Philippines: Vocal DAP critic Bayan Muna Neri Colmenares also got P25M from fund (tags)
MANILA, Philippines–One of the most vocal critics of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) in the House of Representatives was allocated the economic stimulus fund that the Supreme Court recently declared unconstitutional.
Philippines: 5 Makabayan bloc legislators got P481M pork barrel (tags)
Documents from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) last year showed that five congressmen belonging to the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives received a combined P481 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) since President Aquino assumed office in 2010.
Philippine political dynasties must end (tags)
MANILA, Philippines – Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño on Tuesday urged voters to use the upcoming 2013 elections to end political dynasties by voting for new faces and new names.
Dark years of Marcos dictatorship ‘must not be forgotten’ – victims (tags)
PHILIPPINES. On the eve of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos' 93rd birth anniversary, Filipinos appear to be forgetting his legacy of abuse, victims of human rights violations during his long rule said on Friday.
CPP-NPA Permit to Campaign Fees: Fundraising or Opportunism? (tags)
The Philippine Left and the 2010 Elections The issue of the New Peoples Army collecting ‘permit to campaign fees’ (euphemistically named ‘revolutionary taxes’ by the Communist Party of the Philippines) from capitalist traditional politicians (trapo or rug) wanting to campaign in NPA strongholds has once again resurfaced in the lead-up to the May 2010 elections. The fees buy these trapo politicians a ‘permit to campaign’ in NPA areas. According to a February 5 Dateline news report, documents obtained from an NPA leader arrested in January this year, pegs the taxes from P30 million for a presidential candidate to P5000 for a candidate for local council. It’s a well-known ‘secret’ in the left that this practice of tax collection during elections is a lucrative source of fundraising for the CPP-NPA.
PHILIPPINES: GWP Liza Maza, Marcos to join common NP sorties (tags)
MANILA, Philippines—Gabriela Women's Party Rep. Liza Maza and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos can look forward to spending more time together.
Activist Doctor killed in Mindanao (tags)
Epidemiologist Dr. Rogelio Peñera was killed because of his activism, his colleagues insisted on Saturday. Dr. Jonathan Placido, chair of the Alliance of Health Workers (AHW), said Peñera had rallied people in the sector against issues that threatened their welfare and the delivery of health services to the poor. Peñera was driving home with his daughter on Wednesday night when he was ambushed near his home in Cabantian village here. He died from multiple bullet wounds in the head and body, while his daughter suffered minor injuries.
AJLPP DISPUTES ARROYO'S STAND ON EDSA UPRISING (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines disputes President Arroyo;s assertions that there should not be anymore EDSA. Referring to the People’s Revolt against dictator Marcos in 1986, Arroyo abhorred another EDSA after she herself was propelled into power by another EDSA in 2001 againt former President Joseph Estrada
OCAMPO HITS DOJ, PNP FOR EFYING COURT ORDER ON ECHANIS TRANSFER (tags)
Manila--Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo yesterday denounced the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Philippine National Police for defying a Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) order transferring peasant leader Randall Echanis back to the PNP Custodial Center at Camp Crame. Last Monday, Col. Cesar Magsino, chief custodial group, PNP, a certain Col. Degracia, HQ service and support group, PNP, defied the Manila RTC Branch 32 order by not taking custody of Echanis pursuant to DoJ advice through higher headquarters.
Pesante Hails Transfer of Echanis to PNP Jail- A Tactical Victory (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante-USA) hails the transfer of Randal Echanis, yesterday. Echanis, a persecuted leader of KMP, a veterans FQSM student leader and an NDF Peace Consultant PNP was transferred from the Manila City Jail to the PNP Jai. The transfer is a tactical victory in the interest of justice and lasting peace and was a demand of different human rights groups in the Philippines and in the U.S. Pesante Coordinator Arturo Garcia said: “Echanis should not have been transferred to the Manila City Jail from the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, It is just a simple case of persecution and the SOP of the resurging and copycat martial law regime. The US-Marcos regime did the same when they transferred the political prisoners from the detention centers to Muntinglupa National Penitentiary and declared them as “public order violators”
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.
