Aquino: Cases vs Arroyo not a priority
First Posted 04:18:00 05/02/2011
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III Sunday confirmed the government was preparing to file corruption charges against former President turned Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but stressed that for now the priority was to find a new Ombudsman to replace Merceditas Gutierrez who is stepping down on May 6.
The President said he wanted the new Ombudsman to be “dedicated” and courageous in pursuing justice for the government.
Speaking to reporters after hosting a Labor Day breakfast for labor leaders in Malacañang, Mr. Aquino was asked if the government was lining up cases against Arroyo now that Gutierrez —whom he had described as the obstacle to the government’s bid to file cases against the former president and her allies—was on the way out.
Still intact
Mr. Aquino said the Palace-created Truth Commission was “set up primarily to get all of that [cases],” and that the cases that had been “deposited” with the presidential body—which has yet to convene pending the Supreme Court’s final decision on the constitutionality of its creation—were “still intact.”
“We are closer to actually filing charges where appropriate,” the President said.
But he added: “Can I say it’s difficult to say that it’s directed to specific individuals at this point in time. There’s still a process that has to be followed but we will make the appropriate announcements to the cases that are ready for filing at the soonest possible time.”
Big buzz
He said the focus now was on finding a new Ombudsman, adding that he was awaiting the list of nominees from the Judicial and Bar Council.
Meanwhile, two members of the ruling Liberal Party, which Mr. Aquino heads, are on the short list for the next Ombudsman which will be submitted to the President.
Former Sen. Wigberto Tañada and former Agrarian Reform Secretary Rene Villa are generating the “biggest buzz” among the candidates for Gutierrez’s replacement.
A source in Aquino administration said former Chief Justice Reynato Puno had declined the President’s offer of the Ombudsman post. Christine O. Avendaño and Gil Cabacungan
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
RICE PRICE MONITORING GROUP URGES HALT TO NFA PRIVATIZATION
IBON Media Release / 3 May 2011
IBON Foundation, Inc., IBON Center 114 Timog Avenue, Quezon City Philippines
Phone: (632) 927-6986/927-7060 to 62|Fax: 929-2496| E-mail: media@ibon.org
|http://www.ibon.org
NO MORE P25/KL RICE IN THE MARKET
RICE PRICE MONITORING GROUP URGES HALT TO NFA PRIVATIZATION
Bantay Bigas, a rice price monitoring group comprised of rice industry
multistakeholders recently urged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to stop
pushing for the privatization of the National Food Authority in face of an
increasing trend in the price of rice, the country's staple.
To counter ADB claims that the price of rice dropped by 0.9% since June 2010,
the group cited Bureau of Agriculture Statistics data showing that rice prices
in fact increased by an average of 1.2% for all rice grades. The price of NFA
rice also went up by Php 2.00 or 8% in December 2010. Thus, the P25 per-kilo
NFA rice is no longer available in the market, further making the staple less
affordable to poor Filipinos.
"The increase in the price of NFA rice is an impact of government's plan to
privatize the country's food agency in response to conditions imposed by the
ADB and other international lending institutions," Bantay Bigas spokesperson
Lita Mariano said. Among several such loans the group noted the 1993 Food
Sector Loan Program and the 1999 Grains Sector Development Program of the ADB
which both pushed for NFA privatization including the privatization of the
NFA's local palay procurement and rice importation functions as well as the
increase of the price of NFA rice.
"The ADB itself revealed in a study that increases in food prices push more
Filipinos into poverty, therefore it should stop pushing for the privatization
of the NFA and instead support the agency in fulfilling its mandate of
ensuring distribution of the basic staple at affordable prices," Mariano said.
According to the ADB, a 10% hike in local food prices would add 1.37 million
to the ranks of the poor, and even higher food price increases would push even
more into poverty.
