Maniolas

September 7 protest in Los Angeles against Marcos’ hero’s burial; some demonstrators recounted experiences under the dictator’s rule. CECILE C. OCHOA LOS ANGELES – Former anti-Marcos activists came out at lunchbreak from their day jobs or retirements Sept. 7 to join the international protest rally against the planned burial of Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Manila. A crowd of old and young protesters held picket signs in front of the Philippine Consulate General on Wilshire Blvd. Among the organizations represented in the protest were MAKIBAKA, FASGI, Knights of Rizal,  KmB Pro People Youth,  Pilipino Workers’ Center, and former members of the Coalitiona Against the Marcos Dictatorship, National Committee for the Restoration of Civil Liberties in the Philippines and Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino. Carol Ojeda Kimbrough, whose first husband, Rolando Federis, was arrested and murdered by the Philippine military; seen with her at the LA protest is Florante Ibanez, a former anti-martial law activist. CECILE C. OCHOA Tess Mercado, 60, joined the global “Kontra Libing” protests to let the world know that Marcos’ repressive regime was a fact of Philippine history. “My family and I were apprehended and jailed in Daur, Nueva Ecija because we were accused of being subversives–my husband, myself two months pregnant and my little son who was one and a half.” Lillian Tamoria came to the rally because she fears repression returning to the Philippines. “I grew up in the U.S. and in the ‘70s I demonstrated against curtailment of civil rights in Read More …

US President Barack Obama walks to his meeting with ASEAN leaders in the ongoing 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits at the National Convention Center, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016 in Vientiane, Laos. AP VIENTIANE, Laos—US President Barack Obama put the long-simmering dispute in the South China Sea front and center on the agenda at a regional summit on Thursday as it became clear that most of the other leaders gathered in the Laotian capital were going to let China off with a mild rebuke over its territorial expansion in the resource-rich waters. “We will continue to work to ensure that disputes are resolved peacefully, including in the South China Sea,” Obama said in his opening remarks at a meeting with leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). He said an international arbitration ruling on July 12 against China was “binding” and “helped to clarify maritime rights in the region.” Asean was to hold a separate summit later Thursday with other world powers, including China and the United States. At the close of its summit, Asean issued a joint statement letting China off with a muted reprimand over its expansionist activities in the South China Sea. The mild language in the statement, despite growing frustrations in the region over China’s claims, is a reflection of Beijing’s diplomatic, economic and military clout within Asean, which forms the core of the East Asia Summit that also includes the United States, China, Russia, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The Read More …

The police detained seven Chinese nationals (four seen in this photo) after a raid at a piggery farm led to a suspected shabu laboratory beneath a feeds warehouse in Barangay Balitucan in Magalang, Pampanga. Police discovered the facility on Wednesday (Sept. 7). PHOTO BY TONETTE T. OREJAS/INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga —  As much as 468 grams of methamphetamine, 20 kilograms of suspected ephedrine, and assorted equipment used in the manufacture of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride), were recovered from seven Chinese nationals who were arrested in a Sept. 7 raid on an underground laboratory in a Pampanga town. Alvin Wang, Philip Chang, Wang Shi Yu, Lieu Wang, Susan Wang, Xia Po Chang and Sonny At from Xiamen in China were caught at the piggery farm in Magalang town, where the laboratory was concealed beneath a feed mill that doubled as a warehouse. They face charges for manufacturing and for possessing narcotics. The laboratory could produce up to 100 kilograms of shabu weekly. Entrance to the underground laboratory was hidden by a large wooden chest. The piggery in Balitucan village started operations two years ago and the warehouse was built four months ago, according to village chief Marcial Alfaro. The piggery is accessible via Nueva Ecija and the North Luzon Expressway. PDEA National Capital Region Director Wilkins Villanueva said the Magalang facility are part of a network of five shabu laboratories in Luzon. Five minors found in the piggery were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.SFM Latest Read More …