Philippines: Coalition Clamor for the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill (tags)
Still enough time for FOI – if House leadership supports it. With only nine session days remaining before Congress adjourns for a long election break, members of the Right to Know Right Now Coalition are reminding members of Congress that they still have enough time to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill even without the prodding of Malacanang.
Philippines: The meaning of the `Noynoy’ Aquino presidency (tags)
On June 9 Senator Benigno Aquino III (“Noynoy” Aquino) of the Liberal Party, the son of former President Cory Aqunio, was proclaimed president by the Philippines Congress. Noynoy was a former senator “with little legislative record to speak of”, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper, which nevertheless campaigned hard for Noynoy Aquino’s presidency, soon after Cory Aquino’s death in August 2009.
Analysis of the RP 2010 Electiion by Prof. Jose Ma. Sison (tags)
The conduct of the 2010 elections shows the rottenness of the US-dominated ruling system of big compradors and landlords. It was a process dominated by the coalitions, parties and candidates of the reactionary ruling classes. Beforehand, it excluded the leaders of the working people who were repressed or who were without campaign funds. It was merely a personality-based contest of the political agents of the same exploiting classes. They did not offer any strong differences in terms of program. They mouthed slogans against poverty and corruption and the need for change. But they said nothing about overcoming the three monsters of foreign monopoly capitalism, domestic feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism which exploit, impoverish and oppress the people. They gave no serious attention to the worsening crisis of the domestic ruling system and the world capitalist system.
The facts against psywar intrigues in the Philippines (tags)
As chief political consultant of the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), I am well informed about the revolutionary position of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the New People's Army and the NDFP as well as the position of other major political forces in relation to the 2010 elections of the reactionary government.
Who owns Smartmatic-TIM? (tags)
With barely two weeks left before the May 10 elections, the question, “Who owns Smartmatic-TIM?” keeps popping up in a lot of people’s minds. Suddenly, the prospect of an “electronic Garci” cheating operation is creating apprehension that the country is on the brink of another people power or martial law… or, God forbid, civil war! A few days ago, I got a call from a fellow Filipino-American journalist who said that a powerful man has the “source code” of the Precinct Count Optical Scanner (PCOS) machines that will be used for the first time in May 10 elections. I followed the trail of the information and talked to a Filipino international lawyer who has done some research on the question of the “ownership” of Smartmatic-TIM. The following is his response:
Big business hits Philippine SC ruling (tags)
The influential Makati Business Club (MBC) on Thursday said the Supreme Court decision on executive privilege did not conform to the “progressive standards of transparency” and restricted the ability of the legislature to check presidential abuse. In a statement, the MBC said it was “very concerned” about the tribunal’s ruling on the petition of then Director General Romulo Neri of the National Economic and Development Authority to stop the Senate from questioning him further on the $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp. “Their decision gives greater value to executive privilege than to the public’s right to know, which is not in keeping with progressive standards of transparency. It also has the effect of restricting the ability of the legislature to act as a countervailing force against executive abuse,” the MBC said.
On the Philippine Congress Bombing (and Glorietta Mall blast) (tags)
Akbayan & Anak Mindanao Partylists condemn Batasan bombing