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PDEA to stop trading accusationsand focus on the war against illegaldrugs.
Mrs. Arroyo had ordered fivestate prosecutors to go on leave asthe government probes claims theywere offered bribes to dismiss com- plaints against the three “AlabangBoys” who were allegedly involvedin drug trafficking.“Governments that delay action
against illegal drugs, or regard it
as a routine police matter, do so at
their own peril,” Mrs. Arroyo told
the Cabinet meeting.
“A country awash with illegal
drugs is a country compromised, its
law and order institutions taintedand corrupted,” she said.Mrs. Arroyo said her order to put
on leave the five state prosecutorswas meant to show “to all how seri-ous the government is in the cam- paign against the drug problem.”
“It is in this tragic context that
the government should map outits all-out war, an unyielding and
unrelenting war against illegal
drugs and their devil merchants,”
the President said.
She said the campaign would be a“trinity against illegal drugs” com- posed of law enforcement, judicial
GMA namesherself anti-narcotics chief
(Continued from page 1)
action, and policy-making, whichwould be a comprehensive policyconsisting of prevention, enforce-ment, rehabilitation and after-care.Mrs. Arroyo said the controversyover the Alabang Boys’ case had been a wake-up call for law en-forcement agencies to “jolt us into
action.”The President declared she would
push for an “unyielding and unre-
lenting war” against drugs.Sotto, for his part, said the
campaign would not be easy with
authorities up to now trying to geta clear picture on the extent of the
drug problem and at the same time,
contending with a low resolution
rate of cases filed.
Sotto added Mrs. Arroyo would
relinquish the job once the contro-versy over the Alabang Boys caseis resolved.
He said the President wanted the
investigation into the allegations of bribery against the state prosecutorsfinished by Jan. 27.
The state prosecutors ordered
to take leave are alleged to have
sought to release the three suspects
in return for millions of pesos in bribes.PDEA officials led by Maj.
Ferdinand Marcelino, chief of the
agency’s Special EnforcementService, testified to a congressional
inquiry against the prosecutors last
week, alleging that money changed
hands to release the suspects.
No to attacks in Gaza
- Activists burn an Israeli flag in front of the Israeli Embassy in Makati City to condemn Israel’s attacks in Gaza. PhilStar photo by Manny Marcelo BULL MARKET, BULL SHEET
By Wilson Lee Flores
This country exists as the fulfill-ment of a promise made by GodHimself. — Golda Meir
War in Gaza: why should we in
the Philippines be concerned aboutthis endless, seemingly farawayand esoteric stream of news? Thecomplicated, escalating war betweenIsrael and Hamas in Gaza is threat-
ening to again push up world oil
prices, destabilize the Middle Eastand may affect the world economyin 2009.This writer strongly believes thatthe Philippines can learn muchfrom the inspiring Israel economicmiracle built on rugged self-deter-mination, dynamic free-enterprise principles, and the spirit of globalcompetitiveness and democracy.
Descendants of World War II
Holocaust survivors and other Jewsreturned to their ancestral homelandin 1948 to build the most dynamic,high-tech, industrial and agriculturalmodel economy in the Middle Eastwithout sacrificing democracy andwithout benefit of oil wealth.I believe the democratic nation
of the Philippines can and shouldexert efforts in the United Nations
or through ASEAN to help Israel — the only genuine democracy in theMiddle East — achieve long-term peace with all its Arab neighbors
and also help the Palestinians gaintheir independent state, too.
Yes, we have close diplomatic re-lations and good economic ties withmany Arab countries due to huge oilimports and the presence of over-seas Filipino workers (OFWs). On
the other hand, the Philippines also
has strong historical, economic anddiplomatic ties with Israel, whereOFWs also work. The Philippinesalso has huge economic and stra-tegic stakes in the long-term peace
and prosperity of the Middle East,
and in the survival of Israel.Unknown to most people, on Nov.29, 1947, the Philippines was the
only Asian nation to support the partition resolution at the United
Nations, creating a Jewish State inPalestine, which became modern-
day Israel.
A small and entrepreneurialJewish minority has thrived in the
Lessons from the Israeleconomic miracle
Philippines for generations since
colonial times. In the 1930s whenthe Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler inGermany, persecuted the entrepre-neurial Jewish minorities in Europe,the Philippines and China welcomedJewish refugees. In the 1930s,Manila-based Jewish cigarettemanufacturer Alex Frieder urgedPresident Manuel L. Quezon to al-low European Jews to seek refuge
here.
Ariel Scheib wrote: “In the1940s, President Manuel and PaulV. McNutt (the US High Commis-sioner responsible for overseeingthe Philippines) worked together to sidestep quotas and issue visas.This permitted more than a 1,000Jews a year to enter the Philippines.Quezon even contributed personalland to harbor the refugees. Between1937 and 1938, Alex Frieder and his brother Phillip, with the support of the American Jewish Joint Distribut-ing Committee, successfully broughtinto the Philippines 1,200 Jewishrefugees. Among these refugees wasthe future author Frank Ephraim.In Frank Ephraim’s book Escapeto Manila: From Nazi Tyranny toJapanese Terror, the story of the Ma-nila rescue is recounted. Ultimately,the Philippines admitted more than10,000 European Jews.”Here are some lessons we in thePhilippines can learn from the Israeleconomic miracle built on resource- poor and no-oil desert lands:• Israel’s cutting down of budgetand government deficits in 1985 isa good example of guts and goodgovernance. It stabilized the Israelieconomy. In 1986, the Israeli gov-ernment had a law prohibiting thestate from printing money to cover its deficits, encouraging instead theuse of publicly traded bonds, andgovernment had to cut down stateexpenses and most especially waste.• From 1985 to 1990, the busi-ness sector enhanced efficiency,global competitiveness and labor-ers’ productivity, while Israel alsoreduced the disruptive influence of labor unions.One significant reform of Israel,
which the Philippines should adopt
to boost local and foreign invest-ments, is allowing management tofire employees at its discretion butcovered with fair compensation,similar to the system in America andother progressive societies. Herein the Philippines, restrictive labor policies enacted by our politicianshave grossly disadvantaged both business and labor, discouragingcrucial labor-intensive industriesand causing big firms to use mainlycasual employees.• From 1991 to 2004, Israel gradu-ally opened its economy to globalcompetition. Customs duties were
slashed to less than one percent, and
taxes for both local and foreign in-vestors were equalized. Significant-ly, Israel privatized and liberalizedmajor industries such as banking,the port system (are our Philippine ports globally competitive in costsand efficiency for better trade?),telecommunications and others.• Israeli government reformsupheld low inflation, lessening debt,stabilizing the government budgetand thereby attracting huge foreignand local investments. In fairness,the politically controversial Presi-
dent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is
decisively moving the Philippines in
those directions; we should support
her on these reforms but we shouldalso vigorously remind governmentto tackle the destabilizing problemof excessive corruption.• We in the Philippines can learnfrom the Israeli economy beingworld champions in both per-capitastartups of new businesses and in per-capita investments in researchand development to enhance innova-tion, technological advancement andhigher productivity. The businessenterprises of Israel have beenranked No. 8 in the world in termsof their creativity, sheer businesssavvy and technological levels.We in the Philippines shouldn’t be content to simply be assembly plants for Western or Japanesemultinationals with only our labor inputs for electronics or vehicle
parts exports.
Instead of just exporting our nu-merous highly skilled engineers andother personnel overseas, govern-ment should encourage and supportmore Philippine business enterpriseswith higher-value products and ser-vices for global exports. We shouldaspire to also create and develophomegrown Philippine brands for international markets, learning fromSouth Korea’s Samsung or China’sLenovo or Taiwan’s Acer and Asus.Every time we hear CNN or theinternational headlines report about
the crisis in Gaza pitting Israel
versus Hamas, let us remember thatwe in the Philippines have hugeeconomic and strategic interests inachieving long-term peace in thatregion, involving the welfare and job security of overseas Filipinoworkers across the Middle East andthe price of imported oil.But more than just all the econom-ic considerations, I believe that we,the democratic society of the Philip- pines, should support the democratic
society of Israel. We, the Christian
majority in the Philippines, alsotraditionally believe in the Biblicaldesignation of the Jewish people asGod’s chosen people. With regard toour economy, we have many lessonsto learn from the similar oil-import-ing yet world-class free-enterpriseeconomy of Israel, and we in the
Philippines also should also supportindependence for the Palestinian
state in peaceful co-existence withits neighbor Israel.
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win-win-win papakonstantinidis model is a briliand & excellent concept for ASIAN JOURNAL It is alread published in the A.J.T.T.M ( The Asian Journal of Tourism and Travel Management- Nou, you should study it
"Anti-narkotics" should be a part of a wider THEORY, the "win-win-win papakonstantinidis model" according to which, a behavoral intervention should have a positive influence on human activities, developed a in bargain. By the word "bargain" it is concerned each inter-active "instant reflection" strategic choice. The new THEORY "win-win-win papakonstantinidis model, could be applyed as a "THEORY-UMBRELLA" It combines the "Bargaining Problem, with the :Modern Innovation Theory (MIT), in terms of SENSITIZATION people ariound a common theme- FLAG THEME