The record earnings reported by bank Goldman Sachs literally takes the breath away.

For its second quarter, the US investment bank reported that it had earned US$3.44 billion. Just by glancing at its results, investors could be forgiven if the financial upheavals last year ever took place.

Much has been written about the subject – about how one influential analyst Meredith Whitney called a buy on the stock on Monday – or a day before the bank reported its results. This caused all boats on financials to rise on Wall Street.

Over here, banks have been enjoying a trot as well, after experiencing a lacklustre June.

The better economic outlook on the local front, coupled with Wall Street’s rebound, is giving them a big boost.

Still, it is not exactly the end of the game for the bears yet.

For many of them, Thursday next week may play a decisive role as to whether the market will rally into August.

This is because a troubled US lender – CIT Group – is due to report its results that day.

The name CIT does not ring a bell in this part of the world. But neither did other names such as Washington Mutual, Wachovia or Fannie Mae sound familiar to any of us until their financial difficulties sent global stock markets into a tailspin around this time last year.

Some media reports are warning that CIT might fail if it cannot roll over short-term debts of US$1 billion next month. If it does so, it would be the fourth biggest bankruptcy in US history. It sounds like a drearily familiar tune.

As usual, analysts are hoping that the US government will step in to save the embattled lender, given the key role it plays in the US economy, ,funding about one million businesses.

Another set of results which will be great interest to investors here is Citigroup’s second quarter results which is due to be released later this week. Unlike other US financials, this is one institution which has a huge branch network in this part of the world, and a very active business relationship with regional lenders.

It would be a report card which will be eagerly anticipated.

THE Great Singapore Sale can be quite a wild experience.

There are the eagle-eyed fashionistas who pounce on killer buys, the prowling bargain hunters who sniff through racks for good steals and, of course, the occasional catfight among shoppers.

When I was stalking the aisles of Wisma Atria last weekend for yet another designer deal, I noticed an oft-neglected species in the retail jungle.

Now, unlike the other three breeds of shoppers, this one is quiet and mostly dormant.

It has the tendency to loiter at shop entrances with a bored, weary or resigned look and maybe a baby or two in tow.

Some clutch multiple shopping bags which clearly do not belong to them while others clutch their hands together, as if praying that the earth would swallow them up.

I'm talking about the poor husband/boyfriend/male companion variety that gets dragged along by their female counterparts on sale sprees.

To while away the time while their gal pals go in for the kill, they hum, they nap or they work their fingers to the bone on their mobile phones.

They connect with their kindred neighbours with a sheepish grin and shrug of the shoulders before staring back down at the floor or into space.

Talk about being a fish out of water. Isn't the sale season supposed to bring great joy to mankind?

Here's a tip for sale victims: Even if nothing on the racks strikes your fancy, there is ample entertainment in store if you just keep your eyes peeled and ears pricked.

Like this posh customer who turned heads at a boutique that stocked European denim label with her loutish behaviour.

When told she would be charged for alteration services, she shouted: 'Some designer labels don't make me pay for alteration. Why should I pay for it here, especially when your items look like they’re made in China?'

Come to think of it, there is yet another species in the retail wildlife worth devoting a column to: the waspish Queen Bee.

Be scared, be very scared.

POLITICS in the Philippines sometimes resembles the television soap operas that Filipinos love to watch.

And a Senate inquiry into a torrid sex-video scandal involving a handsome celebrity doctor and a young actress had plenty of moments of high drama when the hearing was broadcast live on television late last week.

Lawmakers and concerned groups hope it will spur Congress to strengthen legislation against pornography and on the exploitation of women and children.

Bills to do this are already in the pipeline, though moving slowly.

The fuss is over videos that cosmetic surgeon Dr Hayden Kho’s took of his sizzling trysts with 23-year-old starlet Katrina Halili. These surfaced on the Internet and were then produced as DVDs, selling for 50 pesos (S$1.50) each in street markets.

Local media interest in the case has been insatiable, with coverage at times eclipsing news on the economic crisis and the spread of swine-flu.

Dr Kho, 29, has admitted video-taping lovemaking sessions with Ms Halili and several other women, but says that he doesn't know how they ended up on the Internet.

The steamy episode came to light after actor-turned-politician Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla made a speech denouncing Dr Kho in the Upper House on May 19.

