Principled peace, no less EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 10/21/2011

Principled peace, no less

EDITORIAL

Click to enlarge

10/21/2011
The death of 19 soldiers just to serve an arrest warrant to fugitives, as was the military version of the recent Basilan encounter, should make Noynoy think hard on the policy line his administration is taking toward the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and negotiating peace with the secessionist group that seems to be predicated on the granting of a substate which is even bigger than the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

If indeed there was no assault on a so-called MILF stronghold, the existence of which is a ridiculous set up enough for a nation claiming to be sovereign, the MILF has absolutely no excuse for the attack, yet the government through the chief peace adviser Ging Deles was even rushing to give the rebels an assurance that peace negotiations are still on despite what is developing as an act of MILF aggression.

It need not be stressed that six of the army troopers whom their comrades in arms said were captured during the encounter, later turned out to have been executed, which showed the MILF’s ruthlessness..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111021com1.html

Coddling his ‘men and women’ FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 10/21/2011

Coddling his ‘men and women’

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

10/21/2011
For Noynoy, the pattern of absolving his Kaibigan, Kaklase and Kabarilan (KKKs) is this: For him to quickly accept their denials as truth — without the need of an internal investigation. But denials from his foes are never enough for him and he quickly declares them guilty, even before a probe is being conducted.

Thus it was that Noynoy quickly cleared, on a mere denial, his peace adviser Teresita “Ging” Deles, of any liability and accountability on charges that she had, during the 2004 presidential elections, used public funds to ensure the victory of her then patron, Gloria Arroyo, and that she had violated provisions of the Omnibus Election Code, where government officials are banned from campaigning for any candidate.

Thus it was that Noynoy also quickly cleared another “K” favorite, Dinky Soliman and her twin, Deles, of any participation on the PEACe Bond scam that made a pile of money for their foundation, tax-free, merely on their claim that they had no part in that scam. And there is to be no investigation on the twins’ participation of the P35-billion scam for which the Filipino taxpayers will now have to pay through the nose, so declared Noynoy, saying he was satisfied with their explanations..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111021com2.html

The mystery of Muammar Gaddafi's death

The National Transitional Council of Libya в delivered the official report about the death of the former head of Jamahiriya, Muammar Gaddafi. Prime Minister of Libya Mahmoud Jibril said in the beginning of the news conference in Tripoli that the NTC had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Gaddafi is dead, Jibril said.

According to Jibril, the colonel received lethal wounds in the shootout between his forces and the opposition army in the city of Sirte, Reuters said. Gaddafi could die from the bullets of his followers, the news agency said. A forensic expert found it difficult to say whether the colonel was killed by revolutionaries or his own soldiers.

The prime minister said that Gaddafi was shot in the head. Jibril confirmed the information saying that the colonel had been taken prisoner alive. However, he suffered a lethal wound and died before he was taken to hospital..... MORE

Source:  Pravda.ru

URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/africa/21-10-2011/119399-muammar_gaddafi-0/

Thinking out of the box NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 10/21/2011

Thinking out of the box

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

10/21/2011
A group of young Filipino filmmakers came up with a list of Top 10 Pinoy indie movies: 100, directed by Chris Martinez, starring Mylene Dizon; a terminal cancer patient finds out she has a hundred days to go, so she sets out to complete a series of “must do’s.” Imburnal, written and directed by Sherad Anthony Sanchez and starring non-stars but noteworthy actors Allen Lumanog, Joel San Juan and Jelieta Mariveles-Ruca; two young boys are hunted by death squads in a coastal town somewhere in Davao.

Boses, written and directed by Froi Medina and Rody Vera, produced and directed by Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil; Real-life Musician Coke Bolipata does a star turn as Ariel, a musician who teaches a child in the slums, the seven-year-old Onyok (Julian Duque), to play the violin. Onyok is at the mercy of an abusive father (Ricky Davao); the boy purposely stayed mute to deal with his situation. Melancholia, written, directed and edited by Lav Diaz; a study of people coping with personal loss..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111021com4.html

DPWH should look for truth, not scapegoats C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 10/21/2011

DPWH should look for truth, not scapegoats

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S

Jonathan De la Cruz

10/21/2011
There is something very, very wrong with the manner by which Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Babes Singson and his boys are handling the Osmeña Flyover problem and all other road projects which have been found to be defective.

