Archive for October, 2008
-
Government Ignores Legal Issues, Pushes Diwalwal Projects
By Ellen Tordesillas and Chit Estella | Vera Files | The government is pushing through with plans to parcel out the controversial gold rush site in Diwalwal, Compostela Valley province to various foreign mining companies, despite the tangle of unresolved legal issues that are threatening to fuel a potentially explosive situation.
By Fr. Shay Cullen
If somebody is offering you as beach front home for give away prices it will be because of global warming and climate changes or the crash of the world property and housing markets. Both are man made and greed driven. Both are catastrophic events for the poor who are least able to [...]
A new Supreme Court ruling has ended hope of a peaceful resolution in the near future to the decades-old conflict between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippines government. The Philippines: The Collapse of Peace in Mindanao, the latest briefing from the International Crisis Group, says the immediate task now is to prevent escalation of fighting and discourage the government and local officials from arming civilians. Interested governments and donors should press both sides to keep existing ceasefire mechanisms in place, while quietly urging a return to talks.
By Yasmin Arquiza | Vera Files | Because of their rapid expansion, Davao’s big banana plantations are encroaching into the city’s built-up areas and farmlands, where small farmers grow crops and fruits that are sold in Davao City markets. Communities around these plantations have been complaining of health problems every time toxic pesticides would drift their way.
MANILA — Members of the Philippine press are entitled to a 10-percent discount on all books at Bound Bookshop, a bookstore in Quezon City owned and operated by journalists.
“All our colleagues have to do is present their press cards to us and we will give them discounts,” said Carlos Conde, one of the owners of [...]
On March 21, 2008, Edgar de la Cruz Candule, a 23-year-old Aeta, was picked up by policemen in Zambales. What followed was a nightmare, as the cops tortured him and accused him of being a Communist. According to human-rights groups, Candule’s case illustrates the dangers caused by a skewed interpretation and application of the Human Security Act.
With the worsening crisis of the US and global economy expected to further aggravate poverty in the country, independent think-tank IBON Foundation today said that it has become more crucial for government to ensure enough resources are spent for the poor.
The Vietnamese government should immediately release Roman Catholics arrested for holding peaceful prayer vigils in Hanoi and hold accountable police and others responsible for attacking Catholic parishioners, Human Rights Watch said today. The protesters have been calling for the return of church properties confiscated by the government.
SEATCA is calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Health Ministers who will be meeting this week to pressure their governments into adopting policies that will make it more difficult for people—adults and minors—to buy cigarettes.
“The right to reply should be looked upon not as an infringement on the freedom of speech and expression now being enjoyed by the media. It is an expansion of the right of the people to express the other side of a controversy in which they are unduly maligned,” he said.
As government’s economic managers prepare a contingency plan for the US financial turmoil, research group IBON Foundation urges the government to immediately increase social services spending to cushion the effect on the people.
“We are not surprised that the JPEPA has been approved while the rest of the country is not watching. This treaty has been negotiated by Malacanang and signed by Ms Gloria Arroyo in virtual secrecy. The undemocratic and non-transparent manner with which the deal has been conceived has resulted in a seriously flawed agreement that threatens to further destroy the jobs and livelihood of Filipino workers, farmers and fishers and further destroy local industries and stunt long-term economic development.”
Migrante International, the largest global alliance of Filipino migrants and the families, warned that more Filipino domestic helpers could become targets of sexual exploitation and abuses because of the racist depiction of a Filipina domestic helper as a sex object in an episode of a BBC comedy show “Harry & Paul.”
GMA News Research’s primary task is to beef up the content of GMA News and Public Affairs programs with comprehensive and accurate information. We provide daily research support and generate content for GMA-7 and QTV-11 newscasts including Balitanghali, 24 Oras, News-on-Q and Saksi.
We are looking for a news researcher.
Responsibilities:
* Attend to research requests from news [...]
By Ninotchka Rosca | In my New York neighborhood, a 20-block run takes you to Argentina, Chile, Columbia, India, Pakistan, Philippines; 30 blocks and you’re in Africa, Jamaica and other places whose names escape even a geography fan.
