Walang katarungan sa ilalim ng rehimeng Arroyo (tags)
Ipinahayag ng mahigit 2,000 katao ang kanilang damdamin laban sa mga paglabag sa karapatang-tao sa mga plakard at istrimer nila. May mga nagsuot ng mga maskarang may tig-iisang letrang bumubuo ng salitang “hustisya.” Ilang metro bago ang Malacañang ay hinarang sila ng mga pulis na may suportang dalawang trak ng bumbero. Itinuloy ng mga nagmamartsa ang kanilang programa sa Morayta St. sa Sampaloc.
CBCP slams conduct of midterm elections (tags)
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed dismay yesterday over the conduct of the May 14 midterm elections, saying the challenge of credible, honest, meaningful and peaceful polls remains. CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo lamented that “vote-buying and other anomalies have already become systematic and even cultural.” He said election watchdogs, including the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said the problem no longer lies in the voters but the voting system itself and the irresponsibility of some election officials.
France urges RP to back disappearances treaty (tags)
France appealed to the Philippine government to sign and ratify an international treaty on forced disappearances in view of the pending assistance of local authorities by human rights experts from Europe in solving the unabated political killings in the country. French Ambassador to the Philippines Gerard Chesnel yesterday stressed the need for all democratic governments to support the treaty on disappearances, which will criminalize and put an end to rampant state-sanctioned abductions.
December 17 Mass Rally in Manila:Unresolved issues justify protest, say bishops (tags)
AJLPP -USA and Philippine news sources reported today that the December 17 prayer rally in Manila will push through. AN “escalation of crises” that the leaders of the country’s Roman Catholic Church can no longer take sitting down prompted the Church to spearhead tomorrow’s planned huge prayer rally at Manila’s Rizal Park. News reports also confirmed that top officials of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines yesterday rebuffed calls from administration stalwarts for them to abandon the rally at the Quirino Grandstand in the wake of the decision by Ms Arroyo’s allies to scrap plans to convene a constituent assembly. The CBCP secretary general, Msgr. Juanito Figura, said the CBCP could no longer ignore the escalating problems facing the country, including the questions surrounding President Macapagal-Arroyo’s disputed victory in the 2004 elections. Figura specifically cited the “Garci” tapes, which set off the election controversy, the P728-million fertilizer fund scam and the so-called Mayuga report on the alleged involvement of military officials in election fraud as among the issues unresolved to this day. “The Church cannot play blind, deaf and mute to the sufferings that these issues have brought,” Figura said in a press conference.
Anti-Cha-cha protests mark Independence Day (tags)
AJLPP reprinted the news on the mass actions in Manila and the rest of the Philippines against Charter Change and the escalating human rights violations and attacks against personages and members of the people's organizations and party-list leaders and members in the Philippines. Several thousands of protesters joined the protests against Charter change, June 12. In Manila, about 10,000 protesters participated in an Inter-Faith prayer rally at the Liwasang Bonifacio. Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and its allied organizations marched from two assembly points – Welcome Rotunda and Quirino avenue corner Taft avenue --toward the Liwasang Bonifacio, 4 pm. Former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., National Artist for Literature Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera, Senator Jamby Madrigal, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, Manila Vice Mayor Danny Lacuña were among the personalities who attended the rites.