Duterte offers cabinet posts to Maoist Communist Party of the Philippines (tags)
On Sunday (17 May 2016), Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines president-elect, announced that his administration, which is due to take office on June 30, would restore capital punishment and issue shoot-to-kill orders to the police and military.
Former Philippine President Arroyo charged with electoral fraud (tags)
MANILA: The former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo has been charged with electoral fraud in a move that could pave the way for her arrest, after the government rushed the case to a regional court to keep her from leaving the country.
Will Peace Break out in the Philippines? (tags)
Will peace break out at last? Much hope has been sparked by the coming resumption of peace talks between the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Aquino government. Undoubtedly, this optimism stems from the widespread public perception that President Benigno Aquino III is genuinely interested in ending the four-decade-long war between the NDF and the Philippine government.
GMA's Game of Musical Chairs in the AFP (tags)
PESANTE NEWS based in Los Angeles learned today through news sources in Manila that some questions are circulating at the AFP. Will there be a new face at the helm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) by March or will President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stick it out with current military chief Gen. Victor Ibrado? Ibrado is due to retire on March 10, the day before the election appointments ban takes effect. The president is barred from making new appointments two months before the elections and until the end of her term.
PHILIPPINES: Capitalist Villar is CPP's bet in 2010 presidential election (tags)
Two days before its 41st founding anniversary, the clandestine Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) endorsed the candidacy of Manuel Villar Jr, the standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party (NP) in the 2010 presidential elections.
Philippine Govt creating a climate of fear to put country under Martial law (tags)
Philippine Democratic Left Parties statements regarding Ampatuan Massacre and the declaration of Martial Law in Maguindanao
Open Letter to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and Canada (tags)
We, the undersigned Canadian-based organizations and individuals, strongly condemn the harassment by armed men of Rep. Satur Ocampo on his return from a Human Rights Mission to Canada. We also condemn the threat of his imminent arrest. We are seriously concerned for his safety and that of the other members of the Mission, Rep. Crispin Beltran and Rep. Luz Ilagan.
Historic Debate on Filvets Bill Up Before Full Senate (tags)
When US Senate session resumes after Dec. 3, it will deliberate for the first time, the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill sponsored by Hawaii Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (Dem.). He is Chairman of the Senate Veterans Committee. Originally Senate Bill 57, the “Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007” will provide for the first time starting May 1, 2008 a flat rate of $3,600 annually disability pension for single Filipino veterans living in the Philippines; $4,500 annually for married veterans; and $2,400 annually for surviving spouses.To be eligible, a veteran “must have income below a certain threshold, have served during a period of war, and have a permanent and total non-service-connected disability.”
PHILIPPINES: Estrada's pardon honor among thieves (tags)
AKBAYAN (Citizens' Action Party) condemned the granting of executive clemency for former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), saying that it reflects not national unity but honor among thieves.
Philippine Democracy Under Arroyo’s Petty Tyranny (tags)
The rampant human rights violation under the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo government and her penchant for issuing policies that have curtailed the freedom of speech and assembly have been likened to the tyranny that reigned over our country during the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
ARROYO REVS UP SULU OFFENSIVE (tags)
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday remained steadfast to her administration’s all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf group and other rogue elements accused of beheading 10 of the 14 Marines who died in a July 10 firefight in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. Mrs Arroyo said the war in Mindanao, which so far claimed the lives of 25 soldiers and wounded 10 others, is not an act of vengeance but a strategy to win peace," against those who spread “mayhem" and “bloodsport" in the South. “We cannot allow terrorists to hold the South hostage to their agenda of mayhem and bloodsport," she said.
FILIPINO EDUCATOR ASSAILS ARROYO DICTATORSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
World-renowned Filipino educator Dr. Francisco Nemenzo, former president of the University of the Philippines and head of the coalition, LABAN NG MASA, urges the formation of a revolutionary transitional government to replace the corrupt, brutal and illegitimate Arroyo regime backed by Bush neocons and predatory corporate elite. The following article provides a background to Dr. Nemenzo's principled critique of U.S.-Arroyo State terrorism.
Mammoth electoral fraud in Philippines elections: Padding and shaving (tags)
Nearly three weeks after election day, there are still no definitive results for the Philippine elections to the Senate and House of Representatives. Counting is still continuing and in a number of provinces it has not even begun. This has nothing to do with inefficiency and everything to do with ballot-rigging. The Philippines is one of the most corrupt ‘democracies’ in the world. During the 2004 presidential election, the victory of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was widely attributed to large-scale fraud. A tape was massively circulated of a conversation between the President and Virgilio Garcillano, head of Comelec, the national election commission. Arroyo was heard addressing him familiarly, ‘Hello Garci’, and the election chief proudly assured her that he would guarantee her a million-vote majority.
Bishops: 'Power politics' behind Jalosjos commutation (tags)
Despite Malacañang’s repeated denials, Catholic bishops suspect politics was behind President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s decision to commute the sentence of convicted rapist and former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo Jalosjos. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) executive director Rodolfo Diamante said the act also shows the “bias" of the administration towards known political allies. “Obviously it’s political because how come Jalosjos was given that privilege and denied the others who are more deserving," Diamante said in a statement posted on the CBCP website (www.cbcponline.net).
