After being forced by the military to sign a statement saying that an encounter between government troops and communist guerillas led to the killing of two minors last May in Sorsogon, village head Eduardo Adamos finally tells what happened on that fateful day: “Natakot lang ako kaya ako pumirma dun sa certification” (I signed the…
Bulatlat Contributors
At Home with Levi: Youngest Political Prisoner
Ten-year old Levi Mabanan, the youngest political detainee in the country, was finally released May 15 from the military camp in Catbalogan, Samar, where he was forced to spend four years of his young life. By Bulatlat.com Levi Mabanan was only six years old when placed behind bars in 2000. He spent the last four…
Poetry and Revolution: Behind Bars and Beyond
Jose Maria Sison’s poems are suffused with various kinds of imagery, but in these one thread is common – the voice of a poet not only resolved to write good poetry, but also revolting against oppression in all its forms. He thus shares, in Philippine literary history, a place with the likes of Andres Bonifacio,…
Ang Lihim ni Madam Gloria
Ni Joi Barrios* Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy – Alliance of Concerned Teachers Ang akala ng lahat May layang magpahayag, Ngunit tayo lang ay nalingat May batas nang di mapaliwanag. (Mayroon nga ba talaga? Tiyak na tiyak?) May estasyon sa telebisyon, Bawal magbilang ng resulta ng eleksiyon, May pahayagang waring pinagbawalan Tumanggap ng…
The Role of Jose Maria Sison in the Peace Process
Joma not only laid down the theoretical framework and guidelines for the peace negotiations. As chief political consultant, he has masterfully steered the negotiations to where they are now. We can spend hours, even days, relating those instances where Joma, broke a deadlock or an impasse, or reconciled two seemingly diametrically opposed positions. By Rey…
51 Murder Charges Filed vs AFP
While the nation feasted on the election canvassing in Congress, the offices of the Joint Monitoring Committee of both government and the National Democratic Front were inaugurated in Quezon City June 4. Expect the Macapagal-Arroyo government to face a deluge of criminal charges by families of victims of human rights violations in the next few…
A Pillow for Papa: Forced disappearances under Arroyo: 10 during the May elections
It is appalling, the human rights alliance Karapatan said, that the forced disappearance of political activists and suspected NPA sympathizers – an atrocity that began under Marcos during the 1970s – continues to this day. Under the three years of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at least 30 incidents of disappearances involving 38 individuals were recorded. Ten…
Human Rights Watch: NPA Treats POWs Well ¾ AFP Judge
A ranking official of the Armed Forces’ Judge Advocate General’ s Office (Jago) is singing a tune different from that of the AFP spokesperson with regards allegations of human rights violations by the New People’ s Army (NPA). “Mas liberal pa nga ang mga NPA, inaalagaan nila ang kanilang mga bihag” (The NPAs are more…
Soldiers Maul Journalists, 7 Others in Batangas
Melvin Mamis, 27, a correspondent of the alternative multi-media group Southern Tagalog Exposure, was choked as a soldier of the 20th Special Forces grabbed his camera. He was forcibly brought inside the camp where he was repeatedly punched at the stomach. Willy Solis, a volunteer of the human rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, was slapped, punched…
Soldiers Maul Journalist, 7 Others in Batangas
Melvin Mamis, 27, a correspondent of the alternative multi-media group Southern Tagalog Exposure, was choked as a soldier of the 20th Special Forces grabbed his camera. He was forcibly brought inside the camp where he was repeatedly punched at the stomach. Willy Solis, a volunteer of the human rights group Karapatan-Southern Tagalog, was slapped, punched…
Cash Flowed Through Comelec to Ensure GMA Win in Cordi?
The regional director of the Commission on Elections in the Cordillera Administrative Region (Comelec-CAR), according to sources, allegedly distributed money to some local Comelec officials in the region to ensure that election results would favor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s presidential bid. By Arthur L. Allad-iw Northern Dispatch Bulatlat.com BAGUIO CITY – NORDIS sources allege that the regional…