 5, The Philippine military rejected a US government assessment that

labeled the country's south as a terrorist safe haven. The US State Department
reported last week in its annual assessment of worldwide terrorism that the southern
Mindanao region, specifically predominantly Muslim Sulu province, remains a sanctuary
for extremists.
(AP, 5/5/09)

2009 May 7, In the Philippines fighting in the southern island of Jolo broke
out after Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf members ambushed Chief Superintendent Julasirim
Kasim, killing him and four of his men. Five rebels were also killed in the attack.
In retaliatory attacks that followed more than 20 Muslim extremists were killed.
(AP, 5/11/09)

2009 May 8, In the northern Philippines Typhoon Cha-hom dumped heavy rains
overnight, triggered landslides and left at least 10 people dead and four missing.
(AP, 5/8/09)

2009 May 15, In Indonesia 6 Asia-Pacific countries, meeting at the World

Oceans Conference, agreed on a management plan to protect one of the world's largest
networks of coral reefs, promising to reduce pollution, eliminate overfishing and
improve the livelihoods of impoverished coastal communities. The Coral Triangle
Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security covered an area defined as the
Coral Triangle, which spans Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea,
the Solomon Islands and East Timor.
(AP, 5/15/09)

2009 May 17, In the Philippines police recovered the severed head of Doroteo
Gonzales (61), a farm owner kidnapped on April 25 by Muslim militants. Authorities
said he was likely beheaded because his family failed to pay ransom.
(AP, 5/18/09)

2009 May 18, In the southern Philippines mudslides tumbled down a rain-soaked
mountain, burying dozens of shanties in a gold mining village and killing at least 26
people.
(AP, 5/19/09)

2009 May 30, In the central Philippines communist rebels threw two grenades at
army troops helping treat villagers, killing two soldiers and a civilian who covered
a child with his body during the attack in Northern Samar province.
(AP, 5/31/09)

2009 Jun 6, Philippine government troops seized a Muslim separatist rebel camp
in southern Maguindanao province following three days of fighting that left 30
guerrillas dead.
(AP, 6/6/09)

2009 Jun 9, In the Philippines lawyer and radio commentator Crispin Perez Jr.
was killed in Mindoro Occidental province by motorcycle-riding gunman. His wife said
the attack may have been work-related.
(AP, 6/17/09)

2009 Jun 11, In the southern Philippines Ansar Venancio, a Filipino bomb
expert from the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group, was arrested in Marawi city. He is
thought to have carried out a deadly attack on Manila in 2000.
(AFP, 6/11/09)

2009 Jun 12, In the Philippines fighting with the militant Moro Islamic
Liberation Front left 10 dead and 20 wounded. Columnist Antonio Castillo was killed
in Masbate province by motorcycle-riding gunmen.
(AP, 6/13/09)(AP, 6/17/09)
2009 Jun 12, In New Jersey an Indictment was unsealed today against three
individuals who allegedly hacked into the telephone systems of large corporations and
entities in the US and abroad and sold information about the compromised telephone
systems to Pakistani nationals residing in Italy. Italian law enforcement conducted
searches of approximately 10 locations in four regions of Italy and arrested the
financiers of the hacking activity. Those financiers allegedly used the information
to transmit over 12 million minutes of telephone calls valued at more than $55
million over the hacked networks of victim corporations in the US alone.
(SFC, 6/16/09, p.A2)(http://newark.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2009/nk061209.htm)

2009 Jun 13, In the Philippines Al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants holding
Eugenio Vagni (62), an Italian Red Cross worker captive, killed five Philippine
marines and wounded 10 others in an ambush on southern Jolo Island.
(AP, 6/13/09)

2009 Jun 20, In the southern Philippines suspected Muslim guerrillas hurled
two grenades near a crowded town plaza where a beauty contest was being held, killing
at least one person and wounding 32 others in the predominantly Christian town of
Maasim, Sarangani province.
(AP, 6/21/09)

2009 Jun 27, In the Philippines two soldiers were shot dead by suspected Abu
Sayyaf members as they stepped outside of their camp to buy cigarettes in Tipo-tipo
town, Basilan Island.
(AP, 6/28/09)

2009 Jun 28, In the Philippines 7 policemen were killed in an attack by

suspected Muslim guerrillas on the restive southern island of Basilan.
(AFP, 6/28/09)

2009 Jul 5, In the southern Philippines suspected Muslim guerrillas detonated

a bomb near a Roman Catholic cathedral in Cotabato city, killing at least five people
and wounding 46.
(AP, 7/5/09)

2009 Jul 7, In the Philippines a crude bomb hidden on a motorcycle exploded in

a port city on southern Jolo island where al-Qaida-linked militants are active,
killing at least two people and wounding 24.
(AP, 7/7/09)

2009 Jul 15, In the Philippines five employees of a logging company, including
a woman, were seized by eight guerrillas belonging to the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front in Kapai township in Lanao del Sur province. Army troops and police rescued the
victims on July 18 near Kapai without a fire fight. Basit Kauyag was identified as
the leader of the kidnappers.
 (AP, 7/19/09)

2009 Jul 19, Philippine officials said hundreds of marines and army troops
have been deployed to two islands in the southern Philippines for a new offensive
aimed at eradicating al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants by the end of this year.
(AP, 7/19/09)

2009 Jul 23, The Philippine government ordered its military to stop offensives
against Muslim separatist rebels in a bid to restart peace talks, a move welcomed by
the guerrillas.
(AP, 7/23/09)

2009 Aug 1, In the Philippines former President Corazon Aquino (b.1933) died.
The "people power" uprising she led in 1986 brought down the repressive 20-year
regime of Ferdinand Marcos and served as an inspiration to nonviolent resistance
across the globe. Due to the time difference her death was reported in the US on July
31.
(Reuters, 8/1/09)

2009 Aug 6, In the northern Philippines heavy monsoon rains inundated wide
areas, triggering flash floods and landslides that killed 21 people, including two
French citizens and a Belgian who were touring Mount Pinatubo. Typhoon Morakot left
seven others missing in landslides and floodwaters.
(AP, 8/7/09)(AP, 8/9/09)

2009 Aug 12, Philippine troops overran two jungle camps of al-Qaida-linked
militants in their deadliest clash in years, with 23 soldiers and 31 guerrillas
killed. The two camps served as a stronghold and a bomb factory for the Abu Sayyaf on
Basilan. Troops found several bombs, booby traps and 15 assault rifles and grenade
launchers.
(AP, 8/13/09)

2009 Aug 19, Philippine troops clashed with about 30 Muslim gunmen, who took
over Mantangule islet in the southern part of Palawan Island, killing at least seven
and capturing two.
(AP, 8/19/09)

2009 Aug 21, Philippine police arrested Dinno-Amor Rosalejos Pareja, also
known as Khalil Pareja, the alleged leader of a radical Islamist group believed to be
responsible for one of Southeast Asia's deadliest terror attacks. Pareja is allegedly
the leader of the Rajah Solaiman Movement, a group of Christian converts to Islam.
The group is believed to be behind the 2004 ferry bombing that killed 116 people in
Manila Bay. It was the second-most deadly terrorist attack in Southeast Asia after
the 2002 attack on the Indonesian resort island of Bali that killed 202 people.
(AP, 8/21/09)

2009 Sep 6, In the southern Philippines the Superferry 9, carrying nearly

1,000 passengers, sank leaving at least 9 people dead. After rescue efforts one
passenger was left unaccounted.
(AFP, 9/6/09)(AP, 9/7/09)

2009 Sep 20, In the southern Philippines clashes erupted when al-Qaida-linked
militants resisted attempts by government forces to serve arrest warrants on 3 of
their commanders. Troops took control of the Abu Sayyaf group's biggest camp on the
island of Jolo following rounds of air strikes.
(AP, 9/20/09)(AP, 9/21/09)

2009 Sep 21, Philippine marines were ambushed by Abu Sayyaf fighters, as they
were leaving a newly-captured camp on Jolo Island, resulting in the deaths of 8
troopers and 5 guerrillas. Abu Sayyaf reinforcements had come in by boat from the
nearby islands of Basilan to help their comrades on Jolo.
(AFP, 9/21/09)

2009 Sep 26, In the northern Philippines nearly a month's worth of rain fell
in six hours as Tropical Storm Ketsana slammed ashore, stranding thousands on
rooftops in the capital's worst flooding in more than 42 years.
(AP, 9/26/09)

2009 Sep 27, In the northern Philippines rescuers plucked bodies from muddy
floodwaters and saved drenched survivors from rooftops. The death toll in the
Philippines from Typhoon Ketsana reached 246 with 42 missing. The economic cost was
nearly $100 million.
(AP, 9/27/09)(AP, 9/30/09)

2009 Sep 29, In the southern Philippines 2 US soldiers were killed in the
deadliest attack against American troops there since they began helping local forces
stamp out Muslim extremists in 2001. In 2011 Arabi Sali, suspected of involvement in
the roadside bombing that killed the 2 US soldiers, was arrested.
 (AFP, 9/29/09)(AP, 2/2/11)

2009 Oct 3, In the Philippines Typhoon Parma cut a destructive path across the
northern Philippines killing at least 30 people and leaving more than a dozen
villages flooded, piling further misery on the Southeast Asian nation after floods
from Ketsana claimed 298 lives.
(AP, 10/4/09)(AP, 10/8/09)

2009 Oct 9, In the northern Philippines driving rain on the heels of back-to-
back storms triggered dozens of landslides across, burying more than 225 people,
washing away villages and leaving almost an entire province under water.
(AP, 10/9/09)(AP, 10/10/09)

2009 Oct 11, In the southern Philippines 6 gunmen, believed to be Islamic

militants, kidnapped Michael Sinnott, a 78-year-old Irish priest near Pagadian. They
later demanded $2 million for his release. Sinnott was freed on Nov 12. Irish and
Filipino authorities said neither country paid any of the kidnappers' $2 million
ransom demand.
(AFP, 10/11/09)(AP, 10/31/09)(AP, 11/12/09)

2009 Oct 15, A Philippine military tribunal acquitted 11 officers of plotting

a foiled Feb, 2006, coup against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 10/15/09)

2009 Oct 17, In the Philippines a propeller-driven plane on a test flight

crashed and burst into flames in a suburb of Manila, killing at least four people
onboard.
(AP, 10/17/09)

2009 Oct 22, In the Philippines outbreaks of leptospirosis, spread by water

contaminated with the urine of rats, dogs and other animals, have compounded the
problems faced after back-to-back storms since late last month killed more than 900
people. The WHO said it will send an emergency team to help fight a bacterial disease
outbreak that has killed at least 148 people and sickened nearly 2,000 in and around
the flood-hit capital.
(AP, 10/22/09)

2009 Oct 31, In the Philippines Typhoon Mirinae, the 4th since late September,
battered Manila and surrounding provinces, sending residents of one town clambering
onto rooftops to escape rising waters. 20 people wee left dead with east 5 missing.
(AP, 10/31/09)(AP, 11/1/09)

2009 Nov 2, In the central Philippines a fire swept through a residential

building as people slept in a slum community, killing 16 residents including women
and children.
(AP, 11/2/09)

2009 Nov 3, In the Philippines government troops attacked an Abu Sayyaf camp
in the rebels' southern stronghold before dawn, triggering a five-hour clash in which
five of the al-Qaida-linked militants were killed and one government militiaman was
wounded.
(AP, 11/3/09)

2009 Nov 2, Tropical Storm Mirinae slammed into Vietnam's central coast,
unleashing heavy rains and winds and forcing more than 80,000 people to evacuate
before losing steam as it moved inland. The storm killed at least 98 people. Mirinae
also killed two people in Cambodia and left 19 people dead and three missing in the
Philippines.
(AP, 11/2/09)(AP, 11/3/09)(AFP, 11/5/09)

2009 Nov 13, Philippine Pres. Gloria Macapagal signed a bill criminalizing all
forms of torture and prohibiting state authorities from using secret detention
centers.
(SFC, 11/14/09, p.A2)

2009 Nov 19, In Las Vegas Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines demolished Puerto
Rican Miguel Cotto to become the only man in history to win seven titles in as many
weight classes.
(AFP, 11/20/09)

2009 Nov 23, In the southern Philippines dozens of gunmen hijacked a convoy
carrying journalists, and family and supporters of a candidate for provincial
governor, killing 57 people in Maguindanao province. In 2010 Senior Police Officer
Rainier Ebus testified he saw former Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the scion of the clan
that was in control of southern Maguindanao province, shoot about 40 of the 57
victims after stopping their vehicles. Maguindanao is part of the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao, which was created as part of a 1996 peace agreement with a large
Muslim rebel group. The body of journalist Reynaldo Momay (61), a photographer for a
small-town newspaper, was missing. He would be the 58th victim.
(AP, 11/23/09)(AP, 11/24/09)(AP, 11/10/10)(AP, 11/22/10)

2009 Nov 26, In the Philippines Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Ampatua,
surrendered to presidential adviser Jesus Dureza in the provincial capital. He had
allegedly led dozens of police and pro-government militiamen in the Nov 23 massacre
of an election convoy.
(AP, 11/26/09)

2009 Dec 1, In the Philippines Andal Ampatuan Jr., the heir of a powerful
clan, was charged in connection with the Nov 23 ambush in which 57 people, more than
half journalists, were slaughtered. Three witnesses, who escaped, reported seeing him
and some 100 gunmen stopping cars at the scene of the massacre.
(AP, 12/1/09)

2009 Dec 4, Philippine security forces raided four compounds belonging to a

powerful clan suspected in the massacre of 57 people in the Philippines' worst
political violence. Soldiers using metal detectors, sniffer dogs and an excavator dug
up more than a dozen crates of bullets in the mansion of a local mayor linked to last
week's massacre.
(AP, 12/4/09)(Reuters, 12/4/09)

2009 Dec 5, Philippine Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed Maguindanao

province under martial law. Government troops were reported to have taken Andal
Ampatuan Sr., the former provincial governor, into custody for his clan’s role in
the Nov 23 massacre that left 57 dead.
(SFC, 12/5/09, p.A2)

2009 Dec 6, Philippine troops arrested 62 people and discovered another major
weapons cache after martial law was imposed in southern Maguindanao province
following the country's worst political massacre on Nov 23. About 20-30 armed
followers of the Ampatuan clan, the main suspect in massacre, opened fire on police
commandos while they were patrolling Datu Unsay township, near the site of the
massacre. Government negotiators were trying to convince the gunmen to surrender to
avoid bloodshed that could harm civilians.
(AP, 12/6/09)(AP, 12/7/09)

2009 Dec 9, Philippine police named 161 suspects in the Nov 23 massacre of 57
people in the country's worst election violence, including government militiamen led
by members of a powerful clan facing murder and rebellion charges.
(AP, 12/9/09)

2009 Dec 10, In the Philippines gunmen abducted 65 students and teacher from a
school in San Martin village on Mindanao island. Suspected bandits trying to evade
police serving arrest warrants abducted dozens of villagers and were still holding 57
hostages after releasing all the schoolchildren they had seized.
(AFP, 12/10/09)(AP, 12/10/09)(Econ, 12/12/09, p.48)

2009 Dec 11, In the Philippines government-armed former militiamen freed 10

more hostages seized in the remote south, and their leader demanded that murder
charges against them be dropped before they release 47 others.
(AP, 12/11/09)

