The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) today expressed its serious disappointment over the decision of Senate Committee on Finance Chair Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile to restore P12.1-billion worth of repayments for questionable loans and slash P4.2 billion from the House approved budget for health services in the Senate version of the 2008 national government budget.
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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the recent waves of attacks on media in Somalia which have included arrests and censorship. On Monday two journalists were arrested by…
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) condemns the imposition of the curfew by Pres. Gloria Arroyo as oppressive, unconstitutional and an arbitrary overkill intended only to instill fear on the people. Article III, Section 6 of the Constitution states that “Neither shall the right to travel be impaired except in the interest of national security, public safety or public health, as may be provided by law.” Absent any law, Pres. Arroyo does not have the authority to impose curfew. The supposed exemptions in the ‘guidelines’ are of no moment, since the order has no constitutional basis in the first place.
Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) take to the streets of Davao the morning after the blast in Congress, urging vigilance among the people. They call on people to act and demand an investigation into the incident that killed three, wounded several others, including lawmakers. InPeace, the peace advocacy group, said in a statement that the bombing was a smokescreen for something more sinister. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)