This is in reaction to
DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzalez' statement with regards to the government being "amenable to arming members of the media as a solution to the continuing killing of journalists."
While I applaud the Commission on Human Rights' statement holding the government accountable for the continuous spate of killings under the Arroyo administration, I strongly question this recommendation. This is obviously a knee-jerk reaction to the CHR's statement, not to mention the heightening international condemnation to the Philippines turning into a 'political killing field.'
Like Malacanang's previous statement ordering the PNP and the AFP to look into the numerous cases of extrajudicial killings, this appears as another smokescreen attempt to downplay the government's accountability to the continuing killing of journalists.
KARAPATAN, a human rights watch group, has documented 565 deaths under the Arroyo administration, 221 of which have political affiliations.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), meanwhile, has documented a total of 42 slain journalists since President Arroyo assumed office.
Arming journalists will not stop the murders. If anything, it will only protect the perpetrators by diverting the real issue behind the killings, which an emboldened CHR saw fit to point out - that of a violent culture of impunity that the government appears unwilling to curb.
Sec. Gonzales went on to state that 'you cannot watch every criminal at every corner.' This would appear so, especially if the government continuously ignores what witnesses have commonly attested to. A pattern in the killings all conspicuously point to military or police implication that the government simply refuses to acknowledge and act upon.
Unless the government quits the double-speak and admits accountability, it will forever be suspect to the senseless bloodbath.
A political analyst friend once commented, even before Sec. Gonzalez' statement, that some media practitioners advocating a gun-wielding media may even possibly be another 'pakawala' of a 'militarized' government. And why not? The double-speak, thus, garners double benefits - divert the real issue AND earn a sizeable profit from a cowed media itching to buy arms.
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Conrad de Quiros writes about our friend Erika in his column today:
Generations. This is the third Inquirer article featuring Erika. First was Ramon Farolan's
The gift of Erika, then the
mother's day article, then finally de Quiros'.
Young radical
Karl has three recent interesting entries:
on the wealth of some party-list reps, on CHEd's "uselessness", and on the church's attack on The Da Vinci Code.
Inquirer editorial 'Extermination' slams Raul Gonzales' statement daring the Batasan 5 to just "go back to the mountains".
The extra-judicial killings targeting activists are really outrageous. Another one killed in Pangasinan. The number of victims according to KARAPATAN now reaches 585.
In line with this, Tonyo exposes Norberto Gonzales and Fr. Romeo Intengan's (hardcore anti-communists) lies and pretensions in the international community to be "social democrats."
Speaking of Bert "Unggoy" Gonzales, Teo Marasigan's Kritika reminded me of Gonzales' kalokohan a few months ago.
Duwag ang Batasan 5? Noong binantaang aarestuhin ng Senado si Gonzales dahil
sa bulok na kontrata ng gobyerno sa Venable LLP, nagsakit-sakitan siya,
nagpatakbo sa ospital, at idinahilan ang sakit para maligtas. Alam ni Gonzales
na tama para sa isang grupong pampulitika na umiwas sa pagkakadakip. Ang totoo, marangal para sa Batasan 5 na mga hamak na mambabatas ang ginawa nila: Ginamit ang mga alyado sa gobyerno at ang batas para makaligtas. Si Gonzales ang duwag: Ginamit ang gawa-gawang karamdaman.
Here's the whole article by Marasigan, May 7, 2006:
KRITIKA
Teo S. Marasigan
Biglang-Isip
(1) ?What?s wrong with this picture?? Tanong ito sa pabalat ng huling labas ng magasin ng Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). Nasa harapan ito ng larawan, kinuha marahil noong Pebrero 24, ng martsang kapit-bisig nina dating Pang. Cory Aquino at Sen. Loi Estrada ? kasama sina Jinggoy Estrada, Franklin Drilon at iba pa. Alam natin ang tinutukoy na ?mali? ng PCIJ: Na ang mga dating magkalaban ? tampok noong panahon ng rehimeng Marcos at Estrada ? ay ngayo?y magkakampi. Sentimyento ng panggitnang uri: ?Mali? ang salawahan at balimbing na paga-alyansa ng mga pulitiko.
Malulusaw ang ganitong ideyalismo ? hindi nostalgia sa nakaraang katulad lamang ng ngayon ? sa pagbabalik sa mga batayan ng pagkakaisa ng angkan ng dalawang pinaka-popular na presidente pagkatapos ni Marcos: Pandaraya sa halalan, katiwalian, kasinungalingan at matinding paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Dahil ipinagpapalagay na mas ?malinis? siya sa pagkakamali, si Aquino ang mas binibira ng ganitong tanong. Pero tiyak na nasa panig ng tama si Aquino ngayon, dahil kinukumpirma ng paghahambing ni Arroyo kay Estrada ang batas ng patuloy na pagsahol ng krisis at kalagayan ng bansa.
