US threatens more missiles against Syria

UNITED NATIONS: The United States warned Friday it is ready to hit Syria again after a missile strike that infuriated Moscow and fueled calls for a push to end the six-year war.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley delivered the warning at an emergency session of the UN Security Council called after the US strikes, which were launched to punish an alleged chemical weapons attack by Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Assad’s ally Russia, meanwhile, declared President Donald Trump’s first strike against the Damascus regime a violation of international law and an “act of aggression.”

“The United States took a very measured step last night,” Haley told the council. “We are prepared to do more, but we hope it will not be necessary.”

Haley said the strike destroyed an air field from which Washington believes Damascus launched the attack on rebel-held Khan Sheikhun, where 86 people including 27 children died this week.

Rights monitors warned, however, that Syrian jets were already flying sorties from the base again as night fell Friday.

The United States fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from warships in the Mediterranean at the Shayrat airfield near Homs in central Syria.

Assad’s office called the strike “foolish and irresponsible,” and Moscow announced a series of retaliatory steps including plans to strengthen Syrian air defenses.

“The United States will no longer wait for Assad to use chemical weapons without any consequences,” Haley said. “Those days are over.”

The United States did not seek UN Security Council authorization for the military action that followed days of global outrage at images of dead children from the suspected sarin gas attack.

It was Trump’s biggest military decision since taking office and marked a dramatic escalation in American involvement in Syria’s protracted war.

“The United States attacked the territory of sovereign Syria,” Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told the council, denouncing a “flagrant violation of international law and an act of aggression.” AFP

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in Florida to attend a summit between Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, is due in Moscow next week for talks with President Vladimir Putin.

“I’m disappointed in that response from the Russians because it indicates their continued support for the Assad regime,” said Tillerson.

“In particular,” he said, the response showed the Kremlin’s “continued support for a regime that carries out these kinds of horrendous attacks on their own people.

“I find it very disappointing but – sadly, I have to tell you – not all that surprising.”

In Washington, a senior US official said Syria may have had help carrying out the alleged chemical attack, but stopped short of accusing Russia of complicity.

“We are carefully assessing any information that would implicate the Russians knew or assisted with this capability,” he said.

While threatening further strikes, Haley also said it was time to press on with diplomatic efforts to achieve a political solution to end the war.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged restraint and a renewed push for peace in Syria, saying “there is no other way to solve the conflict than through a political solution.”

Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey all supported Washington, with Ankara also calling for a no-fly zone in Syria.

The Kremlin warned the US military action would inflict “considerable damage” on US-Russia ties.

It immediately suspended a deal with the United States aimed at avoiding clashes in Syrian airspace, though the foreign ministry did not scrap Tillerson’s visit.

IS fighters to regroup in PH – experts

Battle-hardened Southeast Asian Islamic State (IS) fighters returning from the Middle East following the group’s setbacks are expected to rebase in the southern Philippines, a security conference heard Tuesday.

Instability and the easy flow of weapons have made Mindanao and nearby Philippine islands attractive to extremist groups, said speakers at the Milipol conference on homeland security in Singapore.

“Currently, IS is moving towards creating a territory in southern Philippines. The most recent communication issued by IS has announced that they have formally declared an East Asia division of IS in the southern Philippines,” counter-terrorism analyst Rohan Gunaratna told the conference.

“Our forecast for 2017 is that the threat in this region will grow because of the creation of an IS nucleus in the southern Philippines,” added Gunaratna.

“The instability in the southern Philippines and the availability of weapons, internal displacement, refugee flows… create the ripe conditions for foreign terrorists to come,” he told Agence France Presse after his speech.

Singapore’s Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam also told the conference that the southern Philippines “is becoming an area that is difficult to control despite the best efforts of the Philippine government.”

“So that is an area that can serve as a sanctuary for returning fighters from the Middle East. It can be a place where would-be terrorists can go… they can train, arms seem to move fairly easily into that area,” Shanmugam added.

Parts of Southeast Asia have long struggled with Islamic militancy. Hundreds of radicals from the region, including from Indonesia and Malaysia, have flocked to join IS in Iraq and Syria.