2009 Dec 13, In the southern Philippines tribal gunmen freed 47 hostages, but
the region continued to be wracked by violence. Suspected Islamic radicals staged a
deadly jail break in which 31 inmates were freed, including comrades accused of
beheading marines.
(AP, 12/13/09)(SSFC, 12/13/09, p.A4)

2009 Dec 15, In the Philippines at least 9 communist rebels and one army
soldier were killed in clashes as troops closed in on a guerrilla encampment in
southern Bukidnon province.
(AP, 12/15/09)
2009 Dec 15, The Philippines' most active volcano oozed lava and shot up
plumes of ash, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes and face the
possibility of a bleak Christmas in a shelter. State volcanologists raised the alert
level on the cone-shaped, 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) Mayon volcano overnight to two
steps below a major eruption.
(AP, 12/15/09)

2009 Dec 24, In the Philippines 3 floating bodies were found as search-and-
rescue teams combed the waters of Manila Bay for at least 24 people missing after a
passenger ferry collided with a fishing boat.
(AP, 12/24/09)

2009 Dec 26, In the Philippines a roll-on, roll-off ferry, carrying at least
88 people and nine cargo trucks, sank in the late evening off Verde Island. 6 people
were confirmed dead and at least 22 were missing.
 (AP, 12/27/09)

2010 Jan 10, About 50,000 Philippine policemen began enforcing a 5-month ban
on carrying guns in public in hopes of avoiding bloodshed in the buildup to May
elections, arresting 18 violators at checkpoints across the country.
(AP, 1/10/10)

2010 Jan 16, In the Philippines a fire raced through a slum near the main port
Manila, leaving 4,000 people homeless and killing a 5-year-old girl.
(AP, 1/17/10)

2010 Jan 28, In the southern Philippines a decades-old military plane crashed
into a residential area, killing a two-star air force general and eight other people.
(AP, 1/28/10)

2010 Feb 9, Philippine prosecutors filed charges against Andal Ampatuan

senior, the head of a powerful clan, and 195 others in the biggest and deadliest
murder case since the country's WW II war crimes trials.
(AP, 2/9/10)(Econ, 2/20/10, p.40)

2010 Feb 11, The Philippines launched a European-funded program to reduce the
country's large number of extralegal killings and disappearances of activists,
journalists and union workers. The EU has pledged euro3.9 million ($5.36 million) for
the EU-Philippines Justice Support Program to provide technical aid and training to
bolster the country's criminal justice system.
(AP, 2/11/10)

2010 Feb 18, Philippine troops arrested Jumadali Arad, a suspected Muslim
militant accused in the high-profile kidnappings of three Americans, two of whom were
later killed, and dozens of Filipinos nine years ago.
(AP, 2/19/10)

2010 Feb 19, In the Philippines 2 soldiers were killed and one wounded on
southern Basilan Island when they tripped the wire on a homemade bomb during an
operation to track down militants.
(AP, 2/19/10)

2010 Feb 21, In the Philippines Albader Parad, a top commander of the Al
Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, was among six militants killed in fighting on Jolo island.
Another of those slain, Abdulhan Jumdail, was identified as the cousin of Umbra
Jumdail, one of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf.
(AFP, 2/21/10)

2010 Feb 27, In the southern Philippines Al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militants

killed 11 people, hours after two hostages they were holding walked free.
(AFP, 2/27/10)

2010 Mar 3, A Philippine official said a wildlife officer is suspected of

stealing more than 1,500 pounds (700 kilograms) of smuggled elephant tusks seized
last year, an embarrassing setback for the country's anti-poaching efforts. The ivory
worth $65,000 was part of a 8,800-pound (4,000-kilogram) shipment of tusks that was
impounded at Manila airport in July and turned over for disposal to the Protected
Areas and Wildlife Bureau.
(AP, 3/3/10)

2010 Mar 6, In the Philippines guerrillas of the communist New People's Army
(NPA) killed 11 government soldiers in a gun battle on Mindoro island.
(AFP, 3/6/10)

2010 Mar 7, Philippine marines killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants

in a raid on a coastal hide-out but failed to capture a Malaysian terror suspect long
wanted by Washington.
(AP, 3/7/10)

2010 Mar 28, In the Philippines 2 marines were wounded and several Abu Sayyaf
fighters were believed killed as troops pursued militants in an offensive on Jolo
island that ended today. At least one body of an Abu Sayyaf fighter, killed in the 2-
day assault, was dug up by troops.
(AP, 3/28/10)(SFC, 3/29/10, p.A2)

2010 Mar 29, A Philippine court dismissed rebellion charges against a powerful
clan leader and dozens of his followers but they remain in custody for their alleged
role in the Nov 23, 2009, election-related massacre of 57 people. Prosecutors had
charged Andal Ampatuan Sr., his four sons and followers with rebellion for allegedly
plotting to stage an armed uprising after the government began to crack down on them
when they were linked to the massacre.
(AP, 3/29/10)
2010 Apr 2, In the Philippines at least 23 devotees were nailed to crosses in
San Fernando city to mark Good Friday.
(SFC, 4/3/10, p.A2)

2010 Apr 4, In the Philippines Carl Rieth (72), a Filipino businessman of

Swiss descent, was kidnapped from his beach-front home on the southern Zamboanga
peninsula. On June 16 Philippine troops rescued Reith.
(AFP, 4/6/10)(AP, 6/16/10)

2010 Apr 8, The Philippine Supreme Court overturned a decision barring a gay
rights group from contesting national elections in May and recognized it as a
legitimate political party for the first time.
(AP, 4/8/10)

2010 Apr 13, In the Philippines Muslim militants disguised as policemen and
soldiers detonated bombs and opened fire in a series of coordinated attacks in
southern in Isabela city, triggering clashes that killed at least 13 people. The
death toll included three marines, a police officer and three militants, including
Bensar Indama, the brother of militant leader Puruji Indama, whose body was found in
a police uniform.
(AP, 4/13/10)(AP, 4/14/10)

2010 Apr 18, In the Philippines Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said he has
ordered prosecutors to remove the names of Zaldy Ampatuan, a former governor of a
Muslim autonomous region, and his brother-in-law Akhmad from the charge sheets for
lack of strong evidence linking them to the planning and staging of the Nov 23, 2009,
carnage in Maguindanao's Ampatuan township.
(AP, 4/18/10)

2010 Apr 21, In the Philippines an electrical fire forced a cargo plane's
pilots to attempt an emergency landing in a Philippine rice field when the Russian-
made Antonov-12 aircraft burst into flames, killing three of its six crew. The dead
included two Russian ground engineers and a Bulgarian.
(AP, 4/22/10)

2010 Apr 25, In the Philippines a huge fire sweeping through a shantytown
outside Manila destroyed about 600 houses leaving one person dead and some 10,000
people homeless.
(AP, 4/25/10)(AP, 4/26/10)
2010 May 4, The Philippine election commission ordered the recall of 76,000
memory cards to be used in the country's first automated elections next week after
some were found to be defective, heightening jitters over a possible failure of the
new system.
(AP, 5/4/10)

2010 May 10, In the Philippines the military reported 37 incidents of election
day violence, with at least nine dead and 12 wounded. That tally was low by the
standards of past Philippine elections. Frontrunner Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino
was poised for a decisive victory despite technical problems which caused long delays
but did not derail the polls as feared. Aquino grabbed over 40% of the estimated 37.5
million votes cast in the country's first automated polls.
(Reuters, 5/10/10)(AFP, 5/11/10)

2010 May 16, In the Philippines Muslim guerrillas said that they were ready to
enter into peace talks with Philippine president-apparent Benigno Aquino III after
years of little progress under his predecessor.
(AP, 5/16/10)

2010 May 17, Outgoing Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo swore in a
new chief justice whose appointment has been questioned by her apparent successor,
sparking fears of a constitutional crisis.
(AP, 5/17/10)
2010 May 17, In the Philippines a helicopter carrying Quezon Gov. Rafael
Nantes, two security personnel and the pilot, crashed into houses south of Manila,
killing all four people aboard and a girl on the ground.
(AP, 5/17/10)

2010 Jun 1, Philippine officials said elementary and high schools will start
teaching basic sex education as a pilot program in the conservative Roman Catholic
nation, brushing aside concerns by church leaders that it may encourage promiscuity
among the youth.
(AP, 6/1/10)

2010 Jun 5, In the Philippines the military said Al-Qaida-linked militants

have fatally shot three abducted rubber farm workers after their families failed to
pay a ransom. Gunmen led by senior Abu Sayyaf commander Furuji Indama seized the
three men from a passenger minibus on May 27. They demanded 3 million pesos ($64,000)
in ransom from their families. Muslim militants killed two villagers after fatally
shooting three hostages, apparently to avenge the deaths of comrades in a government
assault in the southern Philippines.
(AP, 6/5/10)(AP, 6/6/10)

2010 Jun 8, In the Philippines a congressional count said Benigno Aquino III
won more than 15 million votes in the May election, about 5.7 million ahead of his
closest opponent, ousted leader Joseph Estrada, who pledged to support him. The 50-
year-old bachelor and economics graduate will officially become the nation's 15th
president on June 30.
(AP, 6/8/10)

2010 Jun 12, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded three loggers in
apparent retaliation for government offensives near Maluso town on Basilan island.
(AP, 6/13/10)

2010 Jun 13, In the central Philippines a bus rented by Iranian medical
students plunged into a ravine while negotiating a mountain road, killing 21 people
and injuring 26 others.
(AP, 6/13/10)(AP, 6/14/10)

2010 Jun 14, In the southern Philippines a brazen gunman shot and killed
Desidario Camangyan (52) of Sunshine FM radio, as he hosted a singing contest before
shocked spectators in Davao Oriental province's Manay township.
(AP, 6/15/10)

2010 Jun 22, Philippine marines killed two Muslim rebels in two clashes on
Jolo island.
(AP, 6/24/10)

2010 Jun 23, In the southern Philippines about 30 hooded attackers, believed
to be Abu Sayyaf militants, shot and hacked horrified victims as they ran for their
lives. Four people died and six were wounded in the ambush on a village road on
Basilan island.
(AP, 6/24/10)

2010 Jun 27, Philippine troops attacked a communist rebel camp to rescue an
abducted soldier and a militiaman in the country's south, killing at least two
communist guerrillas but failing to find the captives.
 (AP, 6/27/10)

2010 Jun 29, Philippine Pres. Beningno Aquino III said that one of his first
acts will be to create a Truth Commission to probe the corruption he and his backers
say flourished under former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(WSJ, 7/2/10, p.A11)

2010 Jun 30, In the Philippines Benigno Aquino III was sworn in as the
country’s 15th president. He promised to prosecute the corrupt and banish poverty as
he urged Filipinos to help him in a job he likened to a biblical burden.
(AP, 6/30/10)

2010 Jul 5, Authorities in Iceland exhumed the body of American chess champion
Bobby Fischer to determine whether he is the father of a 9-year-old girl from the
Philippines.
(AP, 7/05/10)

2010 Jul 7, In the Philippines officials said Nicanor Faeldon (44), a rebel
soldier accused of leading two failed coup attempts, has turned himself in to
authorities after 3 years on the run. Faeldon, a former bomb making trainer with the
marines, was accused of helping lead 300 soldiers in taking over the upscale Oakwood
Hotel and a nearby shopping center in Manila's financial district of Makati in July
2003, rigging the area with bombs.
(AP, 7/7/10)

2010 Jul 12, In the Philippines when Canadian Geoffrey Alan Bennun (60) and
his Filipino girlfriend were shot to death after a robber broke into their hotel
room. Four days later, Briton James Bolton Porter (51) and his girlfriend were killed
by a gunman in their house in Angeles' Malabanas village. About a week later a gunman
killed American Albert Mitchell (70), a veteran of the US Air Force, along with his
Filipino wife, Janet (53), and three Filipino staff inside their Angeles home [see
July 27].
(AP, 7/27/10)

2010 Jul 14, In the Philippines the first typhoon this year flooded parts of
the capital, toppled power lines and killed at least 26 people, many of them trying
to scramble to safety as the storm changed course. 38 people were missing. Typhoon
Conson came ashore on the east coast of Luzon the previous night with winds of 75
miles per hour (120 km per hour).
 (AP, 7/14/10)

2010 Jul 22, In the northern Philippines an American man, Albert Mitchell, and
four others were found shot dead at his rented home.
(AFP, 7/22/10)

2010 Jul 25, In the Philippines gunmen strafed the center of a southern
township, killing an aide to Vice Mayor Rasul Sangki, a key witness to the Nov 23,
2009, mass killings.
(AP, 7/26/10)

2010 Jul 27, Philippine police tracked down Mark Dizon (28), a suspect in a
series of grisly robberies and killings, with the help of his Facebook account. He
was accused of killing nine people, six Filipinos, an American, a Canadian and a
Briton, in three different robberies at hotels and homes this month in Angeles city.
(AP, 7/27/10)

2010 Aug 2, In the Philippines the 2010 winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards
were announced. Winners included Tadatoshi Akiba, the three-term mayor of Hiroshima,
who spearheaded a global campaign for nuclear disarmament, and photographer Huo
Daishan (56), who documented river pollution in his native China. The awards are
considered Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Other awardees were physicists
Christopher Bernido and wife Maria Victoria Carpio-Bernido of the Philippines, who
introduced a novel way of teaching science, and Bangladeshi A.H.M. Noman Khan, who
set up service-and-training centers for helping persons with disabilities.
(AP, 8/2/10)

2010 Aug 5, In the southern Philippines a powerful bombing killed a man and
wounded about a dozen other people including a provincial governor at the Zamboanga
city airport.
(AP, 8/5/10)

2010 Aug 18, In the Philippines a packed passenger bus negotiating a downhill
curve plunged off a Philippine mountain highway into a 100-foot (30-meter) ravine,
killing 41 people.
(AP, 8/18/10)

2010 Aug 21, In the Philippines communist guerrillas, the New People’s Army,
killed a local council member in northern Samar province and then waited for police
to arrive. They then killed 8 police officers.
(SSFC, 8/22/10, p.A6)

2010 Aug 23, Philippine police stormed a bus in downtown Manila after shots
were heard from the hostage-taker of 15 Chinese tourists. Former Senior Inspector
Rolando Mendoza (55), armed with a M16 rifle, had seized the busload of Hong Kong
tourists to demand his reinstatement in the force. 8 tourists were killed along with
Mendoza. Ken Leung died trying to subdue the gunman, who then killed his two
daughters, Doris (21) and Jessie (14). The only survivors were the mother, Amy, and
son Jason (18), who fell into a coma after suffering a head wound. Jason awoke from
his coma around mid October. On Dec 16 Manila said it will pay compensation to the
families of 8 Hong Kong tourists killed during the botched hostage rescue.
(AP, 8/23/10)(AP, 8/24/10)(AP, 10/20/10)(AFP, 12/16/10)

2010 Aug 26, In the Philippines fire broke out late at night, possibly when
gasoline a man was pouring into a container near an open stove caught alight, in two
crowded villages in Navotas city, north of the capital Manila. 2 people were killed
and thousands left homeless.
(AP, 8/27/10)