Sa puntong ito ng paglaban ng dalawang dating pangulo ? at oo, masasama ring mga pangulo ? sa pangulong namumuno ngayon sa panahon ng mas matinding krisis at kalagayan ng bansa, dito makikitang tanong din ang: ?What?s right with this picture??
(2) ?Komunistang Duwag? ang titulo ng maliit na polyetong ikinalat sa mga istasyon ng MRT noong May 1. Nilagdaan ng ?Mamamayan Ayaw sa Komunista? (MAK), tinutuligsa nito ang ?kaduwagan? ng tinaguriang ?Batasan 5? ? ang limang kongresistang mula sa mga progresibong party-list. Parang ipis daw na nagtago sa ?kadiliman ng mga sulok-sulok ng Batasan? sina Ocampo, Mariano, Maza, Virador at Casiño dahil ?naduwag? madakip ng gobyerno. Dati raw ay ?malakas ang loob nilang pagsamantalahan ang demokrasya at gamitin ang batas laban sa mga opisyal ng gobyerno? ayon sa pahayag.
Nagmumula at tumutungo ang ganitong mga argumento sa mga anti-komunista sa bansa. Para sa mga taong ito, ang mga komunista ay hindi pwedeng umiral sa lipunang demokratiko at hindi rin pwedeng gumamit ng mga umiiral na batas. Una sa kanila ang pagiging anti-komunista, hindi ang pagiging taguyod ng demokrasya o batas. Katulad ng mga relihiyosong papatay ng mga hindi naniniwala sa Diyos, matatanggap lamang nila ang pagpapahayag kung hindi nito hahamunin ang itinakda nilang hangganan nito. Kahit pa ang ipinaglalaban ng isang grupo ay kalubusan ng demokrasya at ng diwa ng batas.
Marami sa mga grupong maka-Kanan at anti-komunista ngayon ay kaisa ng Batasan 5 sa paglaban sa rehimeng Arroyo. Iisa ang tampok na kalaban ng Batasan 5, galit na galit dito, maka-Arroyo at maraming pondo para maglabas ng polyeto: Ang grupo ni National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, ang Partido Demokratiko-Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP). Dating anti-Marcos si Gonzales na ngayon ay nasa likod ng mga taktikang mala-Marcos ng rehimeng Arroyo. Sa dami ng pinapatay na mga lider-aktibista sa parehong pamamaraan, hindi na maikailang pananagutan ito ng rehimeng Arroyo.
(Rurok ng tapang niya ang imungkahi sa pulong ng gabinete, para raw matapos ang rebelyon sa bansa, na ipapatay si Prop. Jose Ma. Sison. Kapag namatay si Sison at may dugo sa kamay niya, mag-ingat siya sa posibleng yakap ng isang suicide bomber.)
Duwag ang Batasan 5? Noong binantaang aarestuhin ng Senado si Gonzales dahil sa bulok na kontrata ng gobyerno sa Venable LLP, nagsakit-sakitan siya, nagpatakbo sa ospital, at idinahilan ang sakit para maligtas. Alam ni Gonzales na tama para sa isang grupong pampulitika na umiwas sa pagkakadakip. Ang totoo, marangal para sa Batasan 5 na mga hamak na mambabatas ang ginawa nila: Ginamit ang mga alyado sa gobyerno at ang batas para makaligtas. Si Gonzales ang duwag: Ginamit ang gawa-gawang karamdaman. Sino nga naman ang makikipagtalo sa tawag ng kalikasan?>>>
Sumulat sa tsmarasigan_kritika@yahoo.com
And what the....? Shoutmix (our free shoutbox) is scamming our site by popping up ads. Anybody can help us stop this?
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Here's the government's mother's day "present":
CHEd OKs tuition hike of up to 7.6%.
Upon reading the story, it will seem that the CHEd is giving us students and our parents a favor by
limiting the tuition increase to equal the inflation rate. But as usual, we're not seeing the whole picture.
The real deal is that, actually, the CHEd is
institutionalizing tuition increase in their recent memo (CHEd Memo Order No. # 14) on tuition increases. Before the memo, tuition increases (whether below inflation or above inflation) are subject to consultations with students and approval of the concerned parties (students, parents, faculty, school-owners). Now, the CHEd is excluding all tuition increases lower than the inflation rate from student scrutiny
.
