Manila, May 23 – Advocates have underscored environment-related causes of armed conflict during a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) held recently by the government Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-economic Reforms (RWC-SER).
The FGDs were part of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) peace panel’s efforts to draw feedback from various stakeholders on the ongoing peace process with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP).
Headed by panel member Ednar Dayanghirang, the RWC-SER conducted three FGDs that focused on the environment – specifically on Environmental Risks and Resource Access and Utilization. Joining him were RWC members Fr. Albert Alejo and Prof. Fernando Aldaba.
In one FGD participants maintained that rampant and irresponsible mining activities causing death and destruction to environment lead to armed conflict. They also pointed out that large-scale mining operations encroach on lands of indigenous peoples (IPs) sometimes “with the help of government forces.”
According to one participant, mining toxic wastes are detrimental not only to the environment, but also to the communities that depend on the environment for livelihood. “Mine tailings that go to rivers affect those who need it for their livelihood, such as fisherfolk and farmers,” he said.
Another issue tackled in the FGDs was the disaster preparedness of local governments, especially those in the eastern part of the country like the Bicol region. “These areas, the corridor of poverty, are usually hit by storms and are among the poorest in the country. These are also where the insurgents breed,” explained one participant.
Another participant said solving these problems would need creativity. He added that reforms should not only focus on government actions but also on changing the culture of today’s Filipinos.
Other FGDs conducted by RWC-SER covered issues related to IPs, urban land reform, fisheries and forest reform, inclusive growth, agrarian reform, industrial policy and agricultural development, and social protection.
Inputs from these were used by the Committee in drafting the government’s version of the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-economic Reforms (CASER) which will be exchanged for review with the NDFP version two weeks before the first bilateral meeting in June.
CASER is one of three key agreements that the GPH and the NDFP agreed to complete within a timeframe of 18 months to three years. The other two are the Comprehensive Agreement on Political-Constitutional Reforms (CAPCR), and the Agreement on End of Hostilities and Disposition of Forces (EoH/DoF).#
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Globe fetes top vendors and suppliers for 2010
Globe Telecom recently recognized more than 100 business partners, vendors and suppliers during its 8th Business Partners’ Meeting. During the ceremony, Globe awarded its top business partners and accorded them two award categories: Hall of Fame Award and Outstanding Vendor the Year Award.
The Hall of Fame Award is given to vendors who have consistently delivered superior and quality service to Globe and have been awarded as outstanding business partner for four (4) consecutive years in the same award category. Recipient of the Hall of Fame Award included Spectrum Graphix, Inc. for the Marketing, Advertising and Promotional Materials category and Underground Technologies, Inc. for the Outside Plant Construction category.
Outstanding Vendors of the Year are G.M. Maningas Construction, Incorporated (Civil Works/Architectural Contractor of the Year), SAS Institute (Philippines), Inc. (Information Technology), Novare Technologies Inc. (Value Added Services), Sweet Dynamics Enterprises (Marketing/Advertising/Promotional Materials), Communication Advantage, Inc. (Marketing Events), MD Tambungui Specialists (MDTS), Inc. (Outside Plant Contractor) and Huawei Technologies Phils., Inc. (Telecom Solutions).
Vendors’ performances are measured based on quality, consistent adherence to set standards and guidelines, achievement of agreed service level agreements (SLAs) and provision of excellent after-sales support.
“Our business partners play an integral role in the achievement of our goals and objectives. Through their support, we are able to provide our customers with the best quality experience through innovative products, services and solutions. We are very pleased that our relationship with them continues to be successful and productive through the years,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.
Edith Santiago, Head of Globe Logistics and Administrative Support (LAS) added, “This recognition is our way of thanking our vendors and suppliers for their valued assistance in our endeavors. We look forward to more years of a strong and harmonious partnership with all of them.”
