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

Archive for July, 2007

Gonzalez says he can have journalists wiretapped

As reported by ABS-CBN’s RG Cruz, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said yesterday that with the coming implementation of the Human Security Act, Gonzalez could recommend the wiretapping of anyone, including journalists. But as RG noted, “the anti-terrorism law relaxes old restrictions on wiretapping and bank secrecy. However, the same law is also clear that conversations between doctors and patients, lawyers and clients, and journalists and their sources shall remain exempted from coverage of the law.”

7/04/07 08:16 AM Full Story

A chocolate a day may keep blood pressure away

7/04/07 08:02 AM Full Story

Top tips for increasing your credit card limit

7/04/07 07:51 AM Full Story

‘Transformers’: Toy porn for overgrown boys?

7/04/07 07:46 AM Full Story

Japan Aids Efforts to Help Improve Water Services in Asia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - The Government of Japan is supporting efforts to improve the performance of water and wastewater utilities in developing member countries in South, Central and East Asia to enable them to reach more people, particularly those in impoverished areas, and improve their services to existing clients.

7/03/07 11:44 PM Full Story

Sri Lanka: An appeal for woman facing death sentence in Saudi Arabia

An Open Letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking legal
assistance for the young Sri Lankan woman facing the death sentence
by beheading in Saudi Arabia
Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona,
Secretary / Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic Building,
Colombo 01, Sri Lanka.
Dear Dr. Kohona,
Re Rizana Nasik of Mutur—the young girl facing death sentence
by beheading:
Matter relating to [...]

7/03/07 11:42 PM Full Story

Israel: Mordechai Vanunu sentence clear violation of human rights

Amnesty International today condemned the decision of an Israeli court to sentence Mordechai Vanunu, the anti-nuclear whistle-blower, to a further six months in prison for violating a ban on speaking to foreigners.

7/03/07 11:41 PM Full Story

Turkey: Justice for Hrant Dink

Amnesty International calls for all the evidence and circumstances to be considered as the trial of 18 people accused of involvement in the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink begins today in Istanbul. Hrant Dink was shot on 19 January 2007. The case will be heard in closed session at Beşiktaş Heavy Penal Court No.14, [...]

7/03/07 11:41 PM Full Story

El Salvador: Ineffective investigation into elderly couple’s killing signals danger for activists

By failing to effectively investigate the brutal killing of a couple of elderly political activists a year ago, authorities in El Salvador are opening the door for more attacks against those who dare to criticise the government, said Amnesty International today.

7/03/07 11:40 PM Full Story

Guatemala: Congress must ratify UN-backed commission against impunity

The Guatemalan Congress must urgently ratify the new International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG) if the country is to tackle clandestine criminal groups, said Amnesty International today.

7/03/07 11:40 PM Full Story

Colombia: One of world’s most dangerous places for trade unionists

A sham paramilitary demobilization process, combined with thousands of cases of threats and killings and a chronic lack of investigations and prosecutions, makes Colombia one of the most dangerous places in the world for trade unionists, according to a new report released today.

7/03/07 11:39 PM Full Story

Philippines: Karapatan willing to participate in Supreme Court summit on killings

MANILA — The Philippine human rights group KARAPATAN today welcomed the human rights summit called for by Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno and announced its willingness to participate.

7/03/07 11:37 PM Full Story

Decision to Send Israeli Whistleblower Back to Jail “Senseless and Inhumane” Says IFJ

The International Federation of Journalists today condemned as “senseless and inhumane” the decision by an Israeli court to send Mordechai Vanunu, the man who told the world that Israel has developed nuclear weapons back to jail – three years after he ended an 18 year sentence for the original offence.

7/03/07 11:36 PM Full Story

10 things your grocery store doesn’t want you to know

7/03/07 10:17 PM Full Story

Palace rules out sweeping Cabinet revamp for now

LEGAZPI CITY — Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye assured today that a wide-ranging revamp of the Cabinet “won’t happen” as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has already reappointed the members of her official family whose appointments were bypassed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) of the 13th Congress.

7/03/07 05:44 PM Full Story

Citing need for ‘permanent peace,’ Arroyo orders P5-billion worth of new attack helicopters

Arroyo says a modern army is key to peace.

President Arroyo said Tuesday she was serious in modernizing the armed forces, particularly the air force. She said coupled with her administration’s peace initiatives in Mindanao — “confidence-building measures grounded on strong interfaith dialogue and cultural awareness, investment in economic and basic infrastructure development, and mutual security arrangements — the modernization of the army will end the conflict in that region. For “permanent peace” to take hold in Mindanao, she said, the government must begin “modernizing our development efforts and modernizing our armed forces.”

7/03/07 05:23 PM Full Story

Reds say collapse of peace talks imminent

Jose Maria Sison, the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, says that the Philippine government “will cause the permanent termination” of the peace negotiations by proscribing the NDF as a terrorist group under the soon-to-be implemented Human Security Act. Sison says such a move would be a violation of existing agreements. National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales earlier said either the Communists agree to a ceasefire or Manila will officially declare them as terrorists.

7/03/07 01:36 PM Full Story

THE JESUITS’ MADMAN

This is precisely what I meant when I wrote in this section earlier that the government’s mindset over the killings — that it is all leftist propaganda — is dangerous. Again, I wonder when the Jesuits and the social democrats, who are the forces manipulating Norberto Gonzales, will finally stop this madman from wreaking havoc on all of us.

7/03/07 01:16 PM Full Story

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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)