CENPEG   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
“Self-preservation” lurks in the shadow of the Arroyo agenda. Stepping down voluntarily at the end of her term will unleash a deluge of lawsuits to make her pay for the alleged crimes she had committed while in office since 2001. She must stay in power to shield herself against any lawsuit even if some observers believe being House speaker or prime minister does not necessarily give her legal immunity.

FATHER SHAY CULLEN   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
The Philippine government under President Macapagal-Arroyo is very reluctant to prosecute foreigners or even to uphold the convictions of foreigners who rape Filipinos, national dignity and pride as a sovereign nation notwithstanding.

HUMAN RIGHTS   By Alan Davis  |  Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project  |  The Army’s reputation is either being maliciously attacked here and the document is a forgery – or it is genuine but its contents have been misinterpreted – or the claims made by those who have presented it are true. Either way, the story needs following up and is a matter of concern for us all — including the entire diplomatic and donor community.

POLITICS   As administration allies push for amendments of economic provisions in the Constitution, research group IBON Foundation says that the resolution seeking to allow corporations to own land and land-based resources in the Philippines are based on an outmoded ideology which believes that liberalizing the economy to greater foreign investment will lead to development.

FATHER SHAY CULLEN   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
There are brave and courageous people in Davao, defenders of the human rights and children who have protested the killings for many years but they have received warnings and death threats and some of them have been assassinated on the street.

INSURGENCY   By Jose Maria Sison |  I am glad that the false charge against me has not prospered in the Dutch judicial system despite the pressure of the Philippine and US political authorities and the accommodation of these by the Dutch political authorities.

POPULATION   Reproductive health must be viewed and not separated from the overall context of people’s health. As the economy worsens, the state of the public health system also deteriorates.

POLITICS   By the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG)  |  Comelec’s technology creates the danger of placing the fate of the elections in the hands of a profit-oriented multinational company – the winning bidder – and on the Comelec which remains ill-prepared to run an election technology let alone in checking fraud.

HUMAN RIGHTS   By Alan Davis / Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project |  It is very sad to read reports that suggest Rebelyn Pitao’s own father might be behind last Friday’s abduction of a 21-year-old woman in Paquibato District, Davao City.

HUMAN RIGHTS   By Rorie R. Fajardo / Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project |  The Congress’ decision to close the coffers from CHR came at one of the most distressing times for human rights in the Philippines.

BENJIE OLIVEROS / BULATLAT   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
The release of Jalosjos, despite the two life terms, and the virtual release of Smith, despite the conviction, show the state of the justice system under the Arroyo government and the character of this administration.

FATHER SHAY CULLEN   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
We have to stand together and act to influence public opinion and government policy that will always respect and uphold human rights and never allow the truth to be denied.

CARLOS H. CONDE   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
Correct me if I’m wrong but most other rape victims who successfully sent their rapists to jail do not enter into a compromise with the convict to overturn the conviction. Because of Smith’s conviction, Nicole got her dignity back. And I’m still trying to understand why she had to lose it so quickly again.

CRIME   By Inday Espina-Varona  |  So she crumbled. So she groveled before might and the power of the American dream. So what? A close reading of the affidavit shows she doesn’t say the rape NEVER happened. She just spouts what the defense wants her to say.

CARLOS H. CONDE   BIO   |   MORE POSTS
Reading and rereading Nicole’s it, I am convinced that, more than anything else, it was meant to depict Smith in a benign light, that he was not the monster that this case has made him out to be.