In photo are (from left) Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, Charlie Tambungui and Roger Gosiaoco of MD Tambungui Specialists (MDTS), Inc., Jimmy Quin Lin of Sweet Dynamics Enterprises, TJ Javier of Novare Technologies Inc., Danny Mea of Underground Technologies, Inc., Globe LAS Head Edith Santiago, Darwin Cerrado and Jennie Mendez of SAS Institute (Philippines), Inc., Globe Chief Finance Officer Albert de Larrazabal, Maribeth Plastina and Ely Dulin of Underground Technologies, Marian Sycip of Spectrum Graphix, Inc., Charles Li Wei of Huawei Technologies Phils. Inc., Edwina Tan of Communication Advantage, Inc., Cary Yang of Huawei Technologies, Inc.; German Maningas and Orlando Maningas of G.M. Maningas Construction, Incorporated and Globe Logistics Head Jeff de Leon.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Yoly Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom
Tel. No. 730 2627
Fax no. 739 3075
E-mail: globe.corpcomm@gmail.com
The Hall of Fame Award is given to vendors who have consistently delivered superior and quality service to Globe and have been awarded as outstanding business partner for four (4) consecutive years in the same award category. Recipient of the Hall of Fame Award included Spectrum Graphix, Inc. for the Marketing, Advertising and Promotional Materials category and Underground Technologies, Inc. for the Outside Plant Construction category.
Outstanding Vendors of the Year are G.M. Maningas Construction, Incorporated (Civil Works/Architectural Contractor of the Year), SAS Institute (Philippines), Inc. (Information Technology), Novare Technologies Inc. (Value Added Services), Sweet Dynamics Enterprises (Marketing/Advertising/Promotional Materials), Communication Advantage, Inc. (Marketing Events), MD Tambungui Specialists (MDTS), Inc. (Outside Plant Contractor) and Huawei Technologies Phils., Inc. (Telecom Solutions).
Vendors’ performances are measured based on quality, consistent adherence to set standards and guidelines, achievement of agreed service level agreements (SLAs) and provision of excellent after-sales support.
“Our business partners play an integral role in the achievement of our goals and objectives. Through their support, we are able to provide our customers with the best quality experience through innovative products, services and solutions. We are very pleased that our relationship with them continues to be successful and productive through the years,” said Ernest Cu, Globe President and CEO.
Edith Santiago, Head of Globe Logistics and Administrative Support (LAS) added, “This recognition is our way of thanking our vendors and suppliers for their valued assistance in our endeavors. We look forward to more years of a strong and harmonious partnership with all of them.”
In photo are (from left) Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu, Charlie Tambungui and Roger Gosiaoco of MD Tambungui Specialists (MDTS), Inc., Jimmy Quin Lin of Sweet Dynamics Enterprises, TJ Javier of Novare Technologies Inc., Danny Mea of Underground Technologies, Inc., Globe LAS Head Edith Santiago, Darwin Cerrado and Jennie Mendez of SAS Institute (Philippines), Inc., Globe Chief Finance Officer Albert de Larrazabal, Maribeth Plastina and Ely Dulin of Underground Technologies, Marian Sycip of Spectrum Graphix, Inc., Charles Li Wei of Huawei Technologies Phils. Inc., Edwina Tan of Communication Advantage, Inc., Cary Yang of Huawei Technologies, Inc.; German Maningas and Orlando Maningas of G.M. Maningas Construction, Incorporated and Globe Logistics Head Jeff de Leon.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Yoly Crisanto
Head, Corporate Communications
Globe Telecom
Tel. No. 730 2627
Fax no. 739 3075
E-mail: globe.corpcomm@gmail.com
Bikers to pedal ‘extra mile’ for peace in Mindanao
Cotabato City, May 20 – “Going the extra mile for peace in Mindanao” will be the statement of around 500 bikers and peace advocates who are expected to gather here on May 29 to pedal a 36-kilometer route for promoting peace in the region.
Biking enthusiasts, government officials, civil society organizations, and the military will unite for this peace campaign dubbed as “Bike for Peace 2011.”
The Government of the Philippines (GPH) peace panel for talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) initiated the event to gain heightened support from the public on the Mindanao peace process.
By 6:30 a.m., the 36-km marathon will start at the Cotabato City Hall then pass through the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat, and end near the Municipal Hall of Upi, Maguindanao.
Participants from different groups have been invited to join the bike fest, some of which includes: Cotabato Off Road Enthusiasts (CORE); Karancho Motorcycle Club; Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom); AFP 6th Infantry Division (6ID); Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID); Mindanao Human Rights Action Center (MINHRAC); Mindanao People's Caucus (MPC), Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP); and Muslim Organization of Government Officials and Professionals.
The Upi local government unit will likewise conduct a medical mission at their town gymnasium during the event.
Under the Aquino administration, the MILF has resumed peace negotiations with the government, and the two parties are scheduled meet again for another round of formal exploratory talks in June this year.
