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Bank’s claim on portion of Hacienda Luisita ‘immoral’ – farmworkers

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Bank’s claim on portion of Hacienda Luisita ‘immoral’ – farmworkers


Farmworkers are urging Mr. Alfonso Yuchengco, owner of RCBC, to hound the president and his relatives instead, “because they are the ones who cheated him by luring his bank into an onerous deal.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Last month, Eric Trinidad, 17, got injured when a policeman used the butt of a M16 rifle to hit his legs after he and other farm workers in Hacienda Luisita tried to block the “incursions” of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) into their farm plots. At the time, RCBC was fencing off the farmworkers’ farm plots in the renowned hacienda in Tarlac, which was ordered by the Supreme Court to be distributed to the tillers.

RCBC is claiming ownership of 182 hectares of the hacienda. It was reportedly given to RCBC as debt payment of the Hacienda Luisita Inc. (HLI), a corporation formed by the Cojuangco family to manage Hacienda Luisita, after it postponed actual land distribution through stock distribution since the 80s. Farmers groups led by the farmworker-based Unyon ng Manggagawa sa Agrkultura (UMA) and its Tarlac chapter said the HLI “gave” RCBC 182-hectares just weeks after the November 16 Hacienda Luisita massacre in 2004.

The RCBC, said Eric Trinidad, is currently trying to fence off its supposed land in the hacienda, in the process destroying some of the farmworkers’ planted vegetables. With Eric, another minor was “arrested” and jailed briefly last month when they tried to block the RCBC’s demolition efforts. He told bulatlat.com that their elder fellow farmers who were also taken to the police station had been jailed for two days. Now, five are slapped with legal cases.

“Farmworkers are being charged with forcible entry, malicious mischief, and other trumped-up charges, just because they are defending their farm plots and crops from the demolition team hired by the RCBC,” said Joseph Canlas, leader of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon, in a rally staged in front of an RCBC branch in Queson City this Monday (May 7, 2012).


Eric Trinidad(Photo by Marya Salamat / bulatlat.com)
Canlas railed at the RCBC for sending “fake negotiators” to the farmers’ groups. He also denounced the RCBC for pushing, as condition in withdrawing the charges it had slapped on farmers, the demolition of farmers’ huts in the contested land.

RCBC not an “innocent purchaser” but a Cojuangco-Aquino accomplice.... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/05/08/bank%E2%80%99s-claim-on-portion-of-hacienda-luisita-%E2%80%98immoral%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-farmworkers/

Finally, the accusers face music EDITORIAL 05/10/2012

Finally, the accusers face music

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
05/10/2012
The defense dropped a bombshell Tuesday when counsel for Chief Justice Renato Corona, Jose “Judd” Roy told the Senate court that his client will testify on the accusations of a $10 million bank account after his accusers are called to the stand to testify to the truth of their charges against the CJ.

The impeachment court granted the defense team its request for subpoenae to be served on several of Corona’s accusers, chief among them, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, who claimed a $10 million bank account belonging to the CJ.

Roy’s announcement appeared to have stunned the prosecution, along with some Noynoy senator-judges, who probably didn’t think Corona would dare testify under oath..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120510com1.html

The United States in the dock - Part 1

May 7 to May 12 - the The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal is hearing the accusations against the United States of America for acts committed on detainees in Iraq. The accusations are unutterably shocking and are serious enough to merit hearing under as war crimes, and as such are covered by jus cogens and customary international law.

The accused: U.S. President George W. Bush and his associates namely Richard Cheney, former U.S. Vice President, Donald Rumsfeld, former Defence Secretary, Alberto Gonzales, then Counsel to President Bush, David Addington, then General Counsel to the Vice-President, William Haynes II, then General Counsel to Secretary of Defense, Jay Bybee, then Assistant Attorney General, and John Choon Yoo, former Deputy Assistant Attorney-General.

Accusation #1: Witness: Abbas Abid, Chief Engineer at the Science and Technology Ministry. Detained on August 28, 2005. He claims he was illegally abducted from his home by American and Iraqi soldiers and taken to Al-Muthanna Brigade HQ. After saying he did not know the whereabouts of "terrorists" in his neighbourhood, he was beaten and electrocuted..... MORE

SourcePravda.ru

URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/09-05-2012/121063-accusations_war_crimes-0/

Obama endorses same-sex marriage by way of another massive flip-flop

Obama endorses same-sex marriage by way of another massive flip-flop


US President Barack Obama officially endorsed same-sex marriage on Tuesday. Also on the president’s agenda for the day was once again flip-flopping on a major issue during an election year.