Bantay Bigas, of which IBON is a secretariat member, is set to launch this
month a transcript of the National Rice People's Congress (NPRC) which it held
last February. The NPRC highlights summative reports of consultative exchanges
it held with various rice industry multistakeholders in Luzon, Vizayas and
Mindanao. It also yielded a unity pact by participants, one urgent demand of
which is bringing back to the market the Php18.25 per kilo NFA rice and
increasing the NFA's palay procurement by restoring its budget of at least
Php8 million. (end)
IBON Foundation, Inc., IBON Center 114 Timog Avenue, Quezon City Philippines
Phone: (632) 927-6986/927-7060 to 62|Fax: 929-2496| E-mail: media@ibon.org
|http://www.ibon.org
NO MORE P25/KL RICE IN THE MARKET
RICE PRICE MONITORING GROUP URGES HALT TO NFA PRIVATIZATION
Bantay Bigas, a rice price monitoring group comprised of rice industry
multistakeholders recently urged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to stop
pushing for the privatization of the National Food Authority in face of an
increasing trend in the price of rice, the country's staple.
To counter ADB claims that the price of rice dropped by 0.9% since June 2010,
the group cited Bureau of Agriculture Statistics data showing that rice prices
in fact increased by an average of 1.2% for all rice grades. The price of NFA
rice also went up by Php 2.00 or 8% in December 2010. Thus, the P25 per-kilo
NFA rice is no longer available in the market, further making the staple less
affordable to poor Filipinos.
"The increase in the price of NFA rice is an impact of government's plan to
privatize the country's food agency in response to conditions imposed by the
ADB and other international lending institutions," Bantay Bigas spokesperson
Lita Mariano said. Among several such loans the group noted the 1993 Food
Sector Loan Program and the 1999 Grains Sector Development Program of the ADB
which both pushed for NFA privatization including the privatization of the
NFA's local palay procurement and rice importation functions as well as the
increase of the price of NFA rice.
"The ADB itself revealed in a study that increases in food prices push more
Filipinos into poverty, therefore it should stop pushing for the privatization
of the NFA and instead support the agency in fulfilling its mandate of
ensuring distribution of the basic staple at affordable prices," Mariano said.
According to the ADB, a 10% hike in local food prices would add 1.37 million
to the ranks of the poor, and even higher food price increases would push even
more into poverty.
Bantay Bigas, of which IBON is a secretariat member, is set to launch this
month a transcript of the National Rice People's Congress (NPRC) which it held
last February. The NPRC highlights summative reports of consultative exchanges
it held with various rice industry multistakeholders in Luzon, Vizayas and
Mindanao. It also yielded a unity pact by participants, one urgent demand of
which is bringing back to the market the Php18.25 per kilo NFA rice and
increasing the NFA's palay procurement by restoring its budget of at least
Php8 million. (end)
Pagpatay sa Mayor ng Calbayog City kinondena ng Makabayan Coalition
In a statement, Satur Ocampo said that Uy had been very supportive of the patriotic and progressive platform of Makabayan and its affiliates in Congress and the local government.
“In fact, as a congressman, he even denounced the extra-judicial killings of activists,” Ocampo added.
“It is a tragic loss. We condole with the family and friends of Mayor Uy as we wish Board Member Babalcon speedy recovery,” Ocampo said.
Uy was a former congressman of Samar’s first district and was planning to run for governor with Babalcon as his running mate. He supported a recall petition against Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan and her brother, Vice Gov. James Tan, which was found sufficient in form and substance by the Commission on Elections last January. Recall elections are to be set for Samar.
Makabayan further stated: “We view with grave concern this latest case of electoral violence and we call on the Aquino government for an independent probe on the matter. Even state security forces, the military and the police, should not be spared from the investigations. Our own experience bears out the complicity of government armed forces in such violence, such as in the case of the Ampatuan massacre and the extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearance of activists.”
“We hope that this violence would not escalate into a full-blown war between families as we all strive for unity in justice and progress,” Makabayan concluded.
Ang pangalawang kamatayan ni Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden’s Second Death
by Paul Craig Roberts
Trends Research Institute
May 2, 2011
Related link: Top 10 Reasons for bin Laden's Death Announcement
Until the decline of the dollar reached the breaking point, Osama bin Laden, who many experts believe to have been dead for years, was a useful bogeyman to use to feed the profits of the US military/security complex.
If today were April 1 and not May 2, we could dismiss as an April fool’s joke this morning’s headline that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight in Pakistan and quickly buried at sea. As it is, we must take it as more evidence that the US government has unlimited belief in the gullibility of Americans..
