WORLD IN BRIEF : PHILIPPINES : Rent May Rise for Ash-Damaged Bases

Manila will not soften its demands for renewal of the leases on volcano-damaged U.S. bases and might even raise the rent, a Philippine official said. “In the light of the events, the Philippines may have to upgrade the compensation (on Clark Air Base and Subic Bay Naval Base) because we suffered more than the Americans did,” said the chief Philippine negotiator, Foreign Secretary Raul Manglapus. “If we are to change the compensation at all, it will be to upgrade it, not reduce it.” The U.S. lease on both bases expires Sept. 16, and lease-renewal talks have bogged down over the issue of compensation.