Canvassing of Maguindanao votes expected today, groups warn of massive protests

?We join all opposition groups and election watchdogs in condemning the massive electoral fraud orchestrated to benefit the administration slate. We must not allow the administration to succeed in its final push to rig the elections through the canvassing of votes in Maguindanao and other questionable regions,? Renato Reyes of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said.

Continue ReadingCanvassing of Maguindanao votes expected today, groups warn of massive protests

Philippines: Election watchdog warns vs rigging votes from ARMM in favor of Team Unity

MANILA, Philippines — Election watchdog Kontra Daya warned against rigging of votes from
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in favor of Team Unity
candidates.

Kontra Daya joined the Concerned Citizens and other groups in a
protest rally, Wednesday, near the Philippine International Convention
Center (PICC) where the national canvassing is ongoing. The Commission
on Elections (Comelec) is set to canvass the votes from Maguindanao on
the same day.
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Continue ReadingPhilippines: Election watchdog warns vs rigging votes from ARMM in favor of Team Unity

Tuition hike blamed on ‘grand conspiracy’ between Arroyo, private schools

According to Kabataan partylist, CHED granted the tuition increase even before consultations in schools for such an increase has yet to be completed. It said the hike came after a meeting between President Arroyo and COCOPEA, the organization of private schools. The CHED's "unilateral and shameless act shows the commission's subservience and capitulation to strong pressure from school owners even at the expense of students."

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A child works for education


Argel Kiawan, 14 and an incoming second-year high-school student, does some spade work outside the Magallanes Elementary School, which pays him 100 pesos a day. Kiawan says his family is poor so he needs to find work for his lunch money and daily school allowance. That a minor like him was hired by a public school to do manual labor likewise underscores the problem of child labor in Davao City and the flagrant violation even by government officials of the country's child-labor laws. Click for larger photo (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

Continue ReadingA child works for education