If you haven’t read UN rapporteur Phillip Alston’s report yet, head on over to MLQ3’s blog, he’s posted a PDF copy. Of particular interest is paragraph 12, page 5:
The Secretary of Justice, and his colleagues, were perplexed at the proposition that prosecutors, whose role is absolutely central in the Philippines justice system, had some [...]
Raul Gonzales misses the point. Again.
Comelec pushes Ang Ladlad back into the closet
Interesting discussion over at MLQ3’s blog, about party list hopeful Ang Ladlad, the National Organization of Filipino Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders. Apparently, the Comelec, in a resolution dated Feb. 27, 2007, signed by Presiding Commissioner Florentino A. Tuason Jr. and Commissioners Rene V. Sarmiento and Nicodemo T. Ferrer, alleged that Ang Ladlad lied [...]
What EDSA meant to me
At day’s end, I realized I just stayed home the whole time watching Grey’s Anatomy and playing Fallout 2. It wasn’t until I checked my cellphone that I realized that the 21st anniversary of the first People Power revolution — EDSA — had come and gone. And that’s a damn shame.
I was six when it [...]
Palace releases Melo Report
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer: seems the Melo Report does, in fact, exist, and is being distributed to the media. I for one can’t wait to read it, for all the ruckus it’s caused. Philip Alston, the United Nations rapporteur for human rights, as good as tagged the government as the primary force behind the [...]
Yet more absurdities
This absolutely blew me away. I know I should pay more attention to who’s who and what’s what, but never – ever – in a million years would I have thought that Enrile, the architect of Martial Law, was the chairman of the Senate human rights committee. That’s beyond absurd, that’s ludicrous.
It seems Enrile had [...]
Why should they be afraid to come out?
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
~Psalms, 23:4
“Why should they be afraid to come out?”
So asks military chief, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., when asked about the safety of witnesses — not that there [...]
The VFA is a reflection of all things wrong with the US
It never ceases to amaze me how a nation could be so thoroughly convinced of its inferiority that its government would often bend over backwards to give a foreign power (read: the US) what they want, and its constituents would aspire to be something they are not. On further deliberation though, it is not so [...]
End the Abuse, Dammit
Domestic Violence: Challenge
Crusaders against domestic violence claimed that out of ten Filipina wives, six are “battered wives.” It’s not a very comforting statistic, and it actually took me by surprise; while I knew the Philippines does have a fair amount of culture bias against women, I never realized that domestic violence could be so prevalent. [...]