2010 Aug 29, In Hong Kong an estimated 80,000 people marched in honor of eight
locals killed Aug 23 in a bus hijacking in Manila, denouncing the Philippine
government for botching the rescue operation and demanding justice for the dead.
(AP, 8/29/10)

2010 Sep 4, Philippine police commandos killed an Abu Sayyaf commander linked
to last year's kidnapping of Red Cross workers and gunned down two other militants in
a clash in the south. Gafur Jumdail and two of his men were killed near Maimbung town
on Jolo island after clashing with commandos tracking a Malaysian militant and allied
Filipino fighters.
(AP, 9/5/10)

2010 Sep 6, Philippine officials said the government has asked a court to
outlaw the Abu Sayyaf as a terrorist group under a 2007 anti-terrorism law and
blacklist more than 200 of its Islamic fighters blamed for two decades of bombings,
kidnappings and beheadings.
(AP, 9/6/10)

2010 Sep 12, Philippine authorities at Manila's airport found a newborn baby
in a garbage bag that was apparently unloaded from an airplane that landed from the
Middle East. On Sep 16 Rep. Lani Mercado said she met with the mother, who told her
that she had been raped by her employer while working as a maid in Qatar and became
pregnant.
(AP, 9/12/10)(AP, 9/16/10)

2010 Sep 19, Philippine troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf gunmen in a southern
coastal village and killed Abdukarim Sali, a long-wanted militant who helped in the
2001 kidnapping of three American and 17 Filipino tourists and the takeover of a
hospital. Dozens of rebels from the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front attacked a
village in Basilan's Lamitan town, killing one villager and wounding another.
(AP, 9/19/10)

2010 Sep 22, In the Philippines Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator for the
11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front, told local reporters that his group
wanted a "substate" that he likened to a US state. He said it would not be
independent and would be under a "unitary government.".
(AP, 9/23/10)

2010 Sep 23, In the Philippines President Benigno Aquino ordered a halt to the
demolition of thousands of squatter shanties in Manila following violent street
protests.
(AFP, 9/24/10)

2010 Oct 4, In the northern Philippines motorcycle-riding gunmen killed a

regional trial court judge, prompting calls to exempt judges from a current gun ban.
(AP, 10/4/10)

2010 Oct 12, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III granted amnesty to
officers and soldiers accused of plotting to overthrow his predecessor. Only a
handful of the original 300 troops who took up arms against then-President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo in July 2003 remained in military custody on charges of mutiny and
coup attempt.
(AP, 10/12/10)

2010 Oct 18, In the Philippines the strongest cyclone in years killed at least
36 people, leaving a wasteland of fallen trees and power poles and sending thousands
scampering to safety in near-zero visibility. Super Typhoon Megi was forecast next to
head toward China and Vietnam.
 (AP, 10/18/10)(AP, 10/19/10)(AP, 10/22/10)

2010 Oct 21, In the southern Philippines a bomb ripped through a passenger
bus, killing at least 10 people and wounding nine in an attack authorities say may
have been carried out by an extortion gang with links to Muslim militants.
(AP, 10/21/10)

2010 Oct 22, In the Philippines ex-convict Fely Mateo stabbed 9 people at the
Talisayan Elementary School in Zamboanga City, killing 3, before parents wrestled
away his knife and stabbed him to death with it. The man killed a teacher, a 5th-
grader and an elderly man who was among those who tried to grab the attacker's knife.
(AP, 10/22/10)(AP, 10/20/10)

2010 Nov 1, Philippine investigators arrested Rolando Fajardo, one of the

country's most elusive fugitives. He was wanted over the 1986 kidnapping of a
Japanese executive.
(AFP, 11/1/10)

2010 Nov 12, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III lashed out at the US and
five other Western allies for issuing what he said were unverified warnings of a
possible terrorist attack in the Southeast Asian nation at a time when it is trying
to bolster its lackluster tourism industry.
(AP, 11/12/10)

2010 Nov 13, In Texas Manny Pacquiao, boxer and Filipino congressman, cemented
his claim to being the best fighter in the world by dominating the bigger but slower
Antonio Margarito of Mexico. Pacquiao earned a guaranteed $15 million.
(AP, 11/14/10)

2010 Dec 1, In the Philippines suspected communist guerrillas seized a

passenger bus then opened fire on pursuing government forces in a running gunbattle
that killed at least four people in San Francisco town, Quezon province.
(AP, 12/1/10)

2010 Dec 3, The Philippine government and communist rebels announced they will
resume peace negotiations to end the 41-year-old Maoist insurgency early next year
after the talks were suspended more than six years ago.
(AP, 12/3/10)
2010 Dec 8, In the Philippines Pres. Benigno Aquino III lashed out at a
Supreme Court decision rejecting an investigative body he created to look into
alleged corruption during his predecessor's administration, vowing his anti-graft
battle would not be deterred by the setback.
(AP, 12/8/10)

2010 Dec 10, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III ordered prosecutors to
drop criminal charges against 43 health workers arrested by the army as suspected
communist rebels 10 months ago, saying their rights were violated.
(AP, 12/10/10)

2010 Dec 14, In the central Philippines suspected communist guerrillas killed
10 army soldiers returning to their camp after being recalled from combat two days
before a Christmas cease-fire. A boy (9) also was killed in the crossfire when the
New People's Army guerrillas detonated land mines then opened fire on the soldiers
near where villagers were swimming in a river in Northern Samar province.
(AP, 12/15/10)

2010 Dec 19, In the northern Philippines a fire rapidly swept through a 5-
storey budget hotel in Tuguegarao burning to death 15 people, several crammed in
bathrooms where they fled in panic. Nine of the victims were nursing students in town
to take a licensing exam. The death toll rose to 16 after one person died in a
hospital
(AP, 12/19/10)(AP, 12/20/10)

2010 Dec 25, In the southern Philippines a bomb exploded during Christmas Day
Mass at a chapel inside a police camp on Jolo island, wounding 6 people. The next day
Pres. Aquino said that investigators had identified a suspect and a possible "terror
plot" in the bombing.
(AP, 12/25/10)(AFP, 12/27/10)

2010 Dec 26, In the Philippines Communist rebels threatened more attacks
despite looming peace talks with the government, as they marked the insurgency's 42nd
anniversary by defiantly marching with their weapons in public view.
(AP, 12/26/10)

2010 Dec 27, In the Philippines US Lt. Cmdr. Scintar Buenviaje Mejia (35) died
of head injuries after jumping from a second-floor staircase while a security guard
escorted him to the bathroom. He was arrested a day earlier with what was thought to
be cocaine. Tests later showed the white powder wasn't an illegal drug.
(AP, 12/28/10)

2010 Dec 29, In the Philippines a gift-wrapped grenade exploded and killed a
woman (31) when she opened the package inside her house in an upscale neighborhood of
Manila.
(AP, 12/29/10)

2010 Dec 31, In the Philippines Councilman Reynaldo Dagsa was shot dead in
Manila. A photograph identified one gunmen, who was captured Jan 3 along with an
accomplice. One suspect was a car thief who was out on bail and likely sought revenge
against Dagsa for ordering his arrest last year. The main shooter, Arnel Buenaflor,
was captured on Jan 6 in a boarding house in Aurora township.
(AP, 1/4/11)(AP, 1/7/11)

2011 Jan 2, In the Philippines a bus has collided with a passenger jeep in a
province south of Manila, killing 7 members of a family who were returning home from
a Christmas vacation. Landslides and floods, after days of heavy rain, killed at
least 17 people including 8 children.
(AP, 1/2/11)(AP, 1/3/11)(AP, 1/4/11)

2011 Jan 9, In the Philippines more than a million Roman Catholics joined a
raucous religious procession in Manila to honor a centuries-old black statue of Jesus
Christ that they believe possesses mystical powers. Nearly 600 were treated for
injuries.
(AP, 1/9/11)

2011 Jan 18, Negotiators from the Philippines government and communist rebels
agreed to resume peace talks after informal meetings in Norway.
(AP, 1/18/11)
2011 Jan 18, Philippine disaster authorities said stormy weather since late
December has killed 56 people and left at least 19 missing, mostly fishermen lost in
rough seas.
(AP, 1/18/11)

2011 Jan 23, In the northern Philippines suspected communist rebels shot and
killed Rizal town police chief Antonio Rueco, and four other officers, including his
wife, after detonating roadside bombs under their patrol car.
(AP, 1/23/11)
2011 Jan 24, In the Philippines a gunman fatally shot Jerry Ortega, a radio
broadcaster who had been critical of corrupt officials in the southern Philippines.
Police captured the fleeing assailant with the help of passing firemen and
bystanders.
(AP, 1/24/11)

2011 Jan 25, In the Philippines a bomb on a packed bus killed 5 people.
Investigators recovered fragments of an 81 mm mortar round and a Nokia cell phone
used in the bombing that also wounded 13 other people in Makati city, the financial
district of Manila. On June 2 Ryan Sison, a suspect in the bombing, was arrested in a
raid in Lucena city in Quezon province.
(AFP, 1/25/11)(AP, 1/26/11)(AP, 6/3/11)

2011 Jan 27, In the Philippines a temporary elevator at a building

construction site in Manila plunged 25 floors, killing 10 workers.
(AP, 1/27/11)

2011 Jan 29, In the Philippines a huge fire fanned by strong winds from Manila
Bay swept through a congested village in Manila, killing 12 people and displacing
nearly 2,000.
(AP, 1/30/11)

2011 Feb 2, A Philippine official said police commandos have arrested Arabi
Sali, an al-Qaida-linked militant allegedly involved in the killing of American
tourists and two US soldiers in the southern Philippines in September, 2009.
Allegations that former military chiefs benefited from massive corruption led to
calls for the government to get serious about reforming the armed forces.
(AP, 2/2/11)(SFC, 2/3/11, p.A2)

2011 Feb 3, In the Philippines President Benigno Aquino III ordered a logging
moratorium in the country, blaming devastating floods on unmitigated logging and
deforestation. A weeklong downpour culminated in raging flash floods that surged
through the streets of Jolo's coastal provincial capital, sweeping away stilt houses
and damaging hundreds of homes killing at least 5 people. Disaster officials said at
least 9 other people have died in floods elsewhere in the Philippines this week,
adding to more than 70 lives lost in heavy rainfall between late December and the end
of January.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011 Feb 3, In the Philippines the military and rebels said hundreds of rival
Muslim rebels have clashed over land in the southern Philippines, leaving at least 13
dead and thousands of villagers displaced in the monthlong fighting.
(AP, 2/3/11)

2011 Feb 5, In the Philippines guerrillas leaders said Ameril Umbra Kato, a
rogue Muslim rebel commander, has formed a separate faction of several hundred
fighters and rejected peace talks to end the decades-long secessionist rebellion.
(AP, 2/5/11)

2011 Feb 7, In the Philippines Pres. Benigno Aquino III signed a proclamation
granting amnesty to rebel soldiers who participated in military uprisings in 2003 and
2006.
(SSFC, 2/13/11, p.A4)(http://tinyurl.com/2azzq9m)

2011 Feb 8, In the Philippines retired Gen. Angelo Reyes (65) apparently
committed suicide at his mother's grave. Reyes, who headed the military from 2001 to
2003, was at the center of a congressional probe into one of the biggest corruption
scandals to have hit the Philippine armed forces.
(AP, 2/8/11)

2011 Feb 12, In the southern Philippines army troops captured a jungle
encampment of al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf gunmen and killed five militants in a
gunbattle that also left two soldiers dead near the village of Baiwas. Among the dead
was Juhaiber Alamsirul, a close aide of Abu Sayyaf commander Nurhassan Jamiri, who
has been blamed for beheadings and kidnappings.
(AP, 2/13/11)

2011 Feb 18, In the Philippines rebels freed army officer Mario Veluz, who
they snatched at gunpoint on Feb. 6 along a road near Bukidnon province.
(AP, 2/20/11)

2011 Feb 19, In the Philippines police officer Jorge Sabatin walked free after
being wounded and snatched by New People's Army guerrillas in a Feb. 1 attack on a
police outpost in Agusan del Sur province's Trento town.
(AP, 2/20/11)
2011 Feb 19, In Nevada Filipino fighter Nonito Donaire stopped Mexico's
Fernando Montiel in the second round to take the World Boxing Council and World
Boxing Organization bantamweight titles.
 (AFP, 2/20/11)

2011 Feb 20, In the Philippines rebels said police officer Jerwel Montecillo
Tugade has been ordered released after being abducted Feb. 7 in Davao Oriental
province. A fourth captive, army soldier Bryan Canedo, was still being held and
questioned after he was seized Feb. 7 in Compostela Valley Province.
(AP, 2/20/11)

2011 Feb 21, In the Philippines four kidnappers were killed and a policeman
wounded during a foiled attempt to abduct a Chinese-Filipino businessman in southern
North Cotabato province's Midsayap township.
(AP, 2/21/11)

2011 Feb 24, In the Philippines lawyers said about 7,500 victims of human
rights abuses during late dictator Ferdinand Marcos' regime will receive compensation
for their suffering starting next week, 25 years after a peaceful revolt forced
Marcos into exile in Hawaii.
(AP, 2/24/11)

2011 Feb 26, In the Philippines communist rebels killed three soldiers and
wounded four others in an ambush in the foothills of a mountain near Asipulo township
in Ifugao province. Government and rebel negotiators last week resumed talks in
Norway after more than six years and agreed to negotiate a settlement of the 42-year
conflict.
(AP, 2/27/11)

2011 Mar 2, The Philippine military deployed two warplanes near a disputed
area in the South China Sea after a ship searching for oil complained it was harassed
by two Chinese patrol boats. The Chinese vessels later left without confrontation at
the Reed Bank, which is near the disputed Spratly Islands that are claimed by the
Philippines, China and other nations.
(AP, 3/3/11)

2011 Mar 10, In the southern Philippine suspected Abu Sayyaf militants
detonated a powerful bomb near a school on Jolo island, killing at least three people
and wounding nine others.
(AP, 3/10/11)

2011 Mar 11, In the southern Philippines a gold miner was killed and five
others dug up alive by fellow miners after their hut got buried by a landslide in
Pantukan town.
(AP, 3/13/11)

2011 Mar 13, In the Philippines police commandos raided a house in Lamitan
town on southern Basilan island in search of the former mayor linked to the 2007
bombing that killed a lawmaker but they instead captured Nawaf Jainuddin. He was
allegedly one of several Abu Sayyaf gunmen who seized several hostages and staged
deadly attacks in 2001 in Lamitan.
(AP, 3/14/11)

2011 Mar 19, In the southern Philippines suspected communist rebels stormed
the main police station in Panabo city, killing an officer and wounding four others
in a daring attack on a government center that was repulsed by outnumbered police
officers.
(AP, 3/20/11)

2011 Mar 22, Philippine lawmakers overwhelmingly impeached Ombudsman

Merceditas Gutierrez, the country's chief corruption investigator, long accused of
protecting former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo from prosecution.
(AP, 3/22/11)

2011 Mar 25, The Philippine Catholic church led tens of thousands of Filipinos
in one of the biggest rallies against a proposed family planning law, saying it will
promote artificial contraception and lead to more abortions.
(AP, 3/25/11)

2011 Mar 26, Philippine Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who fled double murder charges
more than a year ago, returned to the country after a court voided the arrest warrant
against him. He had been charged with the killings of high-profile publicist Salvador
"Bubby" Dacer and his driver in 2000, but has denied involvement.
(AP, 3/26/11)

