2007 July – PinoyPress — Philippines news, opinion, blogs.

Archive for July, 2007

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7/10/07 01:55 PM Full Story

There is some degree of discrimination here against those who hail from Manila, which is most probably something Cebuanos and other Bisaya feel (and even fear) when they get to the capital. On several occasions, I found myself defending my lineage, pointing out that though I was born in Manila (in Mandaluyong City, specifically), my parents both come from Iloilo, and in our household, Kiniray-a is the tongue of choice.

7/10/07 01:25 PM Full Story

Terror law dangerous in hands of abusive gov’t

Terrified. Students in Davao City take to the streets against the Human Security Act(Photo by Tyrone Velez/davaotoday.com)

The Philippines’s landmark anti-terrorism law, the Human Security Act of 2007, could pose grave dangers to ordinary Filipinos if wrongly applied by a government that has habitually shown disregard for human rights, Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said today. Pimentel identified five provisions of the law that “may be abused by the powerful and used as instruments of state terrorism against the powerless.”

7/10/07 01:02 PM Full Story

Philippines’s missed fiscal targets not surprising — Ibon

The Philippines already has the lowest tariffs in Asia, and this endangers government’s revenue program and its goal of achieving a balanced budget by next year, according to independent think-tank Ibon Foundation.

7/10/07 12:43 PM Full Story

Troops are back in Metro Manila communities

“The Arroyo regime is setting up a very dangerous scenario here. The troops are back and the terror law is set to take effect. All these evoke an atmosphere of state terror aimed at the people. This government is bent on escalating repression,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.

7/10/07 12:40 PM Full Story

Philippines: Environmentalists assail terror law

“DENR Sec. Reyes an avid supporter of anti-terror legislation”

MANILA — In addition to the opposition aired by the Catholic bishops, environmental advocates are now assailing the Palace’s green light on the Human Security Act (HSA), Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) said today.

7/10/07 12:38 PM Full Story

IFJ Condemns “Climate of Intimidation” as Iran Attacks Independent Press

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today accused Iran of “creating a climate of intimidation against press freedom” after the authorities in Tehran banned a pro-reform newspaper and a news agency.

7/10/07 12:36 PM Full Story

IFJ, WAZ Pledge to ‘Make Co-operation Work’ As Commission Backs Global Agreement

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and German media group Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ Mediengruppe) pledged to work together to ensure that journalists produce quality journalism all over Europe after the two signed the first-ever global framework agreement in the media sector.

7/10/07 12:36 PM Full Story

Satur writes Abalos: Don’t use First Party Rule vs. Left, partylist system

MANILA — Bayan Muna President Satur C. Ocampo today expressed “vehement
objection” to the Commission on Elections’ adoption of the First Party
Rule that resulted in a partial proclamation of partylist groups that
won a mandate in the May polls and the reduction of seats for groups
critical of the Arroyo administration.

7/10/07 12:34 PM Full Story

SC upholds dismissal of raps vs Batasan 6

THIS JUST IN: The Supreme Court today dismissed the government’s motion for reconsideration on the dismissal of the rebellion case against the six members of Congress who belong to partylist groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela and Anakpawis, Bayan Muna said. Atty. Romeo T. Capulong, lead counsel of the Batasan 6, said the “SC ruling has far-reaching implications” and that he would ask the court to order the immediate release of Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, who is under police custody.

7/10/07 12:31 PM Full Story

Another Anakpawis leader shot dead in Philippines

Alfonso Capiales , 72, municipal coordinator for Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province, of Anakpawis was killed inside his home by two unidentified assassins on the evening of July 7.

7/10/07 11:57 AM Full Story

Philippines: Smart is Filipinos’ mobile network to the world

MANILA — Mobile connectivity has no boundaries as far as a SMART subscriber is concerned.
He or she is able to connect to over 27 million subscribers almost anywhere in the country and in the world. In 2006 alone, over 3 billion international connections were logged on the SMART network.

7/10/07 11:44 AM Full Story

Philippines: Smart officially implements SWEEP Faculty Immersion Program

MANILA — The groundbreaking SMART Wireless Engineering Education Program (SWEEP) formally implemented its faculty immersion series recently, providing special lectures, fieldwork, and hands-on activities to 24 key engineering faculty members from partner schools all over the country.

7/10/07 11:43 AM Full Story

Draft accord up in anti-terror summit in Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY- A draft agreement among peace workers and stakeholders in Mindanao on their commitment to battle terrorism in all fronts would be presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when she graces Tuesday the two-day Mindanao Peace and Security Summit which started at the Pryce Hotel here today.

7/09/07 08:44 PM Full Story

Philippines: Arroyo to inspect priority infrastructure project in Caraga

BUTUAN CITY— Barely two weeks before she delivers her 7th State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on July 23, President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo will visit Butuan City Tuesday to inspect another priority infrastructure project in the CARAGA Region that is vital to the realization of her Super Regions economic development plan.

7/09/07 08:43 PM Full Story

Arroyo to focus on modernizing Philippines’s education system

MANILA — Believing that knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth in the present global economy, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed today to improve and modernize the country’s educational system before the end of her term in 2010.

7/09/07 08:42 PM Full Story

Location of gov’t lending agencies in Philippines now just a text away

MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pushed the green button this morning on the latest government project that now makes the location and contact numbers of government financing agencies just a text away.

