NEWS / A2
INXS front man
redefines role
of a rock star
In wars, quest for media
balance also a battlefield
PARTICULARLY VEXING FOR MANY AMERICAN
news organizations is the struggle to determine
how and in what proportion images of civilian dead
and injured should be displayed in their coverage,
especially when one side’s casualties greatly sur-
pass the other.
“Still photos and TV images are what sway peo-
ple,” said Jane Arraf, the Edward R. Murrow press
Fragile peace in Lebanon
IN WARS/ A8
War leaves
1,250 dead
but yields
no victors
BEIRUT, LEBANON—
Guns fell silent across
Lebanon on Monday af-
ter a ceasefire took ef-
fect to end 34 days of
war between Israel and
Hezbollah that killed
more than 1,250 people
and wounded thou-
sands.
Diplomats expect the truce to
be fragile—tens of thousands of
Israeli troops remain in southern
Lebanon, and they are not ex-
pected to withdraw fully until in-
ternational peacekeepers arrive.
Two shooting incidents soon
after the ceasefire went into force
underlined how shaky the peace
was.
In the first incident, a Hezbol-
lah fighter was shot dead after he
fired on Israeli troops in south-
west Lebanon, Israel’s Army Ra-
dio said. Hours later, Israeli
troops shot and possibly killed a
Hezbollah militant aiming his ri-
fle at them.
Israeli air strikes and artillery
fire continued until just a few
minutes before the truce took ef-
fect at 6 a.m. (1 p.m., Manila
time).
Then there was silence.
At least 38 Lebanese civilians
and four soldiers were killed on
the last day of fighting as Israeli
forces pursued their battle to
wipe out Hezbollah until the last
minute.
The chaos of the battlefield
yielded no clear victor.
Despite a desperate 11th-hour
push by Israel, it appeared that
the might of the Israeli military,
with its fearsome array of war
jets, smart bombs, tanks and
drones had been fought to a virtu-
al standstill by a small group of
Hezbollah guerrillas.
How did that happen?
It wasn’t quite the David vs Go-
liath conflict it seemed on the sur-
face, analysts said.
As Israel troops moved in, they
encountered a highly trained,
deeply motivated foe, armed with
sophisticated weapons and tactics
and a real home-turf advantage.
Israel tried to counter this with
FRAGILE/ A8
Impeach case backed
by 7 boxes of evidence
By Michael Lim Ubac
NO WAY, JOSÉ.
That’s how the House majority
is treating seven boxes purport-
edly containing evidence that op-
ponents of President Macapagal-
Arroyo yesterday said they would
present in their second attempt to
impeach her.
With great fanfare, the House
minority that last year bungled a
similar attempt to unseat Ms Ar-
royo announced it would try and
open the boxes at the start today
of the hearing of the justice com-
mittee on the opposition’s im-
ENTERTAINMENT /E6
Tita Muñoz:
INQUIRER
P H I L I P P I N E D A I L Y
B A L A N C E D
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
BUNKER oil from a sunken tanker off Guimaras has reached
mangrove areas in this coastal village of Alman Norte,
Barangay La Paz, in the island-province’s Nueva Valencia town.
Oil spill off Guimaras
could reach Boracay
By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Inquirer Visayas
and Leila B. Salaverria
in Manila
THE PHILIPPINE COAST GUARD
is racing against time to control
what its officials say could be the
worst spill in the country after an
oil tanker carrying 2 million liters
of bunker fuel sank on Friday off
Guimaras Island.
If not contained, the spill
could reach Boracay Island, a
popular tourist destination
famed for its white sand and
5 dead as landslide sweeps bus into ravine
By Michael Sarcauga
and Hernan P. de la Cruz
Inquirer Mindanao
MUD LOOSENED BY HEAVY
rains from a mountain swept an
air-conditioned bus in Aurora
town in Zamboanga del Sur yes-
terday, killing five passengers.
A pregnant woman was also
killed when a mudslide swept a
peachment complaint this year.
“We have the truth, and we
want to expose it to the full light
of day,” said Deputy Minority
Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
The committee will decide
whether the impeachment com-
plaint has substance that will ele-
vate it to full trial in the Senate.
“This being a numbers game,
I’m not sure whether we will find
substance [in the complaint],”
said Rep. Salacnib Baterina, indi-
cating that the opposition initia-
tive, backed by civilians also
seeking Ms Arroyo’s ouster, will
IMPEACH/ A6
METRO / A17
2 accused in Alicia Ramos
RP’s first
multimedia star
N E W S
HH 6 sections / Vol. 21 / No. 248
ANTIQUE
clear waters, according to a PCG
official.
“I can’t rule out the possibility
that Boracay would be affected.
