Artists and writers are revolted by President Arroyo’s proclamation of seven new national artists for this year.
The Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) did not mince words and blamed Arroyo’s “moribund, decadent politics” for spoiling the National Artist selection this year. The group singled out Cecile Guidote Alvarez who is presidential adviser for culture and chair of one of the agencies involved in the selection for now having delicadeza.
The Philippines has 32,617 new nurses who the Professional Regulation Commission announced today as having passed the Nursing Licensure Examinations.
Nielsen Media presented anew on Thursday night the highlights of the Yahoo-Nielsen study titled Net Index 2009 Philippines which is touted as “the first in-depth media study of internet users in urban Philippines”.
Jay Bautista, executive director of Nielsen Media, presented the results of the study last night before members of IMMAP, journalists and bloggers at a bar at Bonifacio High Street, The Fort.
Download the highlights of the study as presented by Bautista through the link below:
The British Embassy in Manila shares this tidbit for those interested in the London G20 Summit: Live streaming of the proceedings is actually available.
(UPDATED: 8:53 am, April 1, 2009)Dutch prosecutors today stopped their investigation of Prof. Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines who lives in exile in the Netherlands.
Formerly known as simply “Nicole”, the Filipino woman who charged a US Marine with rape and who won a conviction in a local court, has fled to the US and recanted her testimony.
Here is the full text of affidavit:
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
Annex A
CITY OF MAKATII, SUZETTE S. NICOLAS, of legal age. Filipino, a resident of Zamboanga City, after being duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state:
1. I am a Bachelor of Science graduate, major in Management Accounting, of the Ateneo de Davao University. Soon after my graduation, I took up nursing in 2004 at the Ateneo de Zamboanga City and at the same time assisted in managing our family owned canteen located inside the military base of the Southern Command. My mother was a civilian supervisor of the Philippine Navy for 25 years while my deceased father was a Philippine Navy Officer.
Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo led four other progressive members of Congress in withdrawing their names as authors of a consolidated bill which, at first, sought to decriminalize libel in the Philippines.
Ocampo is himself a journalist, having served as business editor at the pre-martial law Manila Times and as vice president of the National Press Club.
Courtesy of the Philippine Press Institute, here is the full text of the House Bill 3306, authored by Rep. Monico Puentevella, which seeks to legislate a “right of reply”:
Courtesy of the Senate website, following is the full text of the Senate Bill 2150 imposing the “right of reply”:
As the world searches for solutions to the global economic crisis, Prof. Jose Ma. Sison publishes his views on politics and the economy, on democracy and socialism and on the problem that is imperialist globalization. This is another step forward for Prof. Sison and the national democratic movement as they offer help to the country and the world towards understanding and addressing our situation.
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| Invitation to the launch of Prof. Jose Ma. Sison’s new books |
Journalists and academicians recently launched a website, a virtual online resource center, on Muslim Mindanao.
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| From Stuff |
This is good news for journalists and all those who wish to read about and understand this area and people of our country.
Read about it in this news release I am republishing here:
The Computer Professionals Union is calling on technology experts who wish to lend their skills and talent towards the deployment of a simple monitoring application for an NGO whose expertise is disaster response.
According to the CPU, the monitoring app will serve as “a grassroots monitoring tool for natural and man-made disasters in the country. We hope to create an alternative data source based on community reports of affected areas”.
[UPDATE: Digital PADEPA has moved to a new address]
National democratic activists have brought their school to the worldwide web.
PADEPA, short for Pambansa Demokratikong Paaralan (National Democratic School) has gone online with Digital PADEPA, making its courses available to activists and activist organizations who have long wanted to have obtain reference and teaching materials for political and ideological study online.
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| From Stuff |
Nestor Burgos Jr., the Inquirer’s correspondent in Iloilo, is now the new chairperson of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).
Burgos replaced erstwhile chairperson Jose Torres Jr. who was removed as officer and member of the NUJP over violations of the NUJP By-Laws and the The Journalist’s Code of Ethics.
