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15 November 2012 Press Releases

Civil society rejects flawed ASEAN Human Rights declaration

[Media Release] Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Today, 62 grassroots, national, regional, and international civil society groups are calling upon ASEAN Member States to postpone the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, which is not worthy of its name. The organizations vow to reject the Declaration if it is adopted with its current text. Instead, [...]

15 November 2012 Press Releases

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Cambodia: Stop disrupting civil society events

[Media Release] …and restricting freedom of expression & assembly ahead of ASEAN Summit We, the undersigned civil society organizations, strongly urge the Cambodian authorities to immediately end the ongoing intimidation, threats and harassment of organizers, venue owners and participants involved in civil society events in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, ahead of the 21st Association of [...]

9 November 2012

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BlogFest Asia 2012

BlogFest Asia has a special place in my heart, because it was on this annual event, back in 2009, when I got the chance to be invited by the US Department of State to participate in an International Visitors Leadership Program. This was during the first BlogFest Asia, held in Hong Kong, where I gave [...]

12 October 2012

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A lame president

There were times when I questioned the one-term policy for Philippine presidents built into the 1987 Constitution — which I think was included due to a knee-jerk reaction to fears of having a repeat of the Marcos dictatorship. But with this sitting president, I am more than glad for it! Benigno Aquino III has once [...]

9 October 2012

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Victory against RA10175

Today, Filipino netizens scored a victory against the Cybercrime Prevention Act, against the those who would infringe upon the people’s civil liberties. Sitting en banc, all 14 Supreme Court justices issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against RA10175, effectively stopping it dead in its tracks. The TRO bars the Department of Justice from carrying out [...]

5 October 2012

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From the horse’s mouth

President Aquino, probably ignoring counsel from his legal team (who have blundered quite embarrassingly earlier anyway), has finally proceeded to issue his own statement with regards the Cybercrime Prevention Act. The alarming fact is, he has blithely ignored the people’s counsel, the people whom he once called his “boss.” A leader who has to qualify [...]

4 October 2012

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Bloggers vs. President Benigno S. Aquino III

Today at around 1:00pm, a group of bloggers and social media activists, including yours truly, has filed a petition before the Supreme Court to nullify assailed provisions of Republic Act No. 10175. We are suing the President of the Philippines, among others, because we believe he owns command responsibility for enacting a law that is [...]

4 October 2012

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Blundering or Calculating?

Palace spokesman Edwin Lacierda strikes again. And so does Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. You see the disinformation that Malacañang is spreading? It is characteristic of repressive regimes to turn tables on dissidents, to try and label them as mere rabble rousers. Instead of recognizing legitimate redress by the people — whom the president called [...]