Philippines


MANILA, Philippines – The Alyansa ng Manggagawa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA) rallied in front of the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday, June 11, to ask that the Cojuangco-owned company managing Hacienda Luisita not be allowed to choose which accounting firm will audit the P1.3 billion to be distributed to the original farmworker-beneficiaries (FBWs) of the sugar estate.

The P1.3 billion represents proceeds from two transactions that Hacienda Luisita Inc (HLI) made over the years that lessened made smaller the land that would be distributed to the farm workers – the sale of 500 hectares of land, and the appropriation of 80.51 hectares for the SCTEX project. The farm workers are then entitled to shares from these proceeds.

In a country where corruption is as rife as it is in Cambodia, global brands must work with governments to ensure garment factories are safe and working conditions legal, international NGO Transparency International (TI) said yesterday. Responding to reports that some retailers will leave Bangladesh following the Rana Plaza factory collapse that killed more than 1,100 people in April, TI said brands should instead work towards safer, less corrupt markets in countries from which they buy. In Cambodia, where two workers were killed when a ceiling collapsed at the Wing Star Shoes factory on May 16, corruption is more extreme than in Bangladesh, TI said.

TEMPO.CO, Yogyakarta –Ansyaad Mbai, Head of the National Counter-Terrorism Board (BNPT), mentioned Poso as the new base for terrorism activities, meaning that terrorist cells are gathering at Poso to establish their new headquarter. He said that previously in 2010, terrorist groups had attempted to establish a headquarters, which resulted in a failure. However, they continue to establish "smaller groups called Halaqoh." These small groups are then gathered in Makassar and Poso under the leadership of Abu Umar.

Moreover, Ansyaad stated that the group has successfully influence the local residents to support them.

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Six armed men abducted Malcolm Primrose, a 61 years-old Scottish who works for Medco E&P Malaka Block A, East Aceh. The abduction happened on Tuesday, June 11, around 13.30 Western Indonesian Time. Akhyar, Public Affair Lead of Medco E&P Malaka, said that he lost contact with Malcolm. "We have reported to the police," he said.

Malcomi, Medco's subcontractor, was heading to his base camp in Rautau Pereulak after checking the Matang I Blang Simpo Well Site. He was on a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport with his driver, Dania Arani (40).