Lacson sets conditions on coming out of hiding By Angie M. Rosales 08/23/2010

Lacson sets conditions on coming out of hiding

By Angie M. Rosales 08/23/2010 Fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson wanted that he be placed on “house arrest” instead of going straight to jail and that the Aquino administration reopen investigations into the double-murder case involving the 2000 slaying of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito as conditions for his surfacing. Lacson is willing to come out from hiding but does not want to go to jail, his son said yesterday as his family appealed to President Aquino to have a standing arrest warrant on him suspended and call for the reinvestigation of the Dacer-Corbito double murder case. Ronald Jay Lacson, the senator’s son and office chief staff, said they made the request to the administration “so he can safely go home.” Lacson issued the surrender feeler a day after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) recalled his passports. While the senator is very eager to face his accusers, the younger Lacson emphasized that this father does not want to be incarcerated, even for a short moment, for a crime he did not commit. “He never considered going to jail, even for a minute, as an option,” he said. The camp of Police Superintendent Cezar Mancao, meanwhile, indicated that it approves of a house arrest on Lacson to bring him out of hiding and for him to face the charges filed against him by the families of Dacer and Corbito..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100823hed6.html

HEADLINES Senate plans to cut Noynoy’s intel funds Noynoy’s allies finding ways to realign poll budget to pork Poll execs in folder scam fight suspension order Economic execs doubt Ombudsman on anti-graft bid Deadly NPA attack could derail talks — gov’t Lacson sets conditions on coming out of hiding

A nightmare that never went away EDITORIAL 08/22/2010

A nightmare that never went away

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 08/22/2010 Former Sen. Ninoy Aquino’s assassination was the epitome of an unresolved grisly case in which the government is suspected to have been involved in or its resources abused by its officials. Of the cases that needed closure, this one tops them all. Noynoy and the Aquino family members can be forgiven in saying that the assassination case on their father is considered a closed book, as far as they are concerned, for the incident 27 years ago may bring back painful memories. As far as the family is concerned, said a presidential sister, they anyway know who killed her father. If so, why haven’t they brought this knowledge out, especially since their mother was in the presidential office for over six years and had her intelligence network at her disposal? No proof? Mere speculation? But that is, however, where the presidential mettle on Noynoy is tested in divorcing his or his family’s personal feelings with that of a national necessity. One of the failures, or that which many Filipinos consider as failure, of the administration of his mother, Cory Aquino, was its inability to render a clearer picture on the assassination case from the one presented by the 1985 Agrava Commission that pinned the murder at the airport on former Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Fabian Ver and 26 other individuals..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

Useless peace talks FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 08/22/2010

Useless peace talks

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 08/22/2010 All this talk about achieving peace in Mindanao through a peace accord that may even entail a constitutional change is certainly not going to end up in peace and it is best to drop all the pretence of government trying to forge an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). I really cannot see any justification in a nation changing its Constitution to simply give what the Moro rebels want — and what they want is to establish an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, which incidentally is what the US government, as well as the European Union members and even Malaysia, along with the Islamic world, want, since natural resources can be had by these foreign devils, as they want them, without any interference from the Philippine government and the judiciary. So why would any Filipino — outside of these Moro rebels — want to cut up the Republic and give away, if not the whole of Mindanao, then the bulk of Mindanao and even Palawan, to the MILF, to achieve peace in that region? But the government peace negotiator now claims that the MILF has dropped the idea of a peace pact along the unconstitutional Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain lines, saying that what is on offer is an expanded autonomy. But if such were the offer, what need then is there for a constitutional change?.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers FEATURE 08/22/2010

Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers

FEATURE 08/22/2010 BERKHAMSTED — Examining buckled film reels under a microscope, technicians pore over each precious original frame of Alfred Hitchcock’s early movies as Britain bids to salvage the master’s magic. The delicate nitrate reel — brown, brittle and shrunken — is handled with extreme care as they scrutinize the opening credits of the 1927 film The Lodger for every minuscule scratch, blotch and speck. The British Film Institute is undertaking a mammoth project to restore Hitchcock’s silent movies to their former glory. In a painstaking process, they are cleaning up and restoring his first films, creating a perfect-as-possible digital version to thrill audiences again. The BFI reckons viewers will be stunned by their clarity. Hitchcock is renowned as one of the greatest ever movie directors, thanks to masterpieces such as Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963). Long before his Hollywood career though, the Londoner made his name in British silent cinema, with cleverly-crafted black-and-white tales of suspense and mystery, honing the trademarks cherished in later classics. However, those fragile 1920s analog film reels will only deteriorate further and the BFI wants to revive them in digital form before it is too late.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

Are you serious? BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 08/22/2010

Are you serious?