But as IS suffers battlefield setbacks, officials and analysts fear these fighters would return to their home region.

Southeast Asia suffered its first IS-linked attack in January last year when extremists launched a deadly suicide bombing and gun attack in Jakarta.

In Mindanao, which has long battled a Muslim insurgency, a handful of groups have sworn allegiance to IS.

PH telcos struggle for right to provide better service

As the world goes full speed ahead in the digital economy, the Philippines is hampered by so-called health issues from cell sites.

A global authority in radiation safety has reaffirmed the findings that proximity to cell sites does not pose any health risk, contrary to what many homeowner associations (HOAs) in the Philippines believe.

Dr. Rodney Croft, chairman of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) High-
Frequency Guidelines Project Group addressed key stakeholders at the recently-held Philippine Telecommunications Summit early this month.

There are no risks, only benefits in the deployment of cell sites to meet the country’s growing requirement in digital connectivity, Croft emphasized.

“We have no reason to think that anyone getting exposed to cell site towers is going to be adversely affected in terms of their health. Large amount of research has failed to find any evidence that anyone has been hurt just because they were exposed to these telecom facilities,” Croft said during the conference.

Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Agnette Peralta, a member of the Main Commission of ICNIRP noted the latest data on cell site signals. “The Philippines standard was made even lower than the established guidelines—up to 4 times lower—and the exposure is only thermal or heat”.

ICNIRP is recognized as a collaborating non-governmental organization by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO). It aims to protect people and the environment from adverse effects of non-ionizing radiation. It also develops and disseminates science-based advice on limiting exposure to non-ionizing radiation (NIR).

Globe Telecom has taken up the challenges in building cell sites, noting many HOAs oppose cell site proposals due to alleged health hazards.

The country badly needs to build new sites if it wants to overcome signal problems and access to internet services, the telco said.

Today, the Philippines has 16,400 sites serving 129.4 million mobile customers, the lowest site density compared to its Asian neighbors, the company said.

“We hope that our stakeholders will come to terms with the varied issues besetting the industry. At this time, when customers’ demand for bandwidth and coverage are increasingly greater, we really need to build the right amount of infrastructure if we ever want to experience first world internet in the country,” said Globe Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications Yoly Crisanto.

More developed economies such as the United States prohibits the denial of permits for cell sites due to health hazard claims.

Aside from having to deal with villages that reject cell site proposals, Globe is also having difficulties in establishing right-of-way access in subdivisions in the deployment of broadband fiber optics.

Globe Chief Information and Technology Officer Gil Genio said the company is experiencing permitting issues for right-of-way and cell site deployment in the following villages: Corinthian Gardens, Dasmarinas Village, Magallanes, Las Vista, Greenhills North, Corinthian Hills, Alpha Village, Pentagon Village, Capitol Hills Golf Subdivision, Xavierville 1, Loyola Grand Villas, Montgomery Place, Valle Verde 3, Valle Verde 4, Ayala Heights, Capitol Homes, Vista Real 1 & 2, UP Campus, Don Antonio Royale Estate Subdivision, Woodside Homes, Rolling Hills Subdivision, Hobart Homes, Don Antonio Heights, Alta Vista Village and Xavierville 3, Hillsborough, Forbes Park, Bel-Air, San Lorenzo, Green Meadows, Fruitville, JEE Village, BF Homes, Merville, South Bay Garden, Concepcion, Modesta, Jaybee, St. Mary’s Subdivision, Vista Real Classica Subdivision, Meteor Homes, Valle Verde 1, Kings Vill Executive Village, Smile Citihomes Condominium, Thomas Homes and Vista Rio.

“Globe is confronted with challenges in establishing right-of-way for the deployment of broadband fiber optics. We remain optimistic, however, that with government support we will soon be able to work out an arrangement with the HOAs concerned,” Genio said.

He said some of the HOAs are too slow in addressing the company’s right-of-way applications, keeping the telco from addressing customer demand for high-speed internet service.

Others reject right-of-way application. Still, others demand that Globe work out a co-location arrangement with the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for the joint use of electric poles.

Most of the time, however, Meralco isn’t amendable to such an arrangement, Genio said.

