Posts

Interview: There are no problems if I don’t go to the Philippines–Sison

/in /by

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES (NDFP) Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison told Kodao Productions there are difficulties in carrying out his plans for a homecoming in July.

In a Skype meeting with then candidate for the presidency Rodrigo Duterte several weeks ago, the now President-elect expressed his desire to meet his former professor for a one-on-one meeting.  After Duterte’s victory in the May 9 national elections, both he and Sison announced plans for Sison’s homecoming to affect the meeting. Read more

Duterte, NDFP peace teams agree to resume formal talks

/in /by

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s peace team agreed to resume formal negotiations next month with a historic joint statement last night in Oslo, Norway (1 am, Manila time).

In a successful conclusion to their two-day exploratory talks, both parties also agreed to discuss in their formal negotiations the affirmation of previously-signed agreements, accelerated process for the negotiations, reconstitution of the NDFP list of Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG)-protected personnel, amnesty proclamation of all political prisoners, and mode of interim ceasefire.  Read more

NDFP and Duterte peace teams begin informal meet

/in /by

QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES—The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s negotiating teams expressed optimism at the start of their three-day preliminary talks in Oslo, Norway yesterday, an observer to the meeting said.

Incoming Anakpawis representative Ariel Casilao said both parties are optimistic in resuming the formal talks slated next month after Duterte is sworn into office.    Read more

Disgusting, Sison says of US terror relisting

/in /by

AT THE ‘Blue Meets Red’ forum at the Ateneo de Davao University last June 8, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) spokesperson Fidel Agcaoili said their chief political consultant Prof. Jose Maria Sison’s planned homecoming to the Philippines is still a ‘ticklish’ issue owing to the United States recent relisting of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), New People’s Army (NPA) and Sison as ‘terrorist’.

Kodao interviewed Prof. Sison on his thoughts about this development. Read more

NDFP and incoming Duterte administration poised for a ceasefire agreement

/in /by

The negotiating panels of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the incoming Government of the Philippines (GPH) confirmed that an interim mutual ceasefire agreement is on the agenda when both parties hold preliminary talks in Oslo starting June 14.

NDFP negotiating panel chairperson Luis Jalandoni said that their group is now finalizing its draft interim ceasefire agreement with the incoming Rodrigo Duterte government. Read more

STATEMENT: Journalists are not the enemy

/in /by

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte errs in declaring that most journalists are being killed for being corrupt and in implying that only corrupt journalists have been killed in the Philippines. While corruption is a continuing problem in the press and media, it is simply not true that most of the journalists killed in the line of duty were killed because they were corrupt. On the contrary. Most of those killed were in fact exposing corruption and criminal activities in the communities, and for their social and political advocacies. The Pagadian city journalist Edgar Damalerio was killed in 2003 for exposing wrongdoing in the local government; Marlene Esperat was killed in Tacurong city for exposing anomalies in the Department of Agriculture; and Gerardo “Gerry” Ortega was killed for his environmental advocacy in Puerto Princesa. Read more

STATEMENT: On Duterte’s media boycott dare

/in /by
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines wishes to clarify that it was not the Philippine media which called for a boycott of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s press conferences.
For the record, it was the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontiers; RSF) that issued the call, one that was, rightly, not heeded by the Philippine media.

Read more

OPEN LETTER: It’s about the culture of impunity in our country!

/in /by

3 June 2016

Dear President-elect Rodrigo Duterte,

That was quite a mouthful you unleashed on media Thursday night. We do appreciate your reminder that, yes, we journalists are not a uniformly lily-white breed, in fact none of us are, although we would not go so far as to consider ourselves in the same line of work as publicists, for theirs is a totally different field as you yourself pointed out. Read more

STATEMENT: Nothing justifies the murder of journalists!

/in /by

It is appalling that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte should justify the murder of journalists in the country by playing the corruption card.

In his press conference in Davao City Tuesday, Mr. Duterte issued the broad assertion that “most journalists killed are corrupt.”

“Just because you’re a journalist doesn’t mean you’re exempted from assassination if you’re a son of a bitch,” he said.

“Freedom of expression won’t save you,” he added. “The Constitution cannot help you kapag binaboy mo ang isang tao.” Read more