Archive for January, 2008

NUJP to Hold Forum on Gonzalez Threat Vs. Media

NATIONAL UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES
January 17, 2008
Dear friends and colleagues,
When Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez issued on January 11 his memo, many of us felt disquiet, even alarm. The memo warned media executives that we may be held criminally liable if we fail to obey “lawful orders” by “authorized government officers and personnel” during [...]

1/18/08 04:46 AM   Full Story
ICG to Timor-Leste: Reform or Risk Relapse Into Violent Civil Conflict

Dili/Brussels, 17 January 2008: The government of Timor-Leste and the UN must revitalise efforts to reform the fledging state’s police and army or risk a relapse into violent civil conflict.
Timor-Leste: Security Sector Reform,* the latest report from the International Crisis Group, examines the need for fundamental changes in national and international approaches to reform of [...]

1/18/08 04:45 AM   Full Story
Arroyo Bats for an Energy-Independent Philippines

Amid the steep prices of oil in the world market and its adverse impact on the people especially the poor, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today her administration has set its goal of moving the country towards energy independence by embarking on programs geared towards the development of renewable and indigenous sources of energy.
In her message [...]

1/18/08 04:42 AM   Full Story
Philippines president confident of sustained economic growth under her watch

President Gloria Macapagal”Arroyo declared today that the economic growth the country is now experiencing will be sustained under her watch.
In her message during the 5th Biennial Convention and 10th Anniversary celebration of the Chinese Filipino Business Club, Inc. (CFBCI) at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel this morning, the President stressed that she is [...]

1/18/08 04:42 AM   Full Story
Philippines Slams Freedom House for Democracy Downgrade

MANILA — Philippine Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye decried today unfounded surveys purporting to show the decline of democracy in the Philippines, saying Filipinos know best that democracy lives and reigns in the country.
Bunye was reacting to the survey released by New York-based Freedom House which downgraded the Philippines from a free [...]

1/18/08 04:36 AM   Full Story
New Trojan Unleashed, Intercepts Online Banking Info

PC World reports that a new Trojan program called Trojan.Silentbanker has been unleashed. In its story yesterday, the magazine offers this terrifying bit on how the Trojan works: “During a banking transaction, Silentbanker will change the user’s bank account details over to the attacker’s account, all the while mimicking what the user would expect to [...]

1/15/08 09:45 PM   Full Story
6 Ways to Tell If Your Nokia Phone Is Fake

Plugged: Nokia Philippines warned consumers last week that fake Nokia phones are proliferating in the market. These fake phones — Nokia N81, Nokia 5310, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Nokia 6120, to name some — are usually sold in sidewalks or stalls, those that sell “GSM” (Galing sa Magnanakaw) phones. Nokia Philippines enumerates ways to tell [...]

1/14/08 12:13 PM   Full Story
6 Ways to Tell If Your Nokia Phone Is Fake

Nokia Philippines warned consumers last week that fake Nokia phones are proliferating in the market. These fake phones — Nokia N81, Nokia 5310, Nokia N95, Nokia N82, Nokia 6120, to name some — are usually sold in sidewalks or stalls, those that sell “GSM” (Galing sa Magnanakaw) phones.
Nokia Philippines enumerates ways to tell if the [...]

1/14/08 12:01 PM   Full Story
Internet Banking: 10 Simple Ways to Protect Yourself from Online Scams, Fraud and Identity Theft

(PinoyPress Plugged): Banking has become infinitely easier because of the Internet. Online, we can check our deposit or credit-card balance, transfer funds, pay bills, etc. Online banking has saved countless souls from the headaches of doing over-the-counter transactions, such as the long queues (particularly in Metrobank banks) inside banks.
The problem, of course, is that the [...]

1/13/08 06:04 PM   Full Story
Internet Banking: 10 Simple Ways to Protect Yourself from Online Scams, Fraud and Identity Theft

Banking has become infinitely easier because of the Internet. Online, we can check our deposit or credit-card balance, transfer funds, pay bills, etc. Online banking has saved countless souls from the headaches of doing over-the-counter transactions, such as the long queues (particularly in Metrobank banks) inside banks.
The problem, of course, is that the Internet has [...]