“By standing in the way of our efforts to build more cell sites, these HOAs effectively favor one service provider over the others. Thus, they are complicit in monopolistic practices. This is contrary to public service laws since Globe must comply with the same public service laws if a customer asks for service,” Genio said.

Permitting challenges with various HOAs prompted Globe to seek support of its customers residing in uncooperative villages through an open letter published in major broadsheets. Globe emphasized that “given the enormity of the task of providing reliable internet access and sufficient bandwidth to support your evolving digital lifestyle, it has become imperative for us, your service provider, to seek your support so that we can work together to secure approvals and clearances from your HOAs and barangays.”

Globe launched last year an initiative to create an internet superhighway by rolling out 2 million home broadband lines with speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020. Such initiative supports its commitment to improve fixed internet in the Philippines.

Last year, it rolled out over 260,000 home broadband lines with plans to deploy 400,000 ultra-fast broadband lines by end 2017.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the National Telecommunications Commission signed at the recent Telecom Summit a memorandum of agreement on right-of-way concerns.

A technical working group will review and recommend appropriate revisions or amendments to existing guidelines on right-of-way, particularly in establishing fiber optic cables, cell sites and similar infrastructure and amenities.

Specifically, the technical working group will propose amendments to applicable rules and regulations to address issues and problems that beset telcos whenever they roll out ICT infrastructure and facilities. The proposal will be submitted to the DPWH for consideration.

Govt insists on bilateral truce with Reds

THE government is not keen on declaring a unilateral truce with communist rebels before the resumption of peace talks in the Netherlands next week as President Rodrigo Duterte prefers a bilateral ceasefire agreement, the gov-ernment’s chief negotiator said on Friday.

Speaking to reporters in Malacañang, government peace panel chief Silvestre Bello 3rd said negotiations would proceed sans the declaration of ceasefire on the part of the Duterte administration.

“Right now, there is no reason to declare a unilateral ceasefire because our President is more interested in obtain-ing a bilateral ceasefire agreement,” Bello said during a news conference.

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) had announced it would declare a unilateral ceasefire with the gov-ernment “not later than March 31” to pave way for the peace negotiations in Noordwijk, the Netherlands on April 2 to 6.

Bello said National Democratic Front of the Philippines Chairman Fidel Agcaoili had wanted the CPP and govern-ment to release their unilateral ceasefire declarations on the same day.

Agcaoili even suggested March 28 as as the date, to coincide with the anniversary of its armed wing, the 4,000 strong New People’s Army (NPA), said Bello.

“I don’t think they will declare if we do not declare…If they feel that we are not prepared to declare one then I don’t think they will proceed with the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire,” the Cabinet official said.

Bello said the completion of a bilateral agreement was the lone marching order of the President in a meeting with himself and Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza in Davao City.

“He only had one marching order: ‘Get me a ceasefire agreement,’” he said.

Bello was confident the government’s refusal to declare ceasefire won’t be a setback in the peace talks, as the ne-gotiation for the bilateral ceasefire would be the first item in the agenda of the Netherlands talks.

“I think we should concentrate more on this more important agreement because this is where we will be assured of the lowering or ending of hostilities,” he said.

Bello said he had anticipated differences with the communists prior to the resumption of peace negotiations, but assured the public that the government peace panel would search for a “just, inclusive, and lasting peace in the country.”

“We continue to be steadfast in our efforts and resolute on our purpose in putting a closure to the armed conflict. We owe this to our people. Our millennials deserve it,” he said.

Bello said the issues to be tackled in the fourth round of talks involve socioeconomic reforms that would “address the root causes of the armed conflict” and the bilateral ceasefire deal that would “end the hostilities on the ground.”

“We expect the discussion in this round of talks to be very, very, very difficult and exacting, but we shall be persis-tent in advancing the cause of peace as inspired by our President’s determination to unite our people,” Bello said.

“The President has walked an extra mile for peace and with the initiatives he has taken, the table is laid for achiev-ing a just, inclusive and lasting peace in our country. Given this, we hope to enlist the support of everyone espe-cially our friends in media to the peace process,” he added.

