DOCSLIB.ORG

Shadowreportwlb Second Version

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Shadowreportwlb Second Version Presented at the 36th Session of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination AgainstAgainst Women on June 2006 by tthe W O M E N ’ S L E G A L B U R E A U , I n c. As the Philippine Shadow Report on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women NGONGO ShadowShadow ReportReport 2006 C E D A W Philippines Made possible with the support of : The Women’s Legal Bureau. In the early 90's, a cursory assessment by three women law student-advocates of the situation of women in the Philippines and the women's movement revealed these disturbing conditions: (1) The law and the legal system were prejudicial to women, and (2) many concerns of women were not addressed by the law. Flawed in both sub- stance and mechanisms of implementation, laws supposedly passed to address these concerns were, in truth, unresponsive to the real needs and conditions of women. While there were organizations that specialized in legal services, their concerns were more multi-sectoral. There was no group within the women's movement that responded to the legal needs of women and women's organiza- tions. At the same time, there seemed to be little awareness among women of their rights, and how violations of these rights can be redressed within and outside the legal system. These realizations led to the founding of a feminist legal non-government organization which eventually took on the name, Women's Legal Bureau. It was registered in 1990 with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-stock, non-profit corporation, and started operations in 1991. Today, the Women's Legal Bureau Inc. (WLB) continues to work for the empowerment of women through the use of and engagement with the law and its institutions. The range of WLB’s work includes policy advocacy, information- education campaigns, research and publications, feminist legal services, and institutional support and develop- ment. CEDAW: Philippines NGO Shadow Report 2006 Published by: Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. Rm. 305, 3rd Flr. UPCSWCD Bldg. University of the Philippines - Diliman Quezon City, Philippines Copyright © 2006 Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. This publication was made possible with the support of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM-South East Asia Programme) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). This publication is copyrighted but may be reproduced for research and education purposes, provided that per- mission is obtained from the publisher. Edited by Mae Buenaventura Design and Layout by Zeena Manglinong Research by WLB Staff and Volunteers (Mae Buenaventura, Karen Tapang, Jelen Paclarin, Citas Romeo) Photos by WLB Staff and Zeena Manglinong Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. MAE BUENAVENTURA / MAUREEN PAGADUAN CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN Philippine NGO CEDAW Shadow Report, 2006 T he NGO CEDAW Shadow Report of 2006 is a consolidation of the results of workshops and consultation that contextualizes the need to engage in the process of policy advocacy such as the CEDAW shadow report. It aims to substantially capture the truthful plight of Filipino women as well as contextualize their socio-cultural-economic and political conditions. It highlights the Philippine government's accountability and obligation on its commitments to forward women's equality agenda under the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). More importantly, it gives recognition to the efforts of all women's groups that continually intervene in the struggle to push forward the status of Filipino women and in celebration of its substantial gains for women's equality, to be a reality. Under the treaty, each nation that ratifies the CEDAW place responsibility on itself to comply with its provisions. It is then obliged to submit periodic reports to the Committee to ap- message praise it on the status of its compliance. A "shadow report" to the UN Committee on CEDAW is an alternate report prepared by NGOs parallel but independent of the country report. This shadow report hopes to verify the contents of the country reports. Generally, shadow reports point to specific women's concerns that receive inadequate attention from the state, if at all. It also calls attention to concerns that are not appropriately addressed by the state, or whose interventions or policies and programs that are meant to remedy the situation have the opposite or a negative impact on women. Shadow reports are also useful in identifying emerging conditions that, in all probability, will make women's circumstances more difficult and needs to be addressed soon if not imme- diately to prevent them from happening or to lessen their impact. The Women's Legal Bureau reiterates its gratitude to UNIFEM and CIDA for its re- sources; and likewise, to all the organizations and women who contributed to this national effort and brought forth their stories and experiences, even with the limited time available. The WLB staff and volunteers, the major writers and researchers and many other individuals, must also be commended for lending assistance in producing this valu- able report. Thank You. Prof. Maureen Pagaduan WLB, Managing Trustee 4 Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. Philippine NGO CEDAW Shadow Report, 2006 Executive Summary . p 6 1 Introduction . p 10 2 National Situation . p 12 3 Women and Economic Empowerment . p 17 4 Women of contents and the Environment . p 27 5 Violence Against Women . p 34 6 Sexual and Reproductive 7 Health Rights . p 42 Women’s Participation 8 in Public Life . p 50 9 Our Conclusions . p 57 Our Recommendations . .. p 60 10 List of Participating Organizations . p 63 11 Bibliography . p 66 12 Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. 