MANILA: An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday condemned the arrest of a partylist legislator and nine others who conducted a fact-finding mission in Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac. CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action Justice and Peace chairman Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said there is nothing wrong in conducting the mission by the group of Anakpawis Rep Fernando Hicap to ensure the transparent distribution of the lots to farmer beneficiaries. The bishop said the government has until the end of September this year to distribute the vast sugar holding,owned by the family of President Benigno Aquino III, to over 6,000 farmer-beneficiaries. Early this week, Hicap and nine other peasant leaders were arrested by the Tarlac City police for trespassing at the property. Police also alleged that several posts in the area were destroyed by Hicap’s group.
Public urged to cut marine trash
MANILA: The government yesterday urged the public to reduce marine trash as the amount being collected by volunteers for the last three years has been sharply increasing. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said he hoped fewer marine trash could be collected when the country takes part in the world’ s biggest cleanup, known as the International Coastal Cleanup Day, on September 21. Based on yearly reports of the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy, Paje said the volume of ocean trash recorded by volunteers from the Philippines has doubled every year in the past three years. agencies