This is absurd as it does not take into consideration the cases of unjust and exhorbitant increases that has occured during the past years under the deregulated education industry. The tuition is now high as it is. Proof of this is the bankruptcy of some college education plans due to unabated tuition increase. There is no reason to allow any percentage of increase, especially, without proper consultations and study.
This is what Carlito Puno, CHEd Chair, is actually saying: "...well, we can't actually stop tuition increase because our office is so inutil, so let's just make panggap. Let's actually give them (school owners) a favor by allowing them to make taas their tuition freely (meaning without consultation) but let's limit it kunwari to the inflation rate lang. Anyway, wala din naman tayong magagawa kung ilagpas nila, they'll just maniobra the consultations as they've been doing in the past anyway. Bottom line: we'll have something to say this enrollment to make us look pogi."
What else to make them look pogi? Inq7 report:
Puno, however, said there would be no increase in the tuition of state universities and colleges (SCUs) except for the University of the Philippines College of Medicine which had not raised its tuition in the last 14 years.
Yeah right, but did he mention anything about the other fee increases? Students in UP Diliman are now complaining about the hundreds of pesos planning to increase their laboratory fees. And there is a coming proposal to the Board of Regents to increase the UP tuition to P1,200 per unit!
What does this make of the CHEd's statements? Freaking bullshit propaganda.
On another topic: here's a mother's day continuation of the column that gave light to our Easter Sunday titled The gift of Erika.
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Watch George W. Bush Jr. get in-your-face humiliation by a comic in public.
Click here.
Boingboing.net points us to this interesting video of Stephen Colbert, a news comedian, ridiculing Bush in a Washington Correspondents' Dinner the White House sponsored.
I couldn't believe this video clip when I watched it and couldn't wait for the time a Filipino comedian does this to Arroyo.
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The
Batasan 5 released a statement today announcing their intention to leave the premises of the House of Representatives on Monday, May 8. This is after the Makati Regional Trial Court strikes out the amended information in the rebellion case intended to be filed against them, meaning the case has no sufficient merits.
Here's the whole text of the joint statement issued by the 'Batasan 5':
May 6, 2006
JOINT PRESS STATEMENT OF THE BATASAN 5
WE ASSERT OUR RIGHTS AND FREEDOM!
We, the Batasan 5, have come to a decision. On Monday, May 8, we will leave, all five of us, the premises of the Batasan. We shall assert our freedom and our rights, both as legislators backed by the mandate of the people and as citizens, specifically against the political persecution of the Arroyo government.
In the same breath, we assert our innocence of the spurious charge of rebellion against us and some of our colleagues in the democratic mass movement. The serious charge is rendered so incredible and ridiculous by the sort of documentary evidence produced pell mell by the Philippine National Police and endorsed by the Department of Justice. In fact, Judge Jenny Lind R. Aldecoa-Delorino, in her resolution rejecting and striking out of the court records the amended information, comments that the ?numerous enclosures to the original information?392 in all? could hardly cover the width and breath of the detailed allegation raised.?
In brief, insufficient evidence!
Thus, as of this moment there is no case of rebellion against us filed in any court. Even if the DoJ will file a motion for reconsideration or a new information, as it publicly declared it would do, such charge cannot depart from the discredited heap of papers it had submitted to the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 137.
For more than two months, we have endured the situation wherein the House leadership and the Executive (through the DoJ-PNP ostensibly but, we suspect, through a sinister cabal higher up) cannot resolve the issue of which position must prevail. On the one hand, through HR 133, the House backed by the Senate through a similar resolution expressing the sense of Congress, the law-making body, aver we are not under arrest or detention but under protective custody, specifically, against illegal or warrantless arrest. On the other hand, the DoJ and the PNP, both implementing agencies of laws passed by Congress, claim we either have been arrested and are in detention or will be arrested once we step out of the premises of the Batasan. We have raised the issue for resolution at the Court of Appeals.
With the indulgence and hopefully the full support of our colleagues both in the House and the Senate, we shall uphold their collective position that we, the Batasan 5, are free to leave the Batasan premises and that Rep. Crispin Beltran must be freed.
The stand-off between the Executive and the Legislative over our case only exposes the highly undemocratic and anti-democratic tendency, if not the essential character of the Arroyo government. Under this government, we have to assert and bitterly fight for our rights and freedoms in order to exercise and enjoy them, no matter thator precisely becausethe assertion of our rights and freedoms are met by the government with deliberate repression and unrestrained violence.
We owe it to our people to assert these rights and freedoms that are inalienably theirs too. If the government applies brutal force, as it is wont to do, against our action on Monday, we will confront it with militant and dignified defiance.
By our action on Monday we will also give the DoJ and the PNP and, yes, Malacanang the chance to see the folly of their ways. #
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