The Arroyo Presidency
This was the warning of the Pagbabago! People’s Movement for Change to President Benigno Aquino III and the newly-established Truth Commission headed by former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.
After nine years in power, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has left the Malacanang palace. She is no longer cloaked with presidential immunity, which she and her allies had used to shield her from corruption charges, human-rights violations and other alleged crimes against the Filipino people.
Mr. Aquino, 50, takes over a country that saw much political turbulence in the nine years under his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He reiterated a pledge to investigate allegations of corruption and abuses under her government.
“Here, on this day, ends the reign of a government that is indifferent to the complaints of the people,” he said.
Anti-Arroyo protesters (Bulatlat.com)
In this webcast interview by Bulatlat.com and Kodao Productions, Leila de Lima, chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, talks about the dismal human-rights record of the Arroyo regime. She also talks about the death threats she said she received.
Although yet to be confirmed by President-elect Aquino, it is widely believed that de Lima will be appointed as his secretary of justice — a position, she said, that would fit in nicely in her campaign to protect and promote human rights.
The disturbing divergence between the fortunes of a few and the welfare of the many is the most troubling legacy that the Arroyo presidency leaves behind — and among the greatest challenges that the incoming administration has to confront to deliver any real change.
By Sonny Africa
Ibon Foundation
MANILA — The Arroyo administration will be remembered for lost ground on important …
The brutal killing of 57 people in Maguindanao, including some 30 journalists, should be seen as a watershed moment for the Philippines, according to two United Nations human rights experts.
PCCI is more concerned and focused on maintaining a conducive and competitive investment climate.
OIL CRISIS Amid the uproar over the Malacaang-imposed oil price ceiling, Executive Order (EO) 389 is apparently a mere government public relations gimmick, according to Ibon Foundation.
HUMAN RIGHTS US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should press President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines to prosecute military members responsible for politically motivated killings, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch said that the historically close relations between the US and the Philippines and the direct US support for the Philippine military, places particular responsibility on the United States to press the government to end the militarys involvement in human rights violations and to prosecute those responsible.