The practice of warrantless arrest and the necessity of public awareness of its workings was highlighted in the recent release of filmmaker Jade Castro and his three friends from a jail facility in Catanauan, Quezon. Castro, sales manager Ernesto Orcine, and civil engineers Noel Mariano and Dominic Ramos were freed at 7.30 p.m. on March...
Category: News
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Project Gunita et al.: ‘The truth will outshine the lies’
The academic organization Project Gunita and dozens of groups and individuals, including victims of rights violations during martial law, are taking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to task for distorting facts about the dictatorial rule of his father and namesake in a March 4 interview with ABC News Australia. “President Marcos has yet again tried to...
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1987 Charter ‘imperfect’ but carries safeguards vs instability, framer says
When politicians tried to have their way in the crafting of the 1973 Constitution, they were met with street protests in the tumultuous early years of Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s regime. The writing on the wall was very clear. Filipinos “didn’t want politicians to be involved in the drafting of the Constitution,” human rights activist Edmundo...
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Advocates assail ‘fear-mongering’ on use of cannabis to treat ailments
Groups advocating the use of cannabis to treat various illnesses have criticized the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) for “conflating” its medical and recreational uses and exaggerating its supposed harmful effects in blocking a proposed law that will allow Filipinos to legally acquire the drug. A measure at the House of Representatives, consolidated from 10 bills,...
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‘Buhay ang Edsa’ Campaign Network marks 38th year of People Power Revolt
The historic 1986 Edsa People Power Revolt was commemorated yesterday, Feb. 25, by the BuhayAngEdsa Campaign Network with three distinct events celebrating democracy and solidarity. ‘Edsa Freedom Ride’ In the early morning, over 100 cyclists, skaters, and joggers converged on Ayala Avenue in Makati City for an “Edsa Freedom Ride.” The event was organized by...
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Leila de Lima, free on bail, continues to tell her stories
It’s almost as if where there’s lawyer Leila de Lima—former senator, justice secretary, human rights commissioner and, until late last year, the Philippines’ most prominent detainee—one could expect blistering commentary on any of the day’s hot-button issues, such as Charter change or the imminent move of the International Criminal Court against her chief jailor’s scandalous...
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Proponents urge ‘a little compassion’ in legalizing medical cannabis
When her daughter Joy’s doctor told Gay matter-of-factly that she could lose her anytime to epilepsy, she was stunned and realized she had to look for other medicines to stop the seizures which started when her child was a baby. After years of trying up to 11 different medicines to quell Joy’s seizures, Gay was...
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Student leaders stand against Cha-cha
In January-March 1970, youth and student organizations and their allies among workers, farmers and religious groups held numerous rallies and other forms of protest across the country in what became known as the First Quarter Storm of 1970 against the decades-old sociopolitical ills plaguing the nation. One of their major demands was a nonpartisan constitutional...
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‘Relive Edsa, Junk Cha-cha’ is the rallying cry
Delisting the February 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution as a national holiday is bad enough; attempting to tinker yet again with its “legacy,” the 1987 Constitution, to push the interests of politicians is even worse. Moved by that common stand, dozens of civil society groups have banded together to resist any mode of Charter change...
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Marcos-Duterte bickering is ‘all politics’ from which nothing can be gained, says Drilon
First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos’ snub of Vice President Sara Duterte minutes before she and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. boarded the plane for Vietnam on Monday was very telling, and former senator Franklin Drilon sees tough days lying ahead of her in the Cabinet. According to Drilon, Sara Duterte’s position in the Cabinet became “more...
