Day: November 24, 2008

An alliance to defend activists in Southern Tagalog who presently face political persecution was launched November 22. BY RONALYN V. OLEA HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Dana, a petite 12-year-old girl, introduced herself to the audience as the daughter of Eden and Orly Marcellana. She said, sobbing, “Si Nanay pinatay nila noong April 22, 2003. Ngayon,…

In February 2007, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudical, Summary and Arbitrary Killings Philip Alston pointed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the culprit behind the spate of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Recently, the United National Human Rights Committee concluded that the Philippine government violated the rights of Eden Marcellana, then secretary general of Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, and Eddie Gumanoy, former secretary general of peasant group Kasama-TK, who were victims of extrajudicial killings in 2003.

The move of the son of President Gloria Arroyo and her Kampi party-mates and allies in the House of Representatives to ram what is nothing more than a “presidential” resolution calling for a convening of a “constituent assembly” to amend the Constitution deserves the most serious objection from members of the legal profession and the…

Majority of Filipinos continue to reject moves to amend the Constitution or charter change (Cha-cha), according to the results of the latest IBON nationwide survey. BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Majority of Filipinos continue to reject moves to amend the Constitution or charter change (Cha-cha), according to the results of the latest IBON nationwide…

Citing the Philippine government’s lack of a genuine program to address climate change and mitigate its impact on the Filipino people, and the failure of the Kyoto Protocol, a newly-formed alliance called the Philippine Climate Watch Alliance is calling on developed countries and TNCs to reduce their carbon emissions by 50 to 90 percent in…