Wednesday, January 19, 2005 (Philippines)

Lawyer Liwayway Vinzons-Chato, dressed in red, answers questions during a press conference Tuesday in Manila. Chato is counsel for the Cheng family, majority owners of the consortium that built the new airport terminal. (Sun.Star Manila/Benjamin Pulta) LOWERED expectations. This is how Filipinos are now coping with the hunger and poverty that they are suffering under the Arroyo administration. A November 23 to December 2 survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that the number of Filipinos who went hungry and who consider themselves as poor dropped slightly in the fourth quarter of 2004 because Filipinos have lowered their standards of living. [full story]