The GPH panel is expected to submit its counterproposal to the MILF’s Comprehensive Compact which contains the Moro group’s starting position for a politically negotiated settlement. #
Biking enthusiasts, government officials, civil society organizations, and the military will unite for this peace campaign dubbed as “Bike for Peace 2011.”
The Government of the Philippines (GPH) peace panel for talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) initiated the event to gain heightened support from the public on the Mindanao peace process.
By 6:30 a.m., the 36-km marathon will start at the Cotabato City Hall then pass through the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat, and end near the Municipal Hall of Upi, Maguindanao.
Participants from different groups have been invited to join the bike fest, some of which includes: Cotabato Off Road Enthusiasts (CORE); Karancho Motorcycle Club; Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom); AFP 6th Infantry Division (6ID); Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID); Mindanao Human Rights Action Center (MINHRAC); Mindanao People's Caucus (MPC), Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP); and Muslim Organization of Government Officials and Professionals.
The Upi local government unit will likewise conduct a medical mission at their town gymnasium during the event.
Under the Aquino administration, the MILF has resumed peace negotiations with the government, and the two parties are scheduled meet again for another round of formal exploratory talks in June this year.
The GPH panel is expected to submit its counterproposal to the MILF’s Comprehensive Compact which contains the Moro group’s starting position for a politically negotiated settlement. #
Mandug farmers face displacement
PRESS RELEASE
May 20, 2011
Davao City – More than 50 peasant households occupying more than 14 hectares of lands in Sitio Fatima, Brgy. Mandug fear looming displacement in light of the titling of their farmlands by the Cabaguio family, an influential family here.
“The Cabaguio family has acquired a land title to around 14 hectares in Sito Fatima only in 2006, but the earliest settlers here have tilled these lands since 1957. When we came here, the place was a marshland,” lamented Pepito Cipriano in the vernacular, whose family was among the pioneering families in the area.
“We were the ones who cultivated these lands, now because of a piece of paper held by a rich family from Davao, we are doomed to be displaced,” he added.
Cipriano recalls that Brgy. Mandug, Buhangin District became the relocation site of Martial Law human rights violations victims in the late 50’s. But the larger part of the settlers came in at around the 80’s.
According to Davao City census, as of 2000, Brgy. Mandug has a population of 2400 households. A large portion of the lands is still primarily agricultural, although it is classified as a Planned Development Unit, or mixed land use zone.
To date however, majority of its population in the northern part are farmers, who depend solely on farming for a living.
The “patriarch” as he was referred to by the old families in Sitio Fatima, also said that the Cabaguio family has been demanding 25% of their harvests. They however found out that the Cabaguio family does not have any title yet.
On May 2006, after the Cabaguio family acquired a title, leaders of the local farmers’ organization in the area, Mandug Farmers Association (MAFA), sat down in a dialogue with the representatives of the Cabaguio family, and the Bureau of Lands, claiming official ownership of the 14-hectare land that more than 50 households have occupied for more than 30 years.
During the dialogue, the Cabaguios said they will not ask farmers to leave, only that they cannot be allowed to farm anymore.
“Maguuma mi tungod sa pagtikad namo sa yuta diin nagasalig ang amoang pamilya aron mabuhi. Unsaon mi mabuhi kung dilian mi nga magtikad og yuta?” said Ali Pojas, chair of the peasant group MAFA, and brother of the late farmer leader Celso Pojas, slain three years ago by alleged members of the military.
Pojas added: “Tungod sa among kahimtang ron, mas nasabtan namo nganong nakigbisog si Celso alang sa katungod sa yuta alang sa mag-uuma, dili mi mosugot nga walaon ang among katungod nga mag-uma. Ipadayon namo ang gisugdan nga pakigbisog ni Celso.”
Pojas also criticized the government for failing to distribute lands to farmers.
“Napamatud-an namo nga pakyas ang agrarian reform law sa gubyerno. Kung tinuod nga ginalantaw sa gubyerno ang amoang kaayuhan, nganong kami nga naa diri mismo sa Davao City hangtod karon wala’y kaseguruhan sa yuta, ug gitagaan pa gyud og titulo ang usa ka ma-impluwensya nga tao. Mas daghan man unta mi nga nagabenepisyo karon sa kini nga yuta, nganong, ipaangkon man ni sa usa lang ka-pamilya,” stated Pojas.
ALI POJAS
0928-6529509
May 20, 2011
Davao City – More than 50 peasant households occupying more than 14 hectares of lands in Sitio Fatima, Brgy. Mandug fear looming displacement in light of the titling of their farmlands by the Cabaguio family, an influential family here.
“The Cabaguio family has acquired a land title to around 14 hectares in Sito Fatima only in 2006, but the earliest settlers here have tilled these lands since 1957. When we came here, the place was a marshland,” lamented Pepito Cipriano in the vernacular, whose family was among the pioneering families in the area.
“We were the ones who cultivated these lands, now because of a piece of paper held by a rich family from Davao, we are doomed to be displaced,” he added.
Cipriano recalls that Brgy. Mandug, Buhangin District became the relocation site of Martial Law human rights violations victims in the late 50’s. But the larger part of the settlers came in at around the 80’s.
According to Davao City census, as of 2000, Brgy. Mandug has a population of 2400 households. A large portion of the lands is still primarily agricultural, although it is classified as a Planned Development Unit, or mixed land use zone.
To date however, majority of its population in the northern part are farmers, who depend solely on farming for a living.
The “patriarch” as he was referred to by the old families in Sitio Fatima, also said that the Cabaguio family has been demanding 25% of their harvests. They however found out that the Cabaguio family does not have any title yet.
On May 2006, after the Cabaguio family acquired a title, leaders of the local farmers’ organization in the area, Mandug Farmers Association (MAFA), sat down in a dialogue with the representatives of the Cabaguio family, and the Bureau of Lands, claiming official ownership of the 14-hectare land that more than 50 households have occupied for more than 30 years.
During the dialogue, the Cabaguios said they will not ask farmers to leave, only that they cannot be allowed to farm anymore.
“Maguuma mi tungod sa pagtikad namo sa yuta diin nagasalig ang amoang pamilya aron mabuhi. Unsaon mi mabuhi kung dilian mi nga magtikad og yuta?” said Ali Pojas, chair of the peasant group MAFA, and brother of the late farmer leader Celso Pojas, slain three years ago by alleged members of the military.
Pojas added: “Tungod sa among kahimtang ron, mas nasabtan namo nganong nakigbisog si Celso alang sa katungod sa yuta alang sa mag-uuma, dili mi mosugot nga walaon ang among katungod nga mag-uma. Ipadayon namo ang gisugdan nga pakigbisog ni Celso.”
Pojas also criticized the government for failing to distribute lands to farmers.
“Napamatud-an namo nga pakyas ang agrarian reform law sa gubyerno. Kung tinuod nga ginalantaw sa gubyerno ang amoang kaayuhan, nganong kami nga naa diri mismo sa Davao City hangtod karon wala’y kaseguruhan sa yuta, ug gitagaan pa gyud og titulo ang usa ka ma-impluwensya nga tao. Mas daghan man unta mi nga nagabenepisyo karon sa kini nga yuta, nganong, ipaangkon man ni sa usa lang ka-pamilya,” stated Pojas.
ALI POJAS
0928-6529509
Farmers hit NFA over P100-B losses
Press Release
May 20, 2011
DAVAO CITY – The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP-SMR) decried the reported P100-B losses of the National Food Authority recently exposed by the report of the Commission on Audit (COA) saying the money should have been instead used to augment the dire want of agricultural services to farmers.
“How the NFA lost this much in 10 years is a crime against the growing number of hungry and impoverished Filipinos. How dare the NFA say that these losses were incurred ‘ as part of its social mandate to help farmers’ when it is responsible for the massive rice importation causing further neglect to millions of farmers already victimized by the government’s lack of support and subsidy,” said Pedro Arnado, chairperson of KMP-SMR.
He added: “Please do not use the farmers to cover up the institutionalized corruption of this government.”
Arnado stressed that the NFA has been only buying around 1- 2 % of the local stocks when it is supposed to buy 10% of the local rice production.
He also slammed NFA’s reports on rice spillage during the unloading and transfer of stocks as petty excuses to “cover up” the real cause of NFA losses.
“Let us not fool the people. We know better. NFA has been the source of the massive corruption of government officials involved in rice importation. It would be easy to conjure up figures just to cover up the billions of money which was pocketed by government leaders especially in the time of Arroyo,” said Pedro Arnado.