They are looking for scapegoats instead of the truth. In the case of the flyover, for example, they are banging the asphalt sub-contractors when it is clear that the problem is the fiber reinforcement polymer (FRP) or paving fabric which they installed and applied on 7,985 square meters of the fly over. That, by itself is already anomalous, since their original contract with their favorite contractor, Tokwing Construction, called for only 199 square meters. Experts from their own quality assurance unit (QAU) noted that there is no bonding between the paving fabric and the asphalt wearing course. Worse, the QAU noted that the material used was not approved by its own research unit, DPWH-BRS, a statement which was later confirmed by no less than DPWH-NCR Director Rey Tagudando who was quoted by media defending the “new experiment.” Experiment pala. No wonder Singson and his boys are busy diverting public and probably even P-Noy’s attention from their folly..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111021com5.html

At Occupy Wall Street, the 1% are people, too focus 10/21/2011

At Occupy Wall Street, the 1% are people, too

focus

10/21/2011
NEW YORK — Protesters at the Occupy Wall Street camp in New York say they are fighting for America’s downtrodden 99 percent. Now some of the hated one percent want it known that they are people, too.

The likes of Taha Hammam fail to make up even one percent of the protesters thronging New York’s Zuccotti Park. Dapper in a dark suit, striped shirt and red tie, Hammam, 34, sticks out far more than the often outlandishly dressed hippies and activists around him.

So does the message on his placard, pointing out that 99 percent plus one equals 100 percent. “We are all ONE,” it reads.

Hammam described himself as a wealthy landlord who, despite having money, shares protesters’ anger at the way the cards are stacked in favor of US political and corporate elites..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111021com7.html

Contractualization adds peril to health and safety – women workers

Contractualization adds peril to health and safety – women workers

 
Contractual women workers are not receiving maternity benefits. That is on top of the lower wages, heavy workloads, no job security and no union rights that go with being contractuals. – KMU
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Contractualization as an employment scheme is a “menace to workers,” said the women workers of the labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) last week. With members coming from Southern Tagalog and Metro Manila, they held a picket protest against contractualization at the Welcome Rotonda after an afternoon of discussing the plight and rights of workers.

Carrying enlarged copies of contractual employment contracts, women unionists tore these ‘contracts’ during their protest.

“Women workers who comprise the majority of contractual workers in the country are speaking out against contractualization. We also express our full support to the workers of Philippine Air Lines (PAL) who are struggling against mass layoff and contractualization,” said Nenita “Nitz” Gonzaga, KMU vice-chairperson for women affairs.

“Contractualization has long been a menace to women workers and to Filipino workers in general. We are intensifying our campaign for its eradication, which is now long overdue,” she added.

Double discrimination vs women workers??
KMU also criticized the exclusion of contractual women workers from the coverage of maternity benefits such as maternity leave and maternity pay. “That shows you how evil this anti-worker scheme is: contractual women workers are not receiving maternity benefits. That is on top of the lower wages, heavy workloads, no job security and no union rights that go with being contractuals,” Gonzaga said.

Women workers tore sample work contracts that “further discriminate” against women. (Photo courtesy of KMU women / bulatlat.com)

The labor center also condemned the common practice of retrenching women contractuals who get pregnant while on the job.

“Capitalists want their women contractuals young and without children so the latter can be exploited more in the workplace. The common practice of removing women contractuals who get pregnant is most deplorable,” added Gonzaga.

Lawyer Remigio Saladero explained that there are quite a number of pro-women legislations in the country, the main example being the Magna Carta on Women. But he said that whether these are being implemented or not is the main question. He said the provision ordering Congress to amend or replace laws that discriminate against women has still not been acted upon as of this day.

Even the early compulsory retirement of female cabin attendants in the Philippine flag carrier has not been settled up to now. Meanwhile, the workers are suffering the consequences of such discrimination..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/10/20/contractualization-adds-peril-to-health-and-safety-%e2%80%93-women-workers/

Noynoy coddles MILF, voices displeasure over Army in Basilan massacre By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan and Mario J. Mallari 10/21/2011

DND ADMITS MILITARY DEMORALIZED; OFFICIAL SEEKS CEASEFIRE ACCORD SUSPENSION

Noynoy coddles MILF, voices displeasure over Army in Basilan massacre

By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan and Mario J. Mallari 10/21/2011

Instead of expressing outrage over the killing of the 19 soldiers in an alleged misencounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Aquino yesterday voiced his displeasure and disappointment over the military leadership in the area.

