Caloy Conde

By Carlos H. Conde
International Herald Tribune
Published: February 5, 2008

MANILA:
In response to attacks on mining companies by insurgent groups in the
Philippines, the military has agreed to recruit and train residents in
communities near the mines as a defense force for the companies.

The
policy, officials said, is just one of several that the government is
pursuing in its efforts to promote the Philippines as a major player in
the mining industry in Asia.

Under the plan, the military, with
the help of local governments and the mining companies themselves,
would recruit residents in communities where mining investments are
present. It would then train and arm the recruits to help guard the
companies from armed groups, mainly the New People’s Army, which is
Communist and is responsible for most attacks against the mostly
foreign-based mining companies.

Read the full story

MANILA: Jose Bernas considers himself extremely lucky. In May last
year, two gunmen posing as journalists tried to kill him inside his
office here. Bernas survived only because he had managed to block the
path to his office; as he and the assailants struggled for control of
the door, one of them fired his gun through it but missed Bernas.

The men fled, leaving behind the shaken but otherwise unscathed lawyer.

Gil
Gojol was not as fortunate. A lawyer known for representing several
victims of human-rights abuses, Gojol and his driver were shot and
killed in Bicol, a region south of Manila, on Dec. 12. His colleagues
believed the murders had something to do with a human-rights case Gojol
was handling at the time.

Read the full story here