The following day another senator filed a proposed Anti-Video Voyeurism Act that would make it illegal to film intimate acts without the partner's consent.

Commenting on the case this week, Philippine Interior Secretary Ronald Puno told foreign correspondents in Manila: "It is being sensationalised, but it is also calling attention to the insidious effects of misusing technology."

He makes a good point: The spread of cybersex dens using minors, for one, is being viewed with rising concern by the authorities here.

Father Shay Cullen, an Irish missionary who has spent over 20 years in the Philippines trying to save children from the sex industry, told me that the scandal underscored the need for Congress to pass pending legislation clamping down harder on child pornography by making its possession a criminal offence. I was surprised that it wasn't already.

The Philippine Star said in an editorial: "With the scandal over Hayden Kho's sex video, perhaps lawmakers will speed up action on those bills."

Despite its serious intent, parts of the Senate hearing were pure armchair melodrama.

With his designer stubble, the trendily dressed Dr Kho looked like he had just come from a casting session for the TV drama Nip/Tuck.

One onlooker angrily emptied a bottle of water over his head.

"Everytime we saw each other, there was no conversation," Dr Kho told the Senate."It was all drugs and sex."

He claimed that his former patient and now ex-lover introduced him to Ecstasy pills — an allegation strongly denied by a tearful Ms Halili.

"I am the victim here while our video is being viewed on a daily basis," she said.

For me, she had guts for publicly filing a complaint with authorities against Dr Kho. Many others in her situation would have probably kept a low profile.

WHEN the Saudi employer of a Filipina domestic helper refused to let her return home after her contract was finished, friends sent a single text message that simultaneously alerted authorities in the Philippines and agencies helping migrant workers in distress in the desert kingdom.

It was received by a mobile phone linked to a computer server in the Manila appartment of IT expert Bobby Soriano. The server, bought from a junk shop, immediately routed the text message to the groups that may be able to help her.

"When the SMS (short message service) is sent the system sends back an automatic reply that it has been received and that somebody will call them," said Mr Soriano, who helped developed the system for the Centre for Migrant Advocacy, a local NGO.

Between six and 10 SOS SMS' a day are received a day, said Mr Soriano. Over half are from Saudi Arabia, where 1.4 million Filipinos work, mostly on short-term contracts.

It should be better known. The simple but effective system, for one, is particularly suited to this nation of avid texters.

SMS traffic in the Philippines is one of the heaviest in the world, reportedly exceeding voice calls by 10 to 1.

And practically all Filipino overseas workers own a mobile phone.

Many of the texts for help are from Filipinos complaining that their wages have not been paid or that they are working in dire conditions, said Mr Soriano.

Others, mainly domestic helpers, want rescuing from physical and sexual abusive at the hands of their employers. There have even been messages from seafarers stranded in far-off ports and Filipinos fleeing war zones.

The beauty of SOS SMS' is that they are directly routed to the Philippine government's welfare agency for overseas workers and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

In the case of the domestic helper in Saudi Arabia, Philippine embassy officials there went to her employer's home in the northern city of Gurayat and took her into their care.

"I had a contract for two years but I stayed for four and received no salary for the last 18 months," said the 26-year-old, whose first name is Rubelyn. She was flown home and is now back with her family in the southern port city of Davao.

Ninety-six Filipinos working in a glass-making factory near the Polish city of Lodz sent an SOS SMS on April 9. Like many, it started with a touchingly polite greeting: "Gud pm Sr/Mam we want to seek your help..."

They complained that they were not paid the agreed salary and that working conditions were bad. Some reportedly stayed in a church and relied on food donations after being fired. Philippine officials flew to Poland to organise their repatriation and the first batch of 49 arrived back home on May 7.

Some 2,00 Filipinos overseas workers in distress were repatriated in 2008.

The cost of an SMS SOS is around a peso - about 3 Singapore cents - using a local phone plan with a roaming facility, which most Filipinos working overseas use.

The SOS SMS number is:+63 920 9639 767.

PHILIPPINE boxing idol Manny Pacquiao rarely puts a foot wrong in the ring.

But his decision to ignore an appeal from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to postpone his return to the Philippines - and that of his entourage - after winning a title fight in Las Vagas was a poor one for this popular figure who plans a career in politics.

The WHO and the health authorities here asked Mr Pacquiao to delay for a week his homecoming and victory parade as a precaution against the spread of the H1N1 virus.

Given his idol status among Filipinos, heeding that call would surely have been a big help in promoting public awareness over the bug.

At the very least, it was hoped Mr Pacquiao would make a point of practicing "social distancing" for a few days after his return to the Philippines.

Mr Pacquiao and his entourage arrived as planned at Manila's international airport last Friday. The boxer greeted his three kids with hugs and kisses and then waded through a media scrum. After a stop-off at a hotel, the group headed for the packed Quiapo Church to hear a thanksgiving service for his May 2 victory against Britain's Ricky Hatton.
Next stop: Manila's largest shopping mall to attend a concert.

"Irresponsible" ran the headline over an editorial sharply criticising Mr Pacquiao's behaviour in Saturday's Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"He could have shown the kind of civic spirit, cooperation and respect for authorities that are most needed in times of emergency. Instead, he chose to demonstrate an appalling incapacity to sacrifice for the common good," said the newspaper.

The argument that the 30-year-old boxer did not want to disappoint his fans by skipping public appearances hardly cuts it during a health scare.

There have been no cases so far of the H1N1 virus in the Philippines. But 12 people entering the country showing flu symptoms have been quarantined since May 1.

Mr Pacquiao has said that staying longer in the United States could have put him and his team more at risk from catching the virus.

Around 50 congressmen - about one if five members of the House of Representatives - flew to Las Vegas to watch the Pacquiao-Hatton bout.

The Philippine health authorities made a point of publicly insisting that the returning lawmakers get no special privileges at the airport, and be subject to the same thermal scanning and health declarations as ordinary folk.

When President Gloria Arroyo returned from an overseas visit last week, she got off the plane holding a yellow health-declaration form.

None of this, of course, diminishes Mr Pacquiao's reputation as one of the world's finest boxers of his generation.
But the boxer is already readying a new career. Last week, his People's Champ Movement was accredited as a political party. And he is widely expected to run for elected office in a local or national post in the mid-2010 elections.

Instead of acting like a people's champ and setting a good example, Mr Pacquiao on this occassion behaved more like this country's powerful elites used to getting their way.

THAT Philippine cuisine is not better known internationally has long been the subject of a hand-wringing debate among food writers here.

This country has after all one of the world's oldest fusion cuisines. Its culinary influences reflect (though not all on one plate) a colonial past — three centuries under Spain, 50 years under America — ethnic Malay roots and pre-colonial trade ties to China.

Those tangled connections certainly make Philippine cuisine harder to pigeon-hole than — say — Thai or Japanese food.

If I had to pick the most pleasing characteristic of Filipino food, it would be the tangyness of some dishes that use vinegar and other tart ingredients as the flavour base.

But low tourist inflows compared to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand have certainly prevented Filipino culinary classics from becoming better known abroad.

Until a few years ago, visitors to Manila had a hard time finding top-end restaurants serving Philippine cuisine. The recipe books were also nothing to shout about; most in the shops look as if they were written in the 1970s judging by the photographs.

Now the good news: a glossy and very reasonably priced recipe book has been flying off the shelves here, going into its fouth re-print in just six months, and creating a much-needed buzz about the local gastronomy.

Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine, written by six prominent Filipino chefs, is part of a project of the Asia Society and others that aim to get Philippine cuisine better known internationally and improve its appreciation at home. It also has a website: www.kulinarya.net

Reading Kulinarya's recipes — a mix of traditional and regional favourites — a few days ago got me thinking about what should be the country's national dish.

This is generally considered to be adobo: meat or poultry marinaded in vinegar. But since it was introduced centuries ago by the Spanish, perhaps a dish without the colonial baggage would be more appropriate.

Some say sinigang — a light, tamarind-based fish or meat/poultry clear soup mixed with vegetables — should be the culinary flag carrier. But there's a similar dish in Malaysia called singgang.

My vote goes to kinilaw, a cold-served, vinegar-cured fish-dish that's perfect for the tropical climate. It's foremost among my memorable meals, first tasted in an open-air seafood restaurant overlooking Manila Bay on a visit to the Philippines in 1996.

Here's a recipe for this really easy-to-make dish:

Ingredients (serves four as a starter):
- 500 grams washed mackerel filets cut into 2-cm cubes.
- 250 ml vinegar (preferably white palm vinegar, if unavailable use clear vinegar)
- 2 medium-sized red onions, well but not finely chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin slices
- 2 tablespoons of crushed fresh ginger
- 3-4 pcs small red chillies, chopped
- half a cucumber, peeled and diced
Gently mix the ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (important: make sure the fish is bleached white - ie. "cooked" by the acid in the vinegar). Add ground black pepper on serving.

INMATES and guards at the national penitentiary in Metro Manila will sorely miss Romeo Jalosjos. The burly former congressman, convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl, was released late last week after serving 13 years of a double life sentence.

As prisoner N98P-0748, Jalosjos used his wealth and influence - he comes from a powerful political family in the southern Philippines - to live a privileged VIP lifestyle and improve conditions in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). Around 12,000 prisoners are held in sprawling NBP, parts of it look more like a barrio than a correctional facility. 

Jalosjos, 69, built a tennis court for the prison (presumably getting first dibs on the court), as well as other structures, including his private quarters. He opened a bakery and coffee shop, had walkways paved and built a mini-park.

That largesse, as the Philippine Daily Inquirer suggested in a recent editorial, "fundamentally served to provide for his own convenience".

For ordinary Filipinos, Jalosjos' five-star life behind bars was a glaring example of the chasm here between extreme wealth and poverty; his good deeds inside just another form of patronage from a member of the political elite.

SOURCE: AFP

SOURCE: AFP

A cash-strapped prison system made it possible for Jalosjos and a sprinkling of other well-heeled inmates to spend their money to make life easier. 

A friend of mine visited NBP earlier this year as a guest of his Lamb of God Foundation. He was shown Jalosjos' three-room bungalow right next to the tennis court. In a spacious, well-furnished living room was a large-screen TV with cable service.

On his release, Jalosjos held a news conference in the arcadian grounds of a luxury resort and wellness centre that he had built next to the prison. 

It reminded me of the Colombian drug lord who was famously allowed to build his own mansion in the prison grounds while serving his sentence. 

And what a contrast to the cell, described as the size of a walk-in closet, that awaited billionaire Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff in after a judge in New York revoked his bail earlier this month. 

Scandalised lawmakers and advocacy groups periodically protested over Jalosjos' pampered conditions, drawing pledges from officials to have him treated like an ordinary inmate. And he did, I think, briefly share a cell with a convicted gang leader.

There was a similar clamour over the gilded-cage conditions of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada's detention during his long plunder trial. He got a presidential pardon last year, shortly after being convicted and sentenced to life in jail. 

Jalosjos, of course, was not the only wealthy prisoner in NBP who tried to make life in the slammer more bearable. A sprinkling of other celebrity inmates, most of them there for murder, also lived in comfort there. 

The prison authorities are said to turn a blind eye to inmates with means (and not just rich) building their own cabanas to relieve miserable overcrowding in the prison blocks. But most of these are just small nipa huts. 

Jalosjos' early release under a clemency order signed by President Gloria Arroyo last year was as controversial as his life of privilege in prison.

Concerned groups said it sent a poor signal on the government's resolve to crack down on the trafficking of children for sex. Jalosjos' victim had been pimped by her stepfather.

Others saw it as a classic case of a political debt paid after Jalosjos rallied support for Mrs Arroyo in the 2004 election in his Zamboanga del Norte bailiwick.

Officials insisted that Jalosjos' release was based solely on his good behaviour, time served and in consideration of his age; all qualifying him for early release.

He is now seeking a full pardon to be able to resume his political career.

Inmates and guards at the national penitentiary in Metro Manila will sorely miss Romeo Jalosjos. The burly former congressman, convicted of raping an 11-year-old girl, was released late last week after serving 13 years of a double life sentence.

As prisoner N98P-0748, Jalosjos used his wealth and influence - he comes from a powerful political family in the southern Philippines - to live a priveleged VIP lifestyle and improve conditions in the New Bilibid Prison (NBP). Around 12,000 prisoners are held in sprawling NBP, parts of it look more like a bario than a correctional facility. 

Jalosjos, 69, built a tennis court for the prison (presumably getting first dibs on the court), as well as other structures, including his private quarters. He opened a bakery and coffee shop, had walkways paved and built a mini-park.