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 08/22/2010 The drive to rid the Bureau of Immigration’s Cebu unit may have hit a sandbar due to certain powerful politicians, supposedly allies of President Noynoy Aquino, who are interfering with the mopping up operations initiated by the new leadership in the person of officer-in-charge Roy Ledesma. While the clean-up drive in Manila has already shifted to high gear, the situation pertaining in Cebu City still has to achieve lift-off with the incessant meddling of personages identified with the political parties that helped Aquino get elected to the presidency who are said to be blocking the top-to-bottom revamp that Ledesma wants to implement. Just last week, Ledesma, with the go-signal from his boss Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, sacked 39 BI employees and suspended 23 others as part of the ongoing purge he was tasked to implement to rid the BI of corrupt and inept people. This move comes exactly a month after the head of the BI-Airport Operations Division Ferdinand Sampol, as well as his right hand man, Ninoy Aquino International Airport intelligence chief Jun Berberabe were canned when they were implicated by various non-government organizations (the Blas Ople Center for one) in alleged human trafficking activities..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

Moving forward C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 08/22/2010

Moving forward

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 08/22/2010 It is good that President Aquino’s elder sisters, Ma. Elena “Ballsy” Cruz and Ma. Aurora “Pinky” Abellada have publicly stated that they all want to move on and let history and the courts, if any case remains pending, make the final judgment on the murder of their martyred father — the late Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. In particular, they said they have no intention of prolonging the decades old search for the brains behind the assassination, noting that by their and, obviously, our people’s reckoning they have already achieved justice. In a recent interview with our friend Booma Cruz of Vera Files a day or two before quietly commemorating their father’s 27th death anniversary yesterday, P-Noy’s eldest sisters said it was time to move on. “For me, that’s so long ago,” “Pinky” Abellada was quoted as having said: “We know who did it. many of them are dead; let’s move forward. I don’t know if human rights advocates will get angry, but for me, you cannot hold these ill feelings for long because in the end it’s you who will suffer..” This sentiment was echoed by Ballsy Cruz who advised “For me, it’s over. As far as I’m concerned, it is a closed book already because we already know who is behind it. I mean, I’ve made up my mind insofar as who planned it..” We still have to get P-Noy’s view on the matter but judging from his vow to pursue his “father’s way of peace” which he articulated yesterday I have reason to believe he will go along with his sisters. Recalling that fateful day of his father’s assassination, P-Noy noted that his first reaction was to “exact revenge” but changed his mind when he saw the public outpouring of grief during his father’s funeral.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists focus 08/22/2010

Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists

focus 08/22/2010 CAIRO — A television series being broadcast throughout the Muslim month of Ramadan has drawn the ire of Egypt’s Islamist opposition, who view it as additional pressure ahead of a November parliamentary election. The Group focuses on the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most influential Islamist movements in the world. Critics say the pro-government leanings of scriptwriter Waheed Hamed are blatant, and that the timing of the series, just three months before the election, is no coincidence. The son of the Brotherhood’s founder Hassan al-Banna, who was assassinated in 1949, plans to sue. His father, who founded the group in 1928, has not yet been depicted in the series, but it is not expected to be a reverent portrayal. Indeed the group, which controls a fifth of parliament in Cairo and eschews violence, is portrayed in the series as an organisation of cynical, violent Islamists. And in a departure from human rights reports that allege torture is routine in Egypt, The Group features only abuse-free prisons and courteous interrogations..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

Sex Education — 2/7 VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 08/22/2010

