[A-IMC radio] Current TV: Unrest in the Philippines

[Stefan Christoff]

* Current TV: Unrest in the Philippines
http://www.current.tv/watch/142929282

A film report produced by journalist Stefan Christoff
& Kodao Productions Inc. in Manila.

"Poverty, Power & Persuasion: 2007 Elections in the Philippines", is a short 
film examining the current socio-economic situation in the Philippines within 
the context of the 2007 mid-term elections. Across the Philippine archipelago 
millions of voters cast ballots for the 2007 mid-term elections amidst a wave 
of political violence, including multiple assassinations and calculated 
fire-bombings of polling stations.

According to the Philippine National Police approximately 130 people lost their 
lives, in the context of a national vote widely viewed as a test to the 
political legitimacy of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, an important U.S. 
ally in the South Pacific. Final results for the 2007 Philippine elections 
remain undetermined, as high-pressure controversies, including allegations of 
state-sanctioned electoral fraud, mount political pressure on the fragile 
Arroyo government.

This film report features interviews from Manila's urban poor communities 
addressing the current socio-economic crisis facing the country, while also 
featuring commentary on the growing political instability in the Philippines 
surrounding the political killings occurring in the country mainly targeting 
progressive activists, union leaders and left politicians, which have been 
estimated at upwards of 850 people by international human rights organizations.


* For more information on the International Campaign to Stop the Killings in 
the Philippines visit: http://www.stopthekillings.org

* Stefan Christoff is a journalist and social justice activist based in 
Montreal who traveled to the Philippines in May 2007, on an international 
solidarity delegation from Montreal organized by the Centre for Philippine 
Concerns, a Philippines solidarity group in Montreal.

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