That largessse, as the Philippine Daily Inquirer suggested in a recent editorial, "fundamentally served to provide for his own convenience."

For ordinary Filipinos, Jalosjos' five-star life behind bars was a glaring example of the chasm here between extreme wealth and poverty; his good deeds inside just another form of patronage from a member of the political elite.

A cash-strapped prison system made it possible for Jalosjos and a sprinkling of other well-heeled inmates to spend their money to make life easier. 

A friend of mine visited NBP earlier this year as a guest of his Lamb of God Foundation. He was shown Jalosjos' three-room bungalow right next to the tennis court. In a spacious, well-furnished living room was a large-screen TV with cable service.

On his release, Jalosjos held a news conference in the arcadian grounds of a luxury resort and wellness centre that he had built right next to the prison. 

It reminded me of the Colombian drug lord who was famously allowed to build his own mansion in the prison grounds while serving his sentence. 

And what a contrast to the cells, described them as the size of a walk-in closet, that awaited billionaire Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff in after a judge in New York revoked his bail earlier this month. 

Scandalised lawmakers and advocacy groups periodically protested over Jalosjos' pampered conditions, drawing pledges from officials to have him treated like an ordinary inmate. And he did, I think, briefly share a cell with a convicted gang leader.

There was a similar clamour over the gilded-cage conditions of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada's detention during his long plunder trial. He got a presidential pardon last year, shortly after being convicted and sentenced to life in jail. 

Jalosjos, of course, was not the only wealthy prisoner in NBP who tried to make life in the slammer more bearable. A sprinkling of other celebrity inmates, most of them there for murder, also lived in comfort there. 

The prison authorities are said to turn a blind eye to inmates with means (and not just rich) building their own cabanas to relieve miserable overcrowding in the prison blocks. But most of these are just small nipa huts. 

Jalosjos' early release under a clemency order signed by President Gloria Arroyo last year was as controversial as his life of privilege in prison.

Concerned groups said it sent a poor signal on the government's resolve to crack down on the trafficking of children for sex. Jalosjos' victim had been pimped by her stepfather.

Others saw it as a classic case of a political debt paid after Jalosjos rallied support for Mrs Arroyo in the 2004 election in his Zamboanga del Norte bailiwick.

Officials insisted that Jalosjos' release was based solely on his good behaviour, time served and in consideration of his age; all qualifying him for earely release.

He is now seeking a full pardon to be able to resume his poliitcal career.

If the mid-2010 polls were held now, according to a survey this week by pollsters Pulse Asia, it would be too close to call between four likely candidates: the vice-president, two senators and a former president thrown out of office for corruption.

Let me introduce them:

Vice-president Noli de Castro is the front-runner with 19 per cent of the poll's votes. The former TV presenter, who does a popular weekly radio show, has so far not said whether he plans to run. He has kept a low profile during President Gloria Arroyo's turbulent leadership.

Just behind him with 17 per cent of the vote is a young senator: Francis "Chiz" Escudero. His supporters are pushing him as a mould-breaking Filipino version of US President Barack Obama. Mr Escudero will only qualify to run for the presisdency when he turns 40 later this year. He was the most popular of the four in vote-rich Metro Manila.

Former president Joseph Estrada, convicted of plunder and pardoned by Mrs Arroyo last year, got 16 per cent of the vote. When the former movie star and vice-president ran in 1998, he got 30 per cent; the biggest majority of any Philippine president, thanks to poor voters. He is still popular among the poor.

Mr Estrada has vowed to run if the opposition doesn't unify itself behind a single candidate. But some analysts say he isn't eligible to do so under the Constituirtion.

Senator Manuel "Manny" Villar, a self-made property tycoon born on the wrong side of the tracks, got 15 per cent of the poll's votes. He's a big hit with overseas contract workers and their families back home for repatriating Filipinos in distress abroad.

Senator Loren Legarda, another former TV personality, is the only women among the "presidentiables", as they are called. She got 12 per cent. Voters may be reluctant to elect a women on the heels of Mrs Arroyo's unpopular presidency, say some commentators.

Several likely candidates failed to make double-digits in the poll. I'll mention one: Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas, a 50-year-old political blue-blood, is expected to throw his hat in the ring after - so the gossip goes - he proposes to his girlfriend, a glamorous TV newsreader.