7/09/07 08:41 PM Full Story

Burat: Textbook learnings for make benefit glorious nation of Philippines

Antonio Calipjo Go, academic supervisor of the Marian School in Quezon City, has been launching a crusade against the many errors in Philippine textbooks. In a full-page ad in today’s issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Go asks: “Were the writers of this book even thinking when they decided to include the abominable words TITI and TITATITA in a schoolbook for schoolchildren? (Borat would’ve asked: Is they crazy?) After Pepe’s pee pole, what will these good people think of next — Pilar’s pekpek (ari ng babae)?”

7/09/07 07:58 PM Full Story

LATEST STORIES FROM DAVAOTODAY.COM

Duterte-Nograles tiff over park prelude to 2010?

Urban poor group hits Arroyo on housing mega-sale

Military operations in ComVal is linked to mining – environmental alliance

San Isidro town govt to penalize cacao felling

Boston villagers recount tales of military abuses

STORIES BY CARLOS H. CONDE

40 die as Philippine ferry capsizes

Asia, too, feels the pain

As the MOA Unravels, What Now?

Peace process fraught with peril for Arroyo

Islamic separatists kill 28 in Philippines rampage

THE NEWS IN PICTURES

Spawn. This photo, taken by photojournalist Sonny Espiritu, won the Best Single Photo award in the recent annual PopDev Awards. The photo was first published by the Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project with this caption: "An urban poor woman feeds her youngest child while washing clothes for a living and looking after other children. Modern contraception advocates say having fewer children would help fight poverty and hunger, but the predominent Catholic Church says there is no link between poverty and population, of which the Philippines has now almost 90 million."

End The Violence. Members of the women's group Gabriela make known their sentiments about violence against women. They commemorated yesterday, Nov. 25, the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. (Photo courtesy of arkibongbayan.org)

Anti-GMA Protest in LA. Members of GABNet, the progressive Filipino women's group in the United States, outside the LAX Sheraton in Los Angeles last week to protest the persecution and killing of political activists in the Philippines. The protest was timed for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stopover en route to Peru for the Apec summit. (Photo courtesy of Ninotchka Rosca/GABNet)

Tagaytay on a Sunday. Kite-flying has become a favorite activity at the Picnic Grove in Tagaytay. On an overcast but generally pleasant afternoon last Sunday, dozens of kites colored the skies, complementing the view of Taal Volcano in the background. (Photo by Ayi Muallam)

Downed. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front released Friday this photo of some of its members playing with what the group claimed was an unmanned spy plane that crashed earlier this month. The front said the alleged drone was a property of the US military. More details here.

Hunger Amid War. This child refugee is one of the thousands affected by the war in Mindanao. The situation in North Cotabato and Maguindanao has deteriorated since renewed fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) broke out in Aleosan and Midsayap, North Cotabato last Aug. 8, according to groups that held last month the National Interfaith Humanitarian Mission in North Cotabato and Maguindanao. (Photo courtesy of Kalinaw Mindanao/arkibongbayan.org)

Another Bayan Muna Leader Killed. Danny Qualbar, an officer of the Compostela Farmers' Association and coordinator of Bayan Muna was on his way to Compostela town Thursday afternoon to buy fish for his family when assassins in motorcycles shot him. Qualbar was the second Bayan Muna member killed this year in Compostela Valley. Top photo shows Qualbar’s eldest child grieving his death. (Photo by Jonald Mahinay/davaotoday.com)

Stairway to Heaven. Found in the middle of the forest, the cascading waters of Aliwagwag waterfalls in Cateel, Davao Oriental, looks like a descending stairway. No wonder it is considered one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Mindanao. (Photo by Grace S. Uddin / davaotoday.com)

Stop Militarizing Communities! Members of farmer's group Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas in Southern Mindanao Region held a rally October 8 in front of the headquarters of the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Camp Panacan, Davao City. The group called for the pullout of troops conducting massive military operations in Tamayong in Davao City, Talaingod in Davao del Norte, Monkayo in Compostela Valley and in the towns of Baganga, Cateel, Boston in Davao Oriental and Lingig Surigao Del Sur. (Photo by Jonald Mahinay/davaotoday.com)

Land and Peace Concert. Students from Tribung Bayanga National High School perform before the crowd at Gaston Park in Cagayan De Oro City on October 23 night during the Yuta ug Kalinaw Concert. The two-hour concert was part of the Integrity of Creation Solidarity week that kicked-off last October 19. The week-long activity was a gathering of mining affected communities and support groups to discuss the issues affecting their communities. (Photo by AKP Images / Keith Bacongco)

Full Capacity. Normally, passenger vans are allowed to carry 14 people. But this one is apparently beyond its carrying limit as it negotiates the zigzag road in Sulop, Davao del Sur, a known accident- and landslide-prone area. (Photo by Keith Bacongco / AKP Images)

The Child as Vigilante. A 10-year-old boy carries a firearm and joins members of the Ilaga, an infamous anti-Moro militia, in its camp in Aleosan, North Cotabato. The child's father leads the dreaded vigilante group in the area. (Photo by Romy Elusfa/Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project)

Under Repair. A "Skylab," the most common mode of transportation in the Agusan provinces and elsewhere in Mindanao, undergoes a repair at a shop in Butuan City. The motorcycle is fitted with wooden "wings" on both sides -- hence the moniker -- and is capable of carrying up to eight passengers. (Photo by Keith Bacongco / AKP Images)

Free At Last. Pastor Berlin Guerrero of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, shown above with wife Mylene, was released after 15 months in police detention. He had been abducted and went missing for days before the police came out to say that he was arrested on a murder charge, which his family and colleagues said had been fabricated. A court ordered him released on Sept. 11. (Photo by arkibongbayan.org)