BY THE COUNSELS FOR THE DEFENSE OF LIBERTIES (CODAL) Posted by Bulatlat Pro-Arroyo supporters handling human rights issues CODAL is seriously concerned that people without any track record for human rights advocacy, such as Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, Justice Melo and Rep. Bienvinido Abante, are heading human rights bodies tasked with investigating human rights violations of…
Category: Human Rights
Focus on the Extrajudicial Killings in RP: Operation Phoenix’s Long Shadow
What is Operation Phoenix? How can an almost-40-year-old counterrevolutionary program mounted on foreign shores provide relevant insights in explaining the current murderous spree in the Philippines? By Joel Garduce IBON Features Posted by Bulatlat Splashed all over media, the commission appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to look into the current spate of extrajudicial killings began…
Attacks on Lawyers are Attacks on the Legal Profession and on Human Rights*
It should not be difficult to see that any attack on any lawyer should have an impact on other lawyers in other countries. After all, we all believe in the rule of law; in effective and independent legal representation; in due process; in freedom, democracy and justice. Noble words that can be achieved if those…
A Wanton Disregard for Press Freedom
Please read, sign and pass to other journalists (email you name and media network to nujphil@gmail.com) There are presently 43 journalists in the Philippines facing libel charges filed by First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo. The sheer number betrays a wanton disregard for freedom of the press and the propensity to use power and influence…
Journalists Close Ranks vs Presidential Spouse: Reporters from 14 countries also condemn libel threats
“The record number of cases Mr. Arroyo has filed highlight how the powerful in this benighted land regularly abuse libel laws to curtail the democratic right of the press to delve into the truth behind matters of public interest and the people’s right to know.” BY BULATLAT Rather than creating a scare, the 43 libel…
Twist of Fate: The travails of Bayan Muna’s Jariz Vida
Bayan Muna’s Jariz Vida survived two assassination attempts. But in a twist of fate, he had to post bail and face charges of frustrated murder filed against him by soldiers from the 9th Infantry Division. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat.com Looking thin and pale, 30-year old Jariz Vida spoke softly of his travails as secretary general…
Act on 400 Rights Complaints Now, DoJ Asked
The justice department is being asked to act expeditiously on several human rights complaints submitted by the CHR for prosecution “so that justice will be served on the victims and their surviving kin and those found guilty meted out corresponding punishment.” BY BULATLAT The Department of Justice (DoJ) has been urged to prosecute suspects in…
Palparan in Hot Water at UN Rights Body’s Session
The Arroyo administration appears to consider recently-retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jr. an asset. But he may turn out to be a liability for the Philippine government at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, which has been in session to hear complaints of human rights violations filed by several cause-oriented groups against…
Arroyo Cannot Be Expected to Comply With Memorandum of Amnesty International
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee International League of Peoples” Struggle Posted by Bulatlat.com Driven by self-interest and malice, Gloria M. Arroyo cannot be expected to comply with the memorandum of the Amnesty International for ensuring that the Melo commission is transparent, its investigation is independently conducted and leads to accountability and…
Philippines: Toward Ensuring Justice and Ending Political Killings
Memorandum submitted to Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International Posted by Bulatlat.com Introduction On 15 August 2006, Amnesty International issued a report, Philippines: Political Killings, Human Rights and the Peace Process (AI Index: ASA 35/006/2006),(1) expressing grave concern at an intensifying…
Victims’ Kin See No Hope in Melo Commission
Between January 2001 to September this year, records from the human rights alliance Karapatan-Southern Tagalog showed 142 extra-judicial killings in the region. Cases of human rights violations have reached 2,280 affecting 9,222 individuals or 13,102 families. By Dennis Espada Bulatlat.com CALAMBA CITY, Laguna – Relatives of slain political activists believe the Melo Commission created by…