2007 January- Davao Today

Martyrs, Not Terrorists...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Human Rights, Latest Posts, Military, Mindanao, Photographs, Terrorism on 01 28th, 2007 | 1 Comment

To the relatives and friends of the Moros who died in separate incidents in Patikul, Sulu, on Jan. 18, the fatalities were not terrorists, as the military called them, but martyrs and victims of a brutal anti-terror campaign that, they say, has victimized even innocent civilians. On Jan. 24, Muslims...

Arroyo’s Wage-Hike Proposal Is ...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Commentary, Economy, Labor, Latest Posts on 01 28th, 2007 | 1 Comment

Any wage hike results in increased purchasing power for workers. However, it can be anti-poor if it does not take into account the interests of those who are getting less and benefits those who are getting more. On the other hand, any mandated increase in the salary of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Business, Economy, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | 2 Comments

MANILA — Local businesses are in a position to grant wage hikes since workers have been producing more in the last seven years, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. According to IBON research head Sonny Africa, labor productivity or the ratio of national output to employment, has been...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Economy, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | 1 Comment

DAVAO CITY — Anakpawis Party-list challenged today Congress to lobby in Malaca�ang the immediate approval of pending House Wage Bill for the soonest implementation of Filipino workers� increase in their minimum wage. Editha �Inday Duterte, Anakpawis regional spokesperson, expressed the worries of...

‘Gloria, Allies Will Be Massacred ...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Economy, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | No Comments

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) reiterated its all out support for the call of its allied organization Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) for the immediate P125 across the board wage increase because it will have a truly positive impact not just for workers but for the whole Philippine economy as...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Economy, Gender Issues, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | No Comments

MANILA — �Malaca�ang and the legislators seem to think that the people�s demand for a wage hike merely trivial. Their vacillating stand regarding this very crucial issue is infuriating for the people who have to survive on barely decent salaries.� Such was the criticism of GABRIELA Secretary General...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Economy, Gender Issues, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | 1 Comment

DAVAO CITY — “Unlike Mrs. Gloria Arroyo, the Filipino women have already gone beyond budgeting insufficient income way below the daily cost of living of the common Filipino households.” Luzviminda Ilagan, Gabriela Women’s Party (GWP) National Chairperson, expressed this as she...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Economy, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | 1 Comment

Globalization has resulted in the destruction of domestic and export manufacturing enterprises, since they cannot compete with cheaper dumped products in the local markets nor in the global export market against manufacturing powerhouses such as China, and this is why the country is shedding jobs. ...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Economy, Labor on 01 28th, 2007 | 1 Comment

If President Arroyo wants to talk about �social payback from the booming economy,� the only acceptable and meaningful social payback that Filipino workers deserve today is a substantial wage increase complemented by price control reforms, tax reforms, and drastic increases in social services spending ...

Arroyo’s ‘Hands of SteelR...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Human Rights, Latest Posts, Military, Terrorism on 01 27th, 2007 | 6 Comments

According to the military, 10 Abu Sayyaf terrorists were killed in Patikul, Sulu, on Jan. 18. But an official disclosed that five of the dead were actually MNLF members and that the other fatalities include a 12-year-old boy and a 90-year-old man who angrily stormed a Marine camp after the killing of two...

Esperon, Kenney on Abu Sayyaf, Sulu...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Military, Terrorism on 01 27th, 2007 | 1 Comment

Transcript of the Remarks of Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon at the Department of National Defense January 18, 2007 Amb. Kenney: How are you all today? Happy New Year! Let me first of all say why I am here this morning for the meeting of...

Death of a Terrorist...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Military, Terrorism on 01 27th, 2007 | 1 Comment

18 January 2007 state of the AFP: Death of a Terrorist Abu Solaiman, a notorious Abu Sayaff leader who holds a $5M bounty on his head, who was reported wounded from an encounter with military troops in Talipao, Sulu is now confirmed dead. (source: PDI, Daily Tribune, Philippine Star, Malaya, Manila...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Terrorism on 01 27th, 2007 | 1 Comment

Jan. 19 Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye Continuing successes in the field are a clear indication that the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah are nearing the end of the line. The President commends the gains of AFP Oplan Ultimatum which is the final push against these groups. Our soldiers are doing...