2011 Mar 29, Intelligence officials in Indonesia and Philippines said Umar
Patek (40), a suspected member of the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah
Islamiyah, has been arrested in Pakistan. The senior Indonesian al-Qaida operative
was wanted in the 2002 Bali bombings. Patek's exact whereabouts were not immediately
known.
(AP, 3/30/11)
2011 Apr 1, In the southern Philippines gunmen linked to a criminal gang
kidnapped 16 people, most of them teachers, from an elementary school graduation
ceremony in Prosperidad town. At least four small-scale miners were buried alive in a
landslide in the mountainous Tampakan area.
(AP, 4/2/11)(AFP, 4/2/11)

2011 Apr 4, In the southern Philippines armed tribesmen freed a boy after
getting food and water but kept at least 12 other hostages in jungle captivity to
demand the release of jailed relatives and friends.
(AP, 4/4/11)

2011 Apr 5, The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group acknowledged that its
ranks include child soldiers and said its leaders would meet with United Nations
representatives for talks on how to wean the youths from war.
(AP, 4/5/11)

2011 Apr 6, In the Philippines armed tribesmen under pressure from government
troops abandoned 13 hostages they held six days to demand the release of jailed
relatives, then escaped in the southern jungle.
(AP, 4/6/11)

2011 Apr 8, A Philippine court ordered the widow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos
to return 12 million pesos ($280,000) her husband pocketed from the government's food
agency in 1983.
(AP, 4/11/11)

2011 Apr 16, In the Philippines army Scout Rangers encountered about 15 Abu
Sayyaf gunmen in a remote village of Al Barka township on Basilan island. The clash
killed 2 al-Qaida-linked gunmen and left three soldiers wounded.
(AP, 4/16/11)

2011 Apr 22, In the Philippines at least 21 people were missing and three
confirmed dead after a night-time landslide ravaged a gold mining village in a
mountainous area of Mindanao.
(AP, 4/22/11)

2011 Apr 26, The Philippines-based Asian Development Bank said world food
prices that surged 30 percent in the first two months of the year threaten to push
millions of Asians into extreme poverty and cut economic growth.
(AP, 4/26/11)

2011 Apr 29, Philippines’s Pres. Benigno Aquino forced the resignation of
ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the state’s chief prosecutor of official corruption.
She was accused of failing to prosecute cases of alleged corruption within the
administration of former president Gloria Arroyo, who had appointed her.
(Econ, 5/7/11, p.46)

2011 May 5, In the Philippines Arabani Jakiran (39) was arrested amid an
intensified manhunt for al-Qaida-linked militants to pre-empt any possible revenge
attacks for Osama Bin Laden's killing this week in Pakistan.
(AP, 5/6/11)

2011 May 8, In the Philippines a police intelligence unit arrested Asdatul

Sahirun, a suspected member of the Abu Sayyaf extremist movement, at a shopping mall
in the Manila’s Malate tourist district.
(AP, 5/8/11)
2011 May 8, In the Philippines tropical storm Aere slammed into the eastern
coast, bringing heavy rains and landslides. At least 22 people were left dead and
thousands forced to leave their homes.
(AFP, 5/8/11)(AP, 5/10/11)

2011 May 9, A Philippine anti-graft court approved a much-criticized plea

bargain deal between prosecutors and former Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, who was accused
of plunder. Garcia had pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of direct bribery and
facilitating money laundering. He was released on bail in December pending sentencing
on the lesser charges.
(AP, 5/9/11)
2011 May 9, Malaysian police said they have arrested Abdul Majid Kunji
Mohamad, a Singaporean businessman, suspected of channeling funds to southern
Philippine militants.
(AP, 5/9/11)

2011 May 12, In the southern Philippines communist rebels killed a security
guard for an American-owned gold mining company and took the weapons of three others.
(AP, 5/12/11)

2011 May 25, In the Philippines Typhoon Songda roared toward the country's
northeast.
(AP, 5/25/11)

2011 May 29, In the Philippines workers cleaned up more than 750 tons of fish
that have died and rotted on fish farms in Taal Lake near Taal volcano south of
Manila. Scientists said the onset of the rainy season led to a sharp drop in water
temperatures depleting oxygen levels.
(AP, 5/29/11)(AFP, 5/29/11)

2011 May 30, In the southern Philippines suspected Abu Sayyaf militants
launched bomb attacks that wounded five army soldiers who were hunting them amid a
crackdown on kidnappings.
(AP, 5/31/11)
2011 May 30, Authorities in the Philippines detained 122 Vietnamese fishermen
after seven boats were intercepted in Philippine waters.
(AP, 5/30/11)

2011 Jun 7, A Philippine court froze $23 million in bank accounts and assets
of the Ampatuan family linked to the 2009 politically motivated massacre of at least
57 people.
(SFC, 6/8/11, p.A2)

2011 Jun 16, In the Philippines a Protestant church group sued former
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, claiming security forces under her
control killed and tortured at least six of its members.
(AP, 6/16/11)

2011 Jun 22, In the Philippines Gregorio "Comrade Roger" Rosal (64), a popular
Mao cap-wearing Filipino guerrilla, died of a heart attack. He had given a voice and
face to one of Asia's longest-running Marxist insurgencies as its spokesman.
(AP, 10/9/11)

2011 Jun 24, In the Philippines more than 53,000 people were in evacuation
centers after fleeing their homes following days of torrential rains caused by
Tropical Storm Meari.
(AFP, 6/24/11)

2011 Jun 29, In the southern Philippines flashfloods left at least 25 people
dead, mostly children. Another 15 people were missing.
 (SSFC, 7/3/11, p.A4)

2011 Jun, Scientists from the Philippines and the California Academy of
Sciences completed a 6-week study of the island of Luzon and discovered over 3000 new
species of land animals, plants and deep sea creatures.
(SFC, 6/25/11, p.A8)
2011 Jun, In the Philippines Biju Kolara Veetil (36) was abducted by suspected
Muslim extremists in Jolo while visiting his Filipina wife's family on the strife-
torn island. The Indian man escaped his captors on Aug 10, 2012, when his captors
fell asleep after fasting for Ramadan.
(AFP, 8/10/12)

2011 Jul 1, In the Philippines government "environment enforcers" wearing

mint-green Polo T-shirts fanned out across Manila to start handing out penalties for
smoking in public places of 500 pesos ($11.50), following a month-long trial period.
(AFP, 7/1/11)

2011 Jul 5, In the Philippines Darcy Hans Rentenberg (53), a retired Canadian
missionary, was reported missing 10 days after he left his flat in nearby Mandaue
city. On July 16 police said they had found his body and arrested a family-of-three
who owned the farm where the corpse was buried.
(AFP, 7/16/11)

2011 Jul 12, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf militants snatched Gerfa Yeatts
Lunsmann (41), her son Kevin (14) and her nephew, Romnick Jakaria, while they were
vacationing with relatives on an island near southern Zamboanga city. The Filipino-
American woman was freed On Oct 2 after 2½ months of captivity. Jakaria (19) escaped
on Nov 13. Her son was freed on Dec 10.
(AP, 10/3/11)(AP, 11/13/11)(AP, 12/10/11)

2011 Jul 27, In the Philippines winners were announced for Asia's Magsaysay
award this year for giving green technologies to the poor. They included US-trained
Indian engineer Harish Hande (44) for bringing solar lights to a country where half
of all households have no electricity; Indonesian social worker Tri Mumpuni (46) was
recognized after her IBEKA foundation built 60 small power plants harnessing the
energy of water stored in dams to bring electricity to half a million people; and
Dutch marine engineer Auke Idzenga's Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation
won for using an ancient, near-forgotten technology, the ram pump, to help
impoverished communities on Negros island. Other winners included a man who set up an
Islamic school for girls in Indonesia, a lender to India's poorest, and a man working
to restore democracy in Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge murdered his father.
(AFP, 7/27/11)
2011 Jul 27, In the Philippines heavy rains and floods battered the northeast
for a third day, swamping homes of about a half million people. Tropical Storm Nock-
ten was expected to blow out of the country to the South China Sea by July 28 after
cutting through the heart of Luzon Island. The death toll reached 52 with 27 still
missing.
(AP, 7/27/11)(AFP, 7/31/11)

2011 Jul 28, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf militants killed 7 marines,
severing the heads of two of them, and wounded 27 others who were about to raid their
jungle camp in southern Sulu province. The militants withdrew into the woods after 5
hours of fighting and government forces captured their hide-out.
(AP, 7/28/11)(AFP, 7/29/11)

2011 Jul 30, Tropical Storm Nock-ten hit north-central Vietnam killing one
person. The storm had already left at least 50 people dead in the Philippines.
(SSFC, 7/31/11, p.A4)

2011 Jul 31, Tropical storm Mufia, named after a Chinese flower, approached
the Philippines. It had already left 2 people dead and caused the 2,400-ton MV Trans
Asia Malaysia cargo ship to sink. All 155 aboard were rescued.
(AFP, 7/31/11)

2011 Aug 1, In the Philippines 8 police officers were arrested after

Commission on Human Rights chief Loretta Ann Rosales alerted the interior ministry to
two videos she said showed a group of naked and blindfolded police recruits being
force-fed and rubbed with red-hot chilies. 6 more officers were soon arrested in a
widening investigation.
(AFP, 8/4/11)

2011 Aug 2, In the Philippines waist-deep floods have swamped the streets in
Manila after a night of monsoon rains closed down schools and government offices. In
the southern Philippines an improvised bomb exploded in front of a gun store in
Cotabato city, killing at least one person and wounding 9 others, including a 7-year-
old girl. Typhoon Muifa killed four people in the Philippines even though it did not
make landfall.
(AP, 8/2/11)(AP, 8/6/11)
2011 Aug 3, In Kuwait a 24-year-old Filipina domestic worker, reportedly
blinded by her employer, sought refuge at the Philippines Embassy after escaping from
her employer last month.
(SSFC, 8/7/11, p.A4)

2011 Aug 10, In the Philippines 6 suspected car thieves and a police officer
were killed in two gun battles in Manila.
(AFP, 8/10/11)

2011 Aug 12, In the southern Philippines two men were killed when a bomb they
were allegedly carrying exploded prematurely along a highway.
(AP, 8/12/11)

2011 Aug 15, In the southern Philippines a car bomb killed 2 people and
wounded seven in an attack targeting Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, who took
office after many of his relatives were slain in the country's worst political
massacre in 2009. Mangudadatu was unhurt. Authorities arrested a suspect after a
witness saw him leaving the bomb-laden car and fleeing the scene of the attack in
Tacurong City.
(AP, 8/15/11)(AP, 8/18/11)

2011 Aug 17, In the Philippines the Moro Islamic Liberation Front vice
chairman Ghazali Jaafar said its central committee plans to issue a resolution
declaring that Ameril Umbra Kato is no longer a member unless he returns to its fold,
an unlikely prospect since he has rejected earlier calls to rejoin. Kato has opposed
the main rebel group's peace talks with the government and called for jihad, or holy
war, for a separate Muslim state.
(AP, 8/17/11)

2011 Aug 21, In the central Philippines the steel-hulled inter-island ferry,
M/V Island Fastcraft 1, with at least 75 people caught fire then sank amid stormy
weather, leaving 3 people dead, one missing while the rest were rescued.
(AP, 8/21/11)

2011 Aug 23, The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic
Liberation Front, rejected a government proposal for autonomy in the country's south
as inadequate but said they will continue talks.
(AP, 8/23/11)
2011 Aug 27, In the Philippines a slow-moving typhoon made landfall, drenching
most of the north and triggering landslides that killed five children and a man
digging for gold. Super-typhoon Nanmadol killed at least 16 people and left flattened
bridges and blocked roads in its wake as it moved away from the Philippines and
churned towards Taiwan.
(AP, 8/27/11)(AP, 8/28/11)(AFP, 8/29/11)

2011 Aug 30, Philippine President Benigno Aquino flew to China, on a mission
to secure billions of dollars in business deals as the two sides look to move beyond
a territorial row.
(AFP, 8/30/11)

2011 Sep 3, In the Philippines villagers and veteran hunters in Bunawan

township in Agusan del Sur province captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they
plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park.
(AP, 9/5/11)

2011 Sep 11, Philippine army troops killed three gunmen allied with the al-
Qaida-affiliated Abu Sayyaf group in a clash that also wounded a soldier on southern
Basilan island.
(AP, 9/11/11)

2011 Sep 19, In the southern Philippines dozens of army troops killed three
Abu Sayyaf militants and rescued a kidnap victim in a clash near Sumisip town on
Basilan island.
(AP, 9/19/11)

2011 Sep 20, In the Philippines a 13-year-old boy shot his 16-year-old friend
inside a busy mall then turned the weapon on himself. He died the next day and left
the other boy brain dead, raising questions about gun control in a country awash in
firearms. Police said the shooting was a crime of passion and that the boys were in a
romantic relationship after meeting through Facebook in May.
(AP, 9/21/11)

2011 Sep 25, In the Philippines suspected Muslim militants attacked government
troops guarding a school construction site in a rebel stronghold, igniting a clash
that killed 13 gunmen, two marines and at least one villager in Sulu province.
(AP, 9/25/11)
2011 Sep 26, Philippine authorities evacuated more than 100,000 people, closed
schools and grounded flights as Typhoon Nesat, one of the biggest typhoons of the
year, bore down on the Southeast Asian country.
(AFP, 9/26/11)

2011 Sep 27, Typhoon Nesat smashed into the Philippines, leaving at least 35
people dead, with the capital Manila enduring waist-deep floods, blackouts and
dramatic storm surges.
(AFP, 9/27/11)(AP, 9/29/11)

2011 Oct 1, Typhoon Nalgae lashed the Philippines, killing at least 3 people
person and bringing fresh misery for more than a million people trapped by earlier
storm floods.
(AFP, 10/1/11)(AP, 10/2/11)

2011 Oct 3, In the Philippines more than 200 heavily armed communist rebels of
the New People's Army stormed three mining companies in a weakly secured southern
region, burning heavy equipment, disarming guards and briefly holding several people
in Surigao del Norte province.
(AP, 10/3/11)

2011 Oct 4, Philippine police on southern Jolo island arrested Abu Sayyaf
gunman Adzhar Mawalil (32), who allegedly helped behead seven Filipino workers while
singing a militant song in a grisly 2007 crime.
(AP, 10/5/11)

2011 Oct 6, Philippine police rescued a government midwife kidnapped by al-

Qaida-linked militants after a brief firefight near Parang township on Jolo island.
Evangeline Taverisma (55) was kidnapped on Aug 3. An army soldier was killed and
three others wounded in the gunbattle near Esperanza town in southern Agusan del Sur
province. Troops captured a New People's Army encampment and 12 assault rifles and
hit several of the undetermined number of rebels.
(AP, 10/6/11)

2011 Oct 9, In the southern Philippines suspected homemade bombs exploded in a

budget hotel and at a cockfighting arena, wounding at least 11 people in Zamboanga
city.
(AP, 10/9/11)
2011 Oct 10, Philippine army troops battled communist guerrillas in a running
gunbattle that killed eight rebels and a soldier in the mountainous north, in the
latest flare-up in the 42-year insurgency despite on-and-off peace talks.
(AP, 10/10/11)