5 Philippine NGO CEDAW Shadow Report, 2006 When the Philippine government ratified the CEDAW in 1981, it submitted itself to legally-binding commitments to promote women’s human rights and to take national action to ensure that 1 they access and enjoy these rights. Tragically, after more than two decades, no substantial or significant progress has been made and the Convention continues to be flagrantly breached. The elusiveness of this basket of rights, guaranteed by the CEDAW cannot but lead to an interrogation of the context in which they are supposed to be realized. It is a context of increasing political re- pression of militant leaders and people’s organizations who have charged the current administration with election fraud and corrup- tion, and who protest the general decline in quality-of-life indica- tors. It is also a context marked by the same export-oriented, mar- ket-driven policies, which continue to be implemented despite the poverty-creating impacts on poor women and other marginalized sectors. These indicators represent grave systemic flaws that impede rather than advance women’s human rights. Unless these are confronted, there will be no progress on the CEDAW beyond monitoring gaps and identifying accountabilities. summary Only by purposively moving towards resolving structural inequities can discrimination against women, in all its forms, begin to be decisively eliminated. Women’s Economic Empowerment W omen’s economic empowerment is one of the areas of concern the Philippine government promised to address as part of efforts to facilitate the implementation of the CEDAW. However, the differ- ence between policy and practice has yawned wider over the years, spelling more disempowering than empowering conditions for mil- lions of Filipino women in the country and abroad. A wide discrepancy exists between urban and rural human develop- ment indicators. Conditions are particularly dismal for rural women, whose work in both production and social reproduction is largely unpaid to begin with. Rural poverty incidence has hardly budged and even worsened in certain areas. Provinces in the island of Mindanao, where the largest concentration of indigenous peoples can also be found, consistently posted the lowest human development outcomes relative to other regions. 6 Women’s Legal Bureau, Inc. Philippine NGO CEDAW Shadow Report, 2006 It thus comes as no surprise why both women For indigenous women and Muslim women, the and men are willing to leave families behind environment is linked not only to their for higher pay abroad. Despite many reports of economic sustenance; it is also entwined with abuse and unexplained deaths among female their cultural, social and spiritual life as a Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), more and people. This reality, however, is unrecognized more women are leaving the country to find by a government disdainful of indigenous and work abroad. Dependent on OFW remittances minority women’s socio-cultural rights. and unable to create jobs at home, govern- ment encourages this out-migration of human resources through various overseas labor facili- Violence Against Women tation programs. From a few thousands in the 90s, the number of documented Overseas Filipino Workers, of which women comprise A n estimated 300,000 women and 75,000 the majority, has been rising to tens of thou- children are in prostitution. “Entertainment” sands over many years. Some 539,000 women is the main channel, but a range of establish- OFWs were documented by the Philippines Na- ments from dirt-floor beer houses and karaoke tional Statistics Office as of 2004 or more than clubs to beach resorts and expensive health half (50.7 percent) of the total 1.063 million clubs provide prostitution for men of every migrant workers. This further increased by class. Government policies favor the export of 5.15 percent in 2005. Their average monthly entertainers and domestic helpers putting cash remittance represented only 57 percent thousands of women at risk of sexual exploita- of the PhP74,267 average monthly cash remit- tion. Further, government approval of "R and tance of the men.1 For the last three years, R" privileges for the US navy sustains a system several provinces in Mindanao ranked highest and infrastructure of military prostitution.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC G.R. No
    Today is Monday, June 09, 2014 Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC G.R. No. 170338 December 23, 2008 VIRGILIO O. GARCILLANO, petitioner, vs. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEES ON PUBLIC INFORMATION, PUBLIC ORDER AND SAFETY, NATIONAL DEFENSE AND SECURITY, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY, and SUFFRAGE AND ELECTORAL REFORMS, respondents. x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x G.R. No. 179275 December 23, 2008 SANTIAGO JAVIER RANADA and OSWALDO D. AGCAOILI, petitioners, vs. THE SENATE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, REPRESENTED BY THE SENATE PRESIDENT THE HONORABLE MANUEL VILLAR, respondents. x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x MAJ. LINDSAY REX SAGGE, petitioner-in-intervention x - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, JR., BENIGNO NOYNOY C. AQUINO, RODOLFO G. BIAZON, PANFILO M. LACSON, LOREN B. LEGARDA, M.A. JAMBY A.S. MADRIGAL, and ANTONIO F. TRILLANES, respondents-intervenors D E C I S I O N NACHURA, J.: More than three years ago, tapes ostensibly containing a wiretapped conversation purportedly between the President of the Philippines and a high-ranking official of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) surfaced. They captured unprecedented public attention and thrust the country into a controversy that placed the legitimacy of the present administration on the line, and resulted in the near-collapse of the Arroyo government. The tapes, notoriously referred to as the "Hello Garci" tapes, allegedly contained the President’s instructions to COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano to manipulate in her favor results of the 2004 presidential elections. These recordings were to become the subject of heated legislative hearings conducted separately by committees of both Houses of Congress.1 In the House of Representatives (House), on June 8, 2005, then Minority Floor Leader Francis G.
