Various groups have paid tribute to the late novelist and critic Lualhati Bautista who passed away last Sunday, Feb. 12.
The country’s sugar workers called on Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to reopen the Central Azucarera de Don Pedro, Inc. (CADPI) in Nasugbu, Batangas, to boost the country’s sugar supply and ethanol production.
Filipino health workers celebrated Valentine's Day with a "Black Hearts Day" protest as they called anew for a substantial salary increase and the release of their still unpaid COVID-19 allowances.
"Private companies always come after big profit margins. Under LRMC's contract, the government will pay once the corporation is not able to charge a fare hike. This is unclear and anti-people," said Bayan.
Time and time again, we are reminded of keeping our connections and relations with our kapwa. Just as the pandemic has taught us. Sadly though, it seems like the world is not learning and listening to the wisdom in the least. The world is still focused on producing more than what is needed, is fixated on owning and consuming more and more. Our modern lifestyle is contributing to the destruction of mother nature. We seem to be forgetting to see and hear our brothers and sisters that are hurting the most – the poor, the indigenous peoples, the farmers, the laborers, the women, the children. More and more women and children are still becoming victims of domestic abuse and sexual harassment. We, peoples of these islands seem to have forgotten the value of kapwa that is part of our spirituality.
The Marcos II administration has declared that part of its foreign policy is strengthening Philippine relations with other ASEAN countries and with China. But it is still the US on which the country has to depend for its external defense because, despite the billions spent on its supposed “modernization,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines cannot even protect Filipino fisherfolk from Chinese harassment and is most expert only at the suppression of dissent and social unrest. No government is to blame for this predicament except the Philippines’ own.
Last month, the Philippine Navy acquired its first ground-based air defense system (GBADS), consisting of Israeli-made SPYDER missile batteries. Objective: to “neutralize” any potential aerial threat or foreign aircraft intrusion in the country’s airspace. However, this system is categorized as a secondary air defense cover after the PAF’s FA-50PH light jet fighters, earlier acquired from South Korea. This acquisition – costing P6,846,750,000 – is not mentioned in the USSD report.
Karapatan called for the UN Human Rights Council and UN Special Procedures to conduct an independent investigation of extrajudicial killings and other rights violations. “These international organizations should see through the Marcos Jr. government’s attempts to window-dress the dire human rights situation in the country."
The book also tackles Sison’s insights on patiently building the mass movement and the proletarian international duty to support the revolutions going on in countries at the forefront of imperialist struggles such as Turkey, Philippines, Palestine, and India. It also contains his solidarity statements for militant Filipino LGBTQ+ organizations, national students federation of Pakistan, anniversary statements for progressive organizations, and statements on ongoing debates about global issues.
There seems to be no end in sight just yet for the increasing food prices in the Philippines, with the country’s poor bearing the brunt of it.
Filipino youth groups are calling on lawmakers to address the pressing issues affecting the educator sector instead of prioritizing measures seeking to make the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) mandatory.
“What more if the one provision of our constitution that protects our sovereignty is entirely repealed? This will normalize interactions between foreign vessels conducting extensive fishing trips in our territorial seas and Filipino fishing communities.”
The 11-day barricade of Sibuyan folk has forced the government's environment agency to temporarily stop mining exploration activities in the island.
Saints are persons whose “light shines through.” This understanding of who saints are reminded me of the symbolic lanterns we carried during the Martial Law @ 50 Day of Remembrance last year.
Should Congress decide to either convene itself into a constituent assembly or to call for elections for delegates to a constitutional convention, the citizenry must closely monitor the process — not because the 1987 Constitution is Corazon Aquino’s most outstanding legacy, but because, at this critical stage in the country’s history, it is among the people’s few remaining means of defense against the return of authoritarian rule and the further ruin of this country.
Considering all these revelations from the US and NATO, one may ask: What is the world’s lone superpower thinking? Is the US flexing its military muscles and consolidating its regional and global alliances to deter an impending war with China? Or are these actions meant to prepare for war?
Progressive groups said the Filipino people will not benefit from the increased US military presence in the country, urging the public to never forget the horrors that the American troops have committed under the lopsided military deals.
Renz, as his colleagues and friends call him, is a development worker who has led several relief operations to communities in the Ilocos region that were most affected by disasters .
"Filipinos must not allow our country to be used as staging ground for any US military intervention in the region. The US is engaged in provocations with China using the issue of Taiwan. Allowing US use of our facilities will drag us into this conflict which is not aligned with our national interests" -- Bayan
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