Arnado recounted reports that imported rice in the last three years of the Arroyo government was overpriced at 125$ per metric ton. Years ago, Sen. Chiz Escudero also exposed that the government may have lost 5.7 billion to 13.1 billion pesos in kickbacks in the importation of 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam in 2009.
Worsening plight of farmers
KMP said the dependence of the government on rice importation has diminished the capacity of the local agricultural industry to provide the country ample food stocks and caused poverty of the Filipino farmers who used to be the most skilled rice producers in the Asia, of not, in the world.
Arnado said the bogus land reform law enacted in the time of Pres. Cory Aquino has been inutile in addressing landlessness.
“Farmers nationwide have remained to be the poorest of the poor. In the region, farmers continue to be exploited by greedy landlords who demand high land rent. Usurers levy inhumane interest payments over fertilizers and other farm inputs owed by farmers. Beneficiaries of the agrarian reform law could not afford the high amortization rates and the highly commercialized rates of farm inputs sold by transnational agro-chemical industries, whose products have also destroyed local rice varieties,” said Arnado.
“For instance, a corn farmer in North Cotobato who tills a 2-hectare farm in a period of four months, would get a gross income of P120,000 but this would not be enough to cover the costs of land preparation, planting, harvesting, and post – harvest hauling, shelling, drying, sacking and deliveries. What a farmer ends up with after all the rent (usually 50 – 70% share goes to landlord) and loans have been exacted from his harvest is not even enough to feed his family three times a day. The irony of it all is that a farmer cannot even afford to provide his family a fair share of the produce that he planted,” said Arnado.#
PEDRO ARNADO
0910-2261000
May 20, 2011
DAVAO CITY – The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP-SMR) decried the reported P100-B losses of the National Food Authority recently exposed by the report of the Commission on Audit (COA) saying the money should have been instead used to augment the dire want of agricultural services to farmers.
“How the NFA lost this much in 10 years is a crime against the growing number of hungry and impoverished Filipinos. How dare the NFA say that these losses were incurred ‘ as part of its social mandate to help farmers’ when it is responsible for the massive rice importation causing further neglect to millions of farmers already victimized by the government’s lack of support and subsidy,” said Pedro Arnado, chairperson of KMP-SMR.
He added: “Please do not use the farmers to cover up the institutionalized corruption of this government.”
Arnado stressed that the NFA has been only buying around 1- 2 % of the local stocks when it is supposed to buy 10% of the local rice production.
He also slammed NFA’s reports on rice spillage during the unloading and transfer of stocks as petty excuses to “cover up” the real cause of NFA losses.
“Let us not fool the people. We know better. NFA has been the source of the massive corruption of government officials involved in rice importation. It would be easy to conjure up figures just to cover up the billions of money which was pocketed by government leaders especially in the time of Arroyo,” said Pedro Arnado.
Arnado recounted reports that imported rice in the last three years of the Arroyo government was overpriced at 125$ per metric ton. Years ago, Sen. Chiz Escudero also exposed that the government may have lost 5.7 billion to 13.1 billion pesos in kickbacks in the importation of 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam in 2009.
Worsening plight of farmers
KMP said the dependence of the government on rice importation has diminished the capacity of the local agricultural industry to provide the country ample food stocks and caused poverty of the Filipino farmers who used to be the most skilled rice producers in the Asia, of not, in the world.
Arnado said the bogus land reform law enacted in the time of Pres. Cory Aquino has been inutile in addressing landlessness.
“Farmers nationwide have remained to be the poorest of the poor. In the region, farmers continue to be exploited by greedy landlords who demand high land rent. Usurers levy inhumane interest payments over fertilizers and other farm inputs owed by farmers. Beneficiaries of the agrarian reform law could not afford the high amortization rates and the highly commercialized rates of farm inputs sold by transnational agro-chemical industries, whose products have also destroyed local rice varieties,” said Arnado.
“For instance, a corn farmer in North Cotobato who tills a 2-hectare farm in a period of four months, would get a gross income of P120,000 but this would not be enough to cover the costs of land preparation, planting, harvesting, and post – harvest hauling, shelling, drying, sacking and deliveries. What a farmer ends up with after all the rent (usually 50 – 70% share goes to landlord) and loans have been exacted from his harvest is not even enough to feed his family three times a day. The irony of it all is that a farmer cannot even afford to provide his family a fair share of the produce that he planted,” said Arnado.#
PEDRO ARNADO
0910-2261000
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Pacquiao Church poster boy vs RH bill
Published Date: May 19, 2011
BOXING champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao avoided the question like a left hook coming from his defeated American challenger Shane Mosley.