Sex Education — 2/7

VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 08/22/2010 Lest it remains unsaid and unclear, there is but one over-all conclusion that is objectively definite and defined: “Sex Education” under any other impressive name and technical or legal expression equals birth control. This is definitely neither the deduction of a paranoid mind nor the judgment of hallucinating individual. Unless they themselves are sadly ignorant of the truth, then those leading and directing the well funded and concerted effort to propagate the over-arching preoccupation of over-population in one form or another, will have to say and admit that the camouflage of “Sex Education” and other more refined expressions, are in effect anti-population in their ultimate finality and goal. The key question that not only cries for but demands a credible if not factual answer, goes like this: What on earth would make Europe and North America in particular, willingly, continuously and even generously, shell out more and more funds to finance such a anti-natalist — meaning birth control and population control — plan, program and projects? Furthermore, why would such particular sections of the world spend so much money for such insidious purpose — more specifically in Asia — when they themselves are still suffering from depression?.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100822com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL A nightmare that never went away FRONTLINE Useless peace talks FEATURE Suspense as Britain bids to save silent Hitchcock thrillers BLURBAL THRUSTS Are you serious? C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Moving forward focus Brotherhood TV series angers Egypt Islamists VIEWPOINTS Sex Education — 2/7

DFA voids passports of fugitive senator By Danessa Rivera 08/22/2010

GOV’T SAYS LACSON GIVEN ALL CHANCES TO REFUTE CANCELLATION BID DFA voids passports of fugitive senator By Danessa Rivera 08/22/2010 Fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson has been rendered stateless yesterday after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) yesterday revoked his regular and diplomatic passports in a bid of the government to flush him out of hiding as a result of an arrest warrant issued on him as prime suspect in the double murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito. The DFA said it took the move of canceling Lacson’s travel papers after exhaustive efforts to get the side of the senator on the request of the Department of Justice (DoJ), a court order, and the petition of the families of his alleged victims to have his passports revoked. Lacson has not responded to the DFA request, leaving the agency with no recourse but to go ahead with the cancellation. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima noted that without a proper passport, Lacson could easily be deported back to the Philippines by authorities of any country he happens to be in.  Lacson left the country last Jan. 5 before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) resolved his pending motion for judicial determination of probable cause.  There are speculations, however, that Lacson had long returned and is in hiding in the country. The voiding of Lacson’s passports was based on the July 23 order of Branch 18 of the Manila RTC “to take the proper steps…in accordance with law,” and the written requests from the DoJ and the families of the victims of Lacson’s alleged crimes.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100822hed1.html

HEADLINES DFA voids passports of fugitive senator Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2

Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 08/22/2010 By Aytch S. de la Cruz

Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace

08/22/2010 By Aytch S. de la Cruz Controversial Rear Adm. Feliciano Angue being placed in a floating status was just the price he had to pay for not toeing the military line, Malacañang indicated yesterday as it welcomed Angue’s handling by the brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and their current investigation on his supposed insubordination. Angue had incurred the wrath of his superiors after giving interviews on supposed generals playing politics in the military that spanned from the 2004 elections cheating to the recent meeting of military officers with President Aquino when he was still campaigning for the presidency before the May 10 elections.  Angue’s outburst before the media at how political partisanship in the military institution flourished under the current administration took another toll on him because, apart from being demoted, his transfer to the Naval Forces at Western Mindanao was reportedly held in abeyance pending the results of the ongoing investigation on his perceived violation of the AFP’s Code of Ethics and Articles of War. Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said it is only proper for the AFP brass to sanction Angue for his grave misconduct as an official given the several warnings they had served him which he just ignored.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100822hed2.html

HEADLINES DFA voids passports of fugitive senator Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2

8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush 08/22/2010

8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush

08/22/2010 Communist guerrillas killed eight policemen and a village official in coordinated attacks in Northern Samar province yesterday, the police commander for the region said. New People’s Army (NPA) gunmen murdered a village official at his home at dawn and then ambushed a police patrol sent to investigate the killing, Eastern Visayas regional police director Chief Supt. Arnold Revilla said. The rebels set off a roadside bomb as the patrol approached Councilor Rolando de Guia home in Barangay Imelda in Catarman town around 5:30 a.m. then raked it with gunfire, Revilla told reporters by telephone. Reports said around 8:30 a.m., elements from the local police were able to get near the crime scene, which was a kilometer away from the town proper and could only be reached by negotiating a dirt road. But the responding police team, led by deputy police head Senior Supt. Necasio San Antonio, was attacked by around 40 suspected communist rebels, some 500 meters away from De Guia’s house. “The patrol car was directly hit by the landmines. It was a total wreck and it burned down,” Revilla said..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100822hed3.html

