1997 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1997.
Incumbents
President: Fidel Ramos (Lakas) Vice President: Joseph Estrada (LAMMP) Senate President: Ernesto Maceda House Speaker: Jose de Venecia, Jr. Chief Justice: Andres Narvasa Philippine Congress: 10th Congress of the Philippines
Events
January
January 3 – The Bureau of Immigration adopts a policy against foreigners with unauthorized stay in the country, by virtue of the Alien Social Integration Act. January 7 – A Presidential citation is given to Rhona Mahilum, who was noted for rescuing her siblings from their burning house in Negros Occidental. January 8 – President Ramos announces the renewal of ban from entering the country on Timorese independence leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner José Ramos-Horta of Indonesia on the basis of "national security". It is the third time Ramos-Horta who has been banned from the country in November 1996, has been given such restriction since 1994. January 15 – A memorandum of understanding is signed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Japanese non-governmental organization Asian Women's Fund, aiming to provide assistance to former comfort women. January 16 – The Cagayan de Oro regional court sentences Alex Bartolome to death for the repeated sexual abuse of his underage daughter between 1993 and 1995. His execution by lethal injection in January 2000 would be the last to be carried out in the Philippines before the abolition of capital punishment in 2006. January 17 – Zamboanga del Norte representative Romeo Jalosjos is arrested in Bagac, Bataan. Jalosjos, being charged of statutory rape and acts of lasciviousness, has been subjected to a nationwide manhunt by the National Bureau of Investigation as ordered by the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) on December 26, 1996.Citations:
January 26 – Police arrests William Batungbakal, a former member of the Alex Boncayao Brigade and the gunman in the 1995 ambush-killing of Police Chief Inspector Jose Pring, in Malate, Manila. January 27: A ceasefire agreement between the national government, through the Philippine Army, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is signed in Maguindanao, ending more than a week of fighting in Buldon.Citations:
A passenger bus, traversing the Pilar–Manila route, plunges into a ravine in Labo, Camarines Norte, killing nineteen people including the driver.Citations:
January 28–31 – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources exterminates through lethal injection 596 monkeys at a breeding farm in Calamba, Laguna, on order of the Department of Health to prevent the possible outbreak of the Ebola Reston virus that has killed seven others.Citations:
A news blackout occurs where journalists are forcibly barred and later restricted from covering the process.Citations:
January 29 – President Ramos signs the law strengthening the country's science and technology program (Republic Act No. 8248). January 31: First Lady Amelita Ramos leads the launching of the country's bulk carrier, Sea Amelita, in Tsuneishi shipyard in Balamban, Cebu. The Court of Appeals (CA), acting on a petition by private individuals led by Rizal governor Casimiro Ynares and former representative Francisco Sumulong, temporarily cancels the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), preventing the government from finalizing the sale to the winning bidders. Benpres and Ayala groups have won a 25-year deal for the world's largest privatization of a water utility, being announced on January 23.Citations:
A state of calamity is declared in Agusan del Sur, Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental due to flash floods caused by continuous rains on January 12.
February February 3 – The Supreme Court votes, , to stop the sale of 51 percent of the Manila Hotel to Malaysian company Renong Berhad, and orders its owner, the Government Service Insurance System, to sell it instead to Manila Prince Hotel, citing the constitution's "Filipino first" provision and the hotel being part of the "national patrimony". The Committee on Privatization would later file a petition for rebidding.Citations:
February 4 – Three gunmen assassinate Bishop Benjamin de Jesus in front of Jolo Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu, in what would be the country's first killing of a Roman Catholic bishop. February 5 – President Ramos signs Republic Act No. 8249, amending the charter of Sandiganbayan. February 8 – Republic Act No. 8180, the law deregulating the oil industry, takes effect, ending twenty years of government control of oil companies and removing subsidies. As early as February 5, several protest rallies, demanding the repeal of the said law, have been conducted.Citations:
February 13 – A Beechcraft Baron explodes and crashes off Naic and Cavite City in Cavite, while on its way to Manila from Mindoro. All six individuals are either confirmed or presumed dead.Citations:
February 14 – A Beechcraft RPC 1919 crashes upon takeoff at an airport in Jolo, Sulu, killing retired Cotabato City auxiliary bishop Antonino Nepomuceno and other individuals. The plane crash is initially believed caused by either being shot or a pilot error.Citations:
February 18 – A Senate resolution affirming their absolute opposition to the constitutional amendments is adopted. February 19: The Court of Appeals dismisses a petition by a Rizal-based group against the privatization of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS), citing lack of merit; upholding a Manila RTC ruling. MWSS would be awarded to the winning bidders two days later.Citations:
Sandiganbayan orders a 90-day suspension of senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago in relation to graft charges filed in 1995 while she was the chief of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation.Citations:
February 21 – A House resolution granting amnesty to the members of Reform the Armed Forces Movement – Soldiers of the Filipino People – Young Officers Union (RAM–SFP–YOU), concurring with Proclamation No. 723, is approved. February 22 – Joel Arnan, leader of Kuratong Solido group, and two fellow inmates, escape from a municipal jail in San Pedro, Laguna, during a noise barrage and despite being guarded by the elite force from Western Police District Command.Citations:
February 23 – During a private meeting at the residence of Christopher Carrion in Ayala Alabang Village, in Muntinlupa, President Fidel Ramos informs the former President Corazon Aquino that he could not halt the campaign on Constitutional reform in the Philippines, citing it as a violation of freedom of expression. Ramos emphasized his commitment to uphold the Constitution and denied involvement in the initiative.
