Lex Adonis, one of Davao City’s hard-hitting radio broadcasters, is behind bars after a court convicted him of the libel case filed by House majority leader Rep. Prospero Nograles. Adonis’s misfortune illustrates what happens when a powerful public official uses the country’s libel laws to get back at a journalist who was too poor to hire a lawyer or attend court hearings.
Related item: ‘No One to Blame But Adonis Himself — Bombo Radyo’
Renato “Ka Atong” Pacaide, who was shot dead on March 2 by suspected military agents in Digos City, was laid to rest on Friday. Before the burial in Digos City, his family, friends and colleagues paid tribute to the slain peasant leader through testimonies, songs and prayer. They then marched around the city denouncing the continuing killings of political activists and the government’s campaign against leftist groups. Click here for more pictures. (Photos courtesy of Karapatan-Southern Mindanao)
Candidates from the “Genuine Opposition” held a rally at the Rizal Park in Davao City on Thursday. The candidates took turns lambasting the Arroyo government for its many shortcomings. According to analysts, the Genuine Opposition has to engage the administration Team Unity ticket in a meaningful debate. “People, not big business, should decide on content and conduct of the debate,” according to Ibon Foundation. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)
All throughout his life, Renato Pacaide was firmly committed to activism and social justice. Then last week, somebody pumped four bullets into his body.
The US State Department released today its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2006, which looks at the human-rights situation in countries around the world. The report, prepared by the department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, was released in Washington DC today by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The report has this to say about the Philippines: “During the year there were a number of arbitrary, unlawful, and extrajudicial killings apparently by elements of the security services and of political killings, including killings of journalists, by a variety of actors. Many of these killings went unsolved and unpunished, contributing to a climate of impunity, despite intensified government efforts during the year to investigate and prosecute these cases.”
It blamed state security forces and insurgents, mainly the New People’s Army, for these attacks.