Aquino said he wants to get to the bottom of the details of the operation which mobilized the Army’s Special Force units to pursue an outlaw that has links to the Abu Sayyaf Group but ended up clashing with MILF elements who accused the military of encroaching on their territory.

Seemingly protective of the MILF and not expressing any outrage over the massacre of 19 of the country’s soldiers, Aquino rejected the option of declaring an all-out war to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack against the government troopers, some of them believed to have been executed..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111021hed1.html

Erap: Peace talks with rebels useless 10/21/2011

Erap: Peace talks with rebels useless

10/21/2011
Former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada yesterday indicated that the government, in its desire to continue with peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), appears to be treating the Muslim rebels with kid gloves and handling them too carefully.

“During my term as president, I also agreed to talk peace with the MILF, but these rebels were not sincere in these talks, because even as the peace process was ongoing, the MILF fighters were still attacking our soldiers, Estrada told The Tribune in a telephone interview yesterday.

He said he had to prove to the MILF rebels that his government was not going to stand idly by and watch them kill the soldiers, and show the rebels just who is the government.

“Since they (MILF) refused to toe the peace line, there was only one way to show these rebels just who was the government and one that will not stand on the sidelines watching our soldiers killed,” he stressed..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111021hed5.html

DoJ clears Hataman in less than 24 hours By Gerry Baldo 10/21/2011

DoJ clears Hataman in less than 24 hours

By Gerry Baldo 10/21/2011

The reported choice of President Aquino for the post of officer-in-charge (OIC) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was yesterday immediately cleared by the Department of Justice (DoJ) as it quickly dismissed motion for reconsideration against former Rep. Mujiv Hataman and cleared him of any and all criminal liability.

But Hataman lamented the alleged demolition job hatched by politicians eyeing the post in the region.

According to Hataman, old politicians in the region are trying to discredit him even as he denied he is being groomed to be the OIC of the ARMM.

“There is no truth to talk that I am a frontrunner and favorite (of the Palace) since I have not even been called for a meeting with our President on this issue,” Hataman said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20111021nat1.html

NDF slams Deles, Padilla for indefinite suspension of peace talks 10/21/2011

NDF slams Deles, Padilla for indefinite suspension of peace talks

10/21/2011
The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has scored government chief negotiator Alexander Padilla and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles for the indefinite suspension of the peace negotiations between the government and the NDFP.

NDFP chief negotiator Luis Jalandoni said that peace advocates will be particularly disappointed and frustrated with Padilla, chairman of the government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) peace panel talking peace with the NDFP, the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

“Their high hopes for the advance of the peace negotiations and the forging of agreements addressing the roots of the armed conflict are dashed by this Padilla announcement,” Jalandoni said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20111021nat5.html

CA drops criminal raps filed against NPC officials over sale of mural painting By Benjamin B. Pulta 10/21/2011

CA drops criminal raps filed against NPC officials over sale of mural painting

By Benjamin B. Pulta 10/21/2011
The Court of Appeals (CA) has dropped a criminal complaint filed against 14 officers of the National Press Club arising from the sale of a Vicente Manansala mural painting on the NPC building in Intramuros, Manila.

A separate ruling by the appellate tribunal last August had earlier upheld the NPC’s ownership of the controversial mural.

In a 14-page resolution by Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla, the CA’s 13th Division ruled that former Justice Secretary Alberto Agra was correct in issuing a resolution on June 11, 2010.

The resolution withdrew his earlier resolution which ordered the indictment of the journalists before the trial court for the supposed “theft and illegal sale” of the painting..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20111021met4.html

Noynoy hit for rejecting offer to buy back Petron By Charlie V. Manalo 10/21/2011

Noynoy hit for rejecting offer to buy back Petron

By Charlie V. Manalo 10/21/2011

A militant lawmaker yesterday lashed out at President Aquino for outrightly rejecting proposals for the government to buy back its shares in Petron even without consulting the firms major shareholders, the people included, saying it was undemocratic on the part of the President.

“President Aquino’s unthinking rejection of the offer to buy back Petron without consulting all the major stakeholders, including majority of the Filipino citizens whose household budgets are greatly affected by the continuing increase in oil prices, smacks of autocratic leadership,” said Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus after Aquino rejected Petron’s offer to sell its refinery in Limay, Bataan.

“Refusing to buy back Petron is also an obvious rejection of the call to nationalize the oil industry. That the government has no money to buy back Petron and is inefficient to run something that has a purely business application are lame excuses,” De Jesus said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20111021met1.html