Author: DAVAO TODAY

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Regulating Wi-Fi in Davao a Harebrained Idea

Davao City Councilor Pilar Braga maybe overdoing her campaign against pornography on the Internet. In a privilege speech, according to this report, Braga raised alarm over the sight of “laptop-carrying executives accessing pornographic materials while leisurely sipping coffee in some cafes in the downtown area.” For that, she wanted to regulate wi-fi connections being offered by these bars and cafes.

While we share her concern that minors should be protected from online pornography (and that regulating Internet cafes for that purpose maybe a good idea), we don’t see any good in her new proposal to regulate as well wi-fi.

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Davao ‘May Be Particular Target’ of Terror Attack

The Australian government has renewed its advisory warning its citizens from traveling to certain parts of the country, particularly in Mindanao and Cebu. The advisory warned that “Davao City may be a particular target” of terrorist attacks.

“The attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Mindanao, including during the period 9-16 January which includes the Asean and East Asian Summits,” the advisory said. “Davao City may be a particular target.”

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Abducted, Blindfolded, Tortured, Molested

One day in November, two NGO workers were abducted by soldiers in a village in North Cotabato. They were forcibly brought to a military detachment where they were blindfolded, interrogated, tortured and sexually molested. The soldiers tried to force them to admit that they were communist guerillas.

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2006: A Year of Horror for Southern Mindanao?s Women Activists


SUFFERING WOMEN. This political art, seen at the Davao offices of the women’s group Gabriela, depicts the abuses women, particularly their activist sisters, go through under a repressive regime. (davaotoday.com photo by Cheryll D. Fiel)

According to the human-rights group Karapatan, 15 women from Southern Mindanao alone were killed in the past five years due to their political involvements. Nationwide, 86 of the more than 700 victims of political killings from 2001 to August 2, 2006, were women.

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY — A young village teacher killed in a strafing incident. An elderly woman hacked to death while sleeping in her home. Two volunteers of a nongovernment organization abducted and tortured by the military. Another NGO worker disappeared without a trace.

Several women in Southern Mindanao went through these, and more, in 2006. It was a year that, overall, saw the deterioration of the state of human rights and civil liberties in the Philippines.

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