2011 Oct 12, Philippine President Benigno Aquino announced a $1.66 billion
program to help his country cope with the deepening global economic turmoil.
(AFP, 10/12/11)

2011 Oct 16, In the Philippines Emmanuel Ponce (55), shot his wife, three of
his children and their maid with a pistol while having breakfast in Talisay town,
Cebu province, and then killed himself. He spared his favorite daughter (14).
(AP, 10/16/11)

2011 Oct 17, In the Philippines Rev. Fausto Tentorio (59), an Italian Catholic
priest who was about to travel to a clergy meeting, was shot dead in his southern
parish. He was the third Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions missionary to be
killed on southern Mindanao Island.
(AP, 10/17/11)

2011 Oct 18, In the Philippines 19 soldiers were killed 13 wounded and 3 left
missing in a clash on Basilan island with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),
the country's largest Muslim guerrilla group.
(AFP, 10/18/11)(AFP, 10/19/11)

2011 Oct 19, The Philippine navy apologized to China for accidentally ramming
one of its fishing boats a day earlier near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South
China Sea.
(AP, 10/19/11)

2011 Oct 21, In the southern Philippines 3 South Korean businessmen went
missing. Officials later said they were abducted by unidentified men who lured them
with a fake mining investment project. Police launched a search for Wu Seok-bung, Kim
Nam-du, Choi In-soo and at least one Filipino guide after they failed to return to
their hotel in Cagayan de Oro city. Choi In-soo escaped on Nov 25. Wu Seok-bung and
Kim Nam-du were abandoned on Nov 26 as troops moved in. The guide was killed during
captivity.
(AP, 11/7/11)(AP, 11/27/11)
2011 Oct 26, In the Philippines a building-sized edifice carved with the
Bible's Ten Commandments was unveiled on a hill overlooking the northern resort city
of Baguio, making it the largest tablet of its kind, according to Guinness World
Records.
(AFP, 10/26/11)

2011 Oct 28, The Philippine government said it will seize three Manila
properties belonging to flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos as payment for
money she embezzled nearly three decades ago.
(AFP, 10/28/11)

2011 Oct 30, Philippine bomber planes and troops assaulted a mountain
stronghold of the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group in the south in a new offensive
targeting a key Malaysian terrorism suspect and allied Filipino gunmen. The military
air and ground assault killed 3 Abu Sayyaf commanders and 2 other militants around
the Abu Sayyaf jungle lair near Karawan village in Sulu province's Indanan town after
OV-10 planes bombed the area. Primary targets Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, also known
as Marwan, and Abu Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdail escaped along with 2 other Asian
militants and dozens of Abu Sayyaf fighters.
(AP, 10/30/11)(AP, 10/31/11)

2011 Nov 2, The Philippines, one of the world's largest labor exporters,
announced a ban on the deployment of workers to 41 countries, including war-torn
Afghanistan and booming India, where Filipino officials say there are inadequate
protections against labor abuse. Nearly 10 percent of the Philippine population of 94
million work abroad.
(AP, 11/2/11)

2011 Nov 3, The Philippine government and Muslim rebels agreed to continue
peace talks despite the Oct 18 clashes that killed 19 soldiers in a southern
province.
(AP, 11/3/11)

2011 Nov 8, The Philippine justice secretary barred former President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo from seeking medical treatment abroad while she faces complaints of
electoral cheating.
(AP, 11/8/11)

2011 Nov 18, In the Philippines police arrested former Pres. Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo on charges of electoral fraud. Police allowed her to remain in hospital for
health reasons.
(SFC, 11/19/11, p.A2)

2011 Nov 20, South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak arrived in Manila for a
three-day state visit at the invitation of Philippine President Benigno Aquino.
(AP, 11/20/11)

2011 Nov 27, In the southern Philippines suspected Islamic militants detonated
a powerful bomb that killed at least three people and wounded 27 others in a budget
hotel packed with wedding guests in Zamboanga city.
(AP, 11/27/11)

2011 Nov 29, Philippine authorities in Zamboanga captured Hussein Ahaddin, an

al-Qaida-linked bomber suspected in at least six attacks, including a 2002 karaoke
bar explosion that killed an American Green Beret and a hotel blast this week that
killed three people.
(AP, 11/30/11)

2011 Dec 2, In the Philippines 6 fishermen, from China's southern island

province of Hainan, were arrested in waters off western Palawan province's Balabac
township, for catching endangered sea turtles. Officials said the fishermen's mother
ship may have escaped when their speedboat was intercepted.
(AP, 12/4/11)

2011 Dec 3, In the Philippines more than 1,000 gays, lesbians and transgenders
marched in Manila to demand equal rights, an end to discrimination, and more support
for AIDS programs.
(AP, 12/3/11)

2011 Dec 5, In the Philippines several armed men abducted Warren Rodwell (53)
of Australia from his home in the seaside town of Ipil on Mindanao island, then fled
on speed boats. The kidnappers mailed four pictures of Rodwell before Christmas to
his Filipino wife then called her to demand an initial ransom of $23,000 (1 million
pesos). The ransom was soon raised to $2 million. Rodwell was released on March 23,
2013.
(AFP, 12/5/11)(AP, 1/1/12)(AP, 1/5/12)(SSFC, 2/24/13, p.A3)

2011 Dec 8, China executed a Filipino drug trafficker (35) despite a clemency
appeal by Philippine Pres. Benigno Aquino III.
(SFC, 12/9/11, p.A2)

2011 Dec 10, In the Philippines a four-seater cargo plane crashed onto a
crowded Manila slum, sparking a fire that killed 13 people and left five missing and
at least another 20 injured.
(AFP, 12/10/11)

2011 Dec 12, In the Philippines the House of Representatives impeached chief
justice Renato Corona over charges his 15-member court had made a series of rulings
that hindered government moves to prosecute ex-leader Gloria Arroyo. The proceedings
will move to the Senate, where a trial will determine if Corona must step down.
(AFP, 12/12/11)

2011 Dec 13, In the Philippines police arrested Benjamin Abalos, the former
elections chairman, on charges he aided the vote fraud allegedly ordered by former
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
(AP, 12/13/11)

2011 Dec 17, Tropical storm Washi whipped the southern Philippines, unleashing
mammoth floods across vast areas that left 440 people dead and nearly 200 missing.
(AP, 12/17/11)

2011 Dec 18, In the southern Philippines rescuers struggled to help survivors
and a ravaged city prepared for a mass burial as the death toll from devastating
flash floods rose past 650. Some 900 people were missing.
(AFP, 12/18/11)

2011 Dec 19, In the southern Philippines the death toll from devastating flash
floods rose to 927 and was expected to climb higher as relief workers recovered more
bodies from Mindanao.
(AFP, 12/19/11)

2011 Dec 20, Philippines’ President Benigno Aquino flew to Mindanao to survey
the devastation by air, coordinate the relief effort. Some 1249 were killed after
tropical storm Washi lashed the southern island of Mindanao.
(AFP, 12/20/11)(AP, 12/27/11)

2011 Dec 30, Philippine police arrested a member of an Al-Qaeda-linked

extremist group. The suspect allegedly took part in the kidnapping of guests and
workers of a resort in the western Philippines in 2001 including an American couple,
Martin and Gracia Burnham, and a Chilean-born American, Guillermo Sobero.
(AFP, 12/30/11)

2011 In the Philippines communist guerrillas killed about 100 government

troops and police and waged 447 attacks this year continuing decline in their 43-year
insurgency. The number of armed rebel fighters dropped 7.8 percent last year to
4,043.
(AP, 1/22/12)

2012 Jan 1, In the Philippines an estimated 739 people suffered injuries

during New Year celebrations including 712 sounded by fireworks and 22 by gunfire. A
boy (10) died from massive injuries due to explosives packed in a can.
(SFC, 1/2/12, p.A3)

2012 Jan 3, In the Philippines some 50 New People's Army guerrillas assaulted
a government militia outpost guarding a village in Agusan del Norte province, killing
a militiaman and two rebels. A weeklong rebel cease-fire ended on Jan 2.
(AP, 1/3/12)

2012 Jan 5, In the southern Philippines a landslide tore through a tiny gold-
mining village, killing at least 31 people in Napnapan village, Mindanao island. Up
to 39 people were still missing.
(AP, 1/5/12)(AFP, 1/6/12)(AFP, 1/8/12)

2012 Jan 16, In the Philippines a historic impeachment trial of the nation’s
top judge began in one of Pres. Benigno Aquino's boldest yet most divisive moves to
tackle pervasive corruption. Renato Corona was accused of violating the constitution
in his efforts to protect graft-tainted former president Gloria Arroyo from
prosecution, while also for allegedly amassing a personal fortune above the limits of
his salary.
(AFP, 1/16/12)

2012 Jan 22, A Philippines’ military statement said communist insurgents have
stepped up "extortion-based violence" and attacks on "soft targets" to raise funds
amid waning public support. It also said the strength of the New People’s Army (NPA)
has fallen to just over 4,000 last year from about 4,300 in 2010.
(AFP, 1/23/12)
2012 Jan 24, Philippine customs authorities seized unclaimed items, which
appeared to have been meant for cooking something illegal. They had waited a month to
see who would claim the suspicious shipment of "kitchen equipment" from Taiwan. A
Chinese drug syndicate is suspected to have arranged the shipment to use the
drumloads of chemicals, heating equipment and other items to produce large quantities
of methamphetamine.
(AP, 1/24/12)

2012 Jan 25, In the Philippines an artillery round accidentally exploded while
a welder and police commandos tinkered with it with an acetylene torch, killing four
people, including two policemen, in Manila.
(AP, 1/25/12)
2012 Jan 25, The UN said that the worldwide fishing industry could benefit
from a $50 billion boost annually if stocks were allowed time to recover. A UN
Environment Program report released in the Philippine said 32 percent of the world's
fish stocks have already been depleted by years of overfishing and poor coastal
management.
(AFP, 1/25/12)

2012 Jan 30, In the Philippines an accidental grenade blast killed a communist
rebel and wounded 11 civilians, including 7 children, in southern Bukidnon province's
Kibawe township.
(AP, 1/30/12)

2012 Feb 1, In the southern Philippines gunmen abducted Swiss and Dutch
tourists and a Filipino bird photographer and took the trio away by boat on Tawi-Tawi
island province.
(AP, 2/1/12)

2012 Feb 2, The Philippine military said it killed three of Southeast Asia's
top Islamic militants in a US-backed airstrike, including Malaysian bombmaker
Zulkifli bin Abdul Hir, alias Marwan, though his body was not yet found. The air
strike used US made smart bombs. Marwan was accused of being a senior member of
regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah and behind multiple bomb attacks in the
Philippines. In 2007 the US government offered a $5-million reward for his capture.
At least 15 people were killed including Filipino Abu Pula, also known as Doctor Abu
and Umbra Jumdail, one of the core leaders of the Abu Sayyaf militant organization
and Singaporean Mohammad Ali, alias Muawiyah, another top name in Jemaah Islamiyah.
On Feb 5 two security officials said that new intelligence showed that Jumdail was
killed but that the two foreign terror suspects were alive and were not in the Abu
Sayyaf lair that was bombed.
(AFP, 2/2/12)(SFC, 2/3/12, p.A4)(SFC, 2/4/12, p.A3)(AP, 2/5/12)(AP, 3/21/12)

2012 Feb 6, In the Philippines a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook Negros island
and set off landslides. 58 people were killed and 60 left missing.
(AP, 2/6/12)(AP, 2/7/12)(AP, 2/8/12)(AP, 3/6/12)

2012 Feb 11, Philippine government agents in Manila arrested Dr. Eric Chan,
alias Eric Uy Garchitorena, accused of defrauding a California health care program of
more than $3 million.
(AP, 2/14/12)

2012 Feb 19, In the Philippines gunmen fired two grenades at the Kidapawan
city jail and then engaged policemen and guards in a brief firefight before
withdrawing. At least one civilian was killed in the crossfire.
(AP, 2/19/12)

2012 Feb 29, The Philippines said it would push ahead with plans to expand oil
and gas exploration in waters also claimed by China, as it brushed off a fresh
Chinese warning.
(AFP, 2/29/12)

2012 Mar 1, The Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue filed a complaint after
boxer Manny Pacquiao failed to submit tax documents despite three notices and a
subpoena.
(AP, 3/8/12)
2012 Mar 1, In the Philippines Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel leader
Mohagher Iqbal said that the three commanders on southern Basilan island were
suspended for three months after an investigation by Malaysian-led peace monitors
found they violated a cease-fire accord with the government. The commanders involved
in an October clash that killed 19 soldiers and endangered a years-long cease-fire.
(AP, 3/1/12)

2012 Mar 3, In the Philippines a bomb exploded in a commercial district of the

southern island of Jolo leaving 2 dead and 13 wounded. The Abu Sayyaf group was
blamed.
(AFP, 3/3/12)
2012 Mar 6, In the Philippines a 5.2 earthquake struck leaving 10 people
injured. It was centered at sea just two miles (3 km) north of Masbate City on the
island province of Masbate.
(AP, 3/6/12)

2012 Mar 11, In the Philippines Daily Tribune reporter Fernan Angeles (41) was
beaten and shot six times with a pistol by unidentified men near his home in Pasig
city, a suburb of Manila. He appeared to have been suspected of leaking information
about a drug syndicate's operation to authorities.
(AP, 3/12/12)

2012 Mar 16, In the Philippines a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the
southern island of Dinagat and left at least 45 people injured, most of them shoppers
who panicked and rushed in a stampede for the exits.
(AFP, 3/16/12)

2012 Mar 30, Philippine police rescued some 300 badly injured pitbulls and
arrested seven South Koreans after busting a massive online dog fighting syndicate at
a two-hectare farm in the city of San Pablo. 20 of the dogs needed to be euthanized.
9 more were euthanized Apr 3 and dozens more are likely to be because there are no
facilities to rehabilitate them and prevent them from reappearing in underground
arenas.
(AFP, 4/1/12)(AP, 4/3/12)

2012 Apr 6, In the Philippines thousands of people gathered in villages to

watch devotees being nailed to crosses as they marked Good Friday by re-enacting
Jesus Christ's suffering, a yearly rite that continues even as church leaders
discourage the practice.
(AP, 4/6/12)

2012 Apr 10, A Philippines warship found Chinese fishing boats inside the
Scarborough shoal with an illegal haul of giant clams, coral and live sharks. Two
Chinese civilian patrol boats blocked the mouth of the shoal to stop the Philippines
navy from arresting the fisherman.
(Econ, 4/28/12, p.44)

2012 Apr 12, China deployed a third ship in an area of the disputed South
China Sea where a tense standoff with Philippine vessels has dragged on, sparking
alarm in Manila. On April 10 a Philippine warship attempted to arrest several Chinese
fishermen accused of illegal entry and poaching, but was prevented by the arrival of
two Chinese surveillance ships.
(AP, 4/12/12)

2012 Apr 13, In the Philippines suspected extortionists bombed a bus in Carmen
town, North Cotabato province, killing 3 passengers and wounding 16 others.
(SFC, 4/14/12, p.A2)

