By RONALYN V. OLEA
Two more of the so-called “Morong 43” were freed today, Dec. 28, after their lawyers convinced the court that the supposedly pending criminal cases that the police and military cited to prevent their earlier release involved namesakes.
By RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA
Ka Oris, spokesman of the CPP-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Mindanao, said President Benigno S. Aquino III’s new counter-insurgency program dubbed “Oplan Bayanihan” will become another “failure” like the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) 1 and 2 of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
She had to recount her ordeal in court over and over again while being questioned by defense attorneys whose aim was to destroy her credibility. She was called a “bad person”, a “whore”, an “adulteress”, and an “extortionist” by the Davao media. And after several years of an excruciating uphill battle, she lost her case in court. But she was undeterred.
By MARYA SALAMAT
“The real test of whether Aquino’s assumption of jurisdiction order is pro-worker or pro-Lucio Tan lies in his future decision on Tan’s contractualization through mass layoffs and outsourcing scheme,” said Joselito Ustarez, vice-chairman of KMU.
By MARYA SALAMAT
The long-delayed substantial wage hike demanded by Filipino workers found no room this Christmas in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, prices of food and transport continue to soar, and even the ILO reported that the Filipinos’ wages suffered one of the biggest cuts in Asia.
By MARYA SALAMAT
“The TRB cannot even tell us how the toll rates were computed. What was the basis for the computation of the toll rates? These questions must be answered first before they raise the toll fees,” said Northern Samar governor Paul Daza, co-convenor of the TUTOL-SLEX.
By MARYA SALAMAT
While providing a lot of support to Business Process Outsourcing Companies, the government is ignoring the oppressive working conditions of call center employees.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
According to Karapatan, there have been at least 25 victims of extrajudicial killings, two victims of enforced disappearance, 16 victims of torture, and 18 victims of illegal detention under the Aquino administration. It has barely been five months since Aquino took over on June 30.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
All throughout her imprisonment, Camille said, no embassy official visited her nor asked her side of the story. “I went to court hearings five times but they (Philippine embassy officials) did not attend.”
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
The physical evidence gathered in the fact finding mission revealed that the trajectories of bullets were coming from and going to only one direction, refuting the military’s claim that there was a supposed gun battle between the military and members of NPA.
By MARYA SALAMAT
The Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) had documented six cases of frustrated killings, four victims of torture, two illegal arrest and detention, two victims of rape and 136 children affected by forcible evacuation during Aquino’s first five months in office. In all these cases witnesses tagged state military forces as the perpetrators.