Government’s all-out campaign vs. ...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Terrorism on 01 27th, 2007 | 1 Comment

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today the all-out war waged by the government against terrorism has again paid off with the death of another senior Abu Sayyaf leader in an encounter with government troops last Monday in Talipao,Sulu. In her message at the 1st National Convention of the League of...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Terrorism on 01 27th, 2007 | 1 Comment

Jan. 18 Statement of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: I commend the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for another milestone in the campaign against terror, which caps with glory the signing of the ASEAN Convention on Counter-Terrorism. We are resolved to work with our strategic allies in the region and...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Davao City, Gender Issues, Health, Latest Posts on 01 26th, 2007 | No Comments

DAVAO CITY — City Councilor Angela �Angging� Librado-Trinidad has underscored the need in Davao City for an institution and a piece of legislation that will address reproductive health care for women. Librado was reacting to the series of discoveries of aborted fetuses dumped in the city�s trash bins....

‘Biodynamic’ Products Now in...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Business, Davao City, Environment, Health, Latest Posts on 01 26th, 2007 | No Comments

DAVAO CITY — A store selling 100 percent pesticide-free food products will be finally opened here today, a move considered as a breakthrough in the growing world of alternative food production and consumption. Opening the niche to the public is the Don Bosco Foundation for Sustainable Development or...

The Daily Post (1/26/07)...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Latest Posts on 01 26th, 2007 | No Comments

Banana workers in Malalag, Davao del Sur, are reported to have forcibly occupied a Lapanday plantation over a land dispute. The workers said the land had been awarded to them under the agrarian reform program. Some violence had been reported as well. (Click here to read a davaotoday.com report on the state...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Business, Environment, Latest Posts on 01 26th, 2007 | No Comments

In a feature story on Diwalwal, the gold-rush site in Southern Mindanao, Bloomberg News discusses the potential trouble that might erupt there because of the planned entry of the world’s largest mining companies. “You can’t expect miners like us to give up to overseas investors our only...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Latest Posts, Politics on 01 25th, 2007 | 2 Comments

DAVAO CITY — With the upcoming 2007 elections, the region’s youth and students are asking the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to extend the voters’ registration in order to give more young Filipinos to vote and “safeguard their democratic rights.” ...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Commentary, Latest Posts, Politics on 01 25th, 2007 | 1 Comment

Because this innovative approach of new politics has apparently gained popularity, it is loathed by the likes of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez precisely because it can disenfranchise the powers that be by raising the political consciousness of the people. Bereft of visions and programs that address the...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Crime & Public Safety, Davao Region, Extrajudicial Killings, Human Rights, Latest Posts on 01 23rd, 2007 | No Comments

Amancio Carmelo, the secretary-general for Southern Mindanao of the progressive peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, survived an assassination attempt in Tagum City Monday afternoon. According to initial reports, armed men shot Carmelo twice but missed. The attempt on Carmelo’s life is the...

The Ghosts of Mendiola...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Human Rights, Latest Posts, Photographs on 01 23rd, 2007 | No Comments

ELUSIVE JUSTICE. On Jan. 22, 1987, government security forces opened fire on farmers and peasants protesting at the historic Mendiola, the site of many anti-government demonstrations. Thirteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured. ...

Search Is on for Mutya ng Dabaw �07...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Arts & Culture, Davao City, Entertainment on 01 23rd, 2007 | No Comments

DAVAO CITY — The search is on for the Mutya ng Dabaw 2007 as the city celebrates its 70th founding anniversary. The search for the City�s Ambassaddress of Goodwill is open to all single female, 18 to 26 years old, at least five feet two inches (5�2�) in height, at least a high school student, of good...

RP’s Anti-Terrorism Bill ‘Mo...

Posted by DAVAO TODAY in Crime & Public Safety, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Human Rights, Insurgency, Latest Posts, Military, Politics, Terrorism on 01 23rd, 2007 | 1 Comment

In the wake of the signing earlier this month of an Asean Convention on Counter-Terrorism, the Arroyo administration has been pushing for the passage of the anti-terrorism bill now pending in the Philippine Senate, arguing that it would strengthen the country’s war against terror and would serve as a...