Day: February 28, 2009

In a hearing which exposed failures by the government’s financial police, Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-Massachusetts) highlighted the existence of a “hotline,” which he said could be used by Wall Street firms to call off government inspectors. BY MAT RENNER Truthout INTERNATIONAL Posted by Bulatlat Washington, DC – In a hearing which exposed failures by the…

Amid snowballing calls for the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Malacañang through one of its spokespersons has argued that the said pact cannot be abrogated since doing so would affect the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the US. But lawyer Neri Javier Colmenares, secretary-general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), disagrees.

1. The Right of Reply Bill is an ill-conceived piece of legislation that violates two of the most cherished freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, those of the press and of expression. 2. It is both unfortunate and ironic that the principal authors of the bill in the two chambers of Congress ought to have known…

Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced February 4 that a P1-billion ($20,491,803 at the current exchange rate of $1=P48.80) livelihood support fund for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is being made available. The livelihood program is being offered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to workers displaced by the economic crisis. Each OFW who applies for…

The US Court Martial recently dismissed the rape charges against an American soldier stationed in Okinawa, Japan who was accused of raping a Filipina migrant worker. BY BULATLAT The US Court Martial recently dismissed the rape charges against an American soldier stationed in Okinawa, Japan who was accused of raping a Filipina migrant worker. On…

The “proper” implementation of RA 8479 or even amendments to it will not address the problem [of overpricing]. It does not have any provision on overpricing because deregulation assumes that the market will set the “fair” price. Government could not penalize the oil firms for overpricing because they do not violate any law. BY ARNOLD…

Despite being slapped with libel charges, Antonio Tinio, chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said his group will continue to expose what they deem as ‘exploitative and illegal’ policies of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) under the leadership of Winston Garcia. BY RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat In November last year, Antonio Tinio,…

“This is a revival of martial law years. It’s sickening,” an obviously irate Sen. Joker Arroyo blurted out during a recent hearing on the murder charges against activist Vicente Ladlad. BY RONALYN V. OLEA HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat “This is a revival of martial law years. It’s sickening,” an obviously irate Sen. Joker Arroyo blurted…