Think about it. What are the chances that a person allegedly suffering from kidney disease and requiring dialysis and, in addition, afflicted with diabetes and low blood pressure, survived in mountain hideaways for a decade? If bin Laden was able to acquire dialysis equipment and medical care that his condition required, would not the shipment of dialysis equipment point to his location? Why did it take ten years to find him?
Consider also the claims, repeated by a triumphalist US media celebrating bin Laden’s death, that "bin Laden used his millions to bankroll terrorist training camps in Sudan, the Philippines, and Afghanistan, sending ‘holy warriors’ to foment revolution and fight with fundamentalist Muslim forces across North Africa, in Chechnya, Tajikistan and Bosnia." That’s a lot of activity for mere millions to bankroll (perhaps the US should have put him in charge of the Pentagon), but the main question is: how was bin Laden able to move his money about? What banking system was helping him? The US government succeeds in seizing the assets of people and of entire countries, Libya being the most recent. Why not bin Laden’s? Was he carrying around with him $100 million dollars in gold coins and sending emissaries to distribute payments to his far-flung operations?
This morning’s headline has the odor of a staged event. The smell reeks from the triumphalist news reports loaded with exaggerations, from celebrants waving flags and chanting "USA USA." Could something else be going on? No doubt President Obama is in desperate need of a victory. He committed the fool’s error of restarting the war in Afghanistan, and now after a decade of fighting the US faces stalemate, if not defeat. The wars of the Bush/Obama regimes have bankrupted the US, leaving huge deficits and a declining dollar in their wake. And re-election time is approaching.
The various lies and deceptions, such as "weapons of mass destruction," of the last several administrations had terrible consequences for the US and the world. But not all deceptions are the same. Remember, the entire reason for invading Afghanistan in the first place was to get bin Laden. Now that President Obama has declared bin Laden to have been shot in the head by US special forces operating in an independent country and buried at sea, there is no reason for continuing the war.
Perhaps the precipitous decline in the US dollar in foreign exchange markets has forced some real budget reductions, which can only come from stopping the open-ended wars. Until the decline of the dollar reached the breaking point, Osama bin Laden, who many experts believe to have been dead for years, was a useful bogeyman to use to feed the profits of the US military/security complex.
Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, has been reporting shocking cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. A new edition of his book, The Tyranny of Good Intentions, co-authored with Lawrence Stratton, a documented account of how Americans lost the protection of law, has been released by Random House.
Copyright © 2011 Paul Craig Roberts
Top 10 Reasons for bin Laden's Death Announcement
10. They ran out of Bin Laden look-alikes to use in fake videos
9. People stopped believing that a cave-dweller on a dialysis machine was still
alive after 10 years
8. People discovered the Frost/Bhutto interview on YouTube where she confirmed
that Bin Laden was dead already, back in 2004 – probably died in December 2001
7. They want to be able to say something was achieved for the TRILLIONS spent on
wars over the last 10 years and the thousands of innocent civilian lives
6. They need a distraction from the upcoming Gaza Flotilla and from the upcoming
vote in the UN on Palestinian sovereignity, and the Move-Over-AIPAC conference
this month
5. They need us to remain terrified of the upcoming retaliation for Bin Laden’s
death to justify the continuance of the TSA’s “Grope or Fry” policy
4. They need a distraction from the birth certificate controversy
3. They need a distraction from the murders of Ghadafi’s son and grandchildren
2. They need a ploy to remake Obama as a hero to the “USA! USA!” crowd and get
him re-elected
1. They need an excuse to pull troops out of Afghanistan to deploy elsewhere and
take us into war once more – probably Syria/Iran
by Paul Craig Roberts
Trends Research Institute
May 2, 2011
Related link: Top 10 Reasons for bin Laden's Death Announcement
Until the decline of the dollar reached the breaking point, Osama bin Laden, who many experts believe to have been dead for years, was a useful bogeyman to use to feed the profits of the US military/security complex.
If today were April 1 and not May 2, we could dismiss as an April fool’s joke this morning’s headline that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight in Pakistan and quickly buried at sea. As it is, we must take it as more evidence that the US government has unlimited belief in the gullibility of Americans..