Sustained growth, creditworthiness hinge on tax reform

THE Philippine economy’s sustained growth and creditworthiness hinge largely on the ability of the government to raise more revenues to fund much-needed infrastructure and improve labor productivity, analysts said in an economic briefing on Thursday.

At the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) economic briefing in Makati City, Monetary Board member Felipe Medalla said the Philippine economy could sustain 6 percent to 7 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP), citing a central bank projection on the country’s potential output growth.

“The estimated rate of growth that is consistent with stable inflation is that the Philippine economy can grow 6 percent to 7 percent and not overheat,” the former socioeconomic planning chief and UP economics professor said.

He cautioned however that the ability to sustain growth does not rely completely on having more workers, but on productivity per worker, he said.

Citing BSP data, Medalla said the incremental capital output ratio (ICOR) of the country continues to surpass total factor productivity (TFP).

TFP is the portion of output not explained by the amount of inputs used in production. As such, its level is determined by how efficiently and intensely the inputs are utilized in production.

ICOR is a metric that assesses the marginal amount of investment capital necessary for an entity to generate the next unit of production. A higher ICOR value is not preferred because it indicates that the entity’s production is inefficient.

BSP estimates showed that in 2010 up to the third quarter of 2016, ICOR in the Philippines was higher at 3.5 percent, compared with the 2.3 percent TFP.

To improve labor productivity, improving the country’s infrastructure is necessary, Medalla said.

“A source of optimism is that the government plans to increase infrastructure [spending]as a share of GDP from 5.3 percent right now [2017] to 7.3 percent [by 2022]from the 3.5 percent of the previous administration,” he said.

“The question is can they finance this? And the very key to this is tax reform. If it happens, then we can now say it’s more fun investing in the Philippines,” he said.

COL Financial Group Inc. vice president and head of research April Lynn Tan sees sustained 7 percent to 8 percent GDP growth, which should be driven by higher infrastructure spending and more foreign direct investments.

She noted however that infrastructure spending in Philippines was low compared with other countries in the region.

“I don’t think anybody can say at this point that there is over-investment in terms of infrastructure in the country. And then of course although FDIs have been rising, it fails in comparison to those in other countries. Definitely there is room to spend more on investment in the country,” she said.

Tan shared Medalla’s view that it was important to increase labor productivity and make Filipino workers globally competitive.

“But that is not going to be cheap. That would require a lot of money. Which is why the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Bill is very important,” she said.

Tan said that one of the benefits of the tax reform program is that 93 percent of 5.3 million taxpayers would get 20 percent more take-home pay because of lower personal income tax. “So that is an additional boost to disposable income,” she said.

Tan also said the Philippines could receive a credit rating upgrade if the government would keep its budget deficit in line with its target of 3 percent of GDP.

“If they can do all that without exceeding the deficit target, potentially, we could enjoy a ratings upgrade…it is a possibility when you have faster economic growth. It is something that is more sustainable,” she explained.

“A rating upgrade could mean lower borrowing cost and more investor interest. Again, a virtuous cycle for the Philippines,” Tan said.

DFA twice denied China’s bid to explore Benham Rise

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Wednesday bared it had rejected China’s request to conduct scientific research at Benham Rise twice and that the reported activity of Chinese survey ships in the area last year may not have had permission from the agency.

Maria Lourdes Montero, acting executive director of the DFA Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office, said they received requests from China in 2015 and 2016 to be allowed to conduct marine research at Benham Rise off the coast of Aurora Province.

Benham Rise is a 24-million-hectare undersea plateau that is part of the Philippines’ extended continental shelf.

Montero, during the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs hearing on the proposed creation of the Benham Rise Development Authority (BRDA), told senators the refusal to allow China from conducting research was based on the evaluation of the technical agencies that reviewed the application.

Moreover, China did not allow Filipino scientists to join the research trips, she said.

“They were denied because of the non-involvement of Filipino scientists in the conduct of marine research,” she told the committee, adding there were still requests from the Chinese to do research pending before the DFA.

The DFA official was not able to specifically identify the Chinese institution that submitted the requests.

