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The expected victory of leading candidate Benigno Simeon Cojuangco "Noynoy" Aquino III has raised the hopes and expectations of the people of the Philippines. The people judged him to be the most worthy of trust and the best one able to realize their hopes and most likely to fulfill campaign promises to end corruption and work to end widespread poverty. His greatest challenge if proclaimed president will be to resist the power, influence and pressure of the vested interests of the powerful dynastic families and foreign corporations and governments that have dominated Philippine politics and the economy for generations. The people have spoken through the new fairly effective electronic voting system that has minimized cheating and brought a swift result.

DEAR FRIENDS AND DEFENDERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS,

PREDA TRUSTEE SURVIVES ASSASSINATION ATTACK. We have been shot at, beaten, harassed and jailed over the years and now a former Preda staff, Conrado Villarez who gave dedicated service and commitment during the early ears of the growth of the Preda projects and is a member of the Preda Board of Trustees has been the target of an assassination attempt by a gunman who fired at him point blank a month ago. His quick reaction when the killer walked up to him is to brush away the gun with his right hand, but it fired into his hand, arm and side. It miraculously missed vital organs and he survived and was rushed to hospital. He has recovered and bravely returned to work as Municipal Treasurer of Subic town and where he is a senior election supervisor. He will help oversee the elections in Subic town where he has refused to join the schemes of corrupt business people who want him to lower their tax obligations. He is taking precautions.

One of the  biggest challenges facing any new president and administration will be how to deal with the political culture of crime where guns and goons  and oodles of ill-gotten money  buys or buries opponents  and bedazzles the electorate with false claims, promises and empty  meaningless rhetoric. Political violence like the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao has bedeviled the Republic since its founding. The culture of political crime and corruption pervades every political campaign with some notable exceptions to be admired and supported. It is not an electoral contest fought for different political values, goals with stated policies and clear agendas. Few sign any detailed policy manifesto that they could be held accountable for by the public and the media.

Last week I had a meeting with a remarkable man, Tony Meloto, the founder of the catholic social action movement Gawad Kalinga (Caring for Others) that is utilizing all of its resources to mobilize the church, politicians, community leaders and every willing Filipino to do good to help their neighbor and bring an end to the crippling and disastrous poverty in the Philippines. His goal is to achieve this by 2024.

Gawad Kalinga is an organization that mobilizes all sectors of society to provide community organization, low cost housing, educational and medical assistance to the poorest of the poor among slum dwellers. It has a remarkable history of achievement with thousands of houses for the poor built all over the country, combining the help of the slum dwellers themselves, volunteers and support and land from corporations, church leaders and even politicians. The poor find their dignity and are empowered to help themselves.

1 Resolutions 1997/50, 2000/36, and 2003/31 were adopted by the UN Commission on Human Rights to extend the mandate of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Resolution 6/4, which further extended the mandate of the Working Group, was adopted in September 2007 by the Human Rights Council, which “assume[d] . . . all mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights . . . .” G.A. Res. 60/251, ¶ 6 (Mar. 15, 2006).

BASIS FOR “URGENT ACTION” REQUEST
Ms. Maryam Rostampour and Ms. Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad are practicing Christians who are currently being held at Evin prison in Tehran, Iran without trial and without legal recourse. Due to religious discrimination, the women experience constant verbal brutality and inhumane treatment, and as prison conditions worsen,2 they are in grave danger. The state has not provided legal counsel and the lawyer who they sought to represent them has been jailed as a human rights activist.3 Currently, no lawyers are being allowed into the prison because of the influx of new prisoners after the June election protests.4