NEWS AT A GLANCE

Lessons from the Nayan hostage crisis
 
Migrante International, an alliance of Filipino migrant workers organizations in the country and abroad, said Nov. 24 that the Arroyo government must learn its lesson in the aftermath of the Angelito Nayan hostage crisis in Afghanistan. Nayan, who is a United Nations worker and a Filipino diplomat, was held hostage by Afghan rebels in Kabul Oct. 28 along with two other foreign workers and was released on Nov. 22.
 
Migrante’s chairperson, Connie Bragas-Regalado, said that the important lesson President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must learn is "to give utmost protection to overseas Filipinos." Her “all-out puppetry and unsolicited support to the United States' war on "terror," Bragas-Regalado said,  has made overseas Filipino workers potential targets of the enemies of the U.S. government. She cited the abductions of Angelo dela Cruz and Robert Tarongoy in Iraq and Nayan in Afghanistan. Tarongoy remains in Iraqi rebels' hands.
 
She added that Macapagal-Arroyo’s refusal to recognize the consequences of her continued support to U.S. President George Bush "endangers the lives of more than 1.5 million Filipinos working in the Middle East." She urged Macapagal-Arroyo to "categorically withdraw Philippine support to the U.S. war on 'terror' in the said region as a step towards giving blanket protection to our compatriots in the area.”

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Zero approval rating for Arroyo -- Gabriela

Gabriela Women's Party-list Rep. Liza Maza said that the results of the latest survey of Pulse Asia revealing a slide in the popularity rating of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not surprising.  She said that President Arroyo’s popularity rating may even slide to zero before the year ends.

The recent Pulse Asia survey showed that Macapagal-Arroyo's approval rating was only 7 percent, the lowest rating ever given to a Philippine president.

Maza cited that there are no signs that the Arroyo administration would change its policies, which are putting a heavy burden on the Filipino people. According to Maza, if no action is taken to alleviate the people‘s suffering such as rolling back the prices of oil and increasing the minimum wage of workers, the government will be brought to its collapse, she said.

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More corruption after NPO abolition -- Rep. Beltran

Anakpawis Pary-list Rep. Crispin Beltran warned Nov. 22 that the implementation of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Executive Order No. 378 on Oct. 5 abolishing the National Printing Office (NPO) will lead to more corruption and massive cheating during elections. 

Beltran said that the motives behind the plans to abolish the NPO were questionable.  He said that according to reports, the moves to abolish the NPO is a maneuver to have the privately-owned APO Production Unit, reportedly owned by close allies of the president, take over the NPO. Beltran also said that the APO Production Unit is deeply in debt, with unpaid debts amounting to P700 million.

He also said that with NPOs planned abolition, the printing of government account forms especially those with monetary face value will no longer be effectively regulated.

He also said that corrupt requisitioning officers in cahoots with private printers can manipulate printing orders and overstock. “The kickbacks could amount to millions," he added.  

Bulatlat

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