Having a show-biz spouse can be a big plus at the polls, though to be fair to Mr Roxas, he is a capable and respected lawmaker. He got 8 per cent of the vote.

Preparations are already underway for the first automated elections for the country's 40 million voters. They are ferverently hoping that this will help eliminate electoral fraud.

The poll vividly reflects the widely held view here that 2010's election will be tight race among the main personalities. So far, only Mr Villar has clearly stated his intention to run. The deadline to do so is Nov 30.

The size of campaign war chests often plays a prominent role in deciding the outcome of this country's invariably rollicking elections; not just for the presidency, but also for congressional and local-government posts.

The Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, a think-tank, estimates that it can cost up to 5 billion pesos (S$158 million) to run a campaign for the presidency; up to 100 million pesos for a seat in Congress and about the same for the governor of a large province.

Political parties are built around candidates not ideaology here. And the distinctions between administration and opposition get blurred come election time, with candidates often switching sides if it can get them elected.

Jobs and tackling corruption are shaping up to be the main 2010 election isssues.

In the bare-knuckled world of Philippine politics, foes and rivals will be falling over themselves to dish the dirt on each other. Actually, it's already started.

Going by the circles where politics is debated, Mr Villar's chances of becoming the next president are rated highly as things stand. He is touting his experience and undeniable success as businessman.

Being enormously rich helps, of course.

IN THE Philippines, where divorce is impossible and mistresses commonplace, short-stay hotels do brisk business over Valentine's week from cheating husbands.

"We do see a rise in traffic over the period, but of course we never ask who the customers are," said the manager of a short-stay hotel.

But he agreed that some of the extra business expected on the days just before and after Feb 14 come from married men meeting their lovers for a Valentine's tryst.

There are an estimated 80 to 100 such short-stay hotels and motels in Manila.

Realising that some couples find check-in procedures embarrassing, one drive-in motel offers this by hand signal: Two fingers for a standard room, three for deluxe and four for a mini-suite. At the no-frills end of the market, rooms cost just a few hundred pesos - around S$7 - for a stay of a few hours.

Of course, many couples using these places are married and just want to grab a few intimate hours away from the kids in a spicier ambience than home.

The logo of the biggest chain, Victoria Court, has the face of a 1920s flapper with a finger on her lips. Every time I see one, I’m reminded of my one stay in a "motel no-tell".

It was several years ago in Cebu during the city's popular Sinulog festival in January. Hotel rooms were booked out, so I ended up in a "love hotel" on the outskirts of the city - in the Safari Room.

I shared the room with a live python wrapped around part of a tree in a glass cabinet. At the end of the bed was a stuffed hyena in full snarl.

Back to the mistresses. They are said to be such an embedded though hidden part of Philippine society that newspaper columnist Julie Yap Daza wrote a book on how they should behave: Etiquette for Mistresses: And What Wives Can Learn From Them.

"Mistresses in the Philippines are called 'holiday orphans' because their lovers cannot meet them on Valentine’s Day, when they will be at home with their wives," she told me while I was doing research on the subject for a story last year.

Former president Joseph Estrada famously admitted to having children by different mistresses, some of whom were kept in lavish homes.

But even ordinary folk have their "Number Twos". A friend of mine once dated a woman police officer, who told him that not a few of her married male colleagues had mistresses and what she called "second families".

The Philippines is one of the few countries in the world where divorce is still banned, a legacy of the political influence of the Catholic church here. The Gabriella women's rights party has a Bill legalising divorce gathering dust in Congress.

Annulments are a lengthy and costly process, open only to the well-heeled. Couples separate here like anywhere else; some, I’m told, just quietly re-marry.

Despite a population of 90 million, there were only 7,753 annulments in 2007, according to the Office of the Solicitor General. Singapore, with a population of 4.8 million, reportedly had 7,061 divorces and annulments in 2006.

Not surprisingly, men and women languishing in loveless marriages stray.

"But for every 500 philandering husbands you will probably only find one married woman doing the same," said Ms Daza, noting that Filipino women have too much to lose in terms of financial security to risk getting caught.

But here's another statistic: Seven out of 10 Filipinos agree with the statement: "If you love someone set him free, if he/she comes back again it was meant to be", according a to poll this week by Social Weather Stations.

In Manila

HOW to tackle a looming power shortage and the spectre of brownouts? One option being studied in the Philippines is reviving a mothballed nuclear power plant. 