Samar court summons top CPP leaders and party-list rep (tags)
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) here has ordered the clerk of court to issue anew summonses to 37 respondents to a petition of writ of amparo filed by the family of a missing barangay official. During the hearing on March 24, RTC Branch 30 Judge Jovito Abarquez also issued an order of protection for Dennis Gutierrez, son of Elizabeth Gutierrez who was allegedly abducted by New People’s Army (NPA) members on Oct. 24 last year.
Pananalanta ng pasistang estado, Nagpapatuloy (tags)
Nagpapatuloy ang pasistang pananalanta ng AFP sa buong Pilipinas. Ayon sa ulat ng AJLPP,walang puknat ang mga pamamaslang at iba pang abusong militar sa bansa. Isang lider magsasaka ang pinaslang sa Masbate at isang lider kabataang Moro ang pinatay sa Zamboanga Sibugay nitong Enero. Patuloy din ang harasment sa mga progresibo at panggigipit sa masang magsasaka sa kanayunan. Ayon pa rin sa ulat mula sa Pilipinas ay nagpapatuloy ang mga pagpataya mga lumalaban sa pamahalaan.
Stop SLAPPing Filipino environmental defenders (tags)
-Green progressive watchdog Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) today noted the rise of lawsuits against environmment advocates, warning that this could be a dangerous precedent by large mining firms and landowning families to stifle opposition to their interests. In a press conference held at Quezon City, Kalikasan PNE National Coordinator Clemente Bautista presented three case studies of non-government environmental advocates, including individuals and organizations, facing a variety of SLAPP lawsuits from foreign firms accused of engaging in environmental and anti-people practices in communities where they operate.
RP, Australia sign defense pact (tags)
The Philippines and Australia signed signed a security pact yesterday that will allow the countries’ militaries to hold joint counterterrorism exercises. The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is the second such agreement entered into by the Philippines. President Arroyo and Australian Prime Minister John Howard witnessed the signing of the agreement by Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Australian Minister for Defense Dr. Brendan Nelson. Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo vowed to question SOFA and said that they would press for the public disclosure of all the terms indicated in the agreement. “The VFA has already allowed the year-round presence of American troops. Now, they have the SOFA and they are saying that they are also taking other countries. How many soldiers from foreign countries would be allowed in our country?” he asked. Ocampo said Congress, particularly the committee on foreign affairs, was not informed about the provisions of the agreement.
KMU-SMR Secretary General Threatened (tags)
Kilusang Mayo Uno¡VSouthern Mindanao Region secretary general Omar Bantayan received threats to his life as he was about to leave his residence at around 10:00 this morning. Bantayan was on his way to a meeting when three unidentified men were seen surveilling his residence in Brgy. Ubalde, R.Castillo. Bantayan was with a companion who went out first and was the one to notice two men standing some feet away on either side the gate. The third man was posted at the corner of the street about 20 meters away. The companion also spotted a bulge around the waist of one of the men. He surmised it could only be a firearm as the latter moved his hand toward it when Bantayan came out of their gate.
‘Citizen’s Impeachment Complaint’ Filed Vs GMA (tags)
The second impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was formally filed today at the office of the secretary general of the House of Representatives, who confirmed it as the “first complaint” filed at his office. At 8:09 a.m., House secretary general Roberto P. Nazareno received a copy of the complaint by lead complainant Nini Quezon-Avanceña, as endorsed by opposition lawmakers House Minority Floor Leader Francis Escudero and San Juan Representative Ronaldo Zamora. The complainants held vigil at the House last night in anticipation of the filing of another complaint by lawyer Oliver Lozano, who filed the first impeachment case against the president last year.
PHILIPPINES: NPA carnage in Bukidnon bared (tags)
THE military has unearthed more atrocities committed by New People’s Army rebels in the countryside, the latest of which were the mass execution of rebels and civilians alike, the recruitment of child warriors and the abduction and rape of a teenager by a rebel commander.