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.
Four Reasons Why Smith Should Be in RP custody (tags)
The AJLPP published this good article: THE UNDERSIGNED groups express their outrage over how the Department of Justice and the Department of Foreign Affairs have taken the cudgels for Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith who, we have learned, has been released to the custody of the US Embassy upon orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. These officials have forgotten that they represent the Filipino people and not an American serviceman. Instead of deferring to the judiciary's interpretation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), they have thwarted the legal import of the original provisions of the VFA and substituted their own meaning to justify the transfer of Smith's custody to the United States. This case is not only an issue of custody.