PAL passes US airport security protocols

by Ariel Fernandez, MB

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) has passed a quality control inspection conducted by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (US TSA).

In a statement, PAL said the inspection includes how it handles airport operations that cover passenger and baggage handling as well as catering procedures.

“Our airline remains compliant with all requirements for our flights between Manila and the United States, as with other routes. The men and women of our flag carrier shall continue to uphold the highest standards of safety and security to protect the flying public,” said PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Capt. Stanley K. Ng. 

The inspection was conducted by the US TSA from August 11 to 12 this year.

PAL operates regular flights from Manila to U.S. destinations like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu, New York and Guam.

Ng said they continue to collaborate with the Office for Transportation Security (OTS), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) in order to enhance the security and safety posture of the Philippines’ main airport gateway.

“We continue to liaise with local and foreign regulators to invariably manage and prepare for risks arising from identified vulnerabilities and evolving and emerging threats,” he said.

Filipinos in America

10,000 Filipinos face deportation as US changes immigration policy

By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com) | Updated September 6, 2017 - 6:05pm

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Standing on the step to the County Administration building, several groups address the crowd during a rally to show support for DACA in San Diego on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017. Almost 800,000 young immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or overstayed their visas could see their lives upended after the Trump administration announced Tuesday it is ending the Obama-era program that protected them from deportation. Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP

MANILA, Philippines — An estimated 10,000 Filipinos may be deported as the United States rescinds a program allowing undocumented immigrant children to stay legally in their country.

US President Donald Trump announced the formal dismantling of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which has given nearly 800,000 young immigrants a reprieve from deportation.

Trump gave the US Congress six months to come up with a law that would prevent the deportations of many as the people covered by the program.

Congress, get ready to do your job - DACA!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017

I look forward to working w/ D's + R's in Congress to address immigration reform in a way that puts hardworking citizens of our country 1st.

Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017

Congress now has 6 months to legalize DACA (something the Obama Administration was unable to do). If they can't, I will revisit this issue!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2017

READ: Trump expected to end program for young immigrants

DFA on standby to assist Filipinos facing deportation

The Philippine government will assist Filipinos who will be affected by the revocation of the DACA program, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

"We will authorize, with certain limitations, the use of the Assistance to Nationals Fund and the Legal Assistance Fund to assist immigration-related cases such as those arising from the decision of President Trump to revoke the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals or DACA," Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.

The Philippines' top diplomat urged members of the Filipino community in the US to remain hopeful and to actively support the passage of new laws that would assist those who will be affected by the policy change.

"In any event, we are ready to welcome and assist our kababayans in whatever way we can if they are returned to the Philippines," Cayetano said.

According to Chargé d'Affaires Patrick Chuasoto of the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., the DACA program provides temporary legal status, allowing qualified immigrant children from the Philippines and other countries to stay, study and work in the US.

The DACA program was part of an executive order that former US President Barack Obama issued in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrant children from deportation.

About 310,000 out of the 3.4 million Filipinos in the US are undocumented, Chuasoto said.

US pledges to return Philippine Church Bells ...

...but unsure when

 (Associated Press) | Updated September 5, 2017 - 10:00pm

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President Duterte holds a a photograph of the First Battle of Bud Dajo massacre showing American soldiers with the bodies of Filipino Muslims killed in Bud Dajo, a volcanic crater on the island of Jolo in 1906. KRIZJOHN ROSALES, File

MANILA, Philippines — The United States is committed to returning three church bells seized by American forces as war spoils from the Philippines more than a century ago, the U.S. ambassador said Tuesday, raising the prospects of a resolution of a thorny issue between the allies.

Ambassador Sung Kim said the two governments have discussed the return of the Balangiga bells, named for the Philippine village from which they were taken in the early 1900s. He said in response to questions from reporters that the U.S. is "deeply committed that the bells are returned to the Filipino people," but that he could not specify when that would happen.

Filipinos revere the Balangiga bells as symbols of their long struggle for independence. The bells gave the signal for insurgents to attack American soldiers who were occupying Balangiga after the U.S. took possession of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War.

Talks about returning the bells have been a perennial issue in U.S.-Philippine relations.

