2008 March – PinoyPress — Philippines news, opinion, blogs.

Archive for March, 2008

IFJ Condemns “Judicial Intimidation” as Jordanian Court Jails Five Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today accused the Jordanian legal authorities of “judicial intimidation that stifles legitimate debate about the rule of law” following a judgement sending five journalists to jail over articles criticising court decisions and a government official.
“These sentences are harsh, disproportionate and intimidating,” said IFJ General Secretary Aidan White. “The judicial [...]

3/23/08 10:45 PM Full Story

IFJ Condemns “Judicial Intimidation” as Jordanian Court Jails Five Journalists

3/23/08 10:44 PM Full Story

Indonesia: Free Peaceful Protesters in Papua

Activists Face Charges for Nonviolent Expression
(London, March 19, 2008) – The Indonesian government should order the immediate release of nine Papua activists arrested for displaying the Papuan Morning Star flag, Human Rights Watch said today. All charges against them should be dropped.
On March 13, police arrested nine people in Manokwari, West Papua, during a demonstration [...]

3/23/08 10:44 PM Full Story

Reverse “Globalization” of Agriculture to Address Rice Crisis

The assurances made by Agriculture secretary Arthur Yap and Mrs. Gloria Arroyo that there is no rice crisis are not enough. Far-reaching policy reforms are needed to guarantee the country’s rice supply security in the short and long terms.
Yap is completely off the mark in calling on fast food outlets to decrease the amount of [...]

3/23/08 10:43 PM Full Story

IFJ Condemns Trial of Human Rights Activist in China

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins members of the global press freedom community in demanding the release of human rights activist Hu Jia, who was tried in a Beijing court on March 18.
Hu, 34, was arrested on December 27, 2007, and formally charged on January 29, 2008, with “inciting subversion of state power”. He [...]

3/23/08 10:42 PM Full Story

More People Hungry But Not Due to ‘Food Scarcity’

Gov’t data show wages insufficient to to meet food needs

In the midst of reports that the country needs to import further to address tight rice supply, government data shows that more Filipino families went hungry because they were unable to buy enough food.
Official government data revealed that 14.6% of Filipinos were not able to meet [...]

3/23/08 10:41 PM Full Story

Agricultural Trade Liberalization Behind Rice Crisis

The country’s dependence on rice imports in the wake of the liberalization of its agricultural sector is behind the concerns in the supply of rice, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
The Philippines is Asia’s top rice importer with an average annual importation of over one million metric tons a year from 1995 to 2006, from [...]

3/23/08 10:40 PM Full Story

Roxas to Gov’t: Be Transparent on Rice Situation

Senator Mar Roxas called on the government to be more transparent about the impending problem of diminished rice supply and higher prices, and to focus on real solutions without skirting the issue.
“Yung Secretary of Agriculure ay nagsasabi na kailangang magkalahating kanin na lang tayo, tapos sasabihin na wala tayong problema. Kailangang tanggapin natin na may [...]

3/23/08 10:38 PM Full Story

By Robert Sutter » Is Taiwan ‘Over’? – I think Not

By Robert Sutter

Teaching a graduate seminar on contemporary Taiwan, I was asked by a student, “Will you be teaching this course in the future? Isn’t Taiwan over?”
The student’s assessment that a Taiwan separate from China was approaching its end is not surprising. It reflects China’s growing international clout and effectiveness in picking off one after [...]

3/23/08 10:32 PM Full Story

Detentions and Threats Sharpen Crisis for West Bank Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today has condemned a series of detentions and threats to journalists in the Palestinian West Bank, which it says are creating a new level of intimidation of journalists and the press in the region.
The IFJ is calling for the release of journalists being held in Israeli prisons for their [...]

3/23/08 10:31 PM Full Story

IFJ Welcomes Gongadze Convictions But Demands Ukraine Prosecute Those Who Ordered Killing

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today welcomed the recent convictions of three Ukrainian policemen who witnessed the murder of journalist Gyorgy Gongadze but called on authorities to find and prosecute the person or people who ordered his killing.
“These convictions confirm that Gongadze was murdered by agents of the state for his journalism,” said IFJ [...]

3/23/08 10:30 PM Full Story

After Surviving Stroke, Bank Exec Spreads the Word on Healthy Lifestlye

A survivor of stroke finds limitless opportunities to spread the word about the value of healthy lifestyle, especially to young people who are at the peak of their careers and fear nothing about the consequences of their habits, routines and, ultimately, their value for life.

3/23/08 10:30 PM Full Story

Information Clampdown in Tibet Fuels IFJ Concerns for Safety

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is extremely concerned for the welfare and safety of people in Tibet and neighbouring provinces who seek to disseminate information on the crisis in the region in the wake of an eruption of violence in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, on March 14.
The IFJ also supports the United Nations High Commissioner [...]

3/23/08 10:30 PM Full Story

Home Invasion May be Attempt to Intimidate Sri Lankan Journalists

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Free Media Movement in stressing concerns about alleged links between the ransacking of the home of two journalists on March 16 and a series of assaults and threats apparently related to media coverage of a government minister attacking staff at the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) in [...]

3/23/08 10:29 PM Full Story

Asia: Protection for human rights defenders lacking across the region

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), on
behalf of its 40 member organizations in Asia and other human rights
organizations co-signing this statement, welcomes the assessment of
the situation on human rights defenders and recommendations provided
by the Special Representative (A/HRC/7/28, A/HRC/7/28/Add.2) as well
as the report of the Secretary-General on the studies relevant to
cooperation with representatives [...]

3/23/08 10:28 PM Full Story

Corruption and Cynicism in the Philippines

By STEVEN ROOD | The Asia Foundation | The politicization of anti-corruption activities in the Philippines has long been a problem. When charges are used as part of the struggle for political advantage, the public can become cynical, believing that all officials are alike and nothing will change.

3/22/08 01:38 PM Full Story

Brian Gorrell Now Goes After the Philippine Star

Brian Gorrell, the Australian whose explosive blog about his “social-climbing” Filipino ex-lover is now a certified cause célèbre, has launched a boycott campaign against The Philippine Star, the newspaper that carries the columns of at least two of the main (sordid) characters in his real-life telenovela.
Gorrell argues that, by not doing something about his [...]

3/22/08 11:40 AM Full Story

Ellen Tordesillas

Ang galing nitong si Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap. May napipintong pagkukulang sa bigas at ang kanyang solusyon ay magkaroon ng kalahati na order ng kanin sa mga fast food. Galing , no? Read the blog

3/21/08 12:15 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)