MANILA: President Benigno Aquino yesterday threatened to withdraw Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights unless they receive anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons and are protected against chemical arms. He said the UN Disengagement Observer Force of Filipino and Indian troops needed revised rules of engagement as Syria’s civil war heats up. “We’re trying to identify all the potential threats. Were they to be confronted with tanks, do we have the capability? We (should) get anti-armour.” He said if his demands were met, “the mission will become tenable, and we would then be able to stay there to help the entire world. But if our requests are not granted, I will not risk keeping our troops there without the resources required to carry out their mission.”
Typhoon victims need $47m more
MANILA: The Philippines needs $47m more to help more than half a million displaced people recover from a killer typhoon last year and guerrilla activity, a UN official said yesterday. About 530,000 people need permanent shelters and emergency jobs, while debris from last December’s Typhoon Bopha still has to be cleared, said David Carden of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “There are still needs in typhoon-hit areas and other parts of Mindanao.” A mission of the UN office and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation visited the southern region of Mindanao this week and found it needed $91mn to fund recovery projects, more than double the $44m the UN and other donors were able to raise under an updated plan. Carden said the aid must reach immediately as the rainy season had begun.
Crew of sunken ship summoned
MANILA: The Philippine Coast Guard will summon the captain and crew of the M/V Mt Carmel, which sank off Masbate province last week. It said that captain Lauro Mateo will be the first to be questioned by the board of marine inquiry, which will start as soon as search and rescue operations for the missing passengers were completed. The Coast Guard has counted two deaths, while seven passengers are still missing. Agencies