2012 Apr 16, In San Francisco the annual Goldman Environmental Prizes were
presented 6 individuals. They included Sofia Gatica of Argentina work on diseases
related to agrochemicals; Caroline Canon of Alaska for her village efforts against
oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean; Ma Jun of China for his efforts on air and water
violations by major manufacturers; Ikal Angelei of Kenya for her efforts to protect
Lake Turkana; Evgenia Chirikova of Russia for her efforts to protect the Khimki
Forest; and Father Edwin Gariguez of the Philippines for advocating against mining
developments on indigenous lands.
(SFC, 4/16/12, p.A10)

2012 Apr 20, Hackers claiming to come from China defaced the website of the
Philippines' top university to assert their country's claim over the hotly disputed
South China Sea.
(AFP, 4/20/12)

2012 Apr 21, Philippine army troops killed 6 communist guerrillas near the
village of Bayawel.
(SFC, 4/23/12, p.A2)

2012 Apr 23, Philippine coast guard and fisheries bureau operatives arrested
12 Vietnamese fishermen for poaching endangered marine turtles, black corals and reef
fishes in southern Philippines waters. Other foreign fishing boats spotted in the
same area managed to flee toward Malaysia.
(AP, 4/25/12)

2012 Apr 24, The Philippines Supreme Court ruled to break up Hacienda Luisita,
the estate owned by the family of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III, parceling out plots to
over 6,000 farmers and their families after decades of conflict over the land. The
estate was valued at $4.5 million.
(SFC, 4/25/12, p.A2)(SSFC, 4/29/12, p.A4)
2012 Apr 24, The Philippines said it had brokered a "significant" agreement
with Muslim rebels (MILF) on how to end a decades-long insurgency, but warned that
major issues still needed to be resolved.
(AFP, 4/24/12)
2012 Apr 24, The Philippines said it was hoping to help secure its energy
future by developing a natural gas field in Reed Bank, an area of the South China Sea
also claimed by China.
(AFP, 4/24/12)

2012 Apr 25, Philippine communist guerrillas (NPA) killed 11 soldiers and a
civilian near the mountain town of Tinoc on the main island of Luzon in one of their
most audacious attacks in recent years.
(AFP, 4/25/12)
2012 Apr 25, Philippine and US Navy troops conducted joint exercises in the
South China Sea.
(Econ, 4/28/12, p.44)

2012 Apr 28, In the Philippines 2 communist rebels and a soldier were killed
in separate clashes as NPA insurgents stepped up their attacks.
(AFP, 4/29/12)

2012 Apr 29, In the Philippines clashes between army troops and communist
guerrillas in two provinces left 10 people dead.
(SFC, 4/30/12, p.A2)

2012 May 3, The Philippine military accused China of sending more ships to the
disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, describing the move as an insult
that would further inflame tensions.
(AFP, 5/3/12)

2012 May 5, In the Philippines a grenade attack left two people dead and at
least 19 others hurt in Iligan city on the north coast of Mindanao island.
(AFP, 5/6/12)

2012 May 9, In the southern Philippines an inferno at a three-story clothing

store killed 17 employees, all women who were sleeping on the top floor in downtown
Butuan city.
(AP, 5/9/12)
2012 May 13, The Philippines foreign ministry said it has lifted an 8-year ban
on its nationals working in Iraq, but only for the Middle Eastern country's
autonomous Kurdistan region.
(AFP, 5/13/12)
2012 May 13, In the northern Philippines 11 people died and 10 others were
injured when a bus fell into a ravine. A bag had fallen off the vehicle as it labored
up a hill and the driver stopped for it. The bus then rolled backwards until it
pitched down a 150-m (500-foot) cliff.
(AFP, 5/14/12)

2012 May 23, In the first case brought under the Philippines 2001 wildlife
act, farmer Bryan Balaon (26) was fined 100,000 pesos ($2,300), for shooting and
eating one of the world's rarest eagles. The Philippine eagle, or Pithecophaga
jefferyi, found only in the country's vanishing forests, is the world's largest eagle
and is "critically endangered" with just 90-250 pairs left in the wild.
(AFP, 5/24/12)

2012 May 29, The Philippines' top judge was sacked after the Senate found him
guilty of hiding millions of dollars, in the biggest win of President Benigno
Aquino's anti-graft campaign. Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona was convicted
of violating the constitution and betraying public trust by failing to disclose some
$4.2 million that he should have declared.
(AFP, 5/29/12)(Econ, 6/2/12, p.50)

2012 May 31, In the Philippines a prosecutor said a man who testified in court
on the country’s worst political massacre has been found dead "probably chain-sawed
to pieces" in a killing meant to silence other witnesses. Esmail Amil Enog went
missing in March after he spoke in court last year about the alleged role of a
powerful political clan in the November 2009 murders of 57 people. He was the 3rd
witness to be killed in the case.
(AFP, 6/1/12)(SFC, 6/1/12, p.A4)

2012 Jun 2, In the Philippines 30 fishermen were missing and hundreds of

travelers were stranded after tropical storm Mawar dumped heavy rains across the
country, forcing flight and ship cancellations.
(AFP, 6/2/12)

2012 Jun 4, In the Philippines 2 Chinese men were kidnapped, becoming the
latest victims to be abducted in the country's troubled south.
 (AFP, 6/5/12)

2012 Jun 9, In Las Vegas Timothy Bradley ended Manny Pacquiao's 15-fight
winning streak with a stunning split decision victory, seizing the Filipino icon's
World Boxing Organization welterweight title. Judge Jerry Roth scored the bout 115-
113 for Pacquiao, while C.J. Ross and Duane Ford both saw it 115-113 for Bradley,
even though it appeared Pacquiao hurt Bradley throughout the fight.
(AFP, 6/10/12)

2012 Jun 12, In the Philippines a three-man news team for the Dubai-based Al
Arabiya network failed to return to their hotel on Jolo island, a stronghold of the
Abu Sayyaf.
(AFP, 6/15/12)(SFC, 6/20/12, p.A5)

2012 Jun 21, Philippine police arrested Abu Sayyaf militant Alawie Pasihul in
Zamboanga city. He was suspected in the beheading of American tourist Guillermo
Sobero in 2001.
(SSFC, 6/24/12, p.A4)

2012 Jun 24, The Philippines alleged that a Chinese vessel accidentally rammed
a local fishing boat north of a disputed South China Sea shoal, killing one and
leaving four others missing. The fishing boat set out from the northern coastal town
of Bolinao, in Pangasinan province on June 18 and was reported to have sunk two days
later.
(AFP, 6/24/12)
2012 Jun 24, The Philippines said that at least 14 immigration officers were
under investigation for alleged involvement in the human trafficking of poor
Filipinos to violence-torn Syria.
(AFP, 6/24/12)

2012 Jul 7, In the Philippines presidential palace said President Benigno

Aquino has signed a long-delayed executive order revamping the mining industry.
(AFP, 7/7/12)

2012 Jul 11, A Chinese ship, bow number 560, on "routine patrol" became
stranded near Half Moon Shoal in the Spratly Islands, 60 nautical miles from the
western Philippine island of Palawan. The ship was refloated on July 15.
(AFP, 7/14/12)(AP, 7/15/12)
2012 Jul 16, In the Philippines ex-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was
charged with plunder in the alleged misuse of nearly $9 million.
(SSFC, 7/22/12, p.A4)

2012 Jul 25, Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo walked out of
a government hospital where she had been detained for nearly eight months on election
rigging charges after a court found that evidence against her was weak and granted
bail.
(AP, 7/25/12)

2012 Jul 26, In the Philippines a clash with al-Qaeda linked Muslim militants
left 10 soldiers and 9 rebels dead on Basilan Island.
(SFC, 7/28/12, p.A2)

2012 Jul 28, Philippine authorities arrested Ustadz Ahmadsali Asmad Badron,
also known as Ammad or Hamad Ustadz Idris, a founding member of the Al-Qaeda-linked
Abu Sayyaf group blamed for some of the worst terror attacks in the region.
(AFP, 7/29/12)

2012 Jul 30, In the Philippines at least 14 people were killed and millions
were left without power as Tropical Storm Saola turned into a typhoon, bringing heavy
rains to large parts of the country.
(AFP, 7/30/12)(AFP, 7/31/12)(AP, 8/1/12)

2012 Aug 1, In the Philippines a waste spillage at the Philippines' largest

gold threatened to contaminate one of the country's largest rivers. On Aug 3 the
government said the spillage at the Padcal mine has been contained.
(AFP, 8/4/12)

2012 Aug 3, Typhoon Saola, which battered Manila and the north for several
days, blew away leaving at least 53 people dead.
(AP, 8/7/12)

2012 Aug 6, In the southern Philippines a breakaway group of Muslim rebels

used chainsaws to launch simultaneous attacks across 11 towns, leaving at least three
dead.
(AFP, 8/6/12)

2012 Aug 7, In the Philippines relentless rains submerged half of Manila,

triggered a landslide that killed 8 people and sent emergency crews scrambling to
rescue and evacuate tens of thousands of residents.
(AP, 8/7/12)

2012 Aug 8, In the Philippines more than one million people in and around
Manila battled deadly floods amid relentless monsoon rains, with neck-deep waters
trapping slum dwellers and the wealthy on roofs.
(AFP, 8/8/12)

2012 Aug 9, In the Philippines officials said troops backed by helicopters

have started an offensive on two strongholds of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic
Freedom Movement in southern Maguindanao province.
(SFC, 8/10/12, p.A2)

2012 Aug 16, Singapore's High Court ruled that more than $23 million seized
from the estate of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos rightfully belongs to a
Philippine bank.
(AFP, 8/16/12)
2012 Aug 16, The United Nations said deadly clashes between soldiers and a
Muslim rebel group in the violence-plagued southern Philippines had displaced up to
45,000 people. Members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked
several army detachments in the southern province of Maguindanao last week,
triggering gunbattles that left at least five soldiers dead.
(AFP, 8/16/12)

2012 Aug 17, Philippine President Benigno Aquino signed a law creating a one
billion peso (about $24 million) "survival fund" to combat the effects of climate
change.
(AFP, 8/21/12)

2012 Aug 18, Philippine Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo and his two pilots
went missing after their small plane crashed into the sea while attempting an
emergency landing in Masbate province. An aide of Robredo made a dramatic escape from
the plane.
(AP, 8/19/12)
2012 Aug 18, In Vietnam at least 17 people were killed as Typhoon Kai-Tak, now
downgraded to a tropical depression, barreled across northern Vietnam bringing high
winds and floods to several areas including the capital Hanoi. The typhoon had
already left 2 dead in China and 4 dead in the Philippines.
 (AFP, 8/18/12)(AFP, 8/19/12)(AFP, 8/20/12)

2012 Aug 23, Philippine police arrested more than 350 people over a major
telephone scam that swindled people out of millions of dollars in Taiwan and mainland
China.
(AFP, 8/23/12)

2012 Aug 31, A 7.6-magnitude quake struck off the eastern coast of the
Philippines, killing at least one person in a house collapse, knocking out power in
several towns and generating negligible tsunami surges.
(AP, 8/31/12)

2012 Sep 12, In the Philippines Pres. Aquino III signed the new Cybercrime
Prevention Act of 2012.
(SFC, 10/4/12, p.A2)

2012 Oct 3, In the Philippines the new Cybercrime Prevention Act went into
effect, setting penalties for a range of computer-related crimes with provisions
related to libel. Critics said it could lead to imprisonment for simple activities
like sharing Facebook and Twitter posts. On Oct 9 the Supreme Court suspended the new
law.
(SFC, 10/4/12, p.A2)(SFC, 10/10/12, p.A2)

2012 Oct 4, In the Philippines police arrested former President Gloria

Macapagal Arroyo and temporarily detained her in a hospital on corruption charges, in
her third indictment and second detention since stepping down two years ago.
(AP, 10/4/12)

2012 Oct 6, Philippine troops captured New People’s Army regional chief
Benjamin Mendoza (43) and three other suspected insurgents outside their hideout in
suburban Quezon city.
(SSFC, 10/7/12, p.A3)

2012 Oct 7, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III announced that his
government has reached a preliminary peace deal with the nation's largest Muslim
rebel group in a major breakthrough toward ending a decades-long insurgency. Aquino
said the "framework agreement," to be signed on Oct 15, was an assurance the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front insurgents will no longer aim to secede from the country in
return for autonomy in a new area, Bangsamoro.
 (AP, 10/7/12)(Economist, 10/13/12, p.17)

2012 Oct 15, The Philippine government and Muslim rebels overcame decades of
bitter hostility and took their first tentative step toward ending one of Asia's
longest-running insurgencies with the signing of a preliminary peace pact brokered by
Malaysia.
(AP, 10/15/12)

2012 Dec 1, The Philippines denounced Chinese plans to search ships sailing
through what Beijing says is its territory in the South Chine Sea.
(SSFC, 12/2/12, p.A5)

2012 Dec 2, Pacific island nations and environmentalists raised an alarm over
destructive fishing methods and overfishing that they say are threatening bigeye
tuna, at the start of a weeklong tuna fisheries conference in Manila.
(AP, 12/2/12)

2012 Dec 4, In the southern Philippines at least 78 villagers and soldiers

drowned when torrents of water dumped by a powerful typhoon cascaded down a mountain,
engulfing emergency shelters and an army truck in Andap village. The deaths toll from
Typhoon Bopha (aka Typhoon Pablo), one of the strongest storms to hit the country
this year, reached nearly 600 with another 600 missing.
(AP, 12/4/12)(AP, 12/5/12)(AP, 12/8/12)(SSFC, 12/9/12, p.A4)

2012 Dec 9, In the southern Philippines the number of people missing following
Typhoon Bopha jumped to nearly 900 after families and fishing companies reported
losing contact with more than 300 fishermen at sea.
(AP, 12/9/12)

2012 Dec 17, Philippine legislators passed a landmark bill that would provide
government funding for contraceptives and sexuality classes in schools despite strong
opposition by the dominant Roman Catholic Church and its followers. Pres. Aquino III
signed the legislation on Dec 21.
(AP, 12/17/12)(SSFC, 12/30/12, p.A6)

2012 Dec 18, Philippine officials said Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) killed 1,043
people with 844 still missing.
(SSFC, 12/23/12, p.A22)
2012 Dec 20, Philippine Pres. Benigno Aquino III signed a “sin tax” bill
boosting taxes on cigarettes and liquor.
(SFC, 12/21/12, p.A4)

2012 Dec 25, In the Philippines a Christmas Day fire killed a veterinarian and
6 members of his family in Quezon City. Another blaze left as many as 2,000 people
homeless when it hit a residential area in San Juan City.
(AP, 12/25/12)(SSFC, 12/30/12, p.A6)

2012 Dec 26, Angry Philippine residents beat a man to death and threw rocks at
firefighters after a Christmas day shantytown fire in suburban San Juan city left
thousands of people homeless. The man was reportedly drunk and was not responsible
for the fire. The fire was reportedly started in a house where children were playing
with lighted candles.
(AP, 12/26/12)

2013 Jan 1, In the Philippines a “sin tax” on alcohol and tobacco came into
effect. It had survived a 2012 Senate vote by a margin of one.
(Econ, 4/6/13, p.86)

2013 Jan 4, In the Philippines a man shot and killed 8 people near Manila
before he was killed by police. The dead included a pregnant woman and 2 children.
The man was said to have had marriage problems.
(SSFC, 1/6/13, p.A4)