Montero said the inclusion of Filipino scientists was among the conditions set by a United Nations agency on its 2012 ruling declaring Benham Rise as part of the Philippines’ extended continental shelf.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the committee, said a Chinese survey ship was spotted sailing on Benham Rise from November 2016 to January of this year.

He asked Montero if the reported activity of Chinese survey vessels in Benham Rise had the DFA’s consent. The official said she was not sure if these were part of any pending application.

Asked if that could be considered breach of protocol, the DFA official answered that it was difficult to come up with such conclusion as they didn’t have complete details of the incident.

Montero also explained that the area is vast and divided into different zones, and different states could exercise freedom of navigation or innocent passage.

Gatchalian then asked Montero to explain the DFA’s intention in sending a note verbale to China in connection with the discovery of survey ships in Benham Rise.

“We sent a note verbale last year and this year to seek clarification from [China] so that we will be able to determine the facts,” Montero said.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said he was aware of the recent activities of China in Benham Rise and that it was part of an earlier agreement during his visit to Beijing last year. Duterte also said he didn’t want to start a fight over Benham Rise.

No eviction for Kadamay ‘invaders’

NO eviction will be enforced on the leftist urban poor group Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) that occupied “idle” units in at least five resettlement housing projects of the National Housing Authority (NHA) in Pandi, Bulacan.

Rep. Antonio Tinio of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said instead of eviction, the NHA agreed to conduct on-site validation and processing of applicants at the resettlement projects occupied by Kadamay members.

He added that first to be processed were 171 members who signed an information form given to them during an earlier series of dialogues after their “invasion” of the housing units.

The agreement was reached during a dialogue between the Makabayan bloc in Congress and officials of the NHA on Monday afternoon as Kadamay members reinforced their barricade to fight the eviction.

“There will be continuous processing and profiling on-site starting on April 3 for the rest of the Kadamay members,” Tinio said.

He added that also included in the agreement is the pulling out of police and military units in the area to avoid unnecessary tension.

The militant urban poor settlers have been occupying for 19 days since March 8 the housing units intended for policemen, members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection and local residents living along riverbanks and waterways.

Opposition leader arrested at Moscow protest

MOSCOW: Hundreds of people including top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were arrested on Sunday as thousands of Russians defied bans to stage protests across the country against corruption.

Navalny had called for the marches after publishing a detailed report this month accusing Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of controlling a property empire through a shadowy network of nonprofit organisations.

The report has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube, but so far Medvedev has made no comment on the claims.

Sunday’s march in Moscow was one of the biggest unauthorised demonstrations in recent years, with police putting turnout at 7,000-8,000 people.

Police detained Navalny, who has announced plans to run for president in the 2018 election, as he was walking to the protest, putting him in a police minibus.

The crowd briefly tried to block it from driving off, shouting “Shame!” and “Let him out!”

“Guys, I am all right, go on along Tverskaya,” Navalny tweeted from the van, referring to Moscow’s main central street.

Police said about 500 people had been arrested in Moscow, while OVD-Info, a website that monitors the detention of activists, said at least 933 had been detained, as well as dozens in other cities.

The Interfax news agency said 130 people were arrested in Saint Petersburg, where about 4,000 people gathered in the city centre.

“We’re tired of the lies, we have to do something,” Sergei Timofeyev, a 23-year-old protester in Saint Petersburg, told AFP.

A spokeswoman for Navalny’s Anti-corruption Foundation (FBK) said on Twitter than he would be held overnight before being brought before a judge on Monday.

He will face charges of calling a rally that disrupted public order, and could be held for up to 15 days.

From his cell, Navalny posted on Twitter that he was “proud” of the protesters and said the mass detentions were “understandable”.

“The thieves defend themselves this way. But you cannot arrest everyone who is against corruption. There are millions of us,” he wrote.

The United States condemned the arrests as an affront to democracy.

“Detaining peaceful protesters, human rights observers, and journalists is an affront to core democratic values,” acting State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.

‘They steal and lie’
Thousands of people filled central Pushkin Square, some shouting “Russia without (President Vladimir) Putin”. Some climbed on to lamp posts and the monument to poet Alexander Pushkin, shouting “impeachment!”