HEADLINES DFA voids passports of fugitive senator Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2

RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list 08/22/2010

RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list

08/22/2010 Out of 100 countries, the Philippines ranked a poor 63rd in a Newsweek magazine study of the world’s best countries in terms of health, education, economy and politics. In Asia, the country was the third to the bottom in the Newsweek ranking in its latest edition. Newsweek said the ranking, its first-ever, was made to “answer a question that is at once simple and incredibly complex—if you were born today, which country would provide you the very best opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous, and upwardly mobile life?” Based on the Newsweek study, the Philippines achieved its best ranking on the education category at 46th with a literacy rate of 92.7 percent and 15.5 years of average schooling. The Philippines ranked 58th on the political environment, 64th on economic dynamism, 75th on the quality of life, and 66th on the health category. Finland was the world’s best country based on the Newsweek study followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Australia and Luxembourg.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100822hed4.html

HEADLINES DFA voids passports of fugitive senator Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem Bb. Pilipinas titlist

Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem 08/22/2010

Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem

08/22/2010 Malacañang yesterday said it is amenable to Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano’s suggestion for the Truth Commission to prioritize the resolution of the “Hello Garci” vote-rigging controversy before other matters when it finally gets to work. Secretary Ramon “Ricky” Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office also does not see anything wrong if the upper chamber would like to reopen its own investigation on the matter amid questions in the possible overlapping of functions by the Senate and the Truth Commission.  “I suppose (the functions) might overlap a little because we formed the Truth Commission to investigate these alleged anomalies (by the Arroyo administration) over the last nine years. Senator Cayetano’s suggestion to investigate the Hello Garci is probably included in the incidents (that will be probed) over the last nine years,” Carandang said over the state-run radio dzRB..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100822hed5.html

HEADLINES DFA voids passports of fugitive senator Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2

Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2 Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2 08/22/2010

Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2 Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2

08/22/2010 A Binibining Pilipinas titlist and two other persons died while a fourth occupant is still in critical condition when the van they were riding collided head-on with a passenger bus in Camarines Sur yesterday morning. Maj. Harold Cabunoc, Philippine Army’s 9th Infantry Division spokesman, said the accident took place around 11:45 a.m. in Barangay Pawili in Bula, Camarines Sur. The fatalities were identified as Melody Gersbach, a Filipino- German national and Bb. Pilipinas International 2009; Dodong Ramos, the driver, and Alden Orense, make-up artist of the beauty titlist. Initial reports showed that Gersbach and her companions were on board a Toyota Innova en route to Naga City when it collided with a Guevarra Bus Line driven by Wilson Pontillas.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100822hed6.html

HEADLINES DFA voids passports of fugitive senator Gen. Angue’s ordeal price for not toeing line — Palace 8 cops, one village exec killed in rebel ambush RP lands a poor 63rd on best countries list Palace: Overlapping of functions by Senate, truth body over ‘Garci’ probe not a problem Bb. Pilipinas titlist, 2

Women’s Groups Push for Divorce Bill Published on August 21, 2010

 
Amid the heated public debate regarding the divorce bill filed recently by Gabriela, battered women such as Maricon Reazo await its passage to be given another chance at having a happy family life.

Women’s Groups Push for Divorce Bill

Published on August 21, 2010

 

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – As soon as the divorce bill was filed, it immediately generated a lot of emotional reactions from different sectors, especially the Catholic church. Unable to shy away from the debate on the divorce bill, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III recently declared that he is against divorce but is for legal separation with the option to remarry, which some sectors say is tantamount to divorce.

In the Philippines, which has a predominantly conservative Roman Catholic population, divorce is frowned at in public, although a lot of married couples have been living separately. Couples from wealthy families travel abroad to get divorced and to remarry. The Philippines is only one of two countries that do not have a divorce law yet. Gabriela said Malta, a Mediterranean island, has yet to legislate a divorce bill, too.

