BY AUBREY MAKILAN Bulatlat November 27, 2007 – 9:05 p.m. Tears flowed with the rain as almost everyone at the picket in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) cried, and some even wailed after learning from news reports that the Kuwaiti Court of Cassation upheld the decision to impose the death penalty on…

By Dabet Castañeda HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BULATLAT VOL. VII, No. 42, November 25- December 1, 2007 One year and five months after their abduction, a witness testified that he had actually seen and talked to Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, the two scholars of the University of the Philippines (UP) who were abducted allegedly by…

BY AUBREY MAKILAN Bulatlat November 26, 2007 – 5:27 p.m. “Bantay Hatol” was formally launched on November 26, a day before the promulgation of the decision of the Kuwaiti Supreme Court on the case of Marilou Ranario, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Kuwait who was sentenced to death in 2005 for killing her female…

BY AUBREY MAKILAN Bulatlat November 26, 2007 – 5:27 p.m. “Bantay Hatol” was formally launched on November 26, a day before the promulgation of the decision of the Kuwaiti Supreme Court on the case of Marilou Ranario, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Kuwait who was sentenced to death in 2005 for killing her female…

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez tried to make himself look like a patriot by pointing fingers at the World Bank over its suspension of the release of $33 million dollars which comprise part of a $232-million loan for road projects. “We cannot allow ourselves to be the punching bag of any international (agency),” he said. The…

By Dabet Castañeda HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH BULATLAT VOL. VII, No. 42, November 25- December 1, 2007 One year and five months after their abduction, a witness testified that he had actually seen and talked to Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, the two scholars of the University of the Philippines (UP) who were abducted allegedly by…

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez tried to make himself look like a patriot by pointing fingers at the World Bank over its suspension of the release of $33 million dollars which comprise part of a $232-million loan for road projects. “We cannot allow ourselves to be the punching bag of any international (agency),” he said. The…

Young school boys in La Trinidad, Benguet, donning traditional Igorot garb learn the rigors of tying a handwoven tribal head band. This craft might be already a thing of the past because these head garments are now only worn during traditional festivals and not like the everyday baseball cap. BY ACE ALEGRE Bulatlat Vol. VII,…

The Howard government – which faced the Australian electorate as voters went to the polls Nov. 24 – had been running a massive taxpayer-funded advertising blitz happily endorsed by some media. BY ANIBETH DESIERTO / PHILIPPINE-AUSTRALIA CAUCUS FOR PEACE** ANALYSIS Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 42, November 25-December 1, 2007 The Howard government –…

“The NDFP remains open to the resumption of formal peace talks… But the current anti-national and anti-people policies, the gross human rights violations, the scandals of corruption, do not provide grounds for optimism.” – Luis Jalandoni, chairman, NDFP Negotiating Panel. BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 42, November 25-December 1, 2007 National Security…