Today’s Views

The Real Stories in Camp Bagong Diwa

The families and the rest of the Muslim people will fight for justice for the slain innocent detainees. They suffered long enough in prison cell for crimes they did not commit.

COTABATO CITY — Families and friends of the Muslim detainees of Camp Bagong Diwa, as well as the officers and members of Suara Bangsamoro, were so elated when news came out that the Commission on Human Rights has finally released its verdict about the reported summary execution of some Muslim detainees who did not participate in the jailbreak by the Abu Sayyaf Group on March 15, 2006 at Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig.

This is only the first step for the families of the victims of summary execution. Criminal cases should be immediately filed against former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Angelo Reyes and Philippine National Police (PNP) director Arturo Lomibao.

With the CHR report in the hands of the DOJ, the burden of determining probable cause is with Secretary Raul Gonzales. However, with the way he is way handling the Subic rape case, Lomibao and Reyes might go scot-free. Judging by the initial reaction of Secretary Gonzales, he will surely squeeze the CHR and the families for the burden of proof.

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Cha-cha and Corruption: A Shallow Solution to a Deep-Rooted Problem

The current ?people?s initiative? for Cha-cha is itself a mockery of the essence of genuine people?s governance because it reportedly involves bribing voters and local government officials — a classic example of graft and corruption.

By Antonio Tujan Jr.
Ibon Features

MANILA — The shift to a parliamentary system under the proposed charter change (Cha-cha) would ?significantly reduce? corruption in the political system, according to House Speaker Jose de Venecia.

De Venecia said the proposed shift would set elections on a five-year cycle and provide state funding to move the country towards a strong two-party system. He added that a parliamentary government tainted by corruption could fall through a no-confidence vote introduced in parliament but a presidential system offers only the difficult process of impeachment to remove a president.

But the proposed shift to a Parliamentary system is a shallow response to a societal problem that is more deep-rooted that government realizes, or cares to admit.
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With Great Power…

Commentary
By Carlos H. Conde
davaotoday.com

MANILA — I was sitting as a panelist at a forum called “Who’s Afraid of Media Freedom?” yesterday at the Ateneo law school in Rockwell when my cellphone went berserk with text messages warning of an impending police raid of the offices of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. I was stunned. Literally, I felt a chill crawling down my spine. Having no experience with media repression on the scale that my elder colleagues went through during the martial law years, I was actually afraid. Is this it? I asked myself silently. Are they really going to arrest Sheila Coronel et. al.? After them, who was going to be next? (Read Sheila’s account of what happened yesterday.)

I was going to speak after ABS-CBN’s Luchi Cruz-Valdez. While listening to her recount her experience covering the first Edsa, a thought crossed mind: Should I deliver my speech? What if the Arroyo regime would think it is subversive or that it might incite people to rebel?

Former vice president Tito Guingona was seated right next to me. A few minutes earlier, he exhorted the audience to “fight on!” Suddenly, I felt deeply ashamed. Here was this old civil libertarian, still at it, raising hell and battling water cannons — and there I was, actually anxious about the possible consequences of what I was going to say.

In end, I decided I was not going to give this regime the pleasure of intimidating me. So I raised a little hell myself.

Following is my short presentation. (You can listen to it here. Incidentally, Conrado de Quiros discussed the subject of my speech in his column today. You can also listen to the brilliant presentation by veteran journalist Vergel Santos of BusinessWorld and the Center for Media Freedom and Resonsibility.)

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Media in Peril

By Jun Duterte
Davao Communicators Guild
One of the most gripping human emotion is fear. Fear immobilizes, fear neutralizes, fear corrodes human goodwill and creativity, fear sends shivers to the heart, clouds our judgement and in the process derails the independence of our thoughts, our feelings, our emotions and even of our will.

It is against this social backdrop that we, media practitioners in Davao from all walks of life and backgrounds have collectively decided to come to the forefront today-in the form of a protest march and rally-irrespective of our professional differences because there is a greater national concern that stares us in the face right now: the threats brought about by Proclamation 1017.

While we hear of reports that presumably 1017 might be lifted anytime, this is not consolation enough for us because the threats to free expression and our right to think and speak as freemen do in a free society remain unresolved.

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