The farmers filed charges of murder, frustrated and attempted murder, torture and physical injuries, illegal arrest and detention and other violations of civil and political rights, including the right to peaceful assembly and redress of grievances.
The highlight of the May 9, 2016 national and local elections is arguably the election for president. The Comelec is supposedly helping voters to choose by co-sponsoring with media conglomerates three Presidential Debates. But because of time constraints, and perhaps weaknesses in the format, the five candidates for president hardly had the time to elaborate on their respective programs of government. Television viewers were merely treated to colorful mudslinging and vapid motherhood statements.
The coverage of the media on the candidates, on the other hand, has focused more on what has been happening during the campaign sorties of the candidates.
To do its share in helping the public in making an informed choice, The following are Bulatlat’s short articles on each of the five presidential candidates, focusing on their track record. After all, as they say, “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.” A cliche but nevertheless true.
Notorious for spitting fire on controversial issues and against her detractors, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago tails in the presidential race.
Being a political newbie has worked both for Poe’s advantage and disadvantage.
During the first presidential debate, he said, “Criminals, well, I go after them…As long as I do it in accordance with the rules of law, I will continue to kill criminals.”
In his website, Jejomar Binay claims that he was “not born into wealth and political prestige, nor did he taste the privileges accorded to the scions of the rich and powerful.”
He knew even then that the key to winning the elections was “convincing the lower classes that the person running had their interests at heart.” But that has been a problem for him.