Asked on Tuesday how he and his wife Jinkee were managing the growth of their family amid a published report that the latter was using birth control pills, the Sarangani lawmaker replied in Filipino: “You know, in reality, even if the RH (reproductive health) bill has not yet been passed, many people are already using condoms or [birth pills]. So why do we still need to pass it when people are already using them?”
Wearing a dark blue suit and a purple tie, Pacquiao lunched with officials of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to express his full support for the Church in countering the RH measure.
Purple is the color adopted by RH advocates. “[But] this tie has nothing to do with the issue … Actually my wife prepared this for me,” Pacquiao said in a subsequent press conference with the bishops, eliciting laughter from reporters who had pointed out the oversight to him.
He confidently said he could get away with it because he was already known in Congress as among those speaking out against the legislative measure that seeks to provide Filipinos an informed choice on the family planning method best suited for them.
Report from Inquirer.Net
BOXING champion Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao avoided the question like a left hook coming from his defeated American challenger Shane Mosley.
Asked on Tuesday how he and his wife Jinkee were managing the growth of their family amid a published report that the latter was using birth control pills, the Sarangani lawmaker replied in Filipino: “You know, in reality, even if the RH (reproductive health) bill has not yet been passed, many people are already using condoms or [birth pills]. So why do we still need to pass it when people are already using them?”
Wearing a dark blue suit and a purple tie, Pacquiao lunched with officials of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to express his full support for the Church in countering the RH measure.
Purple is the color adopted by RH advocates. “[But] this tie has nothing to do with the issue … Actually my wife prepared this for me,” Pacquiao said in a subsequent press conference with the bishops, eliciting laughter from reporters who had pointed out the oversight to him.
He confidently said he could get away with it because he was already known in Congress as among those speaking out against the legislative measure that seeks to provide Filipinos an informed choice on the family planning method best suited for them.
Report from Inquirer.Net
Peace advocate defends closed meeting
Published Date: May 19, 2011
A PEACE advocate defended the decision of the government peace panel to bar journalists from attending a peace consultation with local executives in Mindanao.
Lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus, said the action of the panel must be understood in the context of “collecting inputs from political leaders and local government officials.”
On Monday, journalists were barred from attending a dialogue between the panel and local leaders in the province of Basilan. Yesterday, the peace panel also prevented the media from joining a “courtesy call” with Zamboanga City mayor Celso Lobregat.
“At this point when they are still hearing out the sentiments and views of the local leaders, it might not be productive at all to open the exchanges to the scrutiny of the media as that might prevent a frank discussion of vital issues,” said Arnado.
Bishop Martin Jumoad of Basilan earlier said it was “not proper” for the government to tell the media to leave during the meeting’s “open forum,” adding that the consultation aimed at promoting transparency.
“The media must be present to validate what they were discussing, and for the sake of the people. The people, through the media, deserve to know what is being discussed because it is the people who will live with that kind of life,” Bishop Jumoad was quoted as saying by a local news report.
The prelate said the government peace panel should make all information open to the public and bring the discussion down to the grassroots
Source: UCAN
A PEACE advocate defended the decision of the government peace panel to bar journalists from attending a peace consultation with local executives in Mindanao.
Lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus, said the action of the panel must be understood in the context of “collecting inputs from political leaders and local government officials.”
On Monday, journalists were barred from attending a dialogue between the panel and local leaders in the province of Basilan. Yesterday, the peace panel also prevented the media from joining a “courtesy call” with Zamboanga City mayor Celso Lobregat.
“At this point when they are still hearing out the sentiments and views of the local leaders, it might not be productive at all to open the exchanges to the scrutiny of the media as that might prevent a frank discussion of vital issues,” said Arnado.
Bishop Martin Jumoad of Basilan earlier said it was “not proper” for the government to tell the media to leave during the meeting’s “open forum,” adding that the consultation aimed at promoting transparency.
“The media must be present to validate what they were discussing, and for the sake of the people. The people, through the media, deserve to know what is being discussed because it is the people who will live with that kind of life,” Bishop Jumoad was quoted as saying by a local news report.
The prelate said the government peace panel should make all information open to the public and bring the discussion down to the grassroots
Source: UCAN
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