Think about it. What are the chances that a person allegedly suffering from kidney disease and requiring dialysis and, in addition, afflicted with diabetes and low blood pressure, survived in mountain hideaways for a decade? If bin Laden was able to acquire dialysis equipment and medical care that his condition required, would not the shipment of dialysis equipment point to his location? Why did it take ten years to find him?
Consider also the claims, repeated by a triumphalist US media celebrating bin Laden’s death, that "bin Laden used his millions to bankroll terrorist training camps in Sudan, the Philippines, and Afghanistan, sending ‘holy warriors’ to foment revolution and fight with fundamentalist Muslim forces across North Africa, in Chechnya, Tajikistan and Bosnia." That’s a lot of activity for mere millions to bankroll (perhaps the US should have put him in charge of the Pentagon), but the main question is: how was bin Laden able to move his money about? What banking system was helping him? The US government succeeds in seizing the assets of people and of entire countries, Libya being the most recent. Why not bin Laden’s? Was he carrying around with him $100 million dollars in gold coins and sending emissaries to distribute payments to his far-flung operations?
This morning’s headline has the odor of a staged event. The smell reeks from the triumphalist news reports loaded with exaggerations, from celebrants waving flags and chanting "USA USA." Could something else be going on? No doubt President Obama is in desperate need of a victory. He committed the fool’s error of restarting the war in Afghanistan, and now after a decade of fighting the US faces stalemate, if not defeat. The wars of the Bush/Obama regimes have bankrupted the US, leaving huge deficits and a declining dollar in their wake. And re-election time is approaching.
The various lies and deceptions, such as "weapons of mass destruction," of the last several administrations had terrible consequences for the US and the world. But not all deceptions are the same. Remember, the entire reason for invading Afghanistan in the first place was to get bin Laden. Now that President Obama has declared bin Laden to have been shot in the head by US special forces operating in an independent country and buried at sea, there is no reason for continuing the war.
Perhaps the precipitous decline in the US dollar in foreign exchange markets has forced some real budget reductions, which can only come from stopping the open-ended wars. Until the decline of the dollar reached the breaking point, Osama bin Laden, who many experts believe to have been dead for years, was a useful bogeyman to use to feed the profits of the US military/security complex.
Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and former associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, has been reporting shocking cases of prosecutorial abuse for two decades. A new edition of his book, The Tyranny of Good Intentions, co-authored with Lawrence Stratton, a documented account of how Americans lost the protection of law, has been released by Random House.
Copyright © 2011 Paul Craig Roberts
Top 10 Reasons for bin Laden's Death Announcement
10. They ran out of Bin Laden look-alikes to use in fake videos
9. People stopped believing that a cave-dweller on a dialysis machine was still
alive after 10 years
8. People discovered the Frost/Bhutto interview on YouTube where she confirmed
that Bin Laden was dead already, back in 2004 – probably died in December 2001
7. They want to be able to say something was achieved for the TRILLIONS spent on
wars over the last 10 years and the thousands of innocent civilian lives
6. They need a distraction from the upcoming Gaza Flotilla and from the upcoming
vote in the UN on Palestinian sovereignity, and the Move-Over-AIPAC conference
this month
5. They need us to remain terrified of the upcoming retaliation for Bin Laden’s
death to justify the continuance of the TSA’s “Grope or Fry” policy
4. They need a distraction from the birth certificate controversy
3. They need a distraction from the murders of Ghadafi’s son and grandchildren
2. They need a ploy to remake Obama as a hero to the “USA! USA!” crowd and get
him re-elected
1. They need an excuse to pull troops out of Afghanistan to deploy elsewhere and
take us into war once more – probably Syria/Iran
Sunday, May 01, 2011
May 1: Pakikibaka laban sa kagutuman, kahirapan, at pang-aapi
Update 2011-5-2: Click here for pictures, statements, and videos of the May 1 protest
May 1 is igniting a flame that could burn Aquino
This year’s Labor Day bears witness to the display of outrage by the Filipino workers and people over the Aquino regime’s refusal to grant a significant wage hike amidst rising prices of basic goods and services, and petroleum products especially.