Around the world, governments are taking a second look at nuclear energy, and several Asean nations have already announced plans to build reactors for electricity generation. 

The Philippines has already got one, though the 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), 130-kms west of Manila, has never generated a watt of electricity.

A group of lawmakers want to rehabilitate the controversial plant. 

On a visit there late last month, congressman Juan Miguel Arroyo, who heads the House of Representative's energy panel and is the President's eldest son, said the proposed BNPP Commissioning Act of 2008 now has the support of 190 of the House's 238 lawmakers. A similar Bill is before the Senate.

The developments in Congress for reviving the plant have touched off - and not for the first time - a heated debate on whether the country should go nuclear to help meet its future energy needs. And, if yes, whether to revive the BNPP or start from scratch.

Editorials and commentaries in recent days have generally taken the view that this is not a bright idea on cost and safety grounds. 

Presidential adviser on climate change, Heherson Alvarez, warned this week that taking the BNPP out of mothballs would be a "Star Trek solution" fraught with dangers.

Several senior energy officials in this administration that I've spoken to on this issue seem receptive to the nuclear option and are keeping an open mind on the BNPP.

With at least three Asean members, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, announcing plans to build nuclear power plants, concerns over safeguards, such as the disposal of nuclear waste and the effects of natural disasters, are a growing regional concern.

In Singapore five months ago, Asean energy ministers agreed to set up a nuclear safety network and report on its progress at this year's leaders' summit in Thailand.

The sorry saga of the corruption-plagued BNPP is well known here. The light-water reactor was begun in 1976 during the Marcos dictatorship and budgeted to cost some US$500 million (S$753 million). By the time that the Westinghouse-built plant was completed in 1984, costs had skyrocketed to US$2.3 billion. 

Millions were allegedly paid to Marcos and his cronies in kickbacks, and the plant remains a rotting symbol of one of the 20th century's most notorious kleptocracies.

Marcos was toppled in 1986 and his successor, Corazon Aquino, closed the plant over safety concerns.The Philippines only finished paying it off in 2007.

The idea of rehabilitating the BNPP is not new. With the Philippines expected to be hit by power shortages in around two years time, the administration has been exploring ways of averting another energy crisis, including nuclear power.

Building a new power station takes around a decade; far less to rehabilitate the BNPP. Late last year, state-owned Napocor, the country's largest power firm, commissioned the Korean Electric Power Co., which operates and build nuclear power plants, to do a feasibility study on reviving the BNPP. That is set to be fininshed next year.

Not suprisingly, this galvanised anti-nuke groups here as well as sparked lively debate in the media on the nuclear option.

That's no bad thing if it puts the spotlight on the formidable energy challenges that this country faces to meet the demands of the economy and a burgeoning population. 

Filipinos vividly remember the crippling power shortages of the early 1990s, when brownouts of 12 hours and longer made life a misery. One of the BIll's sponsors has warned of severer brownouts unless 3,000 MW is added to exisiting capacitiy by 2012. That's about a fifth of the current supply.

With or without nuclear power, renewabale energy sources, and especially geothermal power, will play a bigger role in this country's energy mix. These have already helped significantly reduce depndence on imported oil 

The safety debate has long centred on the BNPP being built near an earthquake fault line and surrounded by several active and dormant volvacos in Luzon Island. These include Mount Pinatubo, which erupted with spectacular ferocity in 1991. 

In his 2006 book, "Trailblazing: The Quest for Energy Self-Reliance," the late Geronimo Velasco, who helped shape the sector during the Marcos era, wrote that the International Atomic Energy Agency approved the site at Napot Point as suitable for a nuclear plant.

Mount Pinatubo was "proof of the pudding," wrote Velasco. He noted that the eruption unleased severe earth tremors and damaged buildings further afield than PNBB. No damage was reported at the plant, which is built on hard bedrock overlooking the sea. 

Other experts argue that the Philippines, which sits on the volatile Rim of Fire, a region of volcanic eruptions and tectonic-plate shifts in the Pacific Ocean, is simply too unstable to use nuclear power.

The cost of rehabilitating BNPP is estimated at US$1 billion - three times the cost of building a new nuclear power plant. A journalist who recently visited the BNPP described the control room as looking like the set of a 1970s James Bond movie.

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