2013 Jan 6, In the Philippines gunmen riding in three black SUVs opened fire
on more than 50 army and police troopers who flagged down the vehicles late today in
the coastal town of Atimonan in Quezon province. At least three police personnel were
among 13 suspected criminals who were gunned down in the shootout on Luzon island.
(AP, 1/7/13)

2013 Jan 11, In the Philippines a fire swept through the Dryden Hotel, a small
two-story tourist hotel in Olongapo city, killing 7 people, including 3 Americans, 3
Filipinos and a South Korean.
(AP, 1/11/13)

2013 Jan 17, All 79 officers and crew of the USS Guardian were taken off the
ship for safety reasons after it struck the Tubataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage
site, with its bow at 2 a.m. in the Philippines. The Navy said inaccurate data and
may have been a factor in the Guardian's grounding. The last major part of the ship
was removed on March 30. The US faced paying environmental damages of more than $2
million.
(AP, 1/19/13)(SFC, 1/26/13, p.A4)(SFC, 4/1/13, p.A2)

2013 Jan 22, The Philippines took a desperate legal step against China's
claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, formally notifying the Asian
superpower that Manila is seeking international arbitration to declare Beijing's
moves in the potentially oil-rich waters "unlawful."
(AP, 1/22/13)
2013 Jan 22, In the Philippines John Pope, a Canadian man, opened fire in a
Cebu courtroom killing two people and wounding another before he was shot dead by a
police officer.
(SFC, 1/23/13, p.A2)

2013 Jan 27, In the Philippines gunmen hiding in a sugarcane field ambushed a
truckload of policemen and village guards killing 9 and wounding 9 others in Negros
Occidental province.
(SFC, 1/28/13, p.A2)

2013 Jan 28, The Philippine Congress ratified a bill awarding $246 million to
victims of martial law compensation and recognition for detentions, beatings,
harassment and killings from 1972-1986. The bill will be sent to Pres. Benigno Aquino
III for signing into law.
(AP, 1/28/13)

2013 Jan 31, The US Navy said it has decided to scrap the $277 million mine-
sweeper Guardian stuck since Jan 17 on the sensitive Tubbataha Reef in the
Philippines.
(SFC, 2/1/13, p.A6)

2013 Feb 3, In the Philippines Moro rebels battled the Abu Sayyaf with guns
and knives at close range. Rebels lost eight men, including one who was beheaded and
a few others who were hacked to death. Up to 14 Abu Sayyaf men were killed.
(AP, 2/4/13)

2013 Feb 9, Members of a Muslim royal clan from the southern Philippines
landed in Malaysia’s coastal village of Lahad Datu, Sabah state to claim the
territory as their own, citing ownership documents from the late 1800s.
 (AP, 3/1/13)

2013 Feb 17, The Harita Bauxite, a bulk carrier, sank near the Philippines. 10
of 24 crewmen, mostly from Myanmar, were rescued. One later died and the rest
remianed missing. The vessel was thought to be carrying nickel ore from Indonesia.
(SSFC, 4/7/13, p.46)

2013 Feb 19, In the Philippines over 100 communist guerrillas stormed a vast
Del Monte plantation in Bukidnon province, killing one guard, burning farm equipment
and blocking traffic in 3 towns.
(SFC, 2/21/13, p.A2)

2013 Mar 1, In eastern Malaysia 14 people were killed in a shootout as

authorities tried to end a three-week standoff with about 200 members of a Filipino
clan occupying a village in Sabah state.
(AP, 3/1/13)

2013 Mar 2, In Malaysia gunmen ambushed and killed six policemen as fears
mounted that armed intruders from the southern Philippines had slipped into at least
three coastal districts on Borneo island.
(AP, 3/3/13)

2013 Mar 5, Malaysia unleashed airstrikes and mortar attacks on nearly 200
Filipinos occupying a Borneo coastal village but could not declare an immediate end
to a three-week siege that has turned into a security nightmare for both Malaysia and
the Philippines.
(AP, 3/5/13)

2013 Mar 6, Malaysian security forces battled a group of Filipino intruders in

the rugged terrain of Borneo after they escaped a military assault with fighter jets
and mortar fire on their hideout. One Filipino was shot and believed killed.
(AP, 3/6/13)
2013 Mar 6, Syrian rebels detained 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers in the area in
another destabilizing twist to the country's two-year-old conflict. The number of
Syrian refugees topped 1 million, half of them children. Gunmen raided a Christian
village near Homs, robbing houses and shops, saying they were looking for weapons.
(AP, 3/6/13)(AP, 3/7/13)(AP, 3/11/13)

2013 Mar 7, Malaysian security forces gunned down 31 Filipino intruders in

Borneo, the highest number of casualties in a single day since nearly 200 members of
a Philippine Muslim clan took over an entire village last month. At least 60 people,
including 8 Malaysian police officers, have been killed in the conflict.
(AP, 3/7/13)(SFC, 3/8/13, p.A2)

2013 Mar 9, Syrian rebels released 21 UN Filipino peacekeepers, captured on

March 6, and handed them to Jordanian authorities.
(AP, 3/9/13)

2013 Mar 19, The Philippine Supreme Court temporarily halted the
implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproduction Health Act of 2012, a
law that provides state funding for contraceptives. The legislation was opposed by
the dominant Roman Catholic Church but supported by reproductive health activists.
(AP, 3/19/13)(SSFC, 3/24/13, p.A4)

2013 Mar 20, Malaysian prosecutors charged 8 Filipinos with terrorism-related

offenses following an armed siege in Borneo that killed 71 people.
(SFC, 3/21/13, p.A2)

2013 Mar 28, Fitch, a ratings agency, awarded the Philippines its first
ever investment-grade credit rating.
(Econ, 4/6/13, p.86)

2013 Apr 2, Philippine authorities arrested 16 Taiwanese, 15 males and a

female, in connection with an online scam that mostly targeted retirees living in
China and Taiwan.
(AP, 4/3/13)

2013 Apr 8, A Chinese steel-hulled vessel hit an atoll at the Tubbataha

National Marine Park, a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site on Palawan island. On
April 13 Philippine authorities found inside the ship more than 10,000 kg (22,000
pounds) of meat from a protected species, the pangolin or scaly anteater. On April 19
the ship was extricated and towed to Puerto Princesa.
(AP, 4/15/13)(SSFC, 4/21/13, p.A4)

2013 Apr 25, In the southern Philippines gunmen attacked a truck carrying a
mayor and his supporters and killed 13 people including his daughter in Lanao del
Norte province. Nunungan Mayor Abdul Manamparan and nine others were wounded in the
country's worst violence in campaigning for May elections.
 (AP, 4/26/13)

2013 May 7, In the Philippines the active Mayon volcano spewed room-sized
rocks toward nearly 30 surprised climbers, killing 5 and injuring others who were
fetched with rescue helicopters and rope. The 2,460-meter (8,070-foot) mountain,
about 340 km (212 miles) southeast of Manila, has erupted about 40 times during the
last 400 years.
(AP, 5/7/13)

2013 May 9, Taiwanese fisherman Hung Shih-cheng (65) was shot dead by
Philippine coast guard sailors in disputed waters. On May 15 Philippine Pres. Benigno
Aquino III apologized to Taiwan for the shooting.
(SFC, 5/11/13, p.A2)(SFC, 5/16/13, p.A2)

2013 May 13, The Philippines held congressional and local elections. Political
allies of Pres. Aquino looked to take control of the Senate.
(AP, 5/13/13)(SFC, 5/15/13, p.A2)

2013 May 16, Taiwan announced a 2nd wave of sanctions against Manila in
response the Philippines coast guard’s fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman.
(SSFC, 5/19/13, p.A4)

2013 May 25, In the Philippines at least 7 marines and 7 militants were killed
in a clash as the military began an offensive against al-Qaida linked gunmen in Sulu
province.
(SSFC, 5/26/13, p.A6)

2013 May 27, In the northern Philippines Communist guerrillas set off a
roadside bomb and opened fire on a truck carrying police, killing 7 and wounding 7 in
Cagayan province.
(AP, 5/27/13)

2013 May 31, In the Philippines an explosion in an upscale apartment in Manila

killed 6 people. The dead included the crew of a delivery van passing by that was hit
by concrete debris.
(SSFC, 6/2/13, p.A6)

2013 Jun 1, A magnitude 5.7 earthquake hit the southern Philippines late
today, injuring at least 33 people and damaging more than 140 houses.
 (AP, 6/2/13)

2013 Jun 14, In the Philippines 2 people died after their ferry sank, but 54
passengers and crew were saved when rescuers pulled them to safety. The ferry was
going from Albay province to nearby Masbate province.
(AP, 6/14/13)

2013 Jun 29, China's state media warned that a "counterstrike" against the
Philippines was inevitable if it continues to provoke Beijing in the South China Sea,
potentially Asia's biggest military trouble spot.
(Reuters, 6/29/13)

2013 Jun, In the Philippines Abu Sayyaf gunmen abducted two sisters in
Patikul, where they had traveled to do a video documentary on the predominantly
Muslim area's poor coffee farmers. Nadjoua and Linda Bansil were freed on Feb 20,
2014.
(AP, 2/20/14)

2013 Jul 24, Afghanistan's first woman governor and a Myanmar civil society
organizer were among five winners of Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize this year.
The Philippines-based Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation singled out Afghanistan's
Habiba Sarabi, a 57-year-old doctor, for her "bold exercise of leadership to build up
a functioning provincial government against great odds." The Foundation also
recognized Lahpai Seng Raw from Myanmar, for her "quietly inspiring and inclusive
leadership in the midst of deep ethnic divides and prolonged armed conflicts."
(Reuters, 7/24/13)

2013 Jul 26, In the Philippines a powerful blast ripped through a crowded
nightclub in Cagayan de Oro City, killing 6 people and wounding dozens.
(Reuters, 7/26/13)

2013 Jul 27, In Manila Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe met with Pres. Benigno Aquino
III and pledged support for Philippine maritime forces as both countries confronted
China in separate territorial disputes.
(SSFC, 7/28/13, p.A6)

2013 Jul 30, The Philippine province of Albay was entirely cut off from power.
The national power grid operator stopped its supply due to $93 million in unpaid
bills. Power was restored after 24 hours on the conditions that the top 100
delinquent customers — most of them business establishments — remain disconnected and
that the electric cooperative pay its current outstanding bill of 59 million pesos
($1.3 million).
(AP, 7/31/13)
2013 Jul 30, In the Philippines government troops checking on reports of armed
men in Camiling township, Tarlac province, were fired upon by guerrillas of the New
People’s Army. At least 6 rebels were reported killed.
(SFC, 8/1/13, p.A2)

2013 Jul 31, Manila's foreign ministry said Washington will raise its military
assistance to the Philippines by about two-thirds, helping its oldest security ally
in Asia defend vast maritime borders against what it sees as Chinese assertiveness.
(Reuters, 7/31/13)

2013 Aug 5, In the southern Philippines a powerful bomb apparently rigged to a

vehicle exploded on a busy main road in Cotabato city, killing at least 8 people and
wounding more than 30 others.
(AP, 8/6/13)
2013 Aug 5, In the southern Philippines Chong Wei Jei (26), a Malaysian
plantation manager held captive for nine months by Abu Sayyaf militants, escaped. And
was found on Jolo Island. His cousin, Chong Wil Fei (34), had died in captivity.
(SSFC, 8/11/13, p.A4)

2013 Aug 12, Typhoon Utor battered the northern Philippines, toppling power
lines and dumping heavy rain across cities and food-growing plains. The storm left at
least two people dead and 44 missing.
(AP, 8/12/13)

2013 Aug 16, In the Philippines a ferry disaster killed at least 64 people and
56 remained missing. The ferry sank after a collision with the Sulpicio Express 7, a
cargo vessel just outside the central port of Cebu. The Sulpicio Express 7 is owned
by unlisted firm Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp, formerly known as Sulpicio Lines
Inc.
(AP, 8/17/13)(AP, 8/18/13)(SSFC, 8/25/13, p.A4)

2013 Aug 19, In the Philippines torrential rains Manila to a standstill,

submerging some areas in waist-deep floodwaters and making streets impassable to
vehicles, while thousands of people in northern regions fled to emergency shelters.
(AP, 8/19/13)
2013 Aug 23, Philippines’ Pres. Aquino said leaks will be plugged in a
controversial fund set aside for legislators' pet projects.
(Reuters, 8/23/13)

2013 Aug 26, In the Philippines tens of thousands angry at official corruption
marched through the center of Manila and other cities to demand the abolition of a
misused fund for legislators' pet projects, the biggest protest aimed at Benigno
Aquino's government.
(Reuters, 8/26/13)

2013 Aug 28, In the Philippines Janet Napoles, a businesswoman who allegedly
connived with legislators to embezzle 10 billion pesos ($230 million) in funds
intended for development projects, surrendered directly to President Benigno Aquino
and asked for the president's protection.
(AFP, 8/28/13)

2013 Sep 4, In the Philippines newspaper editor Vergel Bico, who wrote about
illegal gambling, was shot twice in the head and killed as he drove his motorcycle.
(SFC, 9/6/13, p.A2)

2013 Sep 9, In the southern Philippines rogue Muslim rebels launched an

audacious assault on Zamboanga City, taking control of several villages and shutting
down the major port in the biggest challenge to a peace deal signed by the government
last year.
(Reuters, 9/9/13)

2013 Sep 10, The Philippine government rushed more troops and police to the
south of the country as a standoff between about 200 Muslim rebels and government
forces dragged on for a 2nd day with no solution in sight.
(AP, 9/10/13)

2013 Sep 11, In the Philippines rogue Muslim rebels, seeking to declare an
independent state, put a dozen civilians tied together by rope on display as a human
shield as a standoff with security forces in Zamboanga entered its third day.
(Reuters, 9/11/13)

2013 Sep 12, In the Philippines fighting between security forces and rogue
Muslim rebels seeking to declare an independent state escalated in Zamboanga City on
Mindanao Island, and spread to Basilan island. The attacks involved the Abu Sayaf and
the recently formed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. Rebels held over 100
hostages in Zamboanga.
(Reuters, 9/12/13)(SFC, 9/13/13, p.A7)(SSFC, 9/15/13, p.A6)

2013 Sep 14, In the southern Philippines fighting intensified between

government troops and rogue Muslim separatists, shattering a ceasefire almost
immediately as it was to go into effect and leaving many residents running low on
supplies.
(Reuters, 9/14/13)

2013 Sep 15, Filipino officials said government forces have killed at least 51
rebels and captured 42. Six police officers have been killed so far along with 4
villagers since the standoff began on Sep 9.
(SFC, 9/16/13, p.A3)

2013 Sep 16, Philippine forces launched air strikes to root out rogue Muslim
rebels from a southern city, stepping up efforts to end more than a week of clashes
that have killed scores of people.
(Reuters, 9/16/13)

2013 Sep 17, Philippine forces freed scores of civilian hostages as fighting
subsided in the port city of Zamboanga, where MNLF guerrillas have been battling for
more than a week.
(Reuters, 9/17/13)(SFC, 9/18/13, p.A2)

2013 Sep 23, In the Philippines torrential monsoon rains hit the northwest,
triggering landslides and killing 20 people in areas already weakened by a Typhoon
Usagi. Soldiers and villagers searched for at least 7 people missing in villages hit
by landslides in Zambales province.
(AP, 9/23/13)

