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Manila, Philippines
On Affordable Medicine Act and the proposed generics prescribing of HB 2844: Position Paper of the Community Medicine Practitioners and Advocates Association (COMPASS)
Having passed the Senate and Congress in separate discussions, HB 2844 and SB 1658 or more popularly known as the Affordable Medicine Act is but a stone throw away from its passage.
We [...]
KARAPATAN and DESAPARECIDOS condemn in the strongest term the illegal
transfer of political prisoner Elizabeth Principe from the custodial
center in Camp Crame to Candon, Ilocos Sur. The surreptitious transfer
was conducted at 11:45 pm of January 22, last night, the eve of the
filing of the writs of Amparo (for Elizabeth’s release and protection
for her and daughter Lorena) [...]
Why Facebook Is Really Creepy
By Carlos H. Conde
While I am one with my colleagues in the press daring the Philippine National Police and the Department of Justice to file charges against Jiji Press correspondent Dana Batnag for allegedly helping Capt. Nicanor Faeldon escape at the height of the Manila Pen siege, I think such a dare is pointless. Simply [...]
About two months ago, I tried Facebook, the extremely popular social-networking site. At first, I was thrilled: many of my friends were there, and you can dress up your page/account with lots of cool stuff and engage your friends in virtual mischief.
But less than a week after I signed on, I canceled my Facebook account.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) supports journalists and media technicians in the Philippines in filing a petition calling for government protection after they were arrested and detained on November 29, 2007, while covering the takeover of the Peninsula Hotel in Manila by rebel army soldiers.
The Philippines National Police (PNP) stormed the hotel, ending a [...]
“THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW IS A RIGHT, WITH OR WITHOUT GOVERNMENT’S CONSENT”
Statement of Ms. Maria A. Ressa in support of the filing of the Petition for Writ of Amparo
before the Supreme Court
21 January 2008
We can’t stand by and watch a kind of creeping censorship test and weaken our democracy.
Our [...]
UNMASKING THE VEILED THREATS AND HARASSMENT FOR WHAT THEY ARE
Statement issued by Ces Drilon on the filing of the Petition for a Writ of Amparo before the Supreme Court
21 January 2008
A free atmosphere for speech, press, and public opinion is possible only for as long as the people will it to be. That [...]
Independent think-tank IBON Foundation disputes government data on employment, estimating that government statistical manipulation removed over a million Filipinos from the official unemployment count.
Government data showed that in 2007, there was an annual average of 2.7 million unemployed Filipinos, a steep drop from figures recorded in recent years. IBON research head Sonny Africa cited the [...]
If predictions that the peso appreciates to P38 per US dollar by the end of 2008 materializes, then the average OFW household will be losing around P3,710 per month compared to the start of 2007, or a loss over the entire year from P30,000 to as much as P45,000, according to a study on the [...]
The Arroyo administration was able to log a P12.6 billion budget surplus in the first 11 months of 2007, mainly through revenues generated from the privatization of government assets. But with not much left for the government to sell, new taxes and a budget deficit are likely in 2008, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
According [...]
Senator Loren Legarda warned yesterday that the decreasing government support to state colleges and universities (SCUs) will cause further deterioration in the quality of higher education in the Philippines.
Legarda issued the statement in reaction to government pronouncements that SCUs should become self-sustaining and become less dependent on government subsidy.
“There’s nothing wrong for SCUs to become [...]
A carpenter and a former political detainee have fallen victims to
political killings at the start of 2008.
Tildo Rebamonte, a 45-year old carpenter from Claveria town, Masbate
province was allegedly abducted by members of the Philippine National
Police-Regional Mobile Group (RMG) on January 12, 2008 at around 5 am.
According to reports, Rebamonte’s house was ransacked by police and [...]
(Manila, Philippines, January 21, 2008) — Global consulting and IT services firm Headstrong announced that it is expanding its operations in the Philippines as a result of increased outsourcing and offshoring (O&O) opportunities here.
“Our clients see the Philippines as a largely untapped gem when it comes to outsourcing and offshoring. The skills that we need [...]
Peasant federation Task Force Mapalad (TFM) has tagged presidential brother-in-law Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo (5th District, Negros Occidental) as one of the prime movers behind the Negros lawmakers’ act to cross political lines and consolidate their ranks to stop extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) beyond 2008.
“The claim by an unidentified [...]
THE lowly malunggay, which is being eyed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as a solution to hunger, poverty and chronic malnutrition suffered by women and children in the country is now also being considered as a potential source of biofuel.
At least two important government [...]
PASAKA condemns the massive military operations being conducted by 73rd Infantry Battalion commanded by Lt. Colonel Alexander Ambal together with the Army Scout Rangers led by 1st Lt. Betinol, 2nd Lt. Mopal and 1st Lt. Villanueva in the hinterlands of Talaingod town, Davao del Norte which has now caused the enforced evacuation of Ata-Manobo families.
At [...]
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel,
Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said Justice Secretary Raul
Gonzalez is acting irresponsibly and beyond the norms
for public servants when he issued an absurd order
banning members of the Press Photographers of the
Philippines from the premises of the Department of
Justice specifically to cover his press conferences
and other activities.
As reported by some television networks, [...]
Indonesia’s Experience Debunks Claim of JPEPA Gains 03:50 pm Probe Eyed on Banks’ Outsourcing 03:20 pm More Flaws in P5-Billion Loan to Quedancor Bared 07:32 am Arroyo Dissolves Gov’t Peace Panel 01:21 pm Major US Gov’t Report Concludes Tobacco’s Media Promotion Leads to Smoking 11:16 am Manila’s Censorship Law Rears Its Ugly Head 08:44 pm The New Settlers: Mindanao Muslims Head North 08:13 am Waiting Game for North Cotabato Refugees 08:09 am Lanao del Norte Atrocities Exposed MILF’s Weakness 07:21 pm The MOA, the Cha-Cha, and the US Ambassador 07:40 am NGOs Urge Transparency in IRR Crafting of Cheaper Medicines Law 03:43 pm US Anti-Tobacco Group Hails Philip Morris’s Withdrawal from Eraserheads Concert 11:24 am ‘Disarm, Dismantle Ilaga Vigilantes Now,’ Solon Dares Arroyo 06:54 pm Health Advocates Hail Pullout of Philip Morris from Eraserheads Concert 04:23 pm Moro Youth Leaders Push for Peace and Justice 08:15 am 
