Tag Archives: Manila

[In the Web] Palparan’s flee attempt indicates guilt – mothers of 2 missing UP students

Posted on by dars0357

Mrs. Concepcion Empeño (left) and Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan, mothers of the two missing UP students, listen intently at the proceedings during the third hearing on the criminal charges they filed against Palparan and other military officials.(Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / bulatlat.com)

 

“He [Palparan] should be imprisoned immediately, along with GMA, Abalos, all of them who are shameless. They all should spend Christmas in jail.” – Mrs. Concepcion Empeño

 

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Bulatlat.com

MANILA – The mothers of the two missing students of the University of the Philippines (UP) are enraged over the attempt of retired Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. to leave the country this morning.

Exactly four days ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a resolution implicating Palparan, then commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and three of his men into the disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño.

According to reports, Palparan tried to go to Singapore around 7:30 a.m. on board a Seair flight but was prevented by immigration officials.

“Why would he escape? This only proves all the more that he is guilty of many crimes,” Mrs. Concepcion Empeño, mother of Karen, told Bulatlat.com in a phone interview.

Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan, mother of Sherlyn, deemed the same. “He attempted to flee because he knows he has committed crimes against the people. He is afraid to be put behind bars for he knows that we have a strong case against him,” Mrs. Cadapan said in a phone interview.

In a 36-page resolution, the DOJ panel of prosecutors investigating the incident found “probable cause” to charge Palparan, Lt. Col. Felipe Anotado, Master Sergeant Rizal Hilario, and Staff Sergeant Edgardo Osorio with two counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention in connection with the abduction of the two UP students on June 26, 2006.

 

Please read full article at http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/12/19/palparan%E2%80%99s-flee-attempt-indicates-guilt-%E2%80%93-mothers-of-2-missing-up-students/

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[In the Web] Rights victims turn to media for remedy, says Asia watchdog

Posted on by dars0357

Filipino women activists stage a play to symbolize human rights violations. Photo from http://cryptome.org.

THE failure of the Philippine government to protect its people from human rights violations has forced its citizens to seek “remedy by publicity,” according to an Asian human rights watchdog.

In a 25-page report on the Philippines, submitted in time for the International Human Rights Day on Saturday, the Asian Human Rights Commission said, “Due to absence of effective remedy in the criminal justice system, there has been an ongoing practice of victims, their families and those who supports them, to obtain some sort of remedy by way of publicity, not in the trial process.”

This means filing complaints against soldiers and policemen accused of violations is not enough for complainants, they also have to call the attention of supporters from within and outside the country to pressure the government into action.

That’s why witnesses or complainants at risk prefer to tell their stories to journalists rather than to the police. “Victims who are illegally detained, tortured and falsely charged would rather employ public pressure for their release than take legal action,” the Hong-Kong based human rights watchdog said in a statement.

“The widespread arbitrariness and disregard to elementary due process and legality that protects the rights is lacking if not completely absent. There must be a substantive discourse on the irreparable impact of how the flawed country’s system of justice operates to this day.”

Monsignor Clemente Ignacio, rector of the Quiapo Church in Manila, said the government must strengthen structures to protect the rights of the victims and those filing charges.

“We are saddened that in our beloved homeland, we continue to hear and witness violations of the rights of our brothers and sisters,” he said in an interview Saturday. “We could do a lot, if only all our branches in government could work together to uphold the rights of the citizens.”

Please read full article at http://www.cathnewsphil.com/2011/12/13/rights-victims-turn-to-media-for-remedy-rights-watchdog/

 

 

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[In the Web] Payback time

Posted on by dars0357

 

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo administers the oath to her newly appointed Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona at the Malacanang Palace in Manila. Corona is the 23rd chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court.. Photo from http://gulfnews.com

By Mr. Oldtowner

Former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is now reaping of what she sow in her 9 ½ years in office. Mrs. Arroyo was charged before a lower court of election sabotage and was ordered arrested in her hospital bed in late afternoon of Nov. 18, 2011. The arrest warrant was immediately served before Mrs. Arroyo could take her move of going abroad. The ex-president is facing various lawsuits.

 

Mrs. Arroyo was accused of big time corruption, election cheating, human rights violations and other anomalies that muddled the whole process of governance. Impunity is associated to the then government of Mrs. Arroyo. Her trusted allies, minions and paid hacks made a killing in defrauding, looting and bleeding the country’s wealth. Allegedly, immoderate greed persisted even in the last days of the term of the Arroyo government.

