NEWS AT A GLANCE

Arroyo gov't should answer for Davao wharf bombing

Political party-list Bayan Muna last week held the Macapagal-Arroyo government reponsible for the April 2 bombing in Davao City that killed at least 15 civilians and injured at least 44 others.

In a statement, Roberto de Castro, Bayan Muna deputy secretary general, castigated the police and the military “not only for their apparent failure to prevent such incident from occurring the second time, but also for failing to apprehend the actual perpetrators.”  The first explosion which took place barely a month ago killed 21 people.

De Castro said that instead of merely declaring Davao City under a “state of lawlessness,” the Macapagal-Arroyo administration should accept blame for such a serious lapse in security. 

Furthermore, De Castro warned the government not to capitalize on the incident by asking for additional emergency powers.  

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Militant group scores GMA’s anti-terror scheme
 
Also last week, the militant alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan – New Patriotic Alliance) assailed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 16-point guidelines on countering alleged terror threats.

Teddy Casiño, Bayan secretary general, revealed that his group received reports that President Macapagal-Arroyo met with Metro Manila mayors, dissuading them from participating in or allowing anti-war protest actions in the metropolis.

"President Arroyo would call critics either as terrorist threats or terrorist sympathizers in a vain attempt to muzzle legitimate dissent and crowd out the monumental failures in her leadership," said Casiño.

Casiño said Arroyo is “trying her best to use the word terror as a cover for various draconian measures like a crackdown on civil liberties, curfews, bans on rallies, intensified spying, demonification and terrorist-tagging of critics and opponents.”

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Filipino health workers demand protection of people’s health

Amid the killer pneumonia brouhaha, Filipino health workers reiterated their call to increase the national budget for health.

“The virtual panic created over SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is because of the chronic crisis people have seen of our health care delivery system. SARS threatens to exacerbate the health crisis the country is facing,” said Dr. Joseph Carabeo of the Health Alliance for Democracy (Head).

Carabeo further said, “Though the virus SARS is not here, there is another S.A.R.S. that has long been here. This is S-everely A-nemic R-esources for (Health) S-ervices.”  Carabeo said public hospitals have been charging fees for services and medicines because their budgets have been severely cut.  “Many who are sick opt to delay or even forego medical treatment,” he explained.

The Head leader challenged the Arroyo government to review its priorities, “What we need is the  kind of response that requires a substantial investment of resources, sincerity and not political gimmickry.

The government allots only P0.50 for every Filipino’s health.

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Activist-solon scores libelous, anti-Left pseudo-documentary

Bayan Muna Rep. Crispin Beltran over the weekend expressed indignation over a documentary broadcast on RPN-9 at 10 p.m. last April 3.

Beltran said the sequestered TV station portrayed members of people's groups such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and the League of Filipino Students (LFS) as rabble rousers. Mass actions led by KMU and the LFS were particularly featured, and the organizations were labeled as “communist fronts.”

There were also simulated scenes  or supposed “re-enactments” of incidents where  ordinary people were being threatened and abused by supposed communist "thugs." The armed men who were supposedly portraying members of the New People's Army (NPA) were depicted as kidnappers and thieves - stealing food and other supplies from the ordinary 'masa.'

"If the writers and producers had the courage to attack LFS,  KMU, Bayan Muna, as well as the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People's Army (NPA), then they shouldn't be afraid to take credit for their work,” Beltran said.

Beltran said that there were no credits but he suspects Malacanang's hand in its production as “President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was portrayed like she was a savior, and her programs the solutions to the country's problems.”

"Definitely, the National Security Council (NSC) and the Department of National Defense's (DND) so-called intelligence arm were involved,” Beltran said. 

He said that Bayan Muna is considering filing charges against the producers and makers of the documentary.

Bulatlat.com

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