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By RONALYN V. OLEA
Theodore Te, lawyer and an advocate of freedom of information, noted that in the Aquino administration’s version of the Freedom of Information bill exceptions are longer than the list of information subject to mandatory disclosure.
Sidebar: Access to information more difficult under Aquino
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares revealed that there is no accountability and reporting of actual sales in the current system of the STL making it highly vulnerable to corruption.
By MARYA SALAMAT
There were many important things to the Filipino people that were missing in Aquino’s Sona, most speakers in the Sona rally said.
Sidebar:
Aquino hit for embracing paramilitary group in Cordillera
“Wang-wang Sona: too much noise, too little substance” – KMU
Sona 2011 has little to report, less to look forward to – Ibon
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
"OFWs are still forced to go abroad because the government has offered them nothing substantive and sustainable to address their families's economic needs. Instead, what it has offered are mere dole-outs and band-aid solutions that does not do anything to address widespread unemployment and landlessness the root cause of forced migration." – Migrante International
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“It appears that the Arroyo policy of witch-hunting, arrest, criminalization of political offenses and/or the slapping of fabricated criminal charges to silence and put behind bars human rights defenders continues to be implemented under Aquino,” Angelina Ipong, Selda spokeswoman, said.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
"We are like slaves! We are not being treated with respect and by ignoring our demands for a CNA the MMDA administration is stripping us of our dignity." MMDA streetsweepers
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
“Aquino promised change, but the conditions of women and our families have worsened. Just a little over a year into his presidency, Aquino's 'daang matuwid' (straight path) has proven to be a 'killer highway' for many Filipinos,” Gabriela secretary-general Lana Linaban said.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
"Aquino should prioritize the needs of the majority of the people and not the interest of the big corporations, foreign investors and the imperialist countries like the US." – Piya Malayao spokesperson of Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Kamp).
By MARYA SALAMAT
Majority of those employed today in the Philippines are in vulnerable or part-time work, hampering many workers’ desire to demand for a living wage. Even those in full-time work are reportedly under pressure to comply with various flexible work arrangements.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Migrante Middle East projects that under the Saudization Nitaqat scheme, some 30 percent of the 1.2M Filipinos in Saudi Arabia or around 360,000 OFWs would be affected.
By MARYA SALAMAT
“You go to a public hospital emergency room to have your wound cleaned, you have to first buy some cotton, wound antiseptic, and dressings, before you can be treated,” said Joel Bitanga, 40, an X-ray technician in San Lazaro Hospital.
Sidebar: Health workers blame Aquino’s PPPs for further crippling the Philippine Orthopedic Center
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Human Rights Watch noted that while the public rhetoric of senior military officers has changed somewhat since Aquino took office, the change in language “has not yet been reflected in action.”
By MARYA SALAMAT
Comparing the local oil prices to that in other countries in the past years, Piston said the local pump prices have risen far more than the amount necessitated by price movements abroad and the peso-dollar exchange rate. The transport group continues to accuse the oil companies of overpricing oil products by “an average at least of P7.50 ($0.17) per liter.”
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
"Are stockholders subjected to exploitation and abuse? Are stockholders deliberately kept in the dark and excluded from all pertinent discussions regarding how a business is run?" -- Lito Bais, president of United Luisita Workers Union (Ulwu)
By RONALYN V. OLEA
In her speech after the hearing, Mrs. Erlinda Cadapan called on President Benigno S. Aquino III, the commander in chief of the AFP, to pay attention to the cases of enforced disappearances. “These are serious crimes committed by the armed forces.”
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
“We will hold rallies to demand jobs, wages, land reform, human rights and national sovereignty. The rallies directed against the Sona aim to highlight various people’s issues that the incumbent administration must address." – Bayan
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
“This is only the continuation of the 2005 bungkalan” said Rodel Mesa, Ambala spokesperson. “The 500 hectares which RCBC claims is ours; it’s part of the 6,453 hectares that should have long been turned over to the farm worker beneficiaries.”
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“Aquino would know what to do. Now is the opportunity to act on the cases of enforced disappearances. I hope he grants this opportunity to show the world he is sincere in helping victims of human rights violations find justice.” -- Mrs. Edita Burgos
By MARYA SALAMAT
Years of slashed budgets have resulted in the severely reduced servicing of indigent patients, the reduced benefits of the hospital employees, and, as health workers fear, the risk of final or formal privatization of the Philippine Heart Center.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“The government says without the NPA, there would be peace. That is not true. It is the situation that gives life to the NPA.” – Coni Ledesma-Jalandoni
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