Dozens of police vans and rows of riot officers were lined up as a police helicopter hovered overhead.

“We have all seen the movie, it gives specific examples of corruption, and there has been no reaction,” Nikolai Moisey, a 26-year-old factory worker, said of the claims against Medvedev.

“They steal and they lie but still people will be patient to the end. The protest is a first push for people to start acting.”

Police officers moved to detain protesters and clear the square, with some using truncheons and pepper spray to disperse the crowd, AFP correspondents said.

Police also searched FBK offices over alleged incitement to hatred, and “Everyone was detained and brought to the police,” the organisation’s spokeswoman Kira Iarmych said.

Defense chief: Navy to patrol Benham

TO forestall Chinese activities at Benham Rise, the Philippine Navy will now regularly patrol the resource-rich area, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana disclosed on Friday.
Last week,BRP Ramon Alcaraz, a Navy frigate acquired from the United States, was sent to the 13-million-hectare region east of Luzon said to contain vast mineral deposits.
“The Navy will henceforth regularly patrol Benham Rise partly due to past Chinese activities there but more importantly because it is part of our continental shelf and awarded to us by the UN (United Nations),” said Lorenzana.
The government’s next activity in Benham Rise, Lorenzana said, would be a survey to clearly determine its limits, depths, coral formations and other features.
Buhay Party-list Rep. Jose Atienza on Friday bared plans for a bill that will establish a Benham Rise Protection and Development Authority, saying the area is of great economic value to future generations of Filipinos, based on the massive deposits of metal-bearing nodules found around the extinct volcano ridge.
At the Senate, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian also said it was about time for the country to explore the area, and said he would fast-track the passage of Senate Bill No. 312 or the Benham Rise Development Authority Act, a bill similar to Atienza’s measure.
The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria), Atienza noted, explored Benham Rise between 2007 and 2008 and found exceptionally high concentrations of manganese nodules on the seabed.
The legislator, a former Environment secretary, said the sea floor around Benham is covered with metal-rich chunks – manganese nodules that also contain nickel, copper, cobalt and other minerals.
Two weeks ago, the Defense chief said Chinese survey ships, were monitored in the Benham region last year. President Rodrigo Duterte later admitted that he allowed Chinese vessels to explore the area and cautioned against picking a fight with China.
Defend Panatag, Benham
Atienza reminded President Duterte that aside from addressing the drug problem, there is an equally pressing need to defend not only Panatag Shoal but Benham Rise from any foreign incursion.
“It is wrong to say that we can’t do anything. The whole nation is behind him (Duterte) in defending our territorial interests,” he said.
The Philippines sought the inclusion of Benham Rise in the country’s extended continental shelf before the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in 2009, which was approved in 2012.
Atienza said this gave the Philippines exclusive control over the area, together with the utilization of any and all natural resources within