Explaining his recent change of heart to ABC’s Robin Roberts in an interview taped Tuesday afternoon, President Obama says, “at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.” 

The commander-in-chief’s statement marks the first time that a US president has publically offered a stance favoring same-sex marriage while in office. It isn’t the first time Obama has explained his thoughts on the matter, though. In the past, however, the president took the opposing side..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-same-sex-marriage-president-861/

Russia’s Sukhoi SuperJet-100 goes off radars in Jakarta, hijacking not ruled out (w/ Video)




Russia’s Sukhoi SuperJet-100 goes off radars in Jakarta, hijacking not ruled out


A Russian jet carrying 50 passengers has disappeared from the radars during a demonstration flight for potential buyers in the Indonesian capital. Hijacking and a high-altitude crash into a mountain have not been ruled out.

Due to low visibility and fog the helicopters had to stop the search and return to base. The rescue operation is now restricted to a ground search. The search will continue throughout the night.

“Now we are mobilizing ground teams in coordination with the local police and military units to find the aircraft’s whereabouts,” the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency chief, Vice Marshal Daryatmo told the Jakarta Post.

Rescuers have updated the plane's last-known coordinates and narrowed the search area. In the morning, five helicopters are expected to join the rescue operation. According to Russian diplomats, connection with the plane was lost as it passed over the western end of Java. The search mission is concentrating around Mount Salak, a 2,200-meter-high volcano about 50 km from the airport. .... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/sukhoi-superjet-disappears-radar-838/

Here we go again! VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 05/10/2012

Here we go again!

VIEWPOINTS
Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz
05/10/2012
Political campaigns have already started loud and clear — no matter what the law provides, irrespective of the time and place of the campaigns are staged. The unsaid truth is that it is Malacañang that is the very first to engage in new partisan political alignments — silently and surreptitiously. Everybody else is but following the preemptive move it made in the eagerly awaited forthcoming combat in the political arena. The personal and/or professional attributions of the aspirants for political offices are irrelevant. Who you are, what you have and what can you do — these are what really count!

In other words, what really matter is how much money and power do the candidates have and wield respectively, what political dynasties are behind them, and what influence do they exercise — with or without the use of guns and goons. The ultimate intent is to win the elections — be these computerized or manual, be it the list of voters authentic or a big joke. Lying during the political campaigns is a necessary practice; in the same way that cheating in the elections is done as a matter of course. To win the elections irrespective of the ways and means of doing it — this is standard practice..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120510com7.html

When protected witnesses are protected no more INSIDE CONGRESS Charlie Manalo 05/10/2012

When protected witnesses are protected no more

INSIDE CONGRESS
Charlie Manalo
05/10/2012
Witnesses under the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP) are supposed to enjoy maximum protection from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the corresponding agency where the witness or witnesses are entrusted.

Their testimonies play a crucial role in the resolution of the cases on which they are supposed to testify. These witnesses should at all times be protected from the dangers that those they may implicate may get back at them.

A big part of the country’s justice system relies on the security protection and the WPP is expected to be extended to state witnesses.

After all, the government is spending a fortune for their testimonies to be heard in court..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120510com6.html

Noy allies came in force to railroad sin tax bill By Charlie V. Manalo and Fernan J. Angeles 05/10/2012

Noy allies came in force to railroad sin tax bill

By Charlie V. Manalo and Fernan J. Angeles 05/10/2012

Coming in full force at yesterday’s hearing on the proposed amendments to the “sin tax” structure, administration allies in the House of Representatives led the approval at the committee level of a restricted tax system for alcohol and tobacco products which critics claim would favor imported liquor and cigarettes over local products.

Voting 46 for and 14 against with one abstention, the House committee on ways and means approved House Bill 5727 almost instantaneously after Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul introduced amendments that altered vital provisions of the bill.

Paul’s proposal was virtually unheard of since the ways and means panel started deliberation on the measure for nearly six months but the pro-administration solons who trooped to yesterday’s hearing saw no need to study, much less debate, on it, and moved to have the measure, which for nearly a decade now has failed to hurdle even at the committee level..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120510hea4.html

CJ’s $10M rap collapses as accusers deny hand in dollar hoax By Angie M. Rosales 05/10/2012

OMBUDSMAN CLAIMS MULTIMILLION- $ ACCOUNTS TAKEN FROM MEDIA

CJ’s $10M rap collapses as accusers deny hand in dollar hoax

By Angie M. Rosales 05/10/2012

With the Senate impeachment court summoning the accusers of Chief Justice Renato Corona, one by one, his accusers who had earlier filed complaints and alleged that the chief magistrate had a $10 million bank account as well as a $3 million bank account, now all claim they don’t have any personal knowledge of the multimillion-dollar deposits owned by Corona.

