Philippines Authorities to probe Roman Catholic priest allegedly involve in smuggle ivory figurines - NGC

Philippine authorities will question a Roman Catholic priest about ivory smuggling after his collection of ivory religious icons was featured in National Geographic magazine, an investigator said.

Monsignor Cristobal Garcia, who rose to prominence in a Philippine archdiocese despite a U.S. sex abuse case in the 1980s for which he was suspended by the Vatican just this year, is quoted in the October issue of the magazine as describing how to bring ivory figurines into the United States.

National Bureau of Investigation officer Sixto Comia said Wednesday that authorities are investigating the origin of ivory icons widely used in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. He said Garcia will be questioned but declined to give details.

An international ban on trade in ivory and elephant tusks has been in effect since 1990. But poaching for the black market is rife and endangering elephant populations.

Customs officials have intercepted more than 10,000 kilograms (22,000 pounds) of elephant tusks in two separate smuggling attempts in 2005 and 2009. A security guard in a government agency where part of the 4,000 kilograms from the 2009 shipment was stolen is facing criminal charges, Comia said.

Archbishop Jose Palma, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said Garcia should be given a "fair and just hearing."

"The church does not condone ivory smuggling or other illegal activities, although in the past, ivory was one of the materials used in the adornment of liturgical worship," he said.

Garcia, who is based in Talisay city in Cebu province, is reportedly ill and in a hospital.

He was expelled from the Dominican order in 1986 after he allegedly sexually abused an altar boy in Los Angeles. He remains a priest but Palma said Garcia's "past" case is being investigated by the Vatican.

In the Philippines' Archdiocese of Cebu, Garcia founded the Society of the Angel of Peace and is chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission on Worship.

Monsignor Achilles Dakay, spokesman for the Cebu Archdiocese, said the Vatican suspended Garcia from his "ministerial duties" in June and removed him as chairman of the Commission on Worship in connection with the sex abuse case in the United States, before the issue of his ivory collection came out. Garcia cannot say Mass or hear confession, he added.

He said it was unclear why the Vatican took action against Garcia only this year. "We would like to know who initiated this in the Vatican level because this was supposed to be closed already," he told The Associated Press.

Dakay also said the church will cooperate with authorities if they decide to file a case in court against Garcia and the church's committee on cultural heritage will help in the inventory of his ivory collection to determine which items were obtained after the international ban.

Cebu is where Christianity in the Philippines was founded by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century and where devotion to the child Jesus is deeply ingrained and celebrated yearly in the feast of Santo Nino.

In the National Geographic article, Garcia was quoted suggesting how an ivory figurine of the child Jesus may be smuggled out of the country.

"Wrap it in old, stinky underwear and pour ketchup on it. ... This is how it is done," Garcia was quoted as saying.

The report also said Garcia suggested that a certificate from the National Museum of the Philippines could be obtained to declare a religious image an antique, or an ivory carver could issue a document saying it was made before the ban.

A fellow priest, the Rev. Brian Brigoli, curator of the Cebu Cathedral Museum, said he doesn't believe Garcia would be involved in illegal trade.

Brigoli said his mentor would not acquire icons with questionable "provenance."

As a "serious collector" of ivory icons, Garcia "knows a lot about how to smuggle, but he is not the one doing it," Brigoli said.

Read more National Geographic Channel ____

Online: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/ivory/christy-text

AP

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Hackers Strikes Again: Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 Violates human rights Freedom of Expression

Philippine Hacktivist attacked the Government website as protest for "Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012" Violates human rights Freedom of Expression

A hacktivist group struck down several government websites Wednesday night (September 26, 2012) in protest against the recently enacted anti-cybercrime law that imposes penalties on hacking, online libel and similar activities.

The group identified as "Anonymous Philippines" attacked the 7 government websites of the following:

1. Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS)
2. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
3. Department of Health Anti-Smoking
4. the University of the Philippines' Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis
5. Philippines' Anti-Piracy Team (PAPT)
6. the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources Region 3
7. the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

The hackers replaced the websites with a predominantly black interface, an animated logo and a statement against the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. A "Rage against the Machine" track, "Freedom," played in the background of the hacked websites.

The group calls the new law "the most notorious act ever witnessed in the cyber-history of the Philippines."

"Anonymous Philippines," in a statement on the websites, said the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act 10175), "is the most notorious act ever witnessed in the cyber-history of the country."

Anonymous Philippines, whose Facebook page boasts over 250 fans, also called the new law's provisions on libel "cunningly deceptive" in implying that everyone can be imprisoned even for their licit online activities.

No more Anonymous Comment

"The language of the bill is cunningly designed to make you think it only applies to individuals who are deep in cyber-technology and doesn't apply to everyone, but some part of the bill basically says it "It can imprison anyone who commits libel either by written messages, comments, blogs or posts in sites such as Facebook, Twitter or any other comment-spaces of other social media in the Internet," the group claimed, tagging themselves with the lines "We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us."

The new enacted law will control everything in the online world and commenting in any blogsite or website with anonymous status would be ban and everyone must show its identity to the government and must be responsible in all of its word.

With the law, the government is empowered to arrest anyone without warrants as long as it would qualify to what the government believes as violation of the cybercrime law.

All Netizen's IP address and the location of the user would become traceable to the government authority.