    [Show full text]
  • The London School of Economics and Political Science Hegemony
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LSE Theses Online The London School of Economics and Political Science Hegemony, Transformism and Anti-Politics: Community-Driven Development Programmes at the World Bank Emmanuelle Poncin A thesis submitted to the Department of Government of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. London, June 2012. 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99,559 words. Statement of use of third party for editorial help I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Patrick Murphy and Madeleine Poncin. 2 Abstract This thesis scrutinises the emergence, expansion, operations and effects of community-driven development (CDD) programmes, referring to the most popular and ambitious form of local, participatory development promoted by the World Bank.
    [Show full text]
  • Senate of the Philippines
    EPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Senate Pasay City SESSION NO. 11 Tuesday, August 2 1,2007 ~~~~~~~~~~ CONGRESS FIRST REGULAR SESSION SESSION NO. 11 Tuesday, August 21,2007 CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL At 4:05 p.m., the Senate President, Hon. Manny Upon direction of the Chair, the Secretary of the Villar, called the session to order. Senate, Emma-Lirio Reyes, called the roll, to which the following senators responded: PRAYER Angara, E. J. Gordon, R. J. Sen. Richard J. Gordon read the prayer prepared Aquino 111, 8. S. C. Honasan, G. B. by his daughter, to wit: Arroyo, J. P. Lacson, P. M. Biazon, R. G. Madrigal, M. A. Dear Lord, today we pray and conune- Cayetano, A. P. C. S. Pangilinan, F. N. inorate the life of Sen. Benign0 Aquino Jr., Cayetano, C. P. S. Pimentel Jr., A. Q. a distinguished alumnus of the University of Defensor Santiago, M. Revilla Jr., R. B. the Philippines and a member of the Upsilon Ejercito Estrada, J. Roxas, M. Sigma Phi Fraternity, certainly an assertive Eurile, J. P. Villar, M. leader that deserves to be the example for Escudero, F. J. G. our people in terms of changing the ways that have brought us to perdition in this With 19 senators present, the Chair declared country. the presence of a quorum. Dear Lord, God of all, we call You by Senators Lapid and Zubiri were on official different names, but You listen anyway. We mission, the latter abroad. come to You today one nation composed of different tribes and different faiths but we Senator Legarda was absent due to health still are one nation.
    [Show full text]
  • Overseas Absentee Voting, Elections, and the Challenges for a Working Democracy in the Philippines
    Diaspora and Democracy: Overseas Absentee Voting, Elections, and the Challenges for a Working Democracy in the Philippines Jeorge ALARCON Jr. Abstract The practice of democracy, through the overseas absentee voting (OAV) law, by overseas Filipinos is a function of their material conditions abroad, the existence and actions of working institutions, as well as the dominant ideas among the migrants themselves. This paper will argue that despite the promise of the OAV law and the migrants as transformative political force, due to the problems besetting its implementation as well as the overall structure within which it operates, the current situation has fallen short of expectations of the government and the advocates, and has therefore failed to manifest clear change in Philippine politics. Keywords : overseas absentee voting, procedural and substantive democracy, patronage politics, 3Cs, 3Gs “It is absolutely essential that the oppressed participate in the revolutionary process with an increasingly critical awareness of their role as subjects of the transformation.” --- Paulo Freire Introduction Democracy is one elusive concept to pin down. Various models of democracy exist, highlighting the multiplicity of ideas on the subject (Held 1999). As an ideal for people bounded by the particular territories of the national state, achieving a working democracy has been shown to be difficult to realize and maintain. Huntington (1991) showed that democracy had been gained and lost in the last two centuries by many countries. Drawing strength from the sacrifices of people from the center and left of the political spectrum, Filipinos, through the 1986 Revolution, known as the People Power/EDSA Revolution I, reestablished a liberal form of democracy after 20 years of dictatorship.
