By Macel Ingles


A long drawn-out negotiations between panels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front (NDF) held here in Oslo failed to reach an agreement that will pave the way for the formal resumption of the peace talks between the two parties next year.

Both parties met from November 28 to 30 for informal talks at the Clarion Collection Hotel Gabelshus in an effort to find ways to re-open formal negotiations. The six-member GRP panel was led by Nieves Confesor and the ten-member NDF panel, by Louie Jalandoni.

Majority of Filipinos continue to reject moves to amend the Constitution or charter change (Cha-cha), according to the results of the latest IBON nationwide survey.

Of the 72.4% of respondents who answered that they were aware of the Arroyo administration' s moves to amend or change the 1987 Constitution, 77.4% said they were not in favor of such proposals. This is a significant increase from the April 2008 survey round where 68% said they were not in favor of Cha-cha, and from the 74% in October 2007.

The latest IBON survey was conducted nationwide from October 1 to 10 with 1,494 respondents from various sectors. The survey used a multi-stage probability sampling scheme with a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.

A recent study of independent thinktank IBON showed that Filipinos are reeling from the financial crisis that has rocked all economies worldwide. I t showed that 75% of Filipinos surveyed admitted that they are having difficulty buying enough food and paying for basic expenses.

The study was conducted with 1,494 respondents and held last October.

This was a rise from the 55.7% Filipinos who considered themselves poor a year ago. A survey in October 2007 showed that 50% said their livelihood was worse, while 42.6% said their livelihood remained the same.

NSO pegged the inflation rate at 11.8% last month.

By Angie De Lara, Migrant Watch, Bulatlat, on 29-09-2008 21:05

That so many millions of Filipinos are forced to go abroad and that the country is so dependent on remittances actually underscore the great failure of the government to build a solid domestic economy.

The Arroyo government will host the Second Global Forum on Migration and Development this October. Bulatlat interviewed Jose Enrique Africa, research head of IBON Foundation regarding overseas Filipino workers’ remittances and Philippine Development. Bulatlat: The BSP said that the Philippines is the 4th biggest remittance receiver in the world. How do the Filipino people benefit from this?

A group of foreign lawyers found government efforts to address human rights violations in the Philippines wanting.

The conclusion from the International Fact-finding Mission organized by the Dutch lawyers for Lawyers Foundation found that government agencies are ambivalent in their efforts to abet and solve extrajudicial killings, particularly in cases involving the military and police as perpetrators.

The study cited data from the National Union of People’s Lawyers and the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties that 15 judges and 22 lawyers have been killed since 2001. Judges and lawyers are also being subjected to death threats and reportedly included in the military’s order of battle or under surveillance.

This is the second time that the Dutch organization of lawyers had been to the Philippines to look into extrajudicial killings of judges and lawyers. The first was in June 2006.