Brussels Attacks Threaten European Integration and Cosmopolitan Democracy

They say timing is everything. And an organization such as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which has supplanted al Qaeda as the jihadist threat of greatest concern, was surely aware of the meaning “timing is everything” when it decided to strike yet again on European soil Tuesday, killing at least 30 people near the headquarters of the European Union. The Brussels attacks took place at a time when Europe is deeply divided over the refugee crisis and, more important, as xenophobic and nationalist forces are challenging the principles and values of the European integration project, including the free movement of labor and the Schengen Agreement. By striking Brussels, ISIS hopes to deepen the suspicion and fear that many European feel over migrants and put extra strain on Europe’s ability to address its economic and political crises. So, how will Europe respond to the Brussels attacks? The first outcome could very well be a heated debate over border controls, with the balance of power shifting towards those countries that opted to seal off their borders. The European Union has indicated that it wants all border controls lifted by the end of 2016, but the latest terrorist attacks on European soil could postpone the decision indefinitely, thereby leading to the automatic unraveling of the European integration project. The second outcome, following naturally from the first one, would be the further weakening of the stance adopted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel since the start of Europe’s refugee crisis. In fact, Merkel’s “open-door” refugee policy should be already regarded as a thing of the past, and the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party can expect to see significant gains in the months ahead. The third outcome could be the strengthening of the national security state throughout Europe, while European governments might be more willing to support a military campaign against ISIS in places like Iraq and Libya. The fourth outcome could be increased Islamophobia inside Europe, a development which could jeopardize whatever realistic prospects of success are built into the reached agreement between Europe and Turkey for halting the influx of migrants to the continent. Simply put, many European governments may re-examine the condition of extending a free-visa regime to Turkey in exchange for assistance in solving Europe’s refugee crisis. The materialization of any of these outcomes will have significant adverse affects and outcomes on European politics and civil society. It would not be far-fetched to say that the latest terrorist attacks may mark the beginning of a new era in European politics whereby nationalism and authoritarianism emerge as the driving forces. Even so, the country that will bear a disproportionate burden if any of the above outcomes materialize is Greece. Nearly 50,000 refugees and migrants are already stranded in Greece since the closure of the Balkan borders, while the number of refugees entering the country since a deal was reached between EU and Turkey has gone up. According to some estimates, the cost of Europe’s refugee crisis may climb as high as 4 billion euros this year for the Greek government. This is an exuberant sum of money for a bankrupt economy with little or no prospects of recovery in the near future. In sum, the latest jihadist terrorist attacks in Europe have come at a time when the continent is undergoing a truly existential crisis, and, as such, the timing for the attacks was simply perfect. With this attack, ISIS may have killed not two but several birds with one stone. It spread fear and suspicion of migrants among European and enhanced the cause of nationalist forces eager to put an end to Europe’s cosmopolitan vision and force a return to the age of closed borders and limited free movement. Of course, none of the above outcomes need to materialize. Europe could respond, instead, in a calm and composed manner, but doing so should involve re-examining western policies against nations like Iraq and Libya – crimes that that have been the main source for the rise of monstrous organizations such as ISIS that now threaten Europe and the rest of the western world. Not a likely scenario, but the only real option for averting the collapse of European integration and a possible clash of civilizations.

No Filipinos reported injured in Paris attacks, Between 47,000 and 65,000 Filipinos reside in France, Please join us in praying for Paris

Please join us in praying for Paris! Filipinos in France consist of migrants from the Philippines and their descendants living and working in France. Between 47,000 and 65,000 Filipinos reside in France, and an estimated 33,000 live there illegally. 80% of Filipinos in France have lived in the nation for less than seven years, and 95% have lived in France for less than 15 years. Paris is home to a small Filipino community. No Filipinos reported injured in Paris attacks The Philippines condemns unequivocally the horrific terror attacks on Paris," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement on Saturday (November 14). The government called the attacks, in which rifle-wielding assailants shot dead at least 153 people in six locations, "cowardly assaults on innocent and defenseless people." In his own statement, President Benigno Aquino III said: "Terror and brutality have plunged the City of Light, Paris, into the darkness of horror and grief. The Philippines and its people stand in solidarity with the people of Paris and all of France, in this time of deepest sorrow and the gravest outrage against the perpetrators of these crimes." So far, no Filipinos were reported hurt or killed in the attacks, Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, DFA spokesman, said, as quoted by the tsismosaonline.com News Agency (TNA). "Our embassy continues to monitor closely the situation and stands ready to extend assistance to Filipinos who may need it," Jose said. According to 2013 figures from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, there are some 48,000 Filipinos in France. Aquino also assured Filipinos in the Philippine that police would be ready in case similar attacks would be launched, especially with security measures now in place for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit. "For our part, we reassure our fellow citizens that we are taking all necessary precautions," Aquino said. "The PNP is on alert and our security forces are assessing the situation, including the continuing evaluation of our security procedures. There is no credible threat registered at this time but let us all be cooperative and vigilant." Meanwhile, the DFA advised all Filipinos in France to be on the alert and heed the warning of the French government, whose President Francois Hollande has declared a state of emergency. For those with relatives or friends in France, here are the contact details of the Philippine Embassy there: Email: paris.pe@dfa.gov.ph Telephone: +33 (0)1 46  47 56 00 Emergency hotline: +33 (0)6 20 59 25 15