Political Bloodbath Continues: Widow of Slain Activist Shot Dead New Wave of Protests Against Charter Change Set in April Comelec’s Automation to Worsen Election Fraud — Watchdog 2008: Another Bad Year for the Philippine Press ‘Unemployment Figures Wrong; Number of Jobless Higher’ ‘Nicole Is Not the Enemy’ ‘Nicole’: ‘My Conscience Bothers Me’ Why Globe Broadband Sucks Big Time Is the Call Center Industry a Bright Spot for New Graduates? 6 Great Ways to Vent Your Frustrations Eating Dirt Is Actually Good For Children Australia Offers 150 Scholarship Slots for Philippines, Asia-Pacific Why Globe Broadband Sucks Big Time
shara joy parayno: can you help me…? i want to continue my study.. i’m graduating this year and i want... josé miguel: Our nation has also been continuouly raped by the continuous invasion of the Americans. How Nicole... Atty.Charmaine Fajardo: Please email me if you are selling these Thailand AROD coconut dwarf variety or any other... Jurisprudence: I do hope God will grant her a miracle! http://hubpages.com/ hub/Cory-Aquino-The- Real-Score ‘Martsa Kontra Cha-cha’ Set What Are 1109, 9006, and 9369 in Arroyo’s Agenda? Environmentalists Slam Arroyo’s Sellout of Lands to Foreigners Recruiting Militants in Southern Thailand New Round of Oil Price Hikes Hit Greenpeace Water Patrol Dismantles Blockade It’s Battle of Good Vs Evil, Church Leaders Say of Cha-cha Fight Satur: Nograles to Blame for Dispersal of Peasant Camp-Out Philippines: A Journalist on Army Target List, Another Shot, Possibly by Soldier In the Philippines, Targeting Journalists
"Sampayan ng Bayan". During its Third Congress on March 27-28, 2009, members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-US Chapter staged protest actions against RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement through a "Sampayan ng Bayan" where a clothesline with painted shirts spelling out "JUNK VFA" was wrapped around General MacArthur's statue in Los Angeles, California. (Photo courtesy of Bayan-US)
CANDLES FOR BILLANES Members of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) and other multisectoral groups held a candle lighting activity on March 13, 2009 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani to denounce the increasing number of extrajudicial killings in the country; the most recent was environmentalist and anti-mining activist Eliezer Billanes. (Photo by Kalikasan-PNE)
Goodbye, Rebelyn Thousands joined the funeral march for Rebelyn Pitao, the daughter of a top Communist leader, in Davao City on Saturday. The protesters demanded justice for the schoolteacher, who was brutally murdered allegedly by military agents. (Photo by Barry Ohaylan)
PROTEST OVER REBELYN. Hong Kong human rights groups condemn the abduction, torture, rape and killing of Rebelyn Pitao in a picket protest held on March 11, 2009 at the Philippine Consulate General. (Photo courtesy of BAYAN-Hong Kong)
BERDUGO. Posters accusing the 10th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as "berdugo" (butcher) are posted in major streets in Davao City. The New People's Army (NPA) accused the 10th ID to be behind the killing of 20-year old Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of NPA rebel leader Leoncio Pitao. (Photo by Ruby Thursday More/AKP Images)
Around 10,000 members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) gathered at the football field of Agro-Industrial Foundation College of the Philippines in Davao City on Saturday, March 7, 2009 for their 3rd Grand Summit Gathering with MNLF founding chair Prof. Nur Misuari. Some of the MNLF members traveled from as far away as Zamboanga provinces just for the half day gathering. (Photo by Keith Bacongco/AKP Images)
Teachers Demand Better Wages. Dozens of public-school teachers take to the street of Manila to demand better wages. They also criticized a proposed law that would give soldiers better salaries than those in the civilian bureaucracy. (Photo by arkibongbayan.org)
Beach Boy. A taho (soybean custard) vendor plies his trade in a seemingly desolate landscape, which is actually a beach in Opol, Misamis Oriental. (Photo by Ayi Muallam/PinoyPress)
Lumad Protest. Some 200 indigenous peoples coming from different parts of Mindanao staged a protest at the gate of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Eastern Mindanao Command in Panacan, Davao City, on Monday, March 2, 2009, to denounce the human-rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the military in the indigenous communities. They also called for the repeal of the Mining Act. (Photo by Keith Bacongco/AKP Images)
Ban Balikatan. Activists from the group BAN Balikatan in Bicol held protest rallies on Feb. 25 to denounce the holding of the US-Philippine Balikatan exercises in the region. They criticized President Arroyo for being a "puppet" of Washington. (Photo courtesy of arkibongbayan.org)
NO to BNPP. Members of the Network Opposed "NO" to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant Revival ask members of the House of Representatives not to support House Bill 4631 which calls for the revival of the mothballed nuclear plant. Environmental and Civil society groups question the safety of nuclear power plants and instead call for the full implementation of the recently passed Renewable Energy Bill. (Photo by Gigie Cruz/AKP Images)
