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

Archive for August, 2008

Probe Sought Vs Philip Morris for ‘Organizing’ Eraserheads Concert

In a letter to the Department of Trade and Industry and some lawmakers, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP), an anti-tobacco group, urges an “immediate investigation” and for the Inter-Agency Committee-Tobacco to “take the necessary action to ensure faithful observance and implementation of the provisions of RA 9211 on tobacco sponsorship and advertising.”

8/14/08 09:18 AM Full Story

Anti-Tobacco Advocates’ Letter to DTI Asking Probe of Eraserheads Concert

August 7, 2008

Undersecretary Zenaida Cuison Maglaya
Department of Trade and Industry
Inter-Agency Committee-Tobacco
Makati City
Dear Madame,
Re: An Urgent Call for the IAC-T to Take Appropriate Legal and Enforcement Action regarding Philip Morris’ Sponsorship of the Eraserheads Reunion Concert Set on August 30, 2008, in violation of Sec. 26, RA [...]

8/14/08 09:12 AM Full Story

Eraserheads Reunion Concert: US Anti-Tobacco Group Slams Philip Morris’s ‘Devious’ Ploy

“Once again, Philip Morris International has been caught engaging in cigarette marketing that appeals to children in a developing country and that would not be tolerated in the United States and other wealthier nations,” says Matthew L. Myers, president of the US-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

8/13/08 08:55 AM Full Story

Palpable Injustice

A hollow-point bullet strewn inside her head, a dull driver and his equally dull passengers going along Imelda Avenue in Cainta, Rizal — all made life miserable for Tara on the eve of her 23rd birthday. You know what a hollow-point bullet does? It expands upon entering the flesh.

8/12/08 06:44 PM Full Story

Why MOA on Ancestral Domain Doesn’t Mean Much

The MOA has conditions that effectively exempt from the ancestral domain and BJE authority the mining, forest, and other resource areas covered by existing laws, executive agreements, and policies in favor of foreign corporations, local landowners, and other non-Muslim stakeholders. Likewise, the central government can always invoke “emergency situation” and “national interest” to exercise authority over energy resources.

8/11/08 09:53 AM Full Story

Ambulancia,” “Shorts” in UK’s Bite the Mango Film Festival

Richard Legaspi’s “Ambulancia” and Seymour Barros Sanchez’s “Shorts” were selected for screening in the Bite the Mango Film Festival which will run from September 19 to 25 at the National Media Museum in Bradford, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
As part of the official selection, both short films are eligible for the Golden Mango Award which [...]

8/10/08 10:25 AM Full Story

Burma: No Rights Reform 20 Years After Massacre

Olympics Open on Bloody Anniversary
(New York, August 7, 2008) – Twenty years after the uprising in Burma, the military government continues to sharply restrict fundamental rights and violently suppress dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. The anniversary falls as the Olympic Games open in Beijing, while the Chinese government gives crucial support to Burma’s repressive [...]

8/10/08 10:21 AM Full Story

Murders of Journalists Mock Government’s Claims

The murder in broad daylight of Capiz broadcaster Martin Roxas on Thursday, August 7, mocks government’s claims that it has brought down the incidence of extrajudicial killings, particularly the murder of journalists.
Roxas, 32, is the fourth journalist murdered this year and the 59th since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power in 2001.
The brazenness with which [...]

8/10/08 09:52 AM Full Story

CPJ ‘Gravely Concerned’ With Killing of Two Journalists Within a Week

New York, August 7, 2008—Motorcycle-riding gunmen killed radio commentator Martin Roxas today in the second brutal shooting of a broadcaster in the Philippines this week, according to local and international news reports.
Two men shot Roxas in the back as he drove his motorcycle from DYVR station in Roxas City, on the country’s central Panay island, [...]

8/10/08 09:50 AM Full Story

Capiz Broadcaster, Also from RMN, Shot Dead

CMFR/PHILIPPINES – A radio broadcaster was killed on 7 August 2008 by a gunman riding pillion on a motorcycle in Roxas City, Capiz. Capiz is approximately 411 kms southeast of Manila.
Martin Roxas, program director of dyKR-Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) in Roxas, was shot in the nape. Roxas was himself on a motorcycle. He was pronounced [...]

8/10/08 09:47 AM Full Story

GenSan Broadcaster Dies, First of 2 Journalists Murdered in a Week

Dennis Cuesta used to anchor the hard-hitting prime-time radio program “Straight to the Point” on DXMD - General Santos. Apart from tackling corruption on air, he also heard out complaints from residents.

8/10/08 09:43 AM Full Story

A Tribute to Lorenzo Tañada, ‘Street Parliamentarian,’ Freedom Fighter

“Ka Tanny’s name became synonymous with freedom, justice and democracy as he stood at the forefront of the struggle against widespread poverty and inequality, corruption and tyranny…. Present-day politicians should emulate the brilliant example of Ka Tanny and his brand of nationalism and tireless engagement in the people’s anti-fascist and anti-imperialist struggle.”

8/10/08 09:40 AM Full Story

‘Ambulancia’ Is First Filipino Entry in ‘Woodstock of Short Films’

“Ambulancia,” a short film written, directed, and produced by Richard Legaspi, will compete and have its German premiere at the 32nd Open-Air Film Festival Weiterstadt, which will take place from August 14 to 18 on the arcadian site of the Braunshardter Taennchen.

8/10/08 08:58 AM Full Story

The Usual Can Be Criminal

We Filipinos needed to re-calibrate our understanding of what’s usual or normal, the instant we began to move out into the world en masse. Unfortunately, that has been difficult, because of the re-feudalization accompanying migration, particularly for women.

8/06/08 08:58 AM Full Story

Mindanao Radio Host Shot, Now in Coma

Radio Mindanao Network talk show host Dennis Cuesta is in a coma after being shot five times at close range Tuesday while walking in a shopping mall in General Santos City.

8/06/08 08:48 AM Full Story

Uberjam: The Problem with the Eraserheads Concert

Biglang naglaho ang tuwa ko nang malaman ko kinabukasan rin mismo na ang nasa likod pala ng konsyerto ay isang kumpanya ng sigarilyo. Kung gaano ako kasaya noong gabing nakaraan, ganun din ako kalungkot nang malaman ko kung sino ang sponsor. Ganun na lamang ang aking panlulumo nang malaman kong kakailanganin ko palang tangkilikin ang paninigarilyo para mapanood kong muli ang paborito kong banda of all time.

8/05/08 09:11 AM Full Story

Bangsamoro Homeland: A Long Way to Go

“The Arroyo government, like its predecessors, is led by big landlords and compradors who have vast and entrenched economic and political interests in most of what the MOA defines as the Bangsmoro homeland. It is inconceivable that the national government as well as the local warlords and other vested interests who benefit tremendously from the present set-up would easily give up the Bangsamoro homeland to the Moro people.”

8/05/08 09:04 AM Full Story

Fr. Shay Cullen: End Sex Tourism and Restore Filipino Dignity

By Fr. Shay Cullen
While a young girl was recovering from a horrific life of sexual abuse and trafficking, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave the state-of-the-nation-address to the Philippine congress last week and list the many achievements of her government for the past year curtailing the trafficking of women and children is not among them. She is [...]

8/05/08 08:51 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

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)