Women’s group Gabriela and Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) are pushing for the passage of House Bill 1799, “An Act Introducing Divorce in the Philippines.” Filed recently by GWP Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmie de Jesus in Congress, they said this would give couples particularly women the option to terminate a marriage that is no longer working, is already beyond saving and already detrimental to their well-being..... MORE

Aquino’s Extension of Arroyo’s Dreaded Oplan Bantay Laya Draws Fire from Victims’ Kin Published on August 20, 2010

President Benigno S. Aquino III is “doing the exact opposite of his pronouncement that he will put closure to the human-rights violations of Arroyo and her cohorts. As commander-in-chief, he allowed the AFP to extend the counter-insurgency plan which was proven to have violated human rights.”
Read more stories on Oplan Bantay Laya
MANILA — For a mother of a slain human-rights defender, the extension of the counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) proves that President Benigno S. Aquino III is no different from former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo when it comes to human rights.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo David announced on August 15 the extension of the implementation of OBL, which has been blamed for the spate of killings and other rights abuses in the Philippines. Human-rights group Karapatan has documented 1,206 victims of extrajudicial killings, 205 victims of enforced disappearance, and countless cases of torture and harassment.

“We, the families of the victims, were right when we said that Aquino will soon show his true color,” Evangeline Hernandez, spokesperson of Hustisya! and mother of slain journalist and human-rights defender Benjaline Hernandez, said in a phone interview with Bulatlat.

Benjaline, then vice president for Mindanao of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and secretary general of Karapatan-Southern Mindanao, was killed by soldiers in Arakan Valley in North Cotabato on April 5, 2002.

Hernandez expressed disgust over Aquino’s move. “Instead of punishing the perpetrators of human-rights violations and put a stop to the OBL that leads to various human-rights violations, he has allowed the counter-insurgency campaign to be extended until January 2011,” she said....MORE

Friday the 13th ‘Massacre’ at ABS-CBN as Media Giant Axes 37 More Workers Published on August 17, 2010

The ABS-CBN IJM Workers Union asks President Aquino to stop the illegal dismissals, contractualization and union-busting at his “favorite” media network.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
 
MANILA – Thirty-seven more workers at the country’s largest media network, ABS-CBN, have been dismissed, bringing to 92 the number of employees fired from the company’s “Internal Job Market,” the ABS-CBN IJM Workers Union said.

The firings, which occurred nine months after the workers were first officially disowned as employees by the Lopez-owned ABS-CBN, occurred in the same week that the network announced a staggering 179-percent increase in earnings for the first half of 2010.

In a report by Business Mirror, ABS-CBN said last Tuesday that its net income in the first six months hit a record P2.27 billion, higher than the P813 million it earned in the same period last year and also higher than its full-year net income of P1.7 billion in 2009..... MORE

Hypocritical society EDITORIAL 08/21/2010

Hypocritical society

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 08/21/2010 Noynoy Aquino may be against divorce, preferring to have legalized separation laws amended to include a remarriage for estranged couples, but even as he is president, he certainly has no right, despite his abhorrence for divorce, to impose his personal view on a nation. If he is against divorce, he should have stated clearly to reporters that this was his personal view, because, as it is often pointed out, as he is president, what he says is seen as policy. If the nation had an independent House of Representatives, perhaps Noynoy could easily air his personal distaste of divorce in the country. Unfortunately, the House, no matter how hard it tries to appear as being “independent” of Malacañang, is largely under the control of the President. And with a lot of members being certified lapdogs, one can be certain that his announced view against divorce will kill whatever divorce measure that has been filed in the House. Noynoy may have made the Catholic bishops happy, but he should remember, at all times, that this nation, even with a preponderance of Catholics — mostly nominal — composing the populace, does not have to toe the line of the Catholic church, given the separation principle between Church and State, and the Constitution does allow for religious freedom, as well as a democratic and system of government..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100821com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Hypocritical society FRONTLINE High level fixing focus Jordanian journalists furious over new cyber crimes law

High level fixing FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 08/21/2010