Corona has denied owning $10 million in banks, saying that the Ombudsman should explain how she got the information.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales also denied that her office was conducting a probe of the Chief Justice’s alleged $10 million bank accounts, claiming that she only obtained the information from media reports..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120510hea1.html

17 dead and counting in Butuan City department store fire 05/10/2012

17 dead and counting in Butuan City department store fire

05/10/2012
At least 17 shop clerks sleeping in a Butuan department store were killed when a fire swept through the building before dawn yesterday, local authorities said.

Twenty-one female employees of the store were trapped in the fire, with seven others still missing and three surviving by jumping from a second-story window, provincial fire department head Chief Insp. Mario Palarca told Agence France Presse.

“Twenty-one people were asleep on the second floor when the fire struck the ground floor. They could not find the emergency exit because of the huge volume of black smoke,” Palarca said by telephone..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120510hea5.html

‘We can only afford to document Shoal incidents’ — Lacierda By Fernan J. Angeles 05/10/2012

‘We can only afford to document Shoal incidents’ — Lacierda

By Fernan J. Angeles 05/10/2012

In what appears to be an indirect admission of the Philippine military inferiority as compared to neighboring Asian countries, a top Palace official said that the government can only afford to continue documenting developments at the disputed Panatag Shoal even in the event the standoff turns ugly.

At the regular press briefing yesterday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda found himself riddled with a barrage of questions from Palace reporters pressing him to give a categorical statement as to how the government would react to a long list of developments described by many as an act of bullying by China.

Pressed for reaction for the growing number of Chinese vessels that are now stationed at the disputed Panatag Shoal, Lacierda described media reports as inaccurate even as he insisted that 33 Chinese vessels which have been reported to have arrived at the contested area were just rubber boats..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120510nat4.html

Big-time smugglers funding ‘payola’ to finance senatorial bid of Customs boss By Conrado Ching 05/10/2012

Big-time smugglers funding ‘payola’ to finance senatorial bid of Customs boss

By Conrado Ching 05/10/2012

The Office of the Ombudsman is reportedly conducting an investigation into the alleged “payola” being funded by five big-time smugglers at the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to finance the senatorial bid of Customs Commissioner Rozzano Biazon in the coming 2013 local elections.

A copy of the complaint from the OMB revealed that two female employees of the BoC inked an unholy alliance with at least five notorious smugglers to fund Biazon’s bid for a Senate seat under the Liberal Party.

As this developed, Public Information and Assistance Division chief Elenita Abanos asked the Customs police to prevent the entry of newsmen who do not support the highly questionable policy implemented by Biazon’s PR office, one of which was the accreditation of fake and fly-by-night media men..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120510met4.html

Solons tell DepEd, Ched: Scrap field trips of studes By Gerry Baldo 05/10/2012

Solons tell DepEd, Ched: Scrap field trips of studes

By Gerry Baldo 05/10/2012

Lawmakers yesterday ganged up on officials of the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) and Department of Education (DepEd) for not taking action on schools that compel students to join field trips.

Camaguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo and Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento during yesterday’s joint hearing of the House committees on higher and technical education and basic education and culture, said their constituents had been asking for financial assistance for their children to join field trips imposed by the schools.

Romualdo proposed that a resolution should be adopted to stop schools from imposing their field trip programs, while Sarmiento, along with Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, chairman of the higher and technical education panel asked Ched to immediately draft the guidelines for field trips..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120510met1.html

Neophyte lawmaker wants non-functioning CCTV cameras at NAIA-3 probed By Charlie V. Manalo 05/10/2012

Neophyte lawmaker wants non-functioning CCTV cameras at NAIA-3 probed

By Charlie V. Manalo 05/10/2012
In the wake of the airport brawl between media personality Ramon Tulfo and the group of action star Raymart Santiago at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 which the airport cameras had failed to record, a neophyte solon yesterday filed a resolution seeking an an inquiry in aid of legislation into the airport’s non-functioning closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

In House Resolution 2382, Southern Leyte Rep. Lucy Marie Torres-Gomez said it was rather ironic that the airport’s CCTV cameras appeared to be non-operational, especially during the time the scuffle between Tulfo and Santiago’s group took place as these could have recorded video accounts of the incident which could have helped in the investigation.

In the absence thereof, Torres-Gomez said media had to rely on an incomplete and inconclusive fragmentary video shots recorded through a cellular phone, “sometimes taking sides, on the conflicting versions of the two contending parties as to which of them provoked the scuffle and who was to blame.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120510met3.html

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