Kim said there was "an ongoing discussion within the U.S. government and the Philippine government to try and facilitate the return of these bells as quickly as possible," but added there were some issues that needed to be solved in the U.S.

"We want to return them," he said. "I believe it's the right thing to do."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked the U.S. to return the bells in his state of the nation address in July, saying "they are part of our national heritage ...  return it to us, this is painful for us."

Duterte has had an antagonistic attitude toward U.S. security policies while building closer ties with China and Russia.

Two of the three bells are displayed at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. They are part of a memorial to 46 U.S. troops killed by Filipino insurgents in 1901. A third bell is with a U.S. Army regiment in South Korea.

Cayetano Writes to US President Obama

Office of the Senator

Alan Peter S. Cayetano

Rm. 602 GSIS Complex Senate of the Philippines Roxas Blvd Pasay City

         

PRESS RELEASE

05 September 2016

Cayetano writes to US President Obama: Give Duterte, Philippines a chance; Help us experience Change we can believe in

Ahead of the historic first meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and United States President Barack Obama, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano wrote an open letter appealing to the head of the world's biggest superpower to "give the Philippines and President Duterte a chance" to achieve genuine change, even as his government wages a three-pronged war to address poverty, defeat drugs and criminality, and achieve just and inclusive peace amid criticisms.

In his open letter, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair also appealed to President Obama to help the Philippines pursue an independent foreign policy that balances the country's relations with the US and China, even as he affirmed the country's firm commitment to the US as a long-time ally.

"As a Citizen of the world and a believer in Change, allow me to write you an open letter to attempt to articulate the audacity of the Filipino people to hope for a better future and to aspire for a nation that is secure, peaceful, law abiding and prosperous," wrote Cayetano.

"I write to you because more than any other person, you know how it feels to have the weight of the world on your shoulders...to have the burden of fixing the problems of your own country but having to constantly live up to the expectations of the entire world," he continued.

The senator said that like President Obama, who persevered to overcome challenges and accomplish so much for the American people in the last 7 years, the Philippines now has a president who has shown willingness to sacrifice his life and honor to see that change comes to all Filipinos.

"After decades of hopelessness and up to 10 million Filipinos leaving our country  to find work in foreign lands and after an entire generation exposed to the perils of illegal drugs, we finally have a President who is trying to get the country back on the right track," Cayetano explained.

"Now it is our turn. Our turn to experience Change we can believe in," he said, echoing the central theme of the presidential campaign that won Obama the US presidency.

He then asked: "Will you now allow us to lose hope and fail? Will the West deny us the 'Change we can believe in?'" 

Cayetano noted that President Duterte has been misjudged by some sectors based on the way he speaks. This has been aggravated by a misinformation campaign about the human rights situation in the country, he added.

"Does he (Pres. Duterte) not deserve to be judged on his record and his actions? On facts and not manipulated statistics? On where he wants to bring the country rather than his sometimes politically incorrect words?" he asked.

On the two countries' relations, Cayetano stressed that the Philippines deserves a chance to assert its national identity and pursue an independent foreign policy.

Explaining further, Cayetano defined this as "a foreign policy for Filipinos by Filipinos" which shall be marked by "a balanced friendship with our oldest ally and big brother the United States of America on one hand and a friendship of mutual respect with our neighbor China on the other."

Cayetano expressed confidence that as President Obama has tried at every turn to avoid war and promote peace in various parts of the world, a win-win situation can also be worked out for the USA, Philippines and China.

The senator then cautioned against efforts by pessimists, critics, and hardliners in the West, the United Nations, and within the country who want the US and the Philippines to continue to bicker and disagree. 

"Hardliners fear the Philippine government will make peace with the communist rebels. Critics Fear that Christians and Muslims can't build communities and a nation together. Pessimists say that we can't be a drug-free country," he explained.

"Will we let the pessimists and hardliners win Mr. President? Or will we persevere and try to understand each other, so we can wake up one day to a peaceful, prosperous and progressive Philippines?"

"Can't we give the Philippines and President Duterte a Chance?" he concluded, even as expressed hope for a successful meeting between the two heads of state.#

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