NEWS
AT A GLANCE
Solon urges gov’t to
curb prostitution
Gabriela Women's
Party-list Rep. Liza Maza called on the Arroyo government last April 6 to
step up efforts in curbing prostitution in the country. She made the
statement following the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report
that the flesh trade has boomed into a multimillion-dollar industry,
making it the fourth largest source of the country’s gross national
product (GNP).
The development of new technology in the country, the UNICEF-commissioned
study revealed, contributed to the prostitution and pornography boom in
the country. Maza added that since most parents do not earn enough, many
of their children are forced to work even under exploitative conditions.
Maza, however, said that “more than technology, the country's worsening
poverty is the real culprit."
“In addition to
addressing the improper use of technology in the country, the government
must also prioritize the creation of jobs, the legislation of higher wages
and the imposition of price control mechanisms to give the public much
needed relief from poverty,” she said.
Bulatlat
* * *
KMP `celebrates’
IRRI’s 45th year with rally
The Kilusang
Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines)
denounced the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in its 45th
anniversary. Staging a rally in front of the Department of Agriculture
(DA), the KMP stressed that it has been “a pest to Filipino farmers.”
KMP spokesperson
Willy Marbella said that the IRRI, aside from allegedly stealing more than
4,800 traditional rice varieties from peasants, is now making hybrid rice
that would compete with the traditional varieties. He added that the “IRRI
now has the sole right on the use of these traditional varieties…and it
says it has the right to file charges against any farmer who would use
IRRI patented varieties.”
Meanwhile, Dr.
Giovanni Tapang, convenor of the Resistance and Solidarity Against
Agrochemical Transnational Corporations (RESIST),
said that with the help of Masipag, a non-government organization which
has a traditional rice variety preservation program as well as a
sustainable agricultural framework, more than 800 traditional rice
varieties have been regained by farmers. Tapang also said that the IRRI
should also return the more than 220-hectare land it has allegedly stolen
from farmers in Laguna and take responsibility for the death and diseases
it caused the families in the province.
Bulatlat
* * *
No help for
undocumented Filipino migrants
Migrante Youth
denounced last April 6 the move of the House Committee on Overseas Workers
Affairs to prohibit the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
from extending assistance to undocumented Filipino migrants.
According to the
group, House Bill (HB) No. 383, authored by Rep. Roseller Barinaga (Zamboanga
del Norte) states that undocumented Filipinos should fend for themselves
abroad. Migrante Youth found it unjust, arguing that “no Filipino ever
dreamed of working overseas illegally.”
The group also asked,
“Does the government ask if the billions of dollars of remittances come
from documented or undocumented migrants?”
Mac Ramirez, deputy
secretary-general of Migrante Youth, called for the rejection of HB 383.
“It is the duty and responsibility of the government to look after the
welfare of its citizens abroad even if they are undocumented.” Bulatlat
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