2013 Sep 25, In the Philippines 30 fighters of the Moro National Liberation
surrendered in Zamboanga city following a siege that began Sep 9.
(SSFC, 9/29/13, p.A4)

2013 Sep 27, Philippine forces said they have rescued the last civilians held
by Muslim rebels on Mindanao island after nearly three weeks of fighting. About 200
people, including 166 rebels, were killed and more than 100,000 residents Zamboanga
city were displaced.
(Reuters, 9/27/13)

2013 Sep 28, Officials in the Philippines said the standoff between government
troops and Muslim rebels has ended. The clashes left 183 rebels dead as well as 23
soldiers and 12 civilians.
(SSFC, 9/29/13, p.A5)
2013 Sep 28, Miss Philippines, Megan Young 23), was crowned Miss World 2013 in
a glittering finale on the Indonesian resort island of Bali amid tight security
following weeks of hardline Muslim protests.
(AFP, 9/28/13)

2013 Oct 9, The Philippines justice minister said fugitive Muslim leader Nur
Misuari has been charged with rebellion following deadly attacks by hundreds of his
armed followers on Zamboanga. At least 244 people were killed in the three weeks of
fighting.
(AFP, 10/9/13)

2013 Oct 12, Typhoon Nari pounded the northern Philippines, killing 13 people,
ripping roofs off thousands of buildings, and leaving more than two million without
power.
(AFP, 10/12/13)

2013 Oct 14, In the Philippines more than 1.5 million people converged on
Manila for a powerful Christian sect's evangelical event, causing traffic chaos that
shut down large parts of the megacity. The gathering of the secretive and politically
influential Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) forced all schools and some
government offices to close.
(AFP, 10/14/13)

2013 Oct 15, In the central Philippines a powerful earthquake measuring 7.2
struck islands popular with tourists. At least 171 people were killed, mostly on
Bohol island.
(AP, 10/15/13)(AFP, 10/16/13)(Reuters, 10/17/13)(SSFC, 10/20/13, p.A4)

2013 Oct 20, In the Philippines Sultan Jamalul Kiram III (75) died. His armed
followers invaded Sabah state earlier this year sparking a security crises that left
dozens of people dead.
(SFC, 10/21/13, p.A2)
2013 Oct 21, In the Philippines communist rebels attacked government ropps
with roadside bombs and gunfire killing 9 soldiers and militamen in Tulunan town,
North Cotabato.
(SFC, 10/22/13, p.A2)

2013 Oct 27, Police in the Philippines said at least 22 candidates and
political supporters have been killed in election-related violence over the last
month. Balloting was set to begin on Oct 28.
(SFC, 10/28/13, p.A2)

2013 Nov 3, Hackers claiming links to international activist group Anonymous

(Anonymous Indonesia and Anonymous Philippines) defaced dozens of websites belonging
to Australian businesses and Philippine government agencies.
(Reuters, 11/3/13)

2013 Nov 8, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms on record, slammed
into six central Philippine islands. As many as 10,000 people were believed dead just
in Tacloban, Leyte Island, as one of the worst storms ever recorded unleashed
ferocious winds and giant waves that washed away homes. The death toll was later put
at about 6,00 with about 1,800 missing.
(AP, 11/8/13)(AFP, 11/9/13)(AP, 11/10/13)(Econ, 12/21/13, p.65)

2013 Nov 11, Authorities in the Philippines said at least 9.7 million people
in 41 provinces were affected by Typhoon Haiyan, aka Typhoon Yolanda. Presidential
spokesman Edwin Lacierda said "we pray" that the death toll is less than 10,000.
(AP, 11/11/13)(Econ, 11/23/13, p.46)

2013 Nov 12, Philippine troops killed two armed insurgents who attacked an aid
convoy en route to typhoon-devastated Tacloban. Thousands of typhoon survivors
swarmed the Tacloban airport seeking a flight out, but only a few hundred made it.
Mobs overran a rice warehouse 24 km from Tacloban, setting off a wall collapse that
killed 8 people and carting off thousands of sacks of the grain.
(AFP, 11/12/13)(AP, 11/12/13)(AP, 11/13/13)

2013 Nov 13, In the Philippines security forces exchanged gunfire with an
armed gang in Tacloban as authorities struggled with looting following the Nov 8
Typhoon Haiyan. The death toll rose to 2,344.
(AP, 11/13/13)
2013 Nov 14, In the Philippines a US aircraft carrier "strike group" started
unloading food and water to the typhoon-ravaged central Philippines, as President
Benigno Aquino faced mounting pressure to speed up the distribution of supplies.
(Reuters, 11/14/13)

2013 Nov 15, In the Philippines the death toll from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the
world's most powerful typhoons, surged to over 4,000.
(Reuters, 11/15/13)

2013 Nov 16, PM David Cameron announced that Britain was providing a further
30 million pounds to help the relief effort after the devastating typhoon in the
Philippines.
(AFP, 11/16/13)

2013 Nov 19, The Philippine Daily Enquirer reported that the Supreme Court has
declared unconstitutional past and present congressional pork barrel laws.
(SSFC, 11/24/13, p.A8)

2013 Nov 20, China confirmed the deployment of a state-of-the-art hospital

ship to the Philippines following foreign and domestic criticism that it was slow and
less than generous in its response to one of the world's biggest typhoons, which
killed at least 4,000 people.
(Reuters, 11/20/13)

2013 Nov 22, Philippine officials said the death toll from the Nov 8 Typhoon
Haiyan, one of the strongest, on record has risen above 5,200 and is likely to climb
further. Recovery efforts were beginning to take hold.
(AFP, 11/22/13)

2013 Nov 24, In Macao Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines defeated American
Brandon Rios for the World Boxing welter-weight title fight. The Filipino Court of
Tax Appeals soon ordered Pacquiao’s bank deposits frozen saying he owed the
government $50 million in back taxes.
(SSFC, 12/1/13, p.A6)

2013 Dec 8, The Philippine government and the MILF, the main Muslim rebel
group, signed a crucial power-sharing accord, paving the way for a final peace
agreement.
 (AFP, 12/8/13)

2013 Dec 13, Philippine officials said the death toll from Typhoon Haiyan that
struck on Nov 8 has passed 6,000 with nearly 1,800 people missing.
(AP, 12/13/13)

2013 Dec 15, In the Philippines a gang of hammer-wielding robbers looted a

jewelry store at a popular suburban Manila shopping mall. The suspects were believed
to have used baseball caps to hide their identities.
(AFP, 12/23/13)

2013 Dec 16, In the Philippines at least 22 people were killed when a speeding
commuter bus crashed off an elevated motorway onto a delivery van in Manila.
(Reuters, 12/16/13)

2013 Dec 20, In the Philippines a gunman attacked Labangan Mayor Ukol Talumpa
as he left the Manila main airport along with crowds of Christmas travelers, killing
him, his wife, a child and another man.
(AP, 12/20/13)

2013 Dec 23, Police in the Philippine capital banned the wearing of caps and
sunglasses in shopping malls to stop criminals concealing their identity from
security cameras.
(AFP, 12/23/13)

2014 Jan 10, The Philippines and Vietnam condemned a new Chinese law that
requires foreign fishermen to seek Beijing's approval to operate in much of the South
China Sea, but China's Foreign Ministry insisted it has the right do so.
(AP, 1/10/14)

2014 Jan 13, Officials in the Philippines said two days of heavy rains set off
floods and landslides in the southeast have left at least 20 people dead, 13 missing
and thousands displaced.
(AP, 1/13/14)
2014 Jan 13, In the Philippines the Sandiganbayan antigraft court said the
former fist lady Imelda Marcos should forfeit all jewelry after ruling that it was
ill-gotten.
(SFC, 1/15/14, p.A2)
2014 Jan 14, Rose Fostanes, a Filipina who has spent nearly half her life as a
carer overseas, won Israel's first "X Factor" TV talent competition.
(AFP, 1/15/14)

2014 Jan 15, The Philippines launched anti-corruption reforms including

cashless and checkless government transactions.
(SFC, 1/16/14, p.A2)

2014 Jan 16, British police working alongside counterparts in the Philippines
and Australia said they had dismantled a paedophile ring that streamed live sexual
abuse of Filipino children as young as six over the Internet, with victims' parents
involved in some cases.
(AFP, 1/16/14)

2014 Jan 17, In the Philippines thousands of people fled rising floods and an
approaching storm in a fresh round of evacuations as the death toll from a week of
foul weather rose to 37.
(AFP, 1/17/14)
2014 Jan 17, China called on the Philippines to meet it halfway on new Chinese
fishing rules in the disputed South China Sea, adding that Beijing was always willing
to make efforts to resolve such issues via talks.
(Reuters, 1/17/14)

2014 Jan 21, Emergency workers evacuated thousands of people across the
southern Philippines, including many already made homeless by a typhoon in November,
after three days of rain flooded towns and farmland.
(Reuters, 1/21/14)

2014 Jan 25, The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,
the country's largest Muslim rebel group, completed talks on a deal to end four
decades of fighting.
(AP, 1/25/14)(SSFC, 1/26/14, p.A5)

2014 Jan 29, In the Philippines a 2-day operation left as least 37 Islamic
fighters dead. The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement opposed peace talks and had
staged attacks in Maguindanao province.
(SFC, 1/30/14, p.A2)

2014 Jan 30, In the Philippines nearly 200 inmates complaining of hunger and
squalid conditions escaped from a provincial jail in an eastern province that was
devastated by a monster storm in November. Authorities recaptured 148 of the 182
escapees hours after they stormed out of the Leyte provincial jail in Palo town.
(AP, 1/30/14)

2014 Jan 31, Philippine officials said 3 child soldiers recruited by hardline
Muslim rebels were among 53 people killed in a five-day military offensive in the
restive south.
(AFP, 1/31/14)

2014 Feb 1, In the southern Philippines a homemade bomb, likely set off by
Muslim rebels, wounded 12 people, including six soldiers and two television
journalists.
(AP, 2/1/14)

2014 Feb 2, In the Philippines 5 people were injured when motorcycle-riding

men hurled a grenade into a church in Zamboanga, a city known for Muslim rebel
activity.
(AFP, 2/2/14)

2014 Feb 7, In the northern Philippines a bus veered off a mountain road and
fell into a ravine, killing at least 14 people.
(AP, 2/7/14)

2014 Feb 15, A Philippine Christian sect, Iglesia ni Cristo, broke two records
for organizing the largest charity walk in an effort to raise funds for survivors of
last year's Typhoon Haiyan.
(AP, 2/16/14)

2014 Feb 17, In the southern Philippines a bombing suspect was killed in a
gunbattle when he clashed with police commandos. Police were trying to serve a
warrant to Muslim militant Yusop Kusain for his alleged involvement in a deadly 2007
bombing.
(AP, 2/17/14)

2014 Feb 21, Philippine authorities killed at least 7 alleged drug traffickers
and arrested 36 others in raids in in Davao city's coastal Tibungco district.
(AP, 2/21/14)
2014 Feb 27, The Philippines called on Malaysia, Vietnam and other claimants
to join its legal challenge to China's massive territorial claim in the South China
Sea.
(AP, 2/27/14)

2014 Mar 3, In the southern Philippines gunmen abducted two children, their
nanny and a driver while on the way to school in a region notorious for ransom
kidnappings by Islamic militants.
(AP, 3/3/14)

2014 Mar 4, In the Philippines Arsina Nanoh, the vice-mayor Hadji Muhtamad
town, was abducted by unidentified men near a shopping mall in the port city of
Zamboanga.
(AP, 3/5/14)

2014 Mar 10, The Philippines air dropped food and water to soldiers stationed
on a grounded transport ship on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. A day earlier China
blocked two Filipino supply ships from reaching the troops.
(Reuters, 3/12/14)
2014 Mar 10, In the Philippines some 50 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels
launched a series of attacks in southern Davao del Sur province's Matanao township,
killing 10 government troops and wounding nine. At least two guerrillas were killed
and nine captured. Security forces were on heightened alert for the NPA's founding
anniversary on March 29, which rebels traditionally mark by attacking government
troops and installations.
(AP, 3/10/14)

2014 Mar 21, The Philippines said it will buy $524.7-million worth of aircraft
from South Korea and Canada as part of a military upgrade amid territorial disputes
with superpower neighbor China.
(AFP, 3/21/14)

2014 Mar 22, Philippines security forces arrested the country's top communist
leaders, a week ahead of the 45th anniversary of the group's armed struggle when it
is expected to launch attacks on government targets.
(Reuters, 3/22/14)
2014 Mar 22, In the Philippines a large stash of high-grade cocaine was
uncovered when several hidden packets tumbled from the ceiling of a shipping
container in a private wharf. The find totaled more than 50 kg (110 pounds) and an
estimated worth about 300 million pesos ($6.7 million).
(AP, 3/24/14)

2014 Mar 26, Daly City dentist Wilson Sy Lim was among 26 people arrested in
a SF Bay Area FBI sting. State Sen. Leland Yee had introduced Lim to an undercover
FBI agent as a connection for securing guns from the Philippines.
(SFC, 3/31/14, p.A8)

2014 Mar 27, The Philippine government signed a peace accord with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front, the country's largest Muslim rebel group. The deal grants
largely Muslim areas of the southern Mindanao region greater political autonomy in
exchange for an end to armed rebellion.
(AP, 3/27/14)

2014 Mar 28, The Philippines signed contracts worth $527 million to buy 12
fighter jets from South Korea and four combat utility helicopters from Canada to
boost the capability of its air force.
(AP, 3/28/14)

2014 Mar 29, A Philippine government ship slipped past a Chinese coast guard
blockade and brought food and fresh troops to a marooned navy ship used as a base by
Filipino troops to bolster the country's territorial claims in the disputed South
China Sea.
(AP, 3/29/14)

2014 Mar 30, The Philippines filed a case against China at an arbitration
tribunal in The Hague, subjecting Beijing to international legal scrutiny over the
territorial dispute in the South China Sea.
(Reuters, 3/31/14)

2014 Apr 1, Philippine officials said government prosecutors will file plunder
cases in an anti-graft court against three senators for misuse of congressional funds
worth billions of pesos. Juan Ponce Enrile, former movie actor Ramon Revilla Jr and
Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, son of former president and Manila Mayor Joseph Estada - were
found to have amassed 172 million pesos, 242 million pesos and 183 million pesos,
respectively, from illegal kickbacks.
(Reuters, 4/1/14)

2014 Apr 2, Suspected Filipino Abu Sayyaf insurgents seized a Chinese tourist
and a hotel receptionist from the Singamata Reef Resort in eastern Malaysia and then
fled in a speed boat.
(AP, 4/3/14)

2014 Apr 11, The Philippines and the United States reached agreement on a new
security accord allowing American military forces to share local bases for maritime
and humanitarian operations.
(Reuters, 4/11/14)
2014 Apr 11, In the Philippines running gunbattles erupted early today on
Basilan Island leaving 2 soldiers and 5 Abu Sayyaf militants dead. 28 soldiers were
also wounded following their assault on a group of Abu Sayyaf fighters led by Puruji
Indama.
(AP, 4/12/14)

2034 Estimates in 2006 predicted that the population of the Philippines would
double by this time.
(Econ, 2/25/06, p.50)

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