CHR to Arroyo: Pull out
soldiers from Metro slums Watchdog wary of
rights violations
BY REINIR PADUA AND VICTOR REYES
THE Commission on Human Rights has asked
President Arroyo to pull out soldiers deployed in urban poor
communities in Metro Manila.
CHR chair Purificacion Quisumbing, in a
letter sent this week, said the soldiers are duplicating the
work of the police, according to Ed Diansuy, chief of the CHR’s
public information office.
Diansuy said Quisumbing sent similar letters
to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Armed Forces chief Gen.
Hermogenes Esperon, and PNP chief Oscar Calderon.
PRESIDENT Arroyo yesterday said that if
simply missing a meal would qualify as experiencing hunger, then
she considers herself a victim of hunger.
"Kasi iyun naman ang question ng hunger, do
you miss one meal during the last three months? Pati naman ako,
I’ve missed one meal in the last three months," she said in an
interview after a roundtable discussion on education and social
services.
The Feb. 24 to 27 Social Weather Stations
survey question was, "Nitong nakaraang tatlong buwan, nangyari
po ba na kahit minsan na ang inyong pamilya ay nakaranas ng
gutom at wala kayong makain? Kung oo, nangyari po ba iyan ng
minsan lamang, mga ilang beses, madalas o palagi?"
THE Supreme Court yesterday moved to March 30
oral arguments for a petition filed by detained Bayan Muna Rep.
Satur Ocampo questioning the issuance of arrest warrants against
him.
The Court also said Ocampo, who is facing
murder charges, will continue to be detained at the Manila
Police District until further notice.