It would depend on whether the
oil further spreads and on the di-
rection of the wind and cur-
rent,” said Lt. Cmdr. Joseph
Coyme, the Coast Guard
spokesperson.
The spill already covered 24
sq km as of yesterday and was
moving along the coast of Nueva
Valencia town (pop: 34,000) in
Guimaras.
OIL SPILL/ A4
makeshift chapel at dawn yester-
day in another part of the town.
The woman and her family had
sought shelter in the chapel in
Barangay Anonang, according to
Aurora Mayor Enrique Cabahug.
Cabahug said mud carried the
Mindanao Rural Transit bus 100
meters from the highway into a
ravine. The vehicle was one of
three buses stranded on the high-
PROIMPEACHMENT lawmakers present the boxes of evidence to support their case against President
Macapagal-Arroyo in a press conference at the Batasan.
slay case found guilty;
third accused acquitted
, F E A R L E S S
P18
ILOILO
Buenavista
Jordan
GUIMARAS
Nueva Sibunag
Valencia
Location of sinking is around 24 km
southwest of Nueva Valencia town in
Guimaras Island with grid coordinates
122 degrees, 26 minutes East (longitude)
and 10 degrees, 14.5 minutes North (lati-
tude)
way because of an earlier land-
slide.
Eight people have died in
floods and mudslides triggered
by rains in Zamboanga del Sur
and Lanao del Norte over the past
week. Thousands were forced to
abandon their homes.
Floods also hit Negros Occi-
dental.
Portions of the national high-
V I E W S
website: www.inq7.net
Guimaras Strait NEGROS
OCCIDENTAL
PHILIPPINES
Enlarged
Area
INFOGRAPHICS: LAMISTADES / MRUBIO
way connecting Lanao del Norte
and Zamboanga del Sur re-
mained impassable at press time.
Ruby Sevilla, 46, said she and
other passengers were waiting
for local public works personnel
to clear the road when they heard
a roaring sound. Then, mud came
flowing from the side of the
mountain in the village of Ro-
JOAN BONDOC
SEE PANORAMIC SECTION-F
Stressed out? Expert
recommends singing
LONDON—STRESSED-OUT
Londoners are being offered
a new way to un-
wind—singing lessons.
Professionally trained
singer Karin Hochapfel runs
stress-busting classes for
city high fliers that use a
STRESSED/ A4
‘The most
dangerous
day in
this war’
By Walden Bello
Contributor
(Editor’s Note: The writer is a
member of the 12-person Civil So-
ciety-Parliamentary Peace Mission
that is currently in Lebanon. He is
a professor of sociology at the Uni-
versity of the Philippines and the
ARNOLD ALMACEN, INQUIRER VISAYAS
executive director of the research
and advocacy institute Focus on
the Global South, based in
Bangkok, Thailand.)
BEIRUT, LEBANON—IT IS 6:17
A.M. here and Monday, Aug. 14.
In less than an hour, the ceasefire
is due to take effect.
I get awakened by two massive
blasts. They seemed very close,
but the sounds were probably
coming from southern Beirut,
and I am in central Beirut.
The Israelis are bombing up till
the last minute. They are unbe-
lievable.
But I am getting ahead of my
story.
Yesterday, we were in south
Beirut. About two hours after we
left, we heard blasts coming from
Israeli shells falling on the Shiite
neighborhoods in the area.
“We could have been there,”
Rep. Mujib Hataman of Min-
danao said quietly.
The images of flattened build-
ings, still smoldering ruins and
crushed, dust-covered cars are
still fresh in our minds—the ted-
dy bear, the child stroller, and the
books I saw as I clambered over
the ruins of a 12-story building at
the neighborhood of Haret Hreik.
“Today is the most dangerous
day in this war,” the restaurant
manager told us as the delegation
sat down for lunch, thankful for
our good luck but also very angry
at the Israelis.
THE MOST/ A6
P500-M
repatriation
fund pushed
By Juliet Labog-Javellana
DESPITE THE EMPTY RELOCA-
tion centers in Lebanon and a
UN-enforced ceasefire, President
5 DEAD/ A5 Macapagal-Arroyo’s administra-
tion is bent on forcing the evacua-
tion of Filipino workers there and
seeking a P500-million repatria-
tion fund from Congress.
Budget Secretary Rolando An-
daya Jr., Labor Undersecretary
Manuel Imson and Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration
chief Marianito Roque impressed
this resolve during yesterday’s re-
sumption of the Senate finance
committee’s hearing on the fund
and a P46.4-billion supplemental
budget for 2006.
They said officials were unsure
as to how long the ceasefire
would last and that fighting could
flare up anew if there were viola-
tions of the truce.
Besides, Roque said, Philippine
Embassy officials wanted to take
advantage of the ceasefire to res-
cue Filipino workers from abu-
sive employers and those who
P500-M/ A8