MANILA — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday invited executives of several media outfits to Malaca?ang to solicit their help for the last three years of her administration, during which she hopes to build her “legacy.”
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The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has renewed its calls for the Philippines government to decriminalize libel, after another journalist was jailed for defamation in a lawsuit issued by a former congressman.
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Former presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Quintos Deles today released a statement questioning not so much the reported appointment of Senator Jun Magsaysay as head of the government's negotiating panel in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front but the departure from the panel of Silvestre Afable. "From the different stories circulating about how this unexpected situation came about, we cannot help but suspect the large play of manipulation and deception behind this sudden changing of the guards," Deles said.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUUJP) Davao Chapter condemns the jailing of Jofelle Tesorio for libel.
Ms Tesorio is former correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and editor of Bandillo ng Palawan, now with the Bangkok-based Asia News Network.
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In the Philippines, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding at four to five months fell from 20% in 1998 to 16% in 2003. It is estimated that 16,000 deaths of children under five in the Philippines are caused by inappropriate feeding practices, including the use of infant formula.