PRESS STATEMENT 15 May 2011 For the militant student group League of the Filipino Students (LFS), the visit of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III along with senior members of his Cabinet to the USS Carl Vinson currently docked in Manila Bay is an open declaration that his government, like past regimes, will unconditionally serve US…
Day: May 15, 2011
Aquino summoned to US carrier ship, fuels talk of reestablishing US military facilities—CPP (PR)
Press Release May 15, 2011 The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today denounced the “shameless display of master-puppet relationship” when Pres. Benigno Aquino was flown by a US military aircraft to international waters for an unscheduled and unannounced rendezvous to board the USS Carl Vinson. The USS Carl Vinson is one of four carriers…
“Awards are welcome but not enough. Environmental killings should be solved, stopped,”—Green activist group (PR)
May 15, 2011 Press Release “The Environmental Heroes Award given by the administration to the six environment workers is welcome. However, awards are not enough to honor the sacrifices made by environmental defenders who were killed in the line of duty. The perpetrators should be caught and justice should be delivered,” commented green activist group…
Spare us from another Akbayan in the Cabinet – Anakbayan (PR)
PRESS RELEASE May 15, 2011 In the face of a major reshuffle in President Noynoy Aquino’s Cabinet to accommodate his losing senatorial bets from the 2010 national elections, the militant youth group Anakbayan is calling on the government to ‘spare’ the people from more appointments from the ‘pseudo-progressive’ organization Akbayan. Akbayan, a pro-Aquino partylist group,…
Government created the nursing exodus; Ona’s comment exposes government’s lack of plans for health workers (PR)
Press Release May 12, 2011 The group Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) today criticized the remarks of health secretary Enrique Ona for discouraging students from study nursing and for blaming parents for the glut in the nursing profession. Dr. Geneve Rivera, HEAD secretary general said “conveniently reducing the problem of nursing employment as a matter…
NDF-EV criticizes MSQRT as a palliative measure and a platform for absolving human rights violators (PR)
PRESS STATEMENT 13 May 2011 The National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas said today that extra-legal killings and enforced disappearances will not be solved by the Multi-Sectoral Quick Reaction Team (MSQRT) called “Kasugbong” in Western Samar and involving the military, police and other government agencies and non-governmental organizations. The initiative is backed by the Euro-Phil Justice Support…
NPA disarming of US mining firm an enforcement of policy protecting the national patrimony against foreign monopoly firms (PR)
PRESS STATEMENT 13 May 2011 Guerillas belonging to the 3rd Pulang Bagani Company of the Merardo Arce Command-Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command of the New People’s Army (3rd PBC-MAC-SMROC-NPA) disarmed a security unit of the RACEL Mines and Minerals — an American mining company — in Sitio Lawaan, Barangay Kingking Pantukan, Compostela Valley province yesterday…
Filipinos are ever desirous of peace in the Philippines (PR)
PRESS RELEASE MAY 14, 2011 Pilgrims for Peace holds National Assembly on GPH-NDFP Peace Talks Presenting concrete proposals on economic and social reforms to address the roots of the armed conflict, representatives of various sectors expressed their full support for the peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front…
Back story: Deadly Commonwealth accidents highlight exploitation of bus drivers

The death on Friday of Lourdes E. Simbulan, a UP journalism professor and one of the country’s outstanding journalists, has brought to the fore yet again the issue of road safety, specifically road accidents on major highways caused mostly by bus drivers. While there is no doubt that these reckless drivers should be held criminally liable for their actions, there is also the matter of their working conditions that, for all practical purposes, ensure that accidents like the one that killed Simbulan would occur.