Politics

Rep. Crispin Beltran, 1933-2008

BREAKING NEWS
Rep. Crispin Beltran of the AnakPawis party-list group died this morning after falling off the roof of his house in Bulacan. Relatives said he was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced “brain dead” due to severe head injuries. He died at 11:48 this morning, doctors said. Beltran was checking the roof for leaks when the accident happened, one of his daughters said.

DAVAO CITY – Human rights group Karapatan-Southern Mindanao on Tuesday expressed its concern over the condition of the 32 families…

By MARILOU M. AGUIRRE | Davao Today

Davao city Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was furious over rumors that he is protecting Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of the religious sect Jesus Christ: A Name Above Every Name, who has been dragged into the murder of tribal leader Dominador Diarog.

NEW CHIEF. Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, newly installed Armed Forces Chief of Staff, officiates the change of command ceremony of Maj. Gen. Armando Cunanan, former head of the 8th Infantry Division, as the new head of the Eastern Mindanao Command. Cunanan replaces Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna who will relieve Lt. Gen. Antonio Romero II for the AFP Deputy Chief of Staff post. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

WE WANT JUSTICE! Militants and relatives of Celso Pojas, the slain secretary general of Farmers Association of Davao City-Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, hold a picket here on Friday, May 16. They demand justice for the peasant leader, who, according to the rights group Karapatan, is the first activist killed in Davao city and the 14th killed in the country this year alone. They condemn the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Arroyo government’s Oplan Bantay Laya (Freedom Watch) which they say, already claimed close to a thousand lives of progressive leaders and members since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rose to power. Pojas was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-riding men on Thursday morning, outside their office in Maa. He is the first victim of political killings, just three days after Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano replaced Gen. Hermogenes Esperon as the AFP Chief-of-staff.(davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

By CHERYLL D. FIEL | Davao Today

BREAKING NEWS | Celso Pojas was the secretary-general of the Farmers’ Association of Davao City and spokesman of the KMP in Southern Mindanao. He was the first militant leader assassinated in Davao city, according to Karapatan-Southern Mindanao.

Slain farmers’ leader Celso Pojas during the peasant month press conference in October last year. The words on his hat reads “Land, not bullet.” (davaotoday.com file photo by Barry Ohaylan)

COMPOSTELA’S BIG GUN. Compostela Governor Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy poses to the media while holding this high-powered rifle owned by the…

By MARILOU M. AGUIRRE | Davao Today

After their release from NPA captivity where they were investigated for possible “crime against the people,” two soldiers now face another investigation by their superiors.

New People’s Army guerrillas during the release of the soldiers last week.

DOWN SHE GOES. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo goes down the stairs of the Marco Polo Hotel after a two-hour closed-door meeting with members of the Bishop Ulama Conference. The BUC has been alarmed over the withdrawal of Malaysia from the international monitoring team (IMT) of the ceasefire between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)

ENCOUNTER. Bayan Muna’s Joel Virador raises a clenched fist to the camera during a chat with Major Medel Aguilar, chief of the Civil Relations Group 5 of the Philippine Army, at the May 1 Labor Day rally. Each assumes opposing stance in an argument over the need for genuine change to uplift the condition of the working class. Aguilar wears a t-shirt that reads, “no to violence, no to armed struggle,” while Virador wears one that calls for a stop to the militarization in the countryside. (davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan)