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Estrada is governing Philippines well

In response to your May 19 editorial citing problems faced by Philippine President Joseph Estrada, it is to his credit that, despite encountered problems, the country's economy is performing creditably.

In the first quarter, the Philippine economy posted a GNP growth of 3.4 percent, higher than other countries in the region despite the effects of the past currency crisis. Growth is expected to be 4-5 percent for the rest of the year.

Inflation is at a low 3.7 percent, one of the lowest in the region. The Philippines also posted an export growth of 13.75 percent, with the export revenues of economic zones soaring to 122 percent -- to $7.39 billion -- in the first quarter, while agricultural exports chalked a growth of 34.6 percent for January and February.

International reserves have hit an all-time high of $15 billion.

Peace prospects with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front look promising with its indication of openness to discuss a political package of meaningful autonomy offered by the Philippine government, instead of separation, which is proscribed by the Philippine Constitution.

Back-channeling efforts are under way in Kuala Lumpur where representatives of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) are meeting to find an early resolution to the Mindanao conflict. The OIC has indicated its disapproval of secessionist movements in the Philippines, urging all minority Muslims to contribute to nation-building and respect sovereignty.

The release of a Malaysian hostage without ransom by the Abu Sayyaf has buoyed hopes that the hostage situation in Mindanao is nearing conclusion with the safe release of all the hostages. The governments of the foreign nationals held by the Abu Sayyaf have expressed faith in the RP government to bring the matter to an early settlement and support the government efforts to free the hostages.

Finally, President Estrada's visit to China was actually cut short with his decision to return to the Philippines and attend to important matters, including personally attending to problems of victims of floods and typhoons, an expression of his concern for the Filipino people.

Minerva Jean A. Falcon
Consul General of the Philippines
Honolulu

Mainland publications are being racist

It is disheartening to read Bret Heilig's June 28 letter taking Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono to task for pointing out the underlying racism in the Wall Street Journal's characterization of Hawaii as a "Bamboo Republic."

Heilig is wrong about the term in question. A tropical dictatorship, as he calls it, is generally been referred to as a "banana republic."

The lieutenant governor correctly notes that the Journal's use of "Bamboo Republic," like a former Forbes' article that called Hawaii the "People's Republic of Hawaii," is a not-so-subtle racist remark. Each appeals to anti-Asian and anti-Chinese prejudices to incite a radically conservative political attack not unlike the rhetoric used to argue against Hawaii's statehood in the 1950s.

It is shameful of Forbes and the Journal to stoop so low, and regrettable that anyone who lives in Hawaii cannot recognize it for what it is -- racist!

Dean Alegado
Associate Professor
Ethnic Studies Department
University of Hawaii

'No harassment' policy must apply to all

Why is the state school board proposing a policy that doesn't equally cover all kids from harassment? In school, kids are always picking on and teasing other kids for all kinds of reasons -- because they are fat, ugly, smart or not.

Once somebody came up to me and said I was stupid because sometimes I might space out and do something dumb. Yet the school board's policy doesn't seem to cover me. Why not?

Unless they are going to write down all the different ways that kids can tease each other and harass each other -- which is impossible -- school board members should not single out certain groups, such as homosexuals, in writing policies.

Abraham Williams

MIS veterans are underappreciated

Your coverage of the Medal of Honorees, followed by the europhia over the "Forgotten War" is commendable. However, the heroics of some World War II soldiers, members of the Military Intelligence Service, remain buried in oblivion.

The MIS was the eyes and ears of Allied forces in the Pacific. Its members served as translators, interpreters and interrogators, and were the vital cogs in the combat intelligence and psychological warfare world.

They saw action in Guam, Iwo Jima, Peleliu, Philippines, Burma, Okinawa and Japan. Their gallantry was acknowledged by superiors. Some of them single-handedly served surrender documents to a Japanese admiral in Taroa.

Yet records show only two were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and 50 got the Bronze Star. Can someone explain why no MIS veteran has been awarded the Medal of Honor? The archives of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team contain records of these brave veterans.

Tony Garcia

Meter maids aren't ticketing everyone

After reading your June 16 front-page story on meter maids, I want to know why they aren't giving tickets to those who illegally occupy handicapped parking spaces. These violators should be tagged.

