Month: February 2008

After four suspensions and rescheduling of their case hearings and perceived partiality of the Suffolk Criminal Courthouse, the Filipino nurses charged with patient endangerment and their lawyer are confident that they will be cleared of what they called “malicious” charges filed against them by the SentosaCare LLC and its owner Bent Philipson. BY AUBREY SC…

Police and Justice Department officials face a P10 million class suit filed by over a hundred journalists and three media organizations for the illegal arrest of their colleagues after the Manila Pen siege by rebel soldiers November last year and the succeeding threats thereof. By Dabet Castañeda Bulatlat Vol VIII. No. 1, February 3-9, 2008…

Most bureaucrats see their positions as both a power and a privilege shielded by immunities instead of as a public service that involves accountability. BY THE CENTER FOR PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT AND GOVERNANCE Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 1, February 3-9,2008 Ed San Pedro (not his real name) had served five presidents, from Ferdinand E.…

Rating to result in more debts, says think-tank The Philippines’ fiscal crisis remains and could come to a head in 2008 despite the upgrade given by international ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service. The likelihood of this will increase the more adverse impact of the US economy’s troubles on Philippine exports, remittances and financial markets. BY…

The Arroyo administration’s hype over its full-year 2007 economic growth cannot hide its many economic failures. BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 1, February 3-9, 2008 The Arroyo administration’s hype over its full-year 2007 economic growth cannot hide its many economic failures, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. Reacting to the administration’s…

Addressing the impact of the lowering peso value requires more than the mitigating measures government has so far implemented, including the hedge fund set up by the DBP, and Malacañang’s fiscal stimulus program BY SONNY AFRICA IBON Features Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 1, February 3-9, 2008 A year ago, President Gloria Arroyo was…

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines [CBCP] is affirming its commitment to support Filipino farmers through the holding of the Second National Rural Congress [NRC II], but a battle ground between pro and anti CARP advocates appears to have emerged in the process. BY ABNER BOLOS Gitnang Luson News Service Posted by Bulatlat Vol.…

The son of Randall Echanis, deputy secretary general of the militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP orPeasant Movement of the Philippines), has sought the help of  Senate President Manuel Villar and House Speaker Jose de Venecia to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of his father. BY GERRY ALBERT CORPUZ Contributed to Bulatlat…

Outraged by the “inhuman” treatment of workers in a Compostela Valley banana plantation, a Japanese pastor promises himself to stop eating bananas. BY GERMELINA A. LACORTE Davao Today Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 1, February 3-9, 2008 Outraged by the “inhuman” treatment of workers in a Compostela Valley banana plantation, a Japanese pastor promises…