 

It was like a bacchanalia of anomalies committed. The corrupt system of government affected the very foundation of moral authority usually associated in good governance. All institutions, both private and the public sectors, shamelessly connived with the Arroyo government in changing the outlook of managing the country. The military and police organizations were used in rigging the 2004 and 2007 elections.

 

Political clans and warlords around the country were ushered in to the seat of power to help the Arroyo government of committing more anomalies and human rights violations. The administration created a monster that stirred fear and anxiety. It was like that there’s no end to injustice. The Arroyo government even tried to stay in power by amending the constitution but met with angry opposition from the different sectors of society.

 

Nevertheless, Mrs. Gloria Arroyo finished her term but not without assuring herself of protection from lawsuits. The sly former leader appointed most of the justices of the Supreme Court and without a doubt her appointees’ loyalty were tested during the first few months of the new administration of President Noynoy Aquino.

 

Read full article at http://www.groundreport.com/Business/Payback-time_1/2942648

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[In the Web] Former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo arrested on fraud charges

Posted on by dars0357

November 18th after being arrested in the hospital she was currently admitted in for charges of election fraud. Photo from bakitwhy.com

MANILA (BNO NEWS) — Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was arrested at a Manila hospital on Friday on charges of electoral fraud, preventing her departure from the country to seek medical treatment.

Incumbent President Benigno Aquino and his government have long accused Arroyo of corruption during her two terms in office, from 2001 until 2010. However, authorities had not formally charged her until Friday because prosecutors said they wanted to make sure the evidence is strong enough.

“Today, the Pasay Regional Trial Court branch 112 issued a warrant of arrest for Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, after reviewing the electoral sabotage case filed by the COMELEC (Commission on Elections),” said Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima.

“Thus, Mrs. Arroyo is compelled to stay in the country, and face the charges of electoral sabotage filed against her, bringing us closer to uncovering the truth behind the controversies surrounding the 2007 elections.” Senior Superintendent Franklin Bucayu, head of the Southern Police District, told a news briefing outside St Luke’s Hospital that Arroyo is now in police custody.

“The arrest warrant has been served. We tried to read her rights but her lawyers waived it because of her conditions. She smiled at us and she was expecting it,” Bucayu said.

The arrest comes just days after the Supreme Court issued an order which allowed Arroyo to leave the country to seek medical treatment for a rare bone disease. It allowed her to travel to at least five countries where the Philippines has no extradition treaty, meaning Arroyo could have found refuge there to escape charges in the Philippines.

But the Philippine government refused to comply with the court order and instructed immigration officials to stop Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo from boarding a flight to Singapore.

Officials said the fact that Arroyo went straight to the airport following the court decision only heightened the government’s suspicion that they intended to evade charges.

 

Read full article at http://news.rickey.org/former-philippine-president-gloria-arroyo-arrested-on-fraud-charges/6291

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[In the Web] After 60 years, US-RP defense pact ‘proved useless, disadvantageous to Philippines’

Posted on by dars0357

PHILIPPINES: Scrap the Visiting Forces Agreement now! Photo from indymedia.org.nz

 

This treaty and the US have not really helped in AFP modernization. It only enhanced its dependence and derogated Philippine sovereignty.” – Satur Ocampo

By MARYA SALAMAT
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — The RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) is said to be the “mother of all unequal military treaties and agreements” the Philippines has entered into with the US since achieving independence in 1946. In its 60 years of existence, it has proved useless for the Philippines, said various critics. For Satur Ocampo, president of Makabayan, the MDT’s call to respond or assist each other, “subject to Constitutional processes,” has not been tested until 9/11. But he noted that the US did not invoke the MDT even then, as it had called for a “coalition of the willing instead.” Yet, the MDT remains in force up to now.

According to geopolitics expert Prof. Roland Simbulan, some examples of the unequal agreements inked to “operationalize” the MDT are the US-RP Military Assistance Agreement which was renamed into US-RP Military Advisory Group in the 50s, the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Logistics Servicing Agreement. He said the US military bases agreement, the renewal of which the Philippine Senate rejected amid a strong campaign for its abrogation conducted by progressive groups twenty years ago, in 1991, also traced its roots from the MDT.

Read full story at http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/16/after-60-years-us-rp-defense-pact-proved-useless-disadvantageous-to-philippines/

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