Human Rights

Washington Think Tank Urges Bush to Act Vs. Arroyo?s ?Dictatorial Methods?

But despite ?waning? U.S. support of her, Arroyo not on shaky footing, says analyst

DAVAO CITY ? The United States government should now review how its military aid and security assistance to the Philippines are being spent by the Arroyo administration, a policy analyst of a major American think tank said this week.

Washington should also pressure President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into ensuring that killers of Filipino journalists are brought to justice, said Dana R. Dillon, a senior policy analyst at The Heritage Foundation, a respected and influential American think tank, in an op-ed piece published last Sunday by Fox News.

Dillon criticized the Arroyo administration for, according to him, resorting ?to the methods many dictators use to silence criticism.? Arroyo, he said, ?appears to have given up on convincing her constituents of her competence.?

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?Commander Dante? Surrenders

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2 More Paquibato Residents Killed as Bandits Continue Rampage
Zones of War and Peace Eyed in Troubled Paquibato

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

DAVAO CITY ? ?Commander Dante,? the most wanted man in this city who have been blamed for terrorizing residents in Paquibato District the past months, is now in the hands of the authorities.

Police identified ?Commander Dante? as Dante Lumuyod, a 38-year-old resident of Gumitan, a village in Paquibato.

Lumuyod was presented to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Monday afternoon after he surrendered to the police and the military last Saturday in Paquibato, a hinterland district of the city, known for being the battleground between the military and the communist New People?s Army.

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Who Needs the Death Penalty?

Commentary: Hackles by Carlos H. CondeI dare speculate that the Catholic Church used the Hello Garci scandal to wangle concessions from the embattled president, such as the commutation of all death sentences. Because had the Church, as an institution, spoke out against her and called on the public to topple her, Arroyo wouldn?t have lasted in Malacanang this long.

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How to Bully Councilors and Get Away With It

It is the duty of the City Council to stick its nose into anything that concerns the people. Councilors should not allow one arrogant colonel to redefine what democracy mandates them to do.


Commentary: HACKLES By Carlos H. CondeDAVAO CITY ? Task Force Davao was created in 2003, in the aftermath of the bombings in this city in April of that year, solely for this purpose: to fight terrorism. Since then, however, it has metamorphosed into something else.

I?m not talking about the fact that the TFD, which is dominated by the military, has practically usurped the functions of the police, or that the ubiquitous presence of TFD troops has made the city look like a garrison. I?m talking about something far more pernicious.

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In Paquibato, a `Sham’ Public Hearing on Atrocities

What was billed as the City Council’s public hearing to get Paquibato residents to talk about the atrocities in the district turned into a display of official indifference and, according to witnesses and victims, arrogance.

Col. Mirar, Councilor Militar and Col. del Rosario

By Cheryll D. Fiel
davaotoday.com

Photos by Barry Ohaylan

PAQUIBATO, Davao City ? Lenny Nacua wanted officials to hear what happened to her son, and perhaps get some assurance that justice wouldbe done.

So on Wednesday, April 5, Nacua mustered the courage to face the officials onstage ? city councilors, police and military officials, Lumad leaders ? during the City Council’s public hearing here on the killings and violence in Paquibato District allegedly perpetrated by a group of bandits.
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