The fine starts at $150. Multiply each offense by $150, and this represents a lot of money.

Here on Molokai, if the parking spaces at the entrance to the public swimming pool were checked daily by police, Kaunakakai would be able to afford portable steps for the municipal pool.

Linda Liddell
Kaunakakai, Molokai

Quotables "My skin is so white I wear sunblock No. 80. But I'm gonna get a bright red parasol to hold over me when I wear that red bikini." Naomi Judd COUNTRY SINGING STAR Predicting her beach attire when The Judds come to Waikiki this week "If you're saying that because these are hostess bars, there's something sleazy about them, and there's some impropriety because I'm sitting as a judge, I don't agree." David L. Fong STATE DISTRICT JUDGE Former owner of a building housing bars accused of drug dealing and prostitution

Ezra and others deserve thanks on longline fishing

As an ex-member (and the only member of all six advisory panels) to the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, I'd like to respond to two July 1 letters to the editor directed toward Judge David Ezra's ruling on longline fishing vessels based in Hawaii:

Charles Kaaiai should have identified himself as an employee of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. It is because of recommendations by his employer, and the acceptance of those recommendations by the National Marine Fisheries Service, that Judge Ezra was forced to address the negative impacts to endangered and threatened marine creatures. This is the second lawsuit that has been filed against the NMFS this year because of mismanagement of our fisheries and impacts to endangered species.

Mahalo to Elizabeth Mitchell of Eugene, Ore., for the insight in her letter. As an observer aboard the longline vessels, what she shared will help to paint a true picture for the general public.

Finally, to Judge Ezra: Sir, no words can express my gratitude for your decision to take corrective action. Mahalo nui loa.

Isaac Harp
Lahaina, Maui

Not only sea turtles should be protected

After reading her June 30 column, "Fishing for a different perspective on longliners," I think Diane Chang should write an editorial attacking construction crews who construct buildings over land that is currently occupied by rats. After all, the rats were there before the building and we shouldn't be building over them, right?

If we must protect sea turtles but not rats, then that is specism, which is racism when applied to humans. If Chang wants to say that humans shouldn't infringe on the "rights" of animals, she should try to offer a more convincing argument that is pro-animal, not anti-human.

David Parker

Sierra Club rating of lawmakers is legitimate

Your July 4 article, "Sierra Club incorrectly tallies lawmakers' voters," misses the forest for a few stumps.

Our chapter compiled a legislative scorecard to reveal which legislators consistently vote in favor of Hawaii's environment and which consistently vote against it. For many concerned citizens who feel the process at the state Capitol is too confusing or far removed from their daily lives, this scorecard serves as an accurate gauge of how well their environmental interests are being represented.

In the tally of over 800 votes on bills key to environmental protection -- including comments explaining some of the lawmakers' behind-the-scenes work -- some final votes by Sen. Sam Slom and Sen. Jan Yagi Buen were incorrectly reported on the scorecard.

Despite the slim margin of error in our tabulation (less than 1 percent), the fact is that these senators' positions in the listing remain unchanged: The two are still at the bottom when it comes to taking care of the environment.

Your newspaper does a disservice to readers by failing to report the real story: Why these lawmakers rank at the bottom and why others rise to the top.

Jeffrey Mikulina
Director, Sierra Club
Hawaii Chapter

Parenting is the key to developing great athletes

The American Association of Pediatrics comes out with a study and, all of a sudden, specializing in one sport is "bad" for preteens (Star-Bulletin, July 3). Why does it take an official study to tell us anything about who we are these days?

In your same issue, we can read about how well Venus and Serena Williams have coped with being top players on the professional tennis tour. There's ample evidence of a level-headed father, Richard Williams, who has raised his daughters to be passionate human beings, not just tennis players.

Meanwhile, Martina Hingis, named after legend Martina Navratilova, is throwing temper tantrums in midcourt and remaining not much of a personality beyond her No. 1 ranking.

The point is that parents are the most important factor. Sure, we have extremes like elite-level female gymnasts, but to declare all sports to be too much to focus on as a youth is ridiculous. Are we to deny the next Tiger Woods his or her potential?

Given everything, sports seems pretty trivial when you consider the contests that John and Patsy Ramsey made their daughter, Jon-Benet, participate in.

Li Wang

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