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Archive for March, 2008

Fr. Shay Cullen » Easter Reflection 2008

By Fr. Shay Cullen

“My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” (Mt 27: 46). There he was, Jesus from Nazareth, the son of a mere carpenter, the miracle worker, the man so loved by the poor and believed by many to be the Messiah. Jesus, the one whom
God sent to lead the world from [...]

3/21/08 10:58 AM Full Story

Brian Gorrell and His (Sordid, Scorching, Sensational) Tale of Betrayal

By C.C. Hidalgo
Pinoypress.net
By his own admission, Brian Gorrell is fighting the fight of his life. Quite literally.
Afflicted with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Gorrell says he had saved up enough money over the years so that he could take care of himself. Then, in less than a year, all that money – totaling [...]

3/19/08 11:03 AM Full Story

Brian Gorrell: Shaking Up High Society

The blog of Australian Brian Gorrell is one of the hottest to hit the Philippines ever. He says he only put up the blog in order to collect the $70,000 his former lover, a Filipino, owes him. But because of his exposes and revelations, he is shaking up Philippine high society. Read the blog

3/17/08 03:15 PM Full Story

American Tourist Complains of Theft at Philippine Airport

I am from New York city and a tourist. I’ve been in the Philippines for more than a month and I have enjoyed visiting wonderful sights in exotic places in northern Mindanao, like Camiguin Island. I wish to thank the friendly and kind people of the Philippines for the warm welcome they gave me throughout [...]

3/17/08 03:04 PM Full Story

This Holy Week, Philippine Airlines Advises Early Check-in

Philippine Airlines advises passengers on its domestic and international services departing Manila to check-in much earlier than usual for their flights to avoid the inconvenience of long queues during the peak summer travel period, starting with the Holy Week.
For passengers’ benefit, PAL’s check-in counters at NAIA Centennial Terminal 2 will open as early as 1:00 [...]

3/17/08 03:00 PM Full Story

Vidal Is Arroyo’s ‘Puppet Solon in a Cassock’

The Black and White Movement on Cardinal Vidal: “There is a difference between critical collaboration, which allows prelates to receive state funds while preaching political moderation from the pulpit, and being a puppet of the president.”

3/17/08 02:49 PM Full Story

Suspects in Esperat Killing Elude Arrest

CMFR/Philippines—Two government officials suspected to be the brains behind the killing of a journalist in 2004 have eluded arrest despite three week-old warrants for their arrest.
Cebu City Regional Trial Court Branch 7 Judge Simeon Dumdum issued arrest warrants to the Cotabato City police on 4 February 2008 for the arrest of Estrella Sabay and Osmeña [...]

3/17/08 02:40 PM Full Story

Stop ‘Fronting’ for Tobacco Companies, Government Urged

An anti-tobacco group today asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and urged the Philippine government to stop “fronting for the selfish business interests of big-time multi-national tobacco corporations.”
Dr. Maricar Limpin, Executive Director of [...]

3/17/08 02:36 PM Full Story

Bayan Hits Petron Sale to a British Firm

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) criticized the Arroyo government for again compromising public interest with the sale of Petron Corp. to a British firm. The group said that the government should acquire the 40% share of Saudi Aramco in Petron instead of allowing its purchase by Ashmore.
A report Thursday said that London-based investment firm Ashmore [...]

3/17/08 02:35 PM Full Story

“Threat to Life” of Journalists in Karachi Sparks IFJ Call for Urgent Action over Political Intimidation

The International Federation of Journalists today called on the Pakistan government and police to take “immediate and urgent” action within 24 hours to protect reporters in Karachi who are victims of a violent campaign by political activists.
The IFJ raised the issue yesterday in a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf and are now demanding urgent intervention [...]

3/17/08 02:35 PM Full Story

ADB Calls for Measures to Enhance Financing on Climate Change

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice-President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss today called for more funding for projects that will reduce the adverse impact of climate change in the Asia-Pacific region.
Speaking in Chiba, Japan, at the fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Gleneagles Dialogue on Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainable Development, Ms. Schaefer-Preuss said there should [...]

3/17/08 02:34 PM Full Story

ADB and Japan Help Philippines Provide Insurance to the Poor

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Japan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today provided a $1 million grant to the Philippines to improve access to insurance for millions of impoverished people, most of whom have no financial protection.
The grant, provided by the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and managed by ADB, will develop and implement guidelines and [...]

3/17/08 02:34 PM Full Story

Philippines: Award-winning Environmentalist to Lead Greenpeace Southeast Asia

Manila, 17 March 2008–Greenpeace Southeast Asia has appointed Von
Hernandez as its new Executive Director.
One the region’s most prominent environmentalists, Mr Hernandez is known
for his campaigns exposing and stopping waste trade and waste
incineration in Southeast Asia. For this work, he was awarded the
Goldman Environmental Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel
Prize for grassroots environmentalists, in 2003. [...]

3/17/08 02:32 PM Full Story

Rice NGO Hits Yap for Failing to Curb Rice Price Hike

“Secretary Arthur Yap of the Department of Agriculture should stop boasting of increased productivity while holding our staple food, hostage to volatile fluctuations in international market,” said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, lead convenor of Rice Watch and Action Network (R1).
Cantos called Yap “Mr. Press Release” for harping on increased agricultural output over the past year despite the [...]

3/17/08 02:32 PM Full Story

Pimentel Debunks Palace Claim that Senate Mishandled ZTE Probe

Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel, Jr.
(PDP-Laban) today said the piles of testimonial and
documentary evidence on the anomalous national
broadband network-ZTE project that have surfaced in
the series of Senate hearings belie Malacañang’s claim
that the Senate has mishandled the inquiry on the
case.
Pimentel advised Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye not to
play deaf and blind to such ample evidence in [...]

3/17/08 02:30 PM Full Story

Sex, Lies and the Gender of Power

By Ninotchka Rosca

New York lost its governor, he who rode to victory on 70% of state votes. Eliot Spitzer, who was reputed to be the scrubber – he would clean corruption out of every aspect of state politics – resigned after revelations of sex trysts with (a) prostitute(s) which reportedly cost him as much as [...]

3/17/08 02:29 PM Full Story

‘US Should Help Avert Crisis in Philippines’

The US think tank The Heritage Foundation weighs in on the political turmoil in the Philippines. It says the ZTE scandal “has driven politics in the Philippines off the rails.” The US, it says, “should help it avert what has the potential to become a major constitutional crisis.”

3/15/08 09:35 PM Full Story

Call centers reel from world’s highest turnover

Despite efforts by Philippine call center companies to glamorize the industry, call center agents are resigning, job-hopping, transferring or being fired by the hundreds as fast as they are being hired.

3/15/08 11:20 AM 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

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

THE NEWS IN PICTURES

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)

Displaced. This family in Pikit, North Cotabato, is among those displaced in the ongoing military offensive in several areas in Mindanao. Human rights group Kawagib has denounced the ongoing campaign, saying it has victimized thousands of civilians. (Photo from Kawagib

End The War. Members of the youth group Anakbayan denounce the war being waged by the government in Mindanao against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. (Photo: arkibongbayan.org)

Where Are They? Relatives, friends and colleagues of victims of enforced disappearances commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared with lighted lanterns and photographs at the Plaza Miranda and in Mendiola on Aug. 30. (Photo: arkibongbayan.org)