Below is the NUJP’s official statement on the issue which I got through email:
Statement on the election of a new set of officers
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) elected a new set of officers last November 11, 2008 after its former chairman, Mr. Jose Torres Jr. was removed from office for violations of the NUJP’s By-Laws and The Journalist’s Code of Ethics .
Mr. Torres was found to have personally solicited money from a source for his personal use. The decision was reached after hearing the allegations against Mr. Torres and after he presented his explanation and defense for his action.
Just got this now via email from the NDFP International Office:
CPP 40th anniversary statement
Or if you prefer to read it now:
Last Saturday, the online newsmagazine Pinoy Weekly and several other groups convened the Pinoy Citizen Journalism Seminar at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.
Here is the presentation I shared with the participants:
For WordPress users out there, its time to upgrade your installation to version 2.6.5.
Recital of Facts on the NBN-ZTE contract and Northrail Project
Presented by Rep. Teddy Casiño
Bayan Muna Representative
Committee on Justice
House of Representatives
November 24, 2008
Mr. Chairman, my distinguished colleagues.
Former speaker Jose de Vencia has given a substantial account of the facts of the President’s knowledge and involvement in the anomalous NBN-ZTE contract. May I just be allowed to add a few more facts.
A few months after the infamous golf game between the former speaker, the President, COMELEC Chair Benjamin Abalos and ZTE officials, the President, through NEDA which she herself chairs, and the DOTC which is under the Executive, approved the ZTE’s proposal for a government to government contract. From a BOT project before the golf game, it became a government to government contract. Wala hong public bidding, lumobo na ang presyo ng ilang beses sa original proposal, at may mga lantarang paglabag sa ating procurement laws.
Pagsusog sa Reklamo Hinggil sa Pagpapatalsik sa Katungkulan ng Gng. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Pananalita ni Rep. Luzviminda C. Ilagan
Kinatawan ng Gabriela Women’s Party
sa Pulong ng Komite sa Katarungan
Kamara de Representantes
Ika-24 ng Nobyembre, 2008
Mr. Chairman, sa Mindanao, kung saan ang kinatawang ito nagmula, daandaang kaso ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao at Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas ang kinasasangkutan ni Gng. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
THE EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLINGS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES OF ACTIVISTS UNDER THE GMA ADMINISTRATION ARE CONSTITUTIVE OF THREE (3) CONSTITUTIONAL GROUNDS TO IMPEACH PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
Presented by Satur C. Ocampo
Bayan Muna Representative and
Deputy Minority Leader
To the Committee on Justice
House of Representatives
Nov. 24, 2008
I. OPENING STATEMENT
Esteemed Members of the Committee on Justice, let us hearken to the complaint of the Filipino people charging respondent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of having committed three impeachable offenses – first, culpable violations of the Constitution; second, high crimes; and third, betrayal of public trust for being criminally, civilly, administratively, and publicly liable for the extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and other violations of the constitutional rights of hundreds of militant activists.
Bayan Muna general counsel Neri Javier Colmenares has come out with a legal memorandum that explains and debunks what he describes as “grossly erroneous” preliminary remarks made by the chair of the House committee that hears the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo.
For Colmenares and Bayan Muna, Defensor has misinterpreted and has practically redefined the constitutional process (impeachment) and the rules governing it.
Those supporting the impeachment complaint and the larger cause of holding Arroyo for her many crimes, this legal memo comes in very handy.
While countries worldwide are taking “extraordinary” and “bold” steps to confront the global economic crisis and the recession that grips the biggest economies, President Arroyo and Congress have agreed to resort merely on enacting a national budget for 2009 that did not consider the meltdown.
What’s in store for the Philippines in the next few months? Let’s see from an economic briefing provided by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda to President Arroyo. The briefing paper and presentation are dated Nov. 12, 2008, and I’m publishing both documents here so anyone interested may take a look and analyze them.