Author: Julian Alejandro

Below is a Vatican Information Service release on Arroyo’s visit to Pope Benedict XVI, with annotations:

VATICAN CITY, JUN 26, 2006 (VIS) – This morning, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following declaration concerning the audience granted today by Benedict XVI to Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, president of the Republic of the Philippines, in the company of her family and an entourage:

“In the course of the cordial meeting,” the text reads, “the president explained to the Holy Father the new law banning the death penalty, which was signed last Saturday, Feast of St. John the Baptist.

Si Gloria talaga, pati si Pope binobola. The reality in the Philippines is that death penalty is out, summary execution is in.

“Mrs. Macapagal Arroyo also showed the Pope a plan for reforming the Constitution, which aims at a more harmonious development of the country, reserving greater attention to the poorer sectors of the population.

New impeachment complaints were filed this morning at the Philippine House of Representatives against embattled President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is set to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican today.

Activists, church leaders, members of the opposition, and concerned citizens held an overnight vigil outside the Batasan complex to ensure that they will be the first to file the impeacment complaint one year after last year’s failed impeach bid was filed.

The new impeachment complaint included the following allegations:

Read more at INQ7, and Ellen Tordesilla’s blog.

On the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, human rights group Karapatan accused the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration of violating the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which was entered into force on 26 June 1987 and ratified by the Philippine government on October 23, 1987.

Among the alleged torture cases that Karapatan and other human-rights organizations have recorded are:

1. Erap 5. The case of the five supporters of former President Joseph Estrada, namely Virgilio Eustaquio, chair of the pro-Estrada Union of the Masses for Democracy and Justice (UMDJ), Jim Cabauatan, Dennis Ebona, Police Officer 3 Jose Curameng and Ruben Dionisio, who were arrested without warrant in Eustaquio’s home in Kamuning, Quezon City on May 22, 2006. They have torture marks as shown to media and during their testimony at a Senate inquiry. (The Arroyo administration said the Erap 5 were plotting to assassinate Cabinet members. “If the lives of Cabinet members were indeed at peril in the hands of these men, it is better that they were interdicted before they could cause serious harm to public order,” Presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said.)

2. Tagaytay 5. Axel Alejandro Pinpin, Aristides Sarmiento, Riel Custodio, Rico Ybanez, and Michael Masa, who were arrested in Tagaytay, Cavite on mere suspicion that they were members of the New People’s Army (NPA). Physicians who visited them attested that they were tortured.

3. Sagada 11. Eleven young, punk backpackers collectively known as the “Sagada 11” who were on their way to Sagada when accosted by the Regional Mobile Group of the Philippine National Police at a checkpoint. They were stripped naked, made to endure beatings, watercure, and other forms of cruelty.

If you feel guilty when downloading MP3 files on the Web, you must try Musicmp3.ru, a Russia-based paid MP3 downloads site that allows you to get your favorite songs for only 9 cents each.

The site’s FAQ says:

All the materials on MusicMp3.Ru are available for distribution through Internet according to license LS-3М-05-84 (ЛС-ЗМ-05-84) of the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society. Under the license terms, MusicMp3.Ru pays license fees for all the materials subject to the Law of the Russian Federation. All the materials are available solely for personal use and must not be used for further distribution, resale or broadcasting.

If you haven’t seen the Hello Garci video yet, you may download it at the TXTPower website. It’s been there for a while already.

From a Supreme Court press release:

SC Now Accepting Applications for 2006 Bar Exams
Posted: June 1, 2006
By Annie Rose A. Laborte

Applications to take the 2006 Bar Examinations are now being accepted by the Office of the Bar Confidant of the Supreme Court starting today, June 1, 2006, until July 15, 2006.

As part of the Court’s efforts to be more accessible to the public, application forms to take the exams may now be downloaded for free from the Supreme Court website www.supremecourt.gov.ph under the heading “Bar” section. The requirements, procedure for application, and other information about the 2006 Bar exams are also available on the website.

Forgot to wore black yesterday. NUJP members and friends gathered at Morato circle and held a candle lighting for the victims of the killings. We were not able to attend the gathering, but we join our fellow journalists in their call.