COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 27, 2009) - Moro youth and student writer groups in Cotabato City in Mindanao have strongly criticized Friday the passage of Right of Reply bill in Congress.
The Liga ng Kabataang Moro and College Editors Guild of the Philippines- Cotabato City chapter made their standpoint after the Senate, by a vote of 21-0, approved the passage of the bill.
The CEGP chapter here expressed their disappointment – believing the said bill would only devastate the essence of freedom of expression in any form - articles or interviews, speech or debate in TV or radio programs.
The Right of Reply Bill would mandate media companies to provide equal space or airtime to anyone who is subject of their critical reports to reply or react as form of the latter’s freedom of expression, thus, the right to reply; be it in television, radio or publications.
The guild believes the bill, which requires or mandates publications like magazines, tabloids, broadsheets and news letter to publish replies in the same space; either front page or inside story, encroaches on the right of the editorial board to determine the content of publications according to the relevance of the issues.
"This will hamper both campus press and the mainstream media in determining what to air or publish. The bill would restrict the media from tackling sensitive issues and prevents the publication of valid criticisms against public figures, organization, company, etc. Even commercialized media would keep away from sensitive subjects knowing they will be obliged later on to provide equal space or air-time to the reply of the respondent. This will completely annihilate freedom of expression, it’s ultra-democracy", Michelle Tirol, CEGP chapter’s spokesperson, said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.
According to Liga ng Kabataang Moro (LKM) spokesperson Marbawi Edza, the bill will deflate the right of editors and publishers to determine the content of the publications. The group is also apprehensive about its negative implications to the web postings, writings and publications of political views and standpoints and statements of Moro people.
"We respect and advocate freedom of expression in all levels and so the right to reply but the statutory right to reply is another thing. We and the campus press stand with the journalists and publishers in appealing to Congress for the withdrawal of the said bill." Edza concluded.
Various media groups have also opposed the mandatory, legislated, compulsory, court-enforceable Right of Reply on the ground that prior compulsion violates a publication's editorial independence and is thus unconstitutional. Instead it supports a Voluntary Right of Reply through Press Council.
Showing posts with label College Editors Guild. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College Editors Guild. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Student activists hold anti-Arroyo protest in Mindanao
Photos released by the College Editors Guild of the Philippines show students and activists during an anti-Arroyo rally on Wednesday, February 25, 2009 in Cotabato City in Mindanao.COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 25, 2009) – Student writers in the southern Philippines held a rally on Wednesday to protest government profiling of political activists and militarization in universities in Mindanao.
The rally, spearheaded by Mindanao chapters of the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), was held in Cotabato City. It was attended by students from the CEGP chapters in Cotabato and Kidapawan cities; Midsayap and Kabacan towns in North Cotabato province and Maguindanao province.
The CEGP labeled Arroyo as “defector” of EDSA people power uprising for having approved and implemented various anti-people policies such as the calibrated preemptive response, EO 464 and Human Security Act among others that muzzled the rights of citizens to free expression.
EDSA people power refers to the civilian-led, military-backed revolution that toppled President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and catapulted Benigno Aquino’s widow, Corazon Cojuanco, to the presidency.
“Student writers are one with the country’s journalists denouncing insecurity and disrespect to press freedom under GMA administration. Philippines has been listed as the second risky place for journalists in the world. Even in the campus level, campus press is continuously experiencing harassments from different perpetrators,” CEGP’s Michelle Tirol said in a statement.
Tirol also vehemently condemned the malicious “profiling” of National Intelligence Coordinating Agency to Bai Ali Indayla, former chief editor of the TORCH student publication in Cotabato City State Polytechnic College.
She said a government agent “collected” information about the student publication, including its literary folio and personal background of Indayla for a still unknown reason.
“The CEGP laments that despite the attacks to mainstream media and even to campus writers and leaders, Arroyo’s administration still has no political will to cease and resolve these problems. Nobody should be blame if one would be subjective that there is Malacańan consent on the attacks to press freedom,” Tirol said.
The group also counted the recent killing of broadcaster Ernie Rollin, of dxSY radio, in Oroquieta City in Misamis Oriental province.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
College Editors Mourn Death Of Press Freedom Fighter
The College Editors Guild of the Philippines, in behalf of its National Office, regional formations and chapters, all member publications and affiliate organizations nationwide and across the globe, expresses its most heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Rachelle Mae Palang (1986-2008).
Rachelle, or Mae-Mae to her closest friends and colleagues, was beloved to the Guild for her bubbly, tongue-in-cheek demeanor. She graced the Guild's gatherings with her easy banter and infectious smile, but was always brisk and business-like in her leadership.
She has served as a valuable pillar and driving force in all of the conventions and gatherings she has attended and helped organize. To most Guilders, she was not only a colleague but a precious friend and confidante.
Shock for her untimely demise are evident in her Friendster and Multiply accounts, riddled with comments ranging from disbelief, grief, and even anger – all directed at her, as if to attest that even at the time of her death her friends and colleagues still go to her for conciliation.
Such was Mae-Mae's legacy and brand of leadership. She has always been easy to approach, a rational adviser and generous in her time and efforts.
Mae-Mae was also an outstanding student at the Velez College in Cebu City where she took up and finished her nursing degree. She became editor-in-chief of Vital Signs, the official campus publication. As campus journalist and student leader, she exemplified deep commitment to uphold press freedom, freedom of speech and students' democratic rights and welfare. She is respected by her fellow campus journalists nationwide for her wit, intelligence and sharp grasp of issues.
She was elected as Vice President for the Visayas during CEGP's 67th National Student Press Convention and 33rd Biennial Student Press Congress held in Albay, Bicol in 2005. She served her term for three consecutive years before she finally relinquished her post May of this year. The CEGP will without end be honored and grateful to have had someone as dedicated as Mae-Mae as one of its leading officers.
Mae-Mae worked hard to help re-open closed campus publications, establish student papers in universities who had none, and expose and fight campus press freedom violations as well as other forms of campus repression nationwide. She led, organized and participated in countless poetry readings, cultural nights, Writers' Trips, journalist skills workshops and protest actions and activities.
Even after her stint as VP for the Visayas, she proved instrumental in gathering and collating cases of campus press freedom violations in the region for CEGP's quarterly digest.
Mae-Mae had to cut short her attendance in CEGPs' 68th National Student Press Convention and 34th Biennial Student Press Congress in Davao City for her scheduled nursing licensure exams in May 2008. She passed with flying colors and eventually became a registered nurse.
Even before she left, she announced to the Guild her desire to pursue an alternative medical career, one that she would devote to the less-privileged. Mae-Mae also took and passed the National Medical Admission Test. She dreamt of becoming a doctor.
It therefore did not come as a surprise to the Guild to learn that upon achieving her nursing license Mae-Mae immediately volunteered for a three-month medical mission to the hinterlands of Negros. Mae-Mae barely finished her volunteer work in Negros when her dreams died with her.
Mae-Mae was killed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on September 18, 2008 in an alleged encounter with New People's Army rebels. Her face was barely recognizable; she was shot at point-blank range. Her feet and legs were black and bruised, signs of torture evident elsewhere in her beaten body.
Mae-Mae's untimely demise reminds the Guild all too painfully of the same fate that another CEGP alumna suffered under the hands of the AFP.
In April 2002, Benjaline 'Beng' Hernandez, former CEGP Vice-President for Mindanao and a human rights volunteer, was murdered by the military while conducting a fact-finding mission in Cotabato province.
Investigations revealed that the AFP, after wounding Beng, raped and shot her at close range. The AFP later on insisted that Beng was an NPA rebel.Beng, like Mae-Mae, was also only 22 years old when she died.
The CEGP condemns in strongest terms accusations and insinuations by the AFP that Mae-Mae was armed and a combatant. She was in Negros in her capacity as a registered nurse and circumstances surrounding her brutal killing should be independently investigated.
The CEGP, in this regard, welcomes initiatives by the Commission on Human Rights Regional Office to conduct an investigation on Mae-Mae's case.
The CEGP is also reviled at the AFP's gall to celebrate Mae-Mae's death by bestowing incentives and acclaim to her killers. It is an awful and terrible reminder of the state and characteristic of our security forces. They who are supposed to protect civilians are the main enemies of human rights defenders and social workers.
The CEGP also condemns in strongest terms the AFP's malicious attempts to malign the Guild's name through red-tagging and nasty insinuations. It is precisely this kind of twisted mentality that gives license to the military to repress, harass, silence and kill with impunity. Journalists are easily treated and branded as rebels simply because they are exposed to the ills of society.
The CEGP calls on all its member publications and fellow journalist organizations nationwide and abroad to collectively wield their pens and raise their voices to denounce Mae-Mae's killers.
The CEGP regards the likes of Beng and Mae-Mae as heroes of the present generation, young martyrs who have chosen to exchange their lives of comfort for their noble convictions.
Rachelle, or Mae-Mae to her closest friends and colleagues, was beloved to the Guild for her bubbly, tongue-in-cheek demeanor. She graced the Guild's gatherings with her easy banter and infectious smile, but was always brisk and business-like in her leadership.
She has served as a valuable pillar and driving force in all of the conventions and gatherings she has attended and helped organize. To most Guilders, she was not only a colleague but a precious friend and confidante.
Shock for her untimely demise are evident in her Friendster and Multiply accounts, riddled with comments ranging from disbelief, grief, and even anger – all directed at her, as if to attest that even at the time of her death her friends and colleagues still go to her for conciliation.
Such was Mae-Mae's legacy and brand of leadership. She has always been easy to approach, a rational adviser and generous in her time and efforts.
Mae-Mae was also an outstanding student at the Velez College in Cebu City where she took up and finished her nursing degree. She became editor-in-chief of Vital Signs, the official campus publication. As campus journalist and student leader, she exemplified deep commitment to uphold press freedom, freedom of speech and students' democratic rights and welfare. She is respected by her fellow campus journalists nationwide for her wit, intelligence and sharp grasp of issues.
She was elected as Vice President for the Visayas during CEGP's 67th National Student Press Convention and 33rd Biennial Student Press Congress held in Albay, Bicol in 2005. She served her term for three consecutive years before she finally relinquished her post May of this year. The CEGP will without end be honored and grateful to have had someone as dedicated as Mae-Mae as one of its leading officers.
Mae-Mae worked hard to help re-open closed campus publications, establish student papers in universities who had none, and expose and fight campus press freedom violations as well as other forms of campus repression nationwide. She led, organized and participated in countless poetry readings, cultural nights, Writers' Trips, journalist skills workshops and protest actions and activities.
Even after her stint as VP for the Visayas, she proved instrumental in gathering and collating cases of campus press freedom violations in the region for CEGP's quarterly digest.
Mae-Mae had to cut short her attendance in CEGPs' 68th National Student Press Convention and 34th Biennial Student Press Congress in Davao City for her scheduled nursing licensure exams in May 2008. She passed with flying colors and eventually became a registered nurse.
Even before she left, she announced to the Guild her desire to pursue an alternative medical career, one that she would devote to the less-privileged. Mae-Mae also took and passed the National Medical Admission Test. She dreamt of becoming a doctor.
It therefore did not come as a surprise to the Guild to learn that upon achieving her nursing license Mae-Mae immediately volunteered for a three-month medical mission to the hinterlands of Negros. Mae-Mae barely finished her volunteer work in Negros when her dreams died with her.
Mae-Mae was killed by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on September 18, 2008 in an alleged encounter with New People's Army rebels. Her face was barely recognizable; she was shot at point-blank range. Her feet and legs were black and bruised, signs of torture evident elsewhere in her beaten body.
Mae-Mae's untimely demise reminds the Guild all too painfully of the same fate that another CEGP alumna suffered under the hands of the AFP.
In April 2002, Benjaline 'Beng' Hernandez, former CEGP Vice-President for Mindanao and a human rights volunteer, was murdered by the military while conducting a fact-finding mission in Cotabato province.
Investigations revealed that the AFP, after wounding Beng, raped and shot her at close range. The AFP later on insisted that Beng was an NPA rebel.Beng, like Mae-Mae, was also only 22 years old when she died.
The CEGP condemns in strongest terms accusations and insinuations by the AFP that Mae-Mae was armed and a combatant. She was in Negros in her capacity as a registered nurse and circumstances surrounding her brutal killing should be independently investigated.
The CEGP, in this regard, welcomes initiatives by the Commission on Human Rights Regional Office to conduct an investigation on Mae-Mae's case.
The CEGP is also reviled at the AFP's gall to celebrate Mae-Mae's death by bestowing incentives and acclaim to her killers. It is an awful and terrible reminder of the state and characteristic of our security forces. They who are supposed to protect civilians are the main enemies of human rights defenders and social workers.
The CEGP also condemns in strongest terms the AFP's malicious attempts to malign the Guild's name through red-tagging and nasty insinuations. It is precisely this kind of twisted mentality that gives license to the military to repress, harass, silence and kill with impunity. Journalists are easily treated and branded as rebels simply because they are exposed to the ills of society.
The CEGP calls on all its member publications and fellow journalist organizations nationwide and abroad to collectively wield their pens and raise their voices to denounce Mae-Mae's killers.
The CEGP regards the likes of Beng and Mae-Mae as heroes of the present generation, young martyrs who have chosen to exchange their lives of comfort for their noble convictions.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Controversial Anti-Terror Law Stirs Confusion, Fear In Philippines
DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Jul) – Filipino students and youth organization are joining with other progressive forces calling to scrap the Human Security Act (HSA). They say the law would only set precedent for more anti-student policies.
Youth organizations headed by ANAKBAYAN in Southern Mindanao, National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP), League of Filipino Students (LFS) and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), said the Arroyo administration had not been successful in providing education for the youth, but instead nailed itself on self-serving policies.
On February 8, 2007, the Senate passed on a final reading the Anti-Terrorism Act or the Human Security Act of 2007. The HSA is an act that aims to put an end to terrorism and all its forms.
"HSA only violates the basic civil right of every Filipino youth," Arvin Gutang, ANAKBAYAN vice president for Mindanao, said. "It limits the right of every youth to criticize the government and exercise their right to freedom of expression given the provision of the so-called ‘warrantless’ arrests to suspected 'terrorists'," he added. Gutang said that in the course of analyzing the HSA, there are certain provisions under the act that are doubtful and can be subject to abuse.
According to Karlos Manlupig, LFS Davao City coordinator, "the said law would set a precedent for an undeclared Martial Law by the Arroyo administration. HSA will even aggravate 'state terrorism'. Given the track record of the Arroyo government, the HSA will give more powers to a regime that continues to violate human rights."
"The youth and students are threatened about the ongoing militarization inside state colleges and universities, private campuses and other educational institutions because of the presence of the military inside the campuses as well as the re-instituted Reserved Officer Training Corps Act and the recent HSA," said Andrhea Carreon, NUSP-Davao City chapter spokesperson.
"We disapprove of this law just as we dislike and criticize the current educational system under the Arroyo regime. Since youth organizations and other progressive groups are now being tagged as 'terrorists', we are very susceptible to the threat of this ambiguous law. Therefore, criticizing the government and fighting for civil and democratic rights is tantamount to saying that you are a 'terrorist'," Carreon said.
Meanwhile, Nisa Opalla, CEGP secretary general, said that aside from HSA and militarization inside campuses, the Arroyo administration is making sure that the voices of the students are curbed and controlled through the new CHED Memorandum Orders that is implemented through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
"CHED is now trying to manipulate the student governments and councils as well as the student publications by releasing three new CMOs. Two of which involves the student councils and student publications," Opalla said.
"The formation of the National Council of Student Governments in the Philippines and National Council of Campus Journalists in the Philippines are scrupulous acts of the Arroyo government to manipulate the voices of the students," she said.
NCSGP and NCCJP are both formed by the Commission to "establish a working institutional partnership between the CHED-Office of Student Services and Office of Student Affairs and 'empowered' student governments and campus journalists in various Higher Educational Institutions, private and public, sectarian or non-sectarian, in the country."
The youth groups stressed that both organizations formed by CHED are "puppet" organizations controlled by CHED and the administration of the colleges and universities.
They warn the student councils and student publications to be conscious of the said organizations as it would lead to the crippling of the autonomous nature of the student councils and publications from the school administration.
"Together with the Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI), these anti-student policies are the various faces of terrorism that the Arroyo administration has put forward to the Filipino youth. The HSA is a grand master plan of the government in silencing the struggling voices of the youth and students." Opalla stated.
The youth organizations are planning to build an alliance to combat the anti-student policies which hinder the youth from getting free and accessible education. It will be composed of secondary and tertiary student councils and publications as well as the various student clubs, youth organizations, religious groups, faculty and parents in Davao City.
The said alliance will discuss the possible solutions of the students and youth problems specifically on the issue of education and anti-youth policies.
Journalists were also threatening to seek court action and launch a “counter- information” drive on the anto-terrorism law after Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez allegedly claimed that they can be wiretapped on suspicion of being a terrorists or aiding a terrorist.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said it is time the media united to question the "draconian measures" the government is taking through the anti-terror law.
"We know the government had banned the media from interviewing coup plotters and spokesmen like Gregorio 'Ka Roger' Rosal. That is dismaying and it may lead to a test case," NUJP national directorate member Inday Varona said in Filipino during an interview on dzXL radio.
She said the journalists will likely question the anti-terror law's violation of their right to protect their news sources.
Varona scored Gonzalez in particular for hinting that journalists can be wiretapped if they are suspected to be in contact with terrorists by airing interviews with them.
"The media should be ready for a test case that may come its way," she said.
She said the NUJP is planning to mount a media campaign to counter the "information campaign" the government is planning.
"If the government will go around with an information drive, we will also go around with our own information drive questioning some of its draconian measures," she said.
Senator Jamby Madrigal has filed Senate Bill No. 23 seeking to repeal R.A. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007.
She reiterated that the Human Security Act is probably the most dangerous piece of legislation passed by the Philippine Congress. The law is replete with provisions that ravage constitutional guarantees such as freedom of speech, freedom of communication and correspondence, right to travel, as well as an individual's right to be secure in their things and in their person.
"This draconian law should be shredded to pieces and thrown into the garbage bin. The use of violence against civilians under any guise should be opposed. National Security should not be used as an excuse to stifle basic freedoms and constitutionally-guaranteed human rights," Madrigal said.
Madrigal said the anti-terrorism law creates a shadow criminal justice system and can be used as an instrument of greater terror perpetrated by people in power against their critics and political opponents.
"There is no clear definition of who a terrorist is. A person maybe labeled as one by reason solely of his or her political or religious belief and his or her defense thereof. The vagueness of defining a terrorist is not limited to the Philippines. Since 1995, the United Nations has yet to come up with a clear definition of who or what constitutes a terrorist," she said. (With reports from Leigh Dalugdog and GMANews.TV)
Youth organizations headed by ANAKBAYAN in Southern Mindanao, National Union of Students in the Philippines (NUSP), League of Filipino Students (LFS) and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), said the Arroyo administration had not been successful in providing education for the youth, but instead nailed itself on self-serving policies.
On February 8, 2007, the Senate passed on a final reading the Anti-Terrorism Act or the Human Security Act of 2007. The HSA is an act that aims to put an end to terrorism and all its forms.
"HSA only violates the basic civil right of every Filipino youth," Arvin Gutang, ANAKBAYAN vice president for Mindanao, said. "It limits the right of every youth to criticize the government and exercise their right to freedom of expression given the provision of the so-called ‘warrantless’ arrests to suspected 'terrorists'," he added. Gutang said that in the course of analyzing the HSA, there are certain provisions under the act that are doubtful and can be subject to abuse.
According to Karlos Manlupig, LFS Davao City coordinator, "the said law would set a precedent for an undeclared Martial Law by the Arroyo administration. HSA will even aggravate 'state terrorism'. Given the track record of the Arroyo government, the HSA will give more powers to a regime that continues to violate human rights."
"The youth and students are threatened about the ongoing militarization inside state colleges and universities, private campuses and other educational institutions because of the presence of the military inside the campuses as well as the re-instituted Reserved Officer Training Corps Act and the recent HSA," said Andrhea Carreon, NUSP-Davao City chapter spokesperson.
"We disapprove of this law just as we dislike and criticize the current educational system under the Arroyo regime. Since youth organizations and other progressive groups are now being tagged as 'terrorists', we are very susceptible to the threat of this ambiguous law. Therefore, criticizing the government and fighting for civil and democratic rights is tantamount to saying that you are a 'terrorist'," Carreon said.
Meanwhile, Nisa Opalla, CEGP secretary general, said that aside from HSA and militarization inside campuses, the Arroyo administration is making sure that the voices of the students are curbed and controlled through the new CHED Memorandum Orders that is implemented through the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
"CHED is now trying to manipulate the student governments and councils as well as the student publications by releasing three new CMOs. Two of which involves the student councils and student publications," Opalla said.
"The formation of the National Council of Student Governments in the Philippines and National Council of Campus Journalists in the Philippines are scrupulous acts of the Arroyo government to manipulate the voices of the students," she said.
NCSGP and NCCJP are both formed by the Commission to "establish a working institutional partnership between the CHED-Office of Student Services and Office of Student Affairs and 'empowered' student governments and campus journalists in various Higher Educational Institutions, private and public, sectarian or non-sectarian, in the country."
The youth groups stressed that both organizations formed by CHED are "puppet" organizations controlled by CHED and the administration of the colleges and universities.
They warn the student councils and student publications to be conscious of the said organizations as it would lead to the crippling of the autonomous nature of the student councils and publications from the school administration.
"Together with the Tuition and Other Fees Increase (TOFI), these anti-student policies are the various faces of terrorism that the Arroyo administration has put forward to the Filipino youth. The HSA is a grand master plan of the government in silencing the struggling voices of the youth and students." Opalla stated.
The youth organizations are planning to build an alliance to combat the anti-student policies which hinder the youth from getting free and accessible education. It will be composed of secondary and tertiary student councils and publications as well as the various student clubs, youth organizations, religious groups, faculty and parents in Davao City.
The said alliance will discuss the possible solutions of the students and youth problems specifically on the issue of education and anti-youth policies.
Journalists were also threatening to seek court action and launch a “counter- information” drive on the anto-terrorism law after Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez allegedly claimed that they can be wiretapped on suspicion of being a terrorists or aiding a terrorist.
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said it is time the media united to question the "draconian measures" the government is taking through the anti-terror law.
"We know the government had banned the media from interviewing coup plotters and spokesmen like Gregorio 'Ka Roger' Rosal. That is dismaying and it may lead to a test case," NUJP national directorate member Inday Varona said in Filipino during an interview on dzXL radio.
She said the journalists will likely question the anti-terror law's violation of their right to protect their news sources.
Varona scored Gonzalez in particular for hinting that journalists can be wiretapped if they are suspected to be in contact with terrorists by airing interviews with them.
"The media should be ready for a test case that may come its way," she said.
She said the NUJP is planning to mount a media campaign to counter the "information campaign" the government is planning.
"If the government will go around with an information drive, we will also go around with our own information drive questioning some of its draconian measures," she said.
Senator Jamby Madrigal has filed Senate Bill No. 23 seeking to repeal R.A. 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007.
She reiterated that the Human Security Act is probably the most dangerous piece of legislation passed by the Philippine Congress. The law is replete with provisions that ravage constitutional guarantees such as freedom of speech, freedom of communication and correspondence, right to travel, as well as an individual's right to be secure in their things and in their person.
"This draconian law should be shredded to pieces and thrown into the garbage bin. The use of violence against civilians under any guise should be opposed. National Security should not be used as an excuse to stifle basic freedoms and constitutionally-guaranteed human rights," Madrigal said.
Madrigal said the anti-terrorism law creates a shadow criminal justice system and can be used as an instrument of greater terror perpetrated by people in power against their critics and political opponents.
"There is no clear definition of who a terrorist is. A person maybe labeled as one by reason solely of his or her political or religious belief and his or her defense thereof. The vagueness of defining a terrorist is not limited to the Philippines. Since 1995, the United Nations has yet to come up with a clear definition of who or what constitutes a terrorist," she said. (With reports from Leigh Dalugdog and GMANews.TV)
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
College Editors Fear Violent Poll Outcome
DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 09 May) – The College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) in Davao City on Wednesday said it is concerned about the outcome of elections next week because of rising poll violence in the country.
The group is advocating for a free, honest and peaceful national and local elections on May 14.
Donald Jake Lopez, local chairman of the CEGP, said they are worried over the continued prevalence of the use of guns, gold and goons by traditional politicians and by those in power to achieve victory in the elections.
“As with previous elections, we are once again witnessing widespread and massive use of money, fraudulent means and violence to influence the outcome of the May 14 midterm elections,”
Lopez said in a statement sent to the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.
He said some politicians in Davao City are already buying votes and engaged in other fraudulent means to ensure their victory in the polls. He did not identify the politicians.
“We are thus provoked to stand and voice out our concern. We are thus provoked to summon our colleagues and fellow youth, voter or not, to actively participate in the coming elections,” Lopez said, adding, his group is mobilizing campus writers on May 14 to observe and document cases of election-related violence and fraud.
Nisa Opalla, CEGP secretary general, said: “Should traditional politicians win those who are desperate to remain and hold power and influence at the expense of people’s interests, our future as the youth, would remain in the dark.”
Opalla said the CEGP is aware of how the Filipino youth have suffered much from the current political system.
“The myriad of issues confronting the youth sector have always been the content of our publications nationwide, such as the commercialization of education via annual tuition and other fees increases; education budget cuts; campus repression and the curtailment of the basic rights and freedoms of students and campus press freedom and the rising statistics of unemployed and underemployed youth,” she said. (Mindanao Examiner)
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