Outside Manila, Thousands Denounce Arroyo

Thousands converged in other key cities across the country to denounce the Arroyo regime for the poverty, corruption, deception and repression in the Philippines.
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Thousands converged in other key cities across the country to denounce the Arroyo regime for the poverty, corruption, deception and repression in the Philippines.

When Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivers what is supposed to be her last State of the Nation Address this Monday, she will probably claim that she has accomplished what she said she had set out to do in 2001 and 2004. To her critics, however, the past nine years have been “the reign of Gollum.”
Melissa Roxas’s description of the place where she was brought and tortured seemed consistent with what the CHR found during a visit to Fort Magsaysay. But military officials deny soldiers were behind the atrocity. “Fort Magsaysay is a tourist destination,” one of them told the commissioners.

“My continued detention shows that the Government of the Republic of the Philippines is not serious in lifting the suspension of the Jasig. There is political pressure to keep me in jail. But they are no match against the mass movement who spared no effort in their support,” Principe said.
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Earlier:
Principe Finally Freed from Camp Crame Jail
Military Blocks Release of Political Prisoner

Elizabeth Principe’s release followed a protest by supporters today in front of Camp Crame, the headquarters of the Philippine National Police, and after Principe held a brief hunger strike to denounce the military’s attempt to prevent her from being freed despite a court order dismissing all charges against her.

Marie Hilao Enriquez, secretary-general of Karapatan, told Bulatlat that the military refused to release Elizabeth Principe’s clearance papers. “This is already a case of illegal detention since the court has already ordered her release,” Enriquez said. Principe was supposed to be freed Monday night.

A Bulatlat.com Exclusive Having to leave the Philippines for the United States when she was nine years old was a particularly painful experience for Filipino-American Melissa Roxas. Her desire to trace her roots brought her back to the country of her birth where, in May, soldiers kidnapped and tortured her for days.

A troubled economy, widespread joblessness, human-rights violations, corruption, and political maneuverings are whipping public discontent against Arroyo, warns Ibon Foundation.

What has the Department of Labor and Employment done about the health and safety violations that have resulted in more than 40 deaths and over 5,000 injuries in the three and a bit years Hanjin has been operating at Subic? What has happened to the Senate probe, which kicked off promisingly in early February amid a flurry of publicity about the then recent deaths at Hanjin?

“Our transport strike is a success.” Thus said the Task Force July 13, a transport group coalition, at the conclusion of the day-long strike it led in selected Metro Manila routes and regions outside the capital on Monday. Through the strike, they said, they were able to register their protest against the overpricing of petroleum products by the oil companies, particularly the so-called Big Three, and their connivance with the Arroyo regime. View the slideshow

Since the Arroyo regime expanded the value-added tax on oil and since the implementation of the oil-deregulation law, most jeepney drivers have to work long hours, often up to 14 hours a day. If they don’t, whatever money they earn for the day will only further enrich the oil companies -- and they go home penniless. Think about this the next time you are tempted to curse jeepney drivers for being uncouth, discourteous and undisciplined, as the government is wont to depict them.

Analysis Talk is rife that the Arroyo government would proclaim martial law, especially after the series of bombings that rocked several parts of the Philippines. However, the Arroyo regime sorely lacks the factors that enabled the dictator Ferdinand Marcos to successfully impose martial rule. The bottomline: if Arroyo declares martial law, she would be adding fuel to the fire of the people’ anger.

A farmer in Compostela Valley who last seen beaten and forcibly taken allegedly by soldiers on July 4 remains missing. Alvin Lopez, 25, a resident of Monkayo was hogtied and forced into a military vehicle during a military operation. Alvin’s mother, Erlinda, has filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights against the military’s 26th Infantry Battalion. Read the full story
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