BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat The women’s group GABRIELA this morning staged a rally at the Court of Appeals earlier today to demand that the guilty verdict on US Marine L/Cpl. Daniel Smith be affirmed. Members of the women’s group said the recent developments on the Subic rape case are “part of a grand scheme…
Category: Breaking News
Revolutionary Women’s Group Condemns Killing of NPA Daughter
The Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan (MAKIBAKA), the mass organization of revolutionary women under the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), condemned the Arroyo regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for killing Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of New People’s Army’s Lencio Pitao, whose nom de guerre is Commander Parago. In a statement sent…
Groups Vow to Continue Anti-VFA Campaign despite Nicole’s Recantation
Activists vowed to continue their campaign for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) despite Subic rape victim Nicole’s recantation of her earlier testimony accusing Lance Corporal Daniel Smith of rape. The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and the GABRIELA said that the recantation of ‘Nicole’ of her original testimony serves the interests of the…
‘Nicole’ Leaves for US, Terminates Lawyer’s Services
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat “Nicole”, the Subic rape victim, has left for the US and terminated the services of her lawyer Evalyn Ursua. Ursua herself announced this in a forum launching the Junk VFA Movement earlier today in Quezon City, where she spoke with Reps. Liza Maza (Gabriela Women’s Party or GWP), Lorenzo “Erin…
Netherlands-Based Filipino Youth Group Condemns Killing of NPA Commander’s Daughter
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat A Filipino youth group based in the Netherlands has condemned the abduction, torture and killing of 20-year-old schoolteacher Rebelyn Pitao, daughter of New People’s Army (NPA) commander Leoncio Pitao (alias Parago Sandoval). Pitao was abducted by armed men at around 6:30 p.m. last March 6 while aboard a tricycle in…
Alliance vs. Large-Scale Mining Formed in Batangas
LIPA, Batangas – Church people, professionals, environmental advocates, businessmen, women, youth and students, and local residents in here formed a new alliance against large-scale mining. The Bukluran para sa Inang Kalikasan (BUKAL) was formally launched at the Bishop House of Archdiocese of Lipa. Representatives from the Redemptorist Church, De La Salle University, Batangas State University,…
Lawyers’ Group Demands Automatic Relief of Top AFP, PNP Officials in Areas with Extrajudicial Killings
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat A lawyers’ group has demanded the automatic relief of the highest-ranking military and police officers in areas where extrajudicial killings take place. The National Union of People’s Lawyers made this call on the heels of the abduction, torture and killing of schoolteacher Rebelyn Pitao, 20, last week. Pitao, daughter of…
Unionists Protest Non-Granting of SSS Loans to Retrenched Workers
BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat QUEZON CITY – Members of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement) trooped earlier today to the office of the Social Security System (SSS) here to protest SSS chief Romulo Neri’s declaration last week that the agency will not grant loans to workers who were laid off because…
Anti-Mining Activist Shot Dead
Another anti-mining activist was shot dead around 4:30 p.m. today, environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment reported. Eliezer “Boy” Billanes, chairman of Socssargends Alliance for Genuine Developmet (Socssargends AGENDA), was killed by still unidentified men. Billanes’ group leads the opposition to the Tampakan Copper-Gold project in South Cotabato of the Xstrata, one the…
Bayan to GMA: Suspend Eastern Mindanao Military Officers Responsible for Murder of NPA Daughter
BY BULATLAT Multisectoral group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) today challenged Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to prove her sincerity in bringing justice to the murder of Rebelyn Pitao by making heads roll in the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in particular those who must be directly held accountable for the killing. Pitao, 20,…
Daughter of NPA Commander, Abducted, Tortured then Killed
Rebelyn Pitao, 20, a teacher at St. Peter’s College and daughter of Leoncio Pitao, an NPA commander known as Commander Parago, was abducted by four armed men at 6:30 p.m. last March 4, 2009 at the crossing of Bago Gallera de Oro Subdivision, Bago Gallera, Tolomo, Davao City. She was found dead floating on a…