March
March 1 – South African president Nelson Mandela, beginning his three-day state visit, arrives in the country. March 17 – The longest bridge in Pangasinan, connecting the municipalities of Santa Maria and Asingan, is inaugurated. March 19 – President Ramos grants temporary asylum to Hwang Jang-yop, the top ideologue from North Korea. March 26 – Las Piñas becomes a highly urbanized city in Metro Manila through ratification of Republic Act 8251.
April
April 8 – The Supreme Court issues a temporary restraining order from the government's implementation of the national identification system. April 9 – President Ramos orders the release of , which is intended for the partial payment for pension adjustment of the World War II veterans. April 16 – As part of the government campaign to prevent polio in the country, five million children are given free anti-polio vaccines. April 20 – The main camp of the MILF in Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte, is captured by the government forces, with seven rebels killed. April 21 – Malacañang confirms the government's dropping of its opposition to the asylum application of communist leader Jose Maria Sison, then exiled in the Netherlands. April 24 – The leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) affirms banning of homosexuals in the military. April 27 – MILF confirms that five thousand Moro National Liberation Front rebels have been defected to their side, citing the allegedly slow implementation of the government's livelihood programs. April 29–30 – The military dispatches marine reinforcements to the disputed Spratly Islands following reports that three armed Chinese Navy warships have been deployed there. Jet fighters are deployed the following day to augment the contingent, at the same time of Manila's protest demanding Beijing's explanation. On May 3, China, stressing its sovereignty over the area, insists of legal rights to dispatch their vessels.
May
May 2 – The Supreme Court affirms the validity of the country's membership in the World Trade Organization. May 9 – The World Bank approves new loans, worth about , to the country, which will cover programs on poverty alleviation, infrastructure, and natural resources, for the next three years. May 11 – Military personnel in election duty are attacked in Lantawan, Basilan by thirty Abu Sayyaf members, with seven from the latter killed in the gunfight. May 20 – The Philippines rejects the proposed exploration with China on the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Eight days later, President Ramos favors the agreement on the countries' joint development of the area. May 21 – The Philippine Coast Guard arrests twenty-one Chinese fishermen at the Scarborough Shoal. On May 30, Taiwan, claiming that the area is part of their sovereign territory, complains the said arrest. On May 26, foreign ministry officials of the Philippines and China meet in Beijing, in an attempt to de-escalate tension caused by conflicting claims in the area. May 26 and June 4 – President Ramos declares a state of calamity in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Rizal and Zambales due to the impact of Tropical Depression Bining. May 28 – The launch of the country's first electronic library project in Manila Hotel is led by the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education, Culture and Sports. May 31 – Sandiganbayan dismisses graft charges against former First Lady Imelda Marcos on the allegations of receiving bribes while she was the minister of human settlements, citing insufficient evidence.
June
June 4: Vice president Estrada resigns as chairperson of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission, reportedly to prepare for his presidential bid. A state of calamity (man-made) is declared in Basilan, Maguindanao, Sulu, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur due to sporadic fighting between the government and outlaw groups. June 5 – A state of calamity is declared in Cotabato City and the municipality of Pilar, Sorsogon, both affected by fires that separately occurred on April 26. June 10 – The Supreme Court dismisses with finality the motion for reconsideration submitted by PIRMA proponents and government counsel for the constitutional reform, upholding its earlier decision stopping such attempts. June 14 – FVR declares that he had authorized the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), to expedite a bill on people's initiative based on the reasons provided by the Supreme Court in rejecting the petition. June 16 – Forty-three surveyors from a state-run oil firm are captured by suspected MILF guerrillas in Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao, but are later freed. This led to a massive army offensive against the MILF that would begin the following day, occurred in Pagalungan, also in Maguindanao, and in parts of Cotabato. As of June 28, clashes have killed 146 from the MILF and twelve troops. June 22 – President Ramos signs Proclamation No. 1030 declaring the Philippine tarsier a specially protected fauna. June 23 – The military fires warning shots at a Chinese fishing vessel, which anchored near a Filipino-held island in the Spratlys. June 26: