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

Archive for July, 2007

7/06/07 11:57 PM Full Story

IP Philippines launches exhibition area for Filipino inventions, brands

Makati City – The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) unveiled the Innovation Area, an exhibition venue for Filipino inventions, designs, and brands with Evolvere as theme. Evolvere, a Latin term for evolve, denotes development into a more advanced state.

7/06/07 11:40 PM Full Story

All set for summit on extrajudicial killings

Representatives from the Executive and Legislative departments, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, and the Commission on Human Rights, media, academe, civil society, and other stakeholders will be among the participants in the two-day summit. Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno will give the keynote speech and closing remarks.

7/06/07 11:36 PM Full Story

Philippines Supreme Court suspends 4 Cebu judges in ‘marriage scam’

The charges stemmed from allegations that certain courts in Cebu City conduct marriages with undue haste and for an amount higher than the prescribed 300-peso marriage fee.

7/06/07 11:34 PM Full Story

FDC condemns slay attempt on Iloilo chapter chair

MANILA — The Freedom from Debt Coalition – Philippines strongly condemned the attempt on the lives of FDC Iloilo Chapter chairperson Atty. Romeo Gerochi and his family by unknown assailant/s early this morning in Mandurriao district.

7/06/07 11:30 PM Full Story

Philippines: ISAFP chief should be sacked, independent probe pursued — Bayan

MANILA — After an informant pointed to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as being behind the abduction of activist Jonas Burgos, the umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan today asked for the relief ISAFP chief Delfin Bangit and demanded an impartial and independent probe into the military’s involvement in the Burgos [...]

7/06/07 11:25 PM Full Story

Philippines terror law can be used against those who oppose mining — group

MANILA — The Human Security Act could be used as a tool of coercion, intimidation, and even repression among mining-affected communities throughout the Philippines thereby violating the principle of free and informed prior consent with regards to mining projects, environmental activists from Kalikasan Peoples’ Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) asserted today.

7/06/07 11:25 PM Full Story

Terror law can’t compel journalists to reveal sources

Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said today that journalists cannot be compelled under the Human Security Act to reveal to law enforcement authorities their sources of information in connection with reports about terrorist activities they write about.

7/06/07 11:22 PM Full Story

Saudi Arabie: An appeal to Muslim scholars throughout the world

(The case of a teenage girl facing the death sentence in Saudi Arabia
as the result of a tragedy being misunderstood as a crime)

The Asian Human Rights Commission is writing this appeal to all the
Muslim scholars in the world regarding the case that the AHRC
believes deserves of all Muslim scholars.

7/06/07 11:07 PM Full Story

Russian Federation: European Court of Human Rights finds Russia responsible yet again for enforced disappearance in Chechnya

Amnesty International today called on the Russian authorities to implement in full the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights without delay, as the European Court again found Russia responsible for grave human rights violations during the second Chechen conflict.

7/06/07 11:07 PM Full Story

Turkey: No justice for victims of torture and killings by law enforcement officials

Torture, ill-treatment and killings continue to be met with persistent impunity for the security forces in Turkey, Amnesty International said in a report published today. The investigation and prosecution of serious human rights violations committed by officers of the police and gendarmerie are flawed and compounded by inconsistent decisions by prosecutors and judges. As a [...]

7/06/07 11:06 PM Full Story

IFJ accuses Israel forces of “vicious targeting” after soldiers shoot injured cameraman

The International Federation of Journalists today condemned Israel over targeting of journalists and called for a full investigation after reports that a cameraman injured in an exchange with Hamas gunmen in Palestine’s Gaza Strip was later shot in the legs while he lay injured.

7/06/07 11:06 PM Full Story

The changing landscape of Philippine television

By CHECHE LAZARO

It’s been said that TV is responsible for the idiotization of our generation. We admit that TV has many mistakes that need to be corrected. But there are rapid changes happening even as we speak. And as practitioners, we have no choice but to cope and improve.

7/06/07 11:01 PM Full Story

Intruding into everyone’s privacy: The Human Security Act ushers in Big Brother

By DR. GIOVANNI TAPANG

With the Human Security Act (HSA), the unwanted Big Brother has indeed arrived. The Arroyo administration’s latest effort to combat terrorism raises the concern that Filipinos are now at greater risk of intrusion and surveillance from their very own government. The HSA, also known as the Anti-Terrorism Act, contains provisions that build on law enforcement’s ability to peek at e-mail, to use wiretapping devices, monitor credit card purchases and bank transactions and conduct searches of suspected terrorists.

7/06/07 10:43 PM Full Story

CHILDREN’S BOOK FOR PEACE

Do not interrupt when somebody is talking. Do not cut down trees unnecessarily. Use handkerchiefs instead of tissues. These are among the 99 ways to promote a culture of peace. Simple, yes. But make a children’s book based on each individual premise. Challenging, eh.

7/06/07 01:02 PM Full Story

THE ENEMIES OF THE STATE

There is no legal category as “enemy of the state” or crime under which someone could be charged and convicted let alone be executed. The thinking behind such branding is to dehumanize them and therefore deny them any human rights at all, thus pointing the way for the kidnapping, torture and execution squads.

7/06/07 08:59 AM Full Story

Here’s why child-play is bad for daddy

7/05/07 11:19 PM Full Story

Greenpeace lauds Philippines’s electric jeepneys

MANILA — Electric-powered jeepneys are set to revolutionize
the Philippines’ most recognizable icon. Electric Jeepneys (E-Jeepneys),
the first public transport system of its kind in Southeast Asia, were
launched today in a historic test drive in Makati City, the country’s
financial capital, by GRIPP (Green Renewable Independent Power
Producer), Greenpeace, and the Makati City Government.

7/05/07 11:07 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)