It is an outrage directed at the hunger, poverty and oppression that have intensified over the reign of regimes which have all served big foreign capitalists and governments and the local ruling elite at the expense of the Filipino workers and people.
It is an outrage over the extreme exploitation and oppression of Filipino workers. The pressing down of wages, the rolling back of job security, the lack of jobs and livelihood, and attacks on trade-union rights have intensified through the years.
It is an outrage that seeks an immediate and genuine economic relief in the coming days, weeks and months. Band-aid solutions being offered by the Aquino regime will not dissipate this outrage but will only ignite it even further.
We vow that today’s big nationwide protests will lead to even bigger protests in the coming days, weeks and months throughout the country. We vow to translate our anger at the Aquino regime’s policies to collective action and struggle.
The targets of our continuing outrage are the unabated oil price hikes and overpricing of oil, the Aquino regime’s efforts to deny a significant wage hike through the regional wage boards, and cuts in subsidies to education and social services.
The Aquino regime should heed Labor Day’s warning signal. If it fails to act now to uphold the interests of the Filipino workers and people, it will face ever-growing protests and the possibility of being the target of an ouster movement.
On the occasion of the 125th international celebration of Labor Day, we express our solidarity with the workers and peoples of the world who are fighting the plunder and wars of aggression being carried out by US imperialism.
By calling our protest a “Day of Outrage,” we highlight our solidarity with the workers and peoples of the Middle East and North Africa who have defied repression and deceit to topple anti-people regimes and seek radical change for their societies.
With the workers and peoples of the world, we are seeking an end to neoliberal and pro-imperialist policies that have kept our country underdeveloped. We want an end to a system that has only enriched the few at the expense of the majority.
Even as we express our outrage, we are filled with hope as we witness the workers and people of the Philippines and the world stand up to their exploiters and oppressors to collectively and militantly say “Enough!” and to fight for change.
Reference Person:
Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson
Campaign: PhP 125 Legislated Wage Hike
Contact information: 0908-1636597
May 1 is igniting a flame that could burn Aquino
This year’s Labor Day bears witness to the display of outrage by the Filipino workers and people over the Aquino regime’s refusal to grant a significant wage hike amidst rising prices of basic goods and services, and petroleum products especially.
It is an outrage directed at the hunger, poverty and oppression that have intensified over the reign of regimes which have all served big foreign capitalists and governments and the local ruling elite at the expense of the Filipino workers and people.
It is an outrage over the extreme exploitation and oppression of Filipino workers. The pressing down of wages, the rolling back of job security, the lack of jobs and livelihood, and attacks on trade-union rights have intensified through the years.
It is an outrage that seeks an immediate and genuine economic relief in the coming days, weeks and months. Band-aid solutions being offered by the Aquino regime will not dissipate this outrage but will only ignite it even further.
We vow that today’s big nationwide protests will lead to even bigger protests in the coming days, weeks and months throughout the country. We vow to translate our anger at the Aquino regime’s policies to collective action and struggle.
The targets of our continuing outrage are the unabated oil price hikes and overpricing of oil, the Aquino regime’s efforts to deny a significant wage hike through the regional wage boards, and cuts in subsidies to education and social services.
The Aquino regime should heed Labor Day’s warning signal. If it fails to act now to uphold the interests of the Filipino workers and people, it will face ever-growing protests and the possibility of being the target of an ouster movement.
On the occasion of the 125th international celebration of Labor Day, we express our solidarity with the workers and peoples of the world who are fighting the plunder and wars of aggression being carried out by US imperialism.
By calling our protest a “Day of Outrage,” we highlight our solidarity with the workers and peoples of the Middle East and North Africa who have defied repression and deceit to topple anti-people regimes and seek radical change for their societies.
With the workers and peoples of the world, we are seeking an end to neoliberal and pro-imperialist policies that have kept our country underdeveloped. We want an end to a system that has only enriched the few at the expense of the majority.
Even as we express our outrage, we are filled with hope as we witness the workers and people of the Philippines and the world stand up to their exploiters and oppressors to collectively and militantly say “Enough!” and to fight for change.
Reference Person:
Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson
Campaign: PhP 125 Legislated Wage Hike
Contact information: 0908-1636597
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