SPORTS. National honor, the Philippine peso, and GNP hang onto Pacman’s pair of gloves. No traffic, no theft, no kidnapping on Sunday from Aparri to Jolo. Fr. Michael Sinnott attests that even his captors would be glued to the Pacquiao-Cotto fight.

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$2 million was demanded, but the Society of Saint Columban Order, RP, and the Irish government said no ransom was paid. Just a tip on which round to bet.

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Vvip Visit. Because our idea of demonstrative democracy is to make nice to guests and to sweep demos away, if State Secretary Hillary Clinton were to retire abroad she might ask hubby Bill for a Home-on-the-Range in Manila “…where seldom is heard a disparaging word… and the skies aren’t cloudy all day…”

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Never mind the smog in Makati. There is no doubting goodwill for USA here. But we did ourselves and our guest a disservice with the fire truck-assisted cordon sanitaire of smiling tourism hospitality and a students’ forum punctuated with pulp, teen crushes, and her vote for Pacman to win in Las Vegas.

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The feisty Secretary of State showed she could give-and-take in her visits elsewhere but we missed hearing her perfect squelch of a detractor here. She might remember Manila as a never-never land Shangri-La.

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BTW, if we do not allow contrary views to be expressed, we make them go to extreme.

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International. French President Nicolas Sarkozy traveled to Germany for the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. Two days after, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Mr. Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Paris’ Arc de Triomphe.

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In 1984, French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl chose the site of the 1916 Battle of Verdun for a symbolic day of reconciliation.

But Wednesday was the first time a German leader attended the annual ceremony in Paris.

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Eclat symbolism at a time when Paris appears to be looking to London and Berlin looks to Moscow.

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Elections. After resigning as chair of Lakas-Kampi-CMD, PGMA said she sees Lakas as the “party of the future” under the leadership of presidential aspirant Gibo Teodoro. Yes, but only after 2010!

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Gibo picked Edu Manzano as running mate. Edu-run-run, Edu-run-run!

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A fan texted, “Gibo, Game Ka Na Ba?!”

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Regional Conference. The meeting of 13th ASEAN Directors General of Immigration and Heads of Consular Division and 5th Asean Immigration Intelligence Forum opens today at the Manila Hotel. The three-day meet will cover border management, combating transnational crime, disaster response, and exchange of immigration information.

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Consular Affairs Assistant Secretary Renato L. Villapando has DFA machine-readable e-passports in place while Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan bats for strengthening border security, institutional linkages on regional free trade and visas, and combating irregular migration and trafficking in persons.

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Immigration. Bureau of Immigration opened an extension office in Binondo as part of the agency’s decentralization program. If you throw a good bait, there’s a lot of fish to catch.. Why not set up in “168?”

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BTW, the site must be lucky, according to Chinese numerologists…

“16” is two times “8”, + 8 gives you “8.8.8.”

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My barber tells me that BoI takes it easy on “working tourists” lest they bear hard on OFWs… even if ours in Hong Kong and elsewhere are legitimate and not doing business.

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BI may allow “tourists” to convert to 9-g visas if their business can provide jobs for 10 locals.

Feedback: jaz@mb.com.ph.