"It is just so disappointing that our government, in adopting our 80-year-old antiquated libel laws to the Cybercrime Law, again seems to have retarded our march with the rest of the world with respect to giving full force to the people's freedom of expression," it added.

Three petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court asking it to strike down several provisions of RA Act 10175, particularly on online libel, the authority given to the Department of Justice to block websites even without a court review, and the warrantless monitoring of electronic data.

Traditionally, .gov domains are considered the most secure online sites.

'Up and restored'

Certain links at the official website of the BSP remain inaccessible to public hours after the portal was defaced by a group condemning the passage of the anti-cybercrime law..

"As of 2 a.m. today, the website of the (BSP) has been up and running, restored and able to serve the public once again," a statement released on Thursday said.

"The BSP's internal Information Technology Group worked on the immediate restoration of our website after ensuring that our security firewall kept our database protected," it added.

The BSP website was one of the government portals hacked by Anonymous Philippines in its protest against Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which the group sees as a form of online censorship. A group of journalists on Tuesday filed a stay order petition against the law before the Supreme Court.

However upon checking, despite the website already being restored, certain links to electronic files of BSP issuances and publications remained unavailable.

Recently, the Department of Science and Technology's Information and Communications Technology Office issued directives to all government system administrators to review their websites' security to prevent more hacking attacks.

The directive was issued after a series of attacks on government websites at the height of the tense territorial dispute between China and the Philippines over the Panatag Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

Philippines' Cybercrime Act unconstitutional

Guingona, meanwhile, pointed out that the new Cybercrime Act has unconstitutional provisions.

He said the law denies equal protection for people charged with libel. He said a person found guilty of libel under the Revised Penal Code can face jail of up to 4 years while online libel is punishable by up to 12 years imprisonment.

Guingona also said the provisions of double jeopardy do not apply under the new cybercrime law. He said a person can be charged with libel and violation of the new law at the same time.

Thirdly, he said the new law gives the Secretary of Justice vast powers to order any website blocked even without a court review.

Malacañang condemn the Attack

Malacañang on Thursday condemned the defacement of several government websites, which was allegedly done to protest the passage of the Anti-Cybercrime Law.

In a text message, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said the defacement is "an act of vandalism that does not win them any sympathy."

Similarly, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters: "There should be no fear in expressing oneself (but) we should be reminded that responsibility should be present in cyberspace. "

He added that no sensitive materials were lifted from the hacked government websites.

Asked for the President's opinion about the defacement, he said: "Ang position lang ng Pangulo ay may responsibilidad din dapat sa cyberspace."

Sen. Teofisto "TG" Guingona III and Internet law expert JJ Disini also condemned the incident despite their own misgivings about the new cybercrime measure.

Guingona told a forum that everyone "should work to craft responsible blogging rules and hacking should never be allowed."

Disini said the defacement is a violation of the law and will not change anything.  Red Tani of the Filipino Free Thinkers also did not condone the defacement but said he understands the hackers' sentiments.

ABS-CBN, philSTAR

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MarketWatch: Indonesia and Philippines come of age –Twin Economies

Confluence of positive factors laying groundwork for strong growth

During the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, Indonesia and the Philippines were bailed out by the International Monetary Fund.

This year, they showed the world how far they've come from those dark days by pledging a billion dollars each to replenish the IMF's kitty.

With rapidly growing economies and rising incomes, the two countries are home to a large and young labor force, an expanding middle class and have stable, elected governments with policies inspiring investor confidence. They also have sturdy banks and enough foreign exchange reserves — more than a year's imports in the Philippines's case — to rebuff a misguided run on their currencies.See: Banks in Indonesia and the Philippines flourish.

In an economically vibrant Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines stand out as the region's "New Tigers" with the potential to leave a bigger imprint on global growth for years to come while the developed world struggles with excess debt and traditional regional heavyweights China and India lose momentum.

"You have a real contrast, which is why these markets have been doing well," said Andrew Swan, head of Asian fundamental equities at BlackRock. "We've had 3 to 5 years of great growth. But because there is so much room for growth, this can go on for so many more years."

Each has also received credit rating upgrades since 2011, with Indonesia now rated investment grade by Moody's and Fitch. Their stock markets are among the world's best performing since the end of 2008 — Indonesian shares tripled during the period from beaten-down valuations, and are closely followed by Philippine equities.See: Global investors key into Indonesia and the Philippines.

Unlike the West, government finances are shipshape. Jakarta's gross government debt was 25% of GDP in 2011, and Manila's 41%, according to IMF data, leaving both enough room to boost their economies in case of need.

The Philippines has a current account surplus of 2.74% of its GDP, thanks to remittances from its vast diaspora. Indonesia swung to a deficit in the first half of this year as lower commodity prices hurt exports, and as imports of capital goods and machinery increased.

Agriculture employs at least a third of the workforce in both countries, and domestic consumption is an important driver of their economies. That protects them from external shocks to an extent — both escaped a recession in 2009, when the Thai, Malaysian and Singaporean economies contracted. But both also need tens of billions of dollars in foreign direct investment, especially to create infrastructure and pursue industrialization.

Stocks are more expensive than in north Asia, and the two nations are by no means immune to global shocks. But barring a post-Lehman Brothers'-like blowout crisis — in or outside the euro zone — potential reward is seen outweighing risk on balance.

(MarketWatch)

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