Ellen – Page 442 – ellen tordesillas

Deciding with their feet

Published by Ellen on August 11, 2006

There is one area where Gloria can claim success and nobody would dispute it. And that’s in the export of Filipinos.

Today, more than eight million Filipinos are scattered all over the world, even as far as Equatorial Guinea in Africa, with the numbers increasing every day. The Commission on Overseas Filipinos said since January this year, at least 6,000 Filipinos have left as immigrants for an increase of 23.4 percent in the number of departing Filipinos. I don’t have the figures of contract workers but I can imagine the number is much more.

Many more want to leave. The latest survey by Pulse Asia conducted from June 24 to July 8 showed that Filipinos who spurn migration dropped by 15 percent from last year’s 52 per cent to 37 percent now.

Defying Supreme Court again

Published by Ellen on August 9, 2006

In junking of the seven impeachment complaints against Gloria Arroyo, her allies in Congress have once again defied the Supreme Court by clearly misinterpreting the Court’s ruling in Francisco vs. House of Representatives, the Counsel for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL) said.

Codal’s statement:

Wasak na demokrasya

Published by Ellen on August 9, 2006

Hindi naman nakapagtataka ang nangyari sa House of Representatives noong Martes kung saan binasura na kaagad ng Committee on Justice ang pitong impeachment complaints laban kay Gloria Arroyo.

Sabi ng mga nakakaraming kampon ni Arroyo, hindi pa raw isang taon nang sinampa ang pitong binasurang impeachment complaint. Isa na lang ang natira, yung isinampa ng Black and White Movement noong July 27.

Mabuti na lang at naniguro ang mga complainants kaya marami silang isinampa, iba-ibang date. Pare-parehong complaint naman yan kaya wala naman masyadong epekto ang pagbasura ng pito.

Cha-Cha and the economy:false projections, spurious arguments

Published by Ellen on August 9, 2006

Speech of former Senator Wigberto Tañada at a conference on “Implications of Liberalizing the Economic Provisions of the Constitution”, organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) last July 14.

Tañada is a lead convenor of the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA), a broad multisectoral coalition of formal and informal labor, industry, agricultural, non-governmental organizations, and youth pushing for trade and economic reforms.

Let me directly share with you three major points on the issue at hand.

One, amending the Constitution to make it responsive to the development requirements of a country is the sovereign right of the people. However, the present charter-change initiative has become controversial not only because the process being used is infirm but also because it is not clear if such initiative is truly in response to the development needs of the people or if it is merely a grand design to promote the narrow self-serving agenda of some politicians.

Write your congressman

Published by Ellen on August 8, 2006

Gloria Arroyo’s bulldozer team wasted no time incrashing the seven impeachment complaints against her. Only one left. The one lodged by the Black and White Movement led by former social welfare secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman.

We have no illusions about the fate of the impeachment complaint in Arroyo-controlled Lower House.

But let us make known to them what we feel and what we expect of them.

GMA’s Supermaid becomes household manager

Published by Ellen on August 8, 2006

This is the illustration in the Supermaid advertisement of Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) in the Manila Bulletin last Sunday.

What do you think?Take note of X-men costume of Gloria Arroyo.

Iwas cervical cancer

Published by Ellen on August 7, 2006

Sa Muntinlupa, may mobile clinic na umiikot sa mga barangay para magbigay ng serbisyo pangkalusugan. Ito ay proyekto ni Congressman Ruffy Biazon na pinasinayan sa Asian Hospital noong Sabado.

Ang Mobile Clinic ay may facilities para sa dental services. Pwedeng magpalinis at magpabunot ng ngipin. Mayroon din X-ray at Ultrasound equipment. Kaya maraming klaseng medical services ang magagawa nitong mobile clinic ni Rep. Biazon. Kasama na rin dito ang information campaign.

The case of Emy Boncodin

Published by Ellen on August 7, 2006

The acceptance of former Budget Secretary Emy Boncodin of a seat in Petron has been exploited to the hilt by Malacañang spinning it as a return to their fold. It will be recalled that Boncodin was one of the Hyatt 10, Arroyo’s cabinet members who resigned and called for her resignation last year following the expose of the Hello Garci tapes.

We know Emy is not in the best of health. She has her reasons to accept the Petron seat.

We are reproducing here her statement issued on the article that appeared in the Philippine Star. We are also reproducing the twin statements from Malacañang on her.

Supermaid factory

Published by Ellen on August 6, 2006

Gloria Arroyo’s vision for the Philippines is to turn it into one big factory of supermaids.

She unveiled this vision last Thursday in a televised roundtable discussion on the evacuation of more than 30,000 Filipinos in Lebanon, almost all of them working as domestic helpers. This was after it was reported that two Filipina maids jumped to their death from a high-story building fleeing their Lebanese masters.

A number of the returning Filipino maids had related to media their harrowing experiences with their Lebanese employers. Many of them were raped and were not paid their salaries, which were low: $200 (P10,000) a month. There was even one who was getting only $150 (P7,650) a month. They were prevented from leaving even as Israeli bombing of Lebanon intensified.

Ang zero casualty ni Gloria

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2006

Kinakarma na talaga itong si Gloria Arroyo. Ang nakakalungkot lang, taumbayan naman ang nasasakrispisyo.

Noong Huwebes, inu-utos niya na pauwiin raw ang lahat-lahat na natirang sobra 30,000 na Pilipino sa Lebanon. Kailan raw kasi “zero casualty” . Ibig sabihin, dapat walang Pilipinong mamatay doon sa Lebanon.

Habang pinaglandakan niya ang zero casualty, pumasok ang balita na dalawang Pilipina ang namatay dahil tumalon sa building para makatakas dahil ayaw sila payagan ng kanilang mga among Lebanese na umuwi kahit nagkaka-giyera na doon.

Author: Ellen