This carinderia owner in Alabel, Sarangani still manages to smile because of the brisk sales of rice that she enjoys. The same cannot be said though of those who are buying rice, as they have to put up with rising prices of the Filipino staple. BY COCOY SEXCION / SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE Contributed to Bulatlat…
Day: April 19, 2008
The Potent Difference
What the Supreme Court eventually chooses to do will certainly be determined not only by what takes place in the judicial arena. The hard-earned lesson for us in countless battles against anti-people state policies, malfeasance in office and intractable abuse of authority: the people cannot simply rely on Congress, even with a marginally oppositionist Senate,…
Are Foreign Loan Agreements Not International Agreements?
There should be no more secret negotiations for foreign loans that only contribute to our nation’s impoverishment and human underdevelopment. In some Latin American countries, they do not allow foreign loan negotiations in the hands of unaccountable finance officials who are dreaming of eventually joining the World Bank or International Monetary Fund as economists. In…
Play of Words Do Not Make the Rice Crisis Go Away
The Arroyo government is again playing with words, as if it would make the rice crisis (which has now reached the level of a food crisis) go away. It claims there is no rice crisis but admits to a rice price crisis. There may be no real shortage yet but sharp increases in the price…
The Rice Crisis, Globalization, and Culture
BY JULIE L. PO CONCERNED ARTISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES Posted by Bulatlat DEMOCRATIC SPACE Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 The rice crisis that the country experiences today is greatly a result of the government’s policy towards globalization. Although globalization is mainly economics, it carries a cultural impact that erodes our outlook on rice…
Government Denies Culture of Impunity in its UN Human Rights Report
BY ATTY. CARLOS ISAGANI ZARATE Secretary General Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao DEM0OCRATIC SPACE Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 Self-serving and illusory is how we see the government’s report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). It suppresses the real picture of the culture of impunity happening in…
Mensahe sa Magtatapos ng Kursong Peryodismo
Huwag mong isiping may kailangan kang patunayan sa iyong sarili. Mas mahalagang isaalang-alang ang publikong makikinabang sa iyong paggampan ng peryodismo sa tunay na esensiya nito – ang makabuluhang paghubog ng opinyon at pagkilos para sa pagbabago. NI DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Konteksto / Pinoy Weekly Inilathala ng Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008…
One Year Later: Nandigram and the Struggle against Forced Displacement in India
BY DAVE PUGH ALTERNATIVE READER Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 In January and March 2007, tens of thousands of peasants at Nandigram in West Bengal, India rose up to defend their land. By the time their struggle abated, the peasants had stopped the plans of the Left Front government in…
Lest We Forget: An Open Letter to My Sisters Who are Brave.
BY ALICE WALKER TheRoot.com Posted by Bulatlat ALTERNATIVE READER Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 I HAVE COME home from a long stay in Mexico to find – because of the presidential campaign, and especially because of the Obama/Clinton race for the Democratic nomination – a new country existing alongside the old. On any…
Peasant Martyr’s Daughter Wounded
The daughter of peasant martyr Eddie Gumanoy is recovering from a fractured left arm resulting from a gunshot wound at the V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City. Military officials claimed that Rose Ann Gumanoy is part of an NPA unit they had a firefight with last April 17. By Dabet Castañeda HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vol.…
Canadian Parliamentarians Shocked to Hear of Human Rights Abuses in the Philippines
Canadian members of Parliament expressed deep concerned over the continuing political killings perpetrated by the military in the Philippines and vowed to submit to Parliament the recommendations by three progressive members of the Philippine Congress on what the Canadian government can do. BY MALAYA MARCELINO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11,…