GMA comes up short again on June 12 rites, say militants (tags)
The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Tuesday called President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Independence Day speech as “another pitch for an Enchanted Kingdom while totally missing out on the point of the celebration.” “National unity has been a battle cry of this administration. There can be no national unity and reconciliation with a government that is focused on perpetuating itself in power. This government stands against everything that the independence movement stood for more than 100 years ago,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.
Votes for partylists, Legarda said to have been shaved by 73% in massive election fraud i (tags)
Task Force Poll Watch, an anti-fraud and monitoring group formed by partylist groups, reported this morning massive vote-shaving in at least 10 provinces, resulting in 73 percent loss of votes for Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan and Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Loren Legarda.
Statement of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (tags)
The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF), the fellowship of bishops from the United Church of Christ (UCCP), United Methodist (UMC), Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP), Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) and the Roman Catholic Churches in the Philippines lament the deployment of elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in urban areas in the country. It is another nail hammered on the flailing limbs of freedom in this country. There is no justification for their presence in these areas at this time. The AFP is called to defend this country from aggression and armed rebellion. The police force should suffice for preserving the peace in our communities. No country claiming to be democratic alows its soldiers to roam around communities in full battle gear. No country claiming to be free allows its soldiers to engage in partisan politics. Even civic functions which military officials claim soldiers perform in these communities are best left in the hands of other government agencies and other non-government organizations.
Rally anti-US near the U.S. embassy in Manila - January 8, 2007 (tags)
U.S. Marines Accused of Rape
Filipino Activists protest Charter change, killings in Mendiola (tags)
Thousands of FIlipino protesters led by the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP-The Philippine Peasant Movement) marched Friday to denounce President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's campaign to amend the constitution and what they said was a spate of political killings in the Philippines. The Philippine Peasant Support Network(Pesante-USA) expressed solidarity with this nationwide mass action in the Philippines. As a Filipino peasant advocacy group, Pesante was formed in the U.S in 1991 and is a member of the Aliiance for a Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP).
Leftist murders spark fear in Philippines (tags)
James Ayunga thinks of death whenever a motorcycle roars past. "I get goosebumps when I hear one come up behind me," said the farmers' activist and father of three. Across the Philippines, masked gunmen on motorcycles have killed scores of left-wing community leaders and Ayunga fears he could be next.
U..S. exports fantasies and weapons systems (tags)
In fact, 20 of our top 25 arms clients in the developing world in 2003 were undemocratic regimes or governments with records as major human-rights abusers. All too often, U.S. arms transfers fuel conflict, give weapons to human-rights abusers or fall into the hands of our adversaries. Far from serving as a force for security and stability, these sales frequently empower unstable, undemocratic regimes.
PHILIPPINES: Citizens' impeachment complaint against President Gloria Arroyo (tags)
AKBAYAN (Citizens' Action Party) solons today formally endorsed the second impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) as more citizens and groups filed their complaints against the president.
Gunmen in Bulacan abduct 3 left-wing activists (tags)
Pesante-USA reprinted a report that said three left-wing activists were abducted by masked gunmen in the northern Philippines, a human rights group said Friday. The military commander in the area denied involvement while claiming the missing people were communist rebels. Two women student activists from the University of the Philippines and a male companion were seized before dawn Monday from a farming village outside Hagonoy town, said Marie Hilao-Enriquez, secretary general of the human rights group Karapatan.
Sison expulsion easier with death repeal - Palace (tags)
The true intentions of the US-Arroyo regime is coming out. Executve Secretary Ermita has let the cat out of the bag--WITH the abolition of the death penalty Malacañang sees better chances of persuading The Netherlands to deport exiled Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Ma. Sison. Executive Eduardo Ermita made the statement as communist guerrillas urged the government to respect the civil rights of their comrades targeted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's revitalized two-year counter-insurgency campaign. Citing conversations with an official of the Dutch embassy here, who he did not name, Ermita said the only real stumbling block to Sison’s expulsion from The Netherlands was the death penalty. Meanwhile, Luis Jalandoni, chairman of the National Democratic Front peace panel, called on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and “all organizations which uphold human rights and international humanitarian law” to “hold the Arroyo regime accountable” for the alleged abduction by government troops of an NDF consultant and his son earlier this month. Jalandoni accused the government of “crimes against humanity,” claiming it was responsible for “more than 180 enforced disappearances, more than 690 extra-judicial killings of unarmed civilians and frustrated killings of more than 200 civilian victims.”
Philippines: Freedom from Gloria, Freedom from tyranny (tags)
One hundred and eight years ago, the Filipinos, declared independence from the oppressive control of the Spaniards, today AKBAYAN declares freedom from a homegrown tyrannical regime. "Taking into account the fact that the people of this country are already tired of bearing the exploitative rule of the elites led by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), we say we have had enough of GMA," said AKBAYAN President Ronald Llamas today as the group joins protest actions in celebration of Independence Day.
When People Become Commodities (tags)
By Jonathan Rowe
Iraqi Civilians Detained! (tags)
More human rights abuse.
Red Targets in the ''War on Terrorism'' (tags)
Think about that. Hundreds of al-Qaeda, demanding principally that the U.S. get its troops out of Saudi Arabia. Tens of thousands of communist-led guerrillas---and many millions who identify with the legacy of the historical left---demanding an end to exploitation and inequality on the planet.