Philippine News Digest 137
04 April - 10 April 2002
Contents:
Army
troops kill rights group leader
Secret marshals deployed
in South Cotabato
70
minors arrested for stealing fish
US senators deny toxic
waste contamination in Clark, Subic
13.4
million families are poor
Army troops kill rights group leader
The deputy secretary general
of the human rights group Karapatan based in Mindanao, and three of her
companions were killed by members of the Army’s 6th Infantry
Division April 6. They were Benjaline Hernandez, 22; Crisanto Amora, 23;
Vivian Andrade, 18; and Labaon Sinunday, 30. Hernandez was in the middle of a
month-long research on the peasant situation and on the impact of the paece
process in Cotabato. Her research also included a follow up documentation on
the massacre in Arakan Valley where three peasants were killed last year. She
worked on the research with the Arakan Progressive Peasant Organization.
Bishop Felixberto Calang who is also chairperson of Karapatan said
hernandez’s body was riddled with bullets, her skull crushed apparentlt by a
blunt object, and her body bruised all over. Her chest was also burned, which
is an indication that she was shot at close range. Source:
Ayan Mellejor and correspondent reports, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 10 April
2002.
Secret
marshals deployed in South Cotabato
South Cotabato Provincial
Police Chief Romeo Rufino issued a gag order to local media in Koronadal City,
southern Philippines in order to prevent suspected terrorists from preempting
the security measures implemented by the police. Police have also dispatched
secret marshals over the province. Arthur Condes, an anchorman of a local
radio station immediately slammed the gag order by Rufino, saying that it is
the media’s responsibility to inform the people. To do otherwise means a
neglect of its work, he added. Source:
R. Sarmiento and correspondent report, Today, 9 April 2002.
70 minors arrested for stealing fish
Police arrested at least 70
minors, most of whom were male teenagers with ages ranging from 12 to 16, for
allegedly stealing fish from traders at a market in Malabon City April 8. Most
of those arrested live in slum areas under dire poverty, and though police say
that a syndicate is behind the rampant thievery at the fish port the arrested
minors said they sell their “catch” to end users or bring them home to
feed their hungry families. They were turned over to the Department of Social
Welfare and Development before being released to their parents. Source: Jonathan Mayuga
with correspondent report, Today, 9 April 2002.
US
senators deny toxic waste contamination in Clark, Subic
Around 114 people, including
children, have died from various illnesses due to the hazardous contaminants
left behind by the US military bases in Clark and Subic but US senators
visiting the Philippines deny this. According to Senators Daniel Inouye of
Hawaii and Ted Stevens of Alaska, it has yet to be determined if the toxic
waste did not come from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991. However, scientific
environmental studies in Clark and Subic indicate that water and soil were
indeed contaminated in several sites. The US government has been evading the
legal responsibility to clean up the toxic waste since it left its two bases
here in 1991. It merely committed to help the Philippine government in
environmental projects, but even with that it has failed. American
multinational corporations, ranging from mining corporations to tropical fruit
canneries, are among the worst polluters in the country. Meanwhile, 50 people
from San Jose del Monte City were rushed to different hospitals in Metro
Manila last week after inhaling the dust spewed by 54 drums of dyes unloaded
in the said city.
Source: Malou Talosig, Ramon Lazaro and other correspondents, Today, 4
April 2002.
13.4
million families are poor
Research Director Antonio
Tujan of the Ibon Foundation, Inc. said nearly 88 percent of Filipino families
live in poverty, dismissing the government’s poverty figure as overly
understated. According to government data from the Family Income and
Expenditure Survey (FIES) conducted by the National Statistics Office, about
34.2 percent of Filipino families live below the poverty level, way behind
Ibon’s figure. Tujan added that the government estimate was based on a
“ridiculously” low annual per capita poverty threshold of P13, 916, which
means a Filipino only needs P38.13 a day to meet all his basic needs. He
questioned the Arroyo administration’s sincerity in winning the fight
against poverty within the decade through its Medium-Term Philippine
Development Plan (MTPDP) 2001-2004. He pointed out Arroyo’s refusal to grant
the P3, 000 across-the-board wage increase and her over-bloating of the
military and defense budget. Source:
Romer Sarmiento, Today, 1 April 2002.
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