1/13/08 06:00 PM   Full Story
Unions to Step Up Campaign for P125 Wage Hike

Labor federations and unions under the banner of the KMU are entering 2008 by upping the ante in the continuing campaign for an old, still-unheeded demand – a legislated P125 across-the-board, nationwide wage increase.
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat

Labor federations and unions under the banner of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement) are entering [...]

1/13/08 10:48 AM   Full Story
Philippines: National ID system, a state agent’s license to violate civil and political rights!

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) revived proposal of the National ID system would only intensify the number of human rights violations in the country.
Despite Supreme Court ruling that the National ID system is unconstitutional that it violates the people’s right to privacy and freedom of movement Arroyo [...]

1/13/08 10:47 AM   Full Story
DOJ Warning to Media a Clear, Shameless Attempt to Criminalize Press Freedom

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) calls on all journalists and media organizations to defy Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez’ warning to hold media criminally liable for “disobeying” so-called lawful orders from government officers.
It is a clear and shameless attempt to criminalize the exercise of press freedom and a clear case of prior [...]

1/13/08 10:39 AM   Full Story
PHILIPPINES: GOV’T PROTECTS BIG OIL FIRMS OVER CONSUMERS WITH TARIFF CUT

By imposing tariff cut recently, the cash-strapped Arroyo government has not only failed to address high pump prices but defaulted on its responsibility to collect revenues, all in favor of the oil companies.
Government had already imposed tariff reductions in the wake of high prices through Executive Order (EO) 527. The automatic tariff mechanism imposed under [...]

1/13/08 10:37 AM   Full Story
Due to Strong Peso, OFWs Lose P70 Per $100 Remitted

The strengthening peso has resulted in a sharp cut in overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) incomes, costing them over P700 per $100 remitted, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
From January to December 2007, the exchange rate of the peso to the dollar has strengthened by almost fifteen percent. This means that over the period, the family [...]

1/13/08 10:35 AM   Full Story
Killings in Philippines Leave Deeply Entrenched Fear, Distrust

By the Asian Human Rights Commission
HONGKONG — At the height of the escalating incidents of the murder of activists, there was strong condemnation, both within and outside the country that forced the government to do
something to stop the killing. Now that the number of killings has declined, condemnation has also decreased and discussion into [...]

1/13/08 10:30 AM   Full Story
Bayan’s Worst-Case Scenario: P50 Per Liter Gasoline, P700 LPG

Unless government removes the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) on oil and repeal the Oil Deregulation Law, the country is facing as much as P50 per liter in gasoline prices and more than P700 in LPG retail prices by the end of the year, umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) disclosed.
Simulations of the monthly [...]

1/13/08 10:12 AM   Full Story
L. Gordon Flake » Three Yardsticks for a Strategic Evaluation: Responding to a Nuclear North Korea

by L. Gordon Flake
Since year’s end, much of the attention on North Korea’s
nuclear program has focused on the missed deadlines for disabling the
Yongbyon facility and more importantly for Pyongyang’s provision of a
“complete and correct” declaration of all its nuclear
programs. However, whether a declaration is forthcoming or not, [...]

1/13/08 10:11 AM   Full Story

Foreign Lawyers, Judges See No Visible Results in Gov’t Measures to Address Killings
GSIS Chief is at It Again: Leader of Teachers’ Group Slapped with 4 Libel Raps
EARLY BIRD
Indigenous Asian Lawyers Urge Gov’t to Surface Balao
‘Gold Rush’ in Benguet Mining Town Endangering Lives

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

The melamine stain: One sign of a worldwide problem
Islamist militant held in the Philippines
Fighting worsens in Philippines, displacing 300,000 on Mindanao
Mindanao’s Wrecked Peace Deal
Suspicions of Arroyo helped sink Muslim peace deal