High level fixing

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 08/21/2010 Any which way it is cut, the arrest and detention of Philippine Rep. Ronaldo Singson on charges of drug trafficking, caught as he was at Chek Lap Kok International Airport en route to Macau on July 11 for possession of 26.1 grams of cocaine and two tablets of Valium, has negative international impact not only on the Aquino government, but also on the Philippine Congress, that can hardly afford any more negative publicity, given the fact that a senator, Ping Lacson, is an accused in a double murder case and has gone to ground abroad, along with a new case, the accused drug trafficker who is a congressman, both of whom are in the media limelight. For weeks on end, there was no question at all about how much cocaine Singson had with him, when he left Manila and arrived in Hong Kong.  The fact alone that there were reportedly three applications for bail within his period of detention, two of which were rejected, on dates of July 13 and July 22, last Thursday, bail was finally granted, as two Chinese friends put up a HK$1 million bond. What this could mean is that from the day of Singson’s arrest, up till Thursday, there was no change in cocaine gram size from the authorities who arrested him. Yet all too suddenly, there was this decrease of 20 grams from the 26 grams, as the “new evidence” for Singson to be granted bail, as the charge has been reduced from drug trafficking to mere possession of cocaine, which is bailable.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100821com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Hypocritical society FRONTLINE High level fixing focus Jordanian journalists furious over new cyber crimes law

Jordanian journalists furious over new cyber crimes law focus 08/21/2010

Jordanian journalists furious over new cyber crimes law

focus 08/21/2010 AMMAN — Jordanian journalists are up in arms after the government on Aug. 3 passed a temporary law on cyber crimes seen by many as a way of controlling local news Web sites. Late last month the government also barred civil servants while at work from accessing around 50 Web sites, mostly local news, in what it called an effort to improve productivity. Journalists say the new law allows the authorities to raid and search offices from which websites are published and to access computers without prior approval from public prosecutors. “The law was written in an elastic way so the government can interpret and implement it the way it wants and according to its interests,” Mohammad Hawamdeh, managing editor of Khaberni (Tell me) online news agency, told AFP. “For example, if I want to publish an article about any social, economic or political issue, under the new law I could be accused of harming Jordan’s interests and economy.” Like most journalists, Hawamdeh believes the real intention is a local news sites crackdown. “The fact that the Internet ban and the law came out almost at the same time is suspicious. Why did the ban focus mainly on local news sites? It’s clear the government is targeting us and wants to shut us up,” he said. The government denies this. “The law was issued to cope with information technology developments as well as related legal issues and cyber crimes. It does not criminalize people for expressing their opinions,” Information Minister Ali Ayed told AFP. He also defended the Internet ban for civil servants, saying “work hours should always be used for work.” “We respect professional Web sites. We are not targeting anybody, for example we blocked the Petra news agency’s site, even though it’s state-run. We did not block sites like Google and Yahoo!”.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100821com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Hypocritical society FRONTLINE High level fixing focus Jordanian journalists furious over new cyber crimes law

No gag order on alter egos—Noy By Aytch S. de la Cruz 08/21/2010

EO restricting GOCCs, GFIs fat pays under way No gag order on alter egos—Noy By Aytch S. de la Cruz 08/21/2010 No gag order has been imposed by President Aquino on his Cabinet members and executive officers, Malacañang yesterday said, despite the clear snubbing of several Cabinet members last week, among whom were Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad and Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. Aquino is also not keen on resurrecting former President Arroyo’s Executive Order 464 which bars Cabinet officials and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from testifying before any congressional inquiry, Malacañang said yesterday. EO 464 was struck down by the Supreme Court which ruling was deemed as vague by the Arroyo administration. The same EO, was however, replaced by a Memorandum Circular (MC) by Arroyo which banned all officials, officers and employees falling under the executive branch from appearing before congressional hearings without the written permission of the President. This was never revoked by Arroyo, nor, for that matter, the incumbent Malacañang tenant, which means that the gag rule on the MC is still in force and effect. There was also a ruling by the high court, penned by Associate Justice Teresita de Castro, that upheld the President’s executive privilege, even in the instance where a probable criminal action is involved, as spelled out in the case the Senate brought before the Supreme Court.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100821hed1.html

HEADLINES No gag order on alter egos—Noy Poll body seeks DoJ findings on Susano’s CF cards, ‘Hello Nico’ Navy whistle-blower placed on ‘floating status’ World Bank says RP farm policy deepens poverty Dead ensign’s kin seek DoJ’s reopening of case Cayetanos split over divorce scheme