    [Show full text]
  • Not for Citation
    Asymmetrical Interests, Disjointed Capacities: the Central-Local Dynamics of Political Violence Sol Iglesias PhD candidate, National University of Singapore Why does political violence occur in a weak state with an unconsolidated democracy? The real puzzle is when it does not occur. I argue that interests and capacity can result in political violence, but why violence is used, when it starts, and why it ends is contingent upon central-local dynamics. Central-local dynamics are the resolution of strategic and particularistic interests coupled with the capacity afforded by powerful national and local political actors to use violence in response to threats. In Northern Luzon, the so-called “Solid North” bailiwick of the Marcos dynasty and its immediate environs, elections account for most of the violence that occurs. Interactions between national and local elites were visible during elections, but account for little else in the intervals between them. Levels of violence were relatively low, the lowest across the cases. citation In Eastern Visayas, the New People’s Army (NPA) of the communist insurgency posed a serious threat. Attacks against the militaryfor and police left multiple casualties among state security forces. The army believed that the NPA had infiltrated hundreds of villages and compromised locally elected officials. The central government stepped up its counter-insurgency operations, brutally and illegally targeting civilians. The NPA was eventually drivenNot down , their ranks crippled further after successive natural calamities. In Central- Luzon, state security forces were directed against civilians and community organizers to protect economic interests of powerful local politicians—not least of which was the Cojuangco-Aquino family.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hollow State: Human Rights and the State Imaginary
    THE HOLLOW STATE: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE STATE IMAGINARY by HELEN DELFELD A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Political Science written under the direction of Professor D. Michael Shafer and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey [October, 2008] © 2008 Copyright Helen Delfeld All rights reserved Abstract of the Dissertation The Hollow State: Human Rights and the State Imaginary by Helen J. Delfeld Chair: D. Michael Shafer My work suggests that looking at the state as a discourse rather than a positivistic (real, material) entity will help us understand how people might better access human rights; in the process of doing so, we break the idea of human rights away from a purely legalistic enterprise. The discourse that makes up each state differs, and that difference matters in the discourse of human rights. I label the Philippines a new kind of discursive entity, a “hollow state”. A hollow state fulfills many of the discursive expectations of stateness, but is supported more by external constituencies than internal ones – violating the imaginary that all states share some characteristics with nation-states. This study consists of a two-pronged investigation of the difference in governance discourse between the local level and the state level on the island province of Palawan in the Philippines. I interviewed 207 people involved in rights-oriented programs as participants or providers, in Palawan, in the Philippines. Content analysis was also done on government documents in Manila.
    [Show full text]
  • NLG Report.Pdf
    Probing Political Persecution, Repression & Human Rights Violations in the Philippines Report of the Women’s Human Rights Delegation May 25th 2006 – June 2nd 2006 Special Update: March 8th, 2007 By: Tina Monshipour Foster, Esq. Rachel Lederman, Esq. Vanessa Lucas, Esq. Judith Mirkinson Merrilyn Onisko, Esq. With the assistance of: Annalisa Enrile & Ninotchka Rosca On behalf of: Center for Constitutional Rights International Association of Democratic Lawyers International Justice Network National Lawyers Guild Sponsored by: GABRIELA Network 1199/SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Vanguard Foundation SEEKING ANSWERS: Authors’ Note about Special Update Report The prior version of this report, Seeking Answers: Probing Political Persecution, Repression & Human Rights Violations in the Philippines, was originally released on September 21, 2006. Since that time, the authors have continued to monitor developments in the Philippines, and have concluded that the human rights crisis in the country has worsened in several respects. This Special Update Report includes the original findings in the Seeking Answers report and incorporates recent developments through February, 2007. Where appropri- ate, the authors have also modified the conclusions and recommendations from those set forth in the original report. We release this new report on March 8, 2007, in honor of International Women’s Day. SEEKING ANSWERS: Probing II. The Prosecution of Ka Bel and Political Persecution, Repression the Batasan 5 and Human Rights Violations in President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, vice president the Philippines (Special Update, under Joseph Estrada, came into office when the March 8, 2007) “People’s Power II” mass demonstrations forced the ouster of Estrada in 2001. It is widely believed that President Arroyo won re-election in 2004 by fraud, and there have been continuing calls for her impeachment.
    [Show full text]
  • Ballot Pre-Loading, and Other Cases in Cagayan De Oro 246
    “Basurahan Affair,” Ballot Pre-Loading, and Other Cases in Cagayan de Oro 246 A Case Study “Basurahan Affair,” Ballot Pre-Loading, and Other Cases in Cagayan de Oro I. BACKGROUND Cagayan de Oro City Profile Cagayan de Oro City's history takes its roots centuries before the Spaniards came when the territory was then called Kalambagohan. Its main town, Himologan, was a hill-top fortress some eight kilometers south of the present Poblacion. When the first Spanish colonizers came in Kalambagohan in 1622, the people here had a tributary relation to nearby Sultan Kudarat and with the empire of Cotabato. However, instead of embracing Islam many people converted to Christianity. As early as 1899, Cagayan de Oro, then known as Cagayan de Misamis, was where the Aguinaldo government was proclaimed for the second time. Also, it was where the new Philippine flag was first raised on the Mindanao Island. Kagay-anon forces led by then Mayor Don Apolinar Velez initially and successfully repulsed the Americans at the historic bloody Battle of Makahambus on June 4, 1900. On June 15, 1950, President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 521 granting the status of a chartered city to the municipality of Cagayan de Misamis. A year after, one of the first oldest media organizations in the country, the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), was formed. It was only on November 22, 1983 that Cagayan de Oro City was declared by the Ministry of Local Government as a highly-urbanized and independent city. Based on the 2007 census, the city has an estimated population of 553,996.
    [Show full text]
  • Civil Society and Democracy in Southeast Asia and Turkey
    CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA TURKEY CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND TURKEY Edited by N. Ganesan Colin Dürkop ISBN: 978-605-4679-10-2 www.kas.de/tuerkei CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND TURKEY Edited by N. Ganesan Colin Dürkop Published by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of Konrad – Adenauer – Stiftung Ahmet Rasim Sokak No: 27 06550 Çankaya-Ankara/TÜRKİYE Telephone : +90 312 440 40 80 Faks : +90 312 440 32 48 E-mail : [email protected] www.kas.de/tuerkei ISBN : 978-605-4679-10-2 Designed & Printed by : OFSET FOTOMAT +90 312 395 37 38 Ankara, 2015 5 | ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 | INTRODUCTION 12 | CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRACY: TOWARDS A TAXONOMY Mark R. Thompson 44 | CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIC EVOLUTION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA N. Ganesan 67 | CIVIL SOCIETY, ISLAM AND DEMOCRACY IN INDONESIA: THE CONTRADICTORY ROLE OF NON-STATE ACTORS IN DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION Bob S. Hadiwinata and Christoph Schuck 96 | MALAYSIA: CROSS-COMMUNAL COALITION- BUILDING TO DENOUNCE POLITICAL VIOLENCE Chin-Huat Wong 129 | PHILIPPINE CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF LEFT POLITICS Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem 160 | THAILAND’S DIVIDED CIVIL SOCIETY AT A TIME OF CRISIS Viengrat Nethipo 198 | LIFE AND TIMES OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN TURKEY: ISSUES, ACTORS, STRUCTURES Funda Gencoglu Onbasi 231 | CONCLUSION N. Ganesan 239 | NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book has been long in the making since the first workshop on state- society relations in Southeast Asia was first held in Kuala Lumpur in 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • Jueteng, Crises of Presidential Legitimacy, and Electoral Failures in the Philippines*
    What Happens When Institutions Do Not Work What Happens When Institutions Do Not Work: Jueteng, Crises of Presidential Legitimacy, and Electoral Failures in the Philippines* Raul V.Fabella Abstract School of Economics In the Millennium Development Goals discussion, the question of University of the Philippines how we eliminate bad institutions that perpetuate global poverty Dillman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines often arises. Democracy and participatory institutions are pro- [email protected] posed as meta-institutions that are meant to create better ones. Democracies, however, also stumble. We study two episodes of crisis of presidential legitimacy in the Philippines: one arising from perceived electoral failure and the other from involvement in an illegal numbers game called Jueteng. A crisis of legitimacy can arise because the “declared winner” may not be the “true winner” be- cause of the compromise of mechanisms of recall and account- ability, or because the “true winner” reveals himself or herself ex post to be the “incorrect choice,” or both. The ensuing crisis of le- gitimacy, in turn, robs the executive of political mandate and mo- mentum for reform. In the struggle to survive, executive auton- omy is traded away as the power brokers of the status quo are enlisted for the defense. Thus, democracy’s march to good institu- tions may be blocked or even reversed. 1. Introduction That “institutions matter” has become virtually canonical in economics due to evidence from numerous conªrming country and cross-country studies (e.g., Acemoglu, John- * The author is grateful to the Philippine Long Distance Tele- phone (PLDT) Foundation for ªnancial support.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Human Rights FORUM
    Human Rights FORUM 1 A MIS-DEAL IN HONG KONG....................................................................... 1 The continuing story of acquiescence and resistance in the WTO SHALL WE DANCE? (Part 2) ...................................................................... 2 Arroyo’s cha-cha as a danse macabre Deadly Playgrounds: CHILD SOLDIERING IN THE PHILIPPINES ................................................... 3 THE DENUDINGOF SAMAR ......................................................................... 4 Subic Rape Case: NIGHTMARE ONCE AGAIN BECOMES REAL ................................................. 5 Karapatan at Kalakalan ITONG Disyembre ay idinaos ang ang mga magsasaka at mangggagawang ang 6th Ministerial Conference ng World kinikita, kung meron pa, ay unti-unting NTrade Organization (WTO) sa pinaliliit ng hindi patas na kalakalang ito? Hongkong upang pabilisin ang pagbuo ng Sino pa ang bibili ng mga produktong ito .......... mga bagong kasunduan sa lalo pang kung tuluyan nang mamatay ang ating PHILIPPINE HUMAN RIGHTS INFORMATION CENTER pagbubukas at pagtanggal ng mga res- agrikultura at industriya? triksyon sa pandaigdigang kalakalan. Sa klase ng globalisasyong ito, Ang mga panibagong kasunduang ito, malabong magkaroon ng sustenidong pag- Editorial Board tinawag na “Doha Round,” ay kinakai- unlad ang mahihirap na bansa at lalo ring NYMIA PIMENTEL-SIMBULAN DR. P.H. langang mabuo at magkabisa sa pagtatapos hihina ang kanilang kakayahang tugunan SONNY MELENCIO ng taong 2006 dahil kung hindi malalagay at ipagtanggol ang karapatan ng kanilang GINA DELA CRUZ sa alanganin ang buong proseso ng mga nasasakupan. globalisasyong itinutulak ng mayayamang bansa. BERNARDO D. LARIN Sa kasaysayan ng mga negosasyong Editor-in-Chief ginaganap sa ilalim ng WTO, laging matindi ang banggaan ng mga interes ng J.M. VILLERO Managing Editor mga bansa lalo na sa pagitan ng mga mayayaman at mahihirap na bansa. Lalong ARNEL RIVAL maigting ang pagtutol ng iba’t-ibang Art Director organisasyon ng mga sektor sa lipunan.
    [Show full text]
  • Report of the Women's Human Rights Delegation to the Philippines
    1 SEEKING ANSWERS: many leaders of legal progressive organizations, have been named in the charges and threatened with arrest. Several of those Probing Political Perecution, named have since been killed or disappeared. Repression & Human Rights There is a 37-year-old insurgency in the Philippines led bythe Violations in the Philippines Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army (CPP/NPA). As a key partner in the United States War on Terror, President Arroyo has stated that her Executive Summary government will wipe out this insurgency within the next two years. The Arroyo regime has repeatedly publicly conflated the I. Introduction mass opposition movement -- including the Batasan 6, elected members of Congress—with the armed insurgency, in apparent There is a human rights crisis in the Philippines. Since Gloria justification of a policy of extermination of both armed combat- Macapagal Arroyo assumed the presidency in 2001, there have ants and civilian above ground activists. been more than 750 extrajudicial killings. Activists, community leaders, organizers, lawyers, journalists, development workers The delegation examined the hundreds of documents proffered and human rights workers have been assassinated. Progressive by the government in support of its claim that the Batasan 6 members of Congress are being prosecuted on rebellion charges and other left leaders are agents of the communist insurgency and legal opposition organizations are being threatened. involved in a conspiracy with right wing soldiers to overthrow the Arroyo government by violent or illegal means. The docu- In response, four women lawyers—representing the National ments show only that there has been a long-term armed conflict Lawyers Guild, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the between the government and the NPA.
    [Show full text]