NEWS AT A GLANCE

Arrested Bayan Muna organizer freed

Protacio “Jesi” Carandang, a Bayan Muna organizer, was arrested by Sta. Ana, Manila police at 10 a.m. of July 13. Carandang was mobilizing residents of Onyx, Sta. Ana to join the anti-Arroyo rally in Ayala, Makati City that day when arrested.

Carandang was detained at the Dagonoy Precint 1 in Onyx. With no case filed against him, he was released after an hour and a half of detention with the intercession of Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador.

Virador said that that the arrest was a clear harassment to prevent the people in joining protests calling for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s resignation or ouster. Bulatlat

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HR watch decries police, military harassment in oust-Arroyo rallies

Girlie Padilla, acting secretary general of the Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), over the weekend refuted the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) declaration that anti-Arroyo rallies on July 13 were peaceful.

“They (police and military) blocked, harassed and hurt protesters from different parts of the country on July 13 to prevent them from holding OUST GMA rallies, a signature move that has all the blessings of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her desperate attempt to cling on to her undeserved post as chief executive,” Padilla said.

Reports gathered by EMJP revealed that mobilizations from Bicol, Cebu, Central Luzon, and Tacloban were either blocked, harassed and violently dispersed to prevent them from holding their programs and proceeding to major cities including Metro Manila.

“AFP and PNP are hallucinating as they continue to sow fear among the people by insisting that communists will take advantage of the ongoing political crisis,” Padilla said. Bulatlat

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Resign first before charter change, shift to federalism - Migrante

Overseas Filipino workers and families are demanding that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo resign first before any change in the government and constitution takes place.

In a July 14 statement, Migrante Sectoral Party (MSP) chairperson Connie Bragas-Regalado criticized various quarters pushing for federalism through charter change (cha-cha).
 
“The proposal of former President Fidel Ramos is a bare-faced maneuver to get the reins of power along with Jose de Venecia and other former military generals,” she said.

Instead, Bragas-Regalado said, they “support the establishment of a transition governing council to set the nation on the right track for genuine reforms in the economy for majority of the populace.” Bulatlat

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