The Wutz Up in the Philippines!

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday rejected the appeal of oil companies for a dialogue with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the possible recall of an executive order freezing fuel prices in Luzon, which remains in a state of calamity.

But Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera indicated that the order may soon be lifted in specific areas as the government and oil firms try to reach an agreement on a mutually acceptable response to the devastation wrought by successive storms.

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Arroyo critics write letter to Obama.

MANILA, Philippines—When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo meets with US President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday—Friday in Manila—her opponents back home will be hoping that it will result in a change they can believe in.

Ms Arroyo left for Washington on Wednesday afternoon for her much-sought meeting with the newly elected US president amid a call by a civil society group on Obama to tell her that she should comply with democratic principles and adhere to human rights.

In an open letter to Obama that was published Wednesday in national newspapers as paid ads, the group, led by former Vice President Teofisto Guingona and ex-Senate President Jovito Salonga, said that upon Obama’s assumption of the US presidency, Filipinos “rejoiced at the audacious hope” that he had inspired.

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