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By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Satur Ocampo laments the statements made by the AFP about the peace talks that were mostly disparaging or negative. He says there were designed to sabotage the peace process.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Groups welcome the Supreme Court’s decision junking the petition by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez that sought to stop the impeachment case against her in Congress.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bayan asks the government to be transparent in the decision-making process involving the fare increases. It also denounces the “element of deception” on the matter, pointing out, for example, that commuters of LRT 1 will be paying for the debts incurred by LRT 2.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
“The armed conflict is deeply rooted in extreme poverty and social injustice suffered by the Filipino people and should be addressed by concrete measures A just and lasting peace cannot be achieved through abstract and empty peace rhetoric.” –Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Luis Jalandoni, chairman of the NDFP peace panel, said the arrest of Alan Jazmines is an attempt by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to disrupt the peace negotiations which are just about to be resumed on February 15 to 21, in Oslo , Norway.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Fr. Dionito Cabillas, Selda secretary general, said the Philippine government should work for the immediate release of the political prisoners as a sign of goodwill in the continuation of the peace talks and for humanitarian reasons.
On Valentine's Day, various progressive groups led by the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (Selda), an organization for former political prisoners, marched from Bustillos Church to Don Chino Roces Bridge (formerly Mendiola Bridge) in Manila, demanding for the unconditional release of the 344 political prisoners in 67 jails and detention centers nationwide. The demand also came on the eve of the resumption of the GPH-NDFP formal peace negotiations, wherein among those still in detention are 14 consultants of the NDFP.(Photos by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-NCR / bulatlat.com)
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
They met at a time when the Philippines was awakening to a revolution that sought to empower the poor against their exploiters. He was a priest, she was a nun, and the time was 1971, a year before the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos declared martial law.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“The issue of land and territorial domain is at the heart of the Moro conflict. The Moro home is encroached upon, divided for more than a century. To recover, secure and protect their remaining space is justified. The Moro could not accept to be squatters in their own land.” – Prof. Julkipli Wadi, dean of the University of the Philippines Institute of Islamic Studies.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Fr. Joe Dizon of Pagbabago said the recent exposé on corruption in the military is another test for the current administration. “This is a golden opportunity to show that he (President Aquino) is serious (in fighting corruption).”
Equally troublesome is the media tendency to speculate on Reyes’ state of mind, his reasons for his apparent suicide, and even who’s to blame for it (as the weekend approached, the Senate was turning into the villain responsible). While nothing much can be gained from it, the cost of this mindlessness is to bury under tons of verbal garbage the need to get to the bottom of the corruption metastasizing in an institution that claims national security as its exclusive mandate. By LUIS V. TEODORO / bulatlat.com
The government and the AFP have consistently harped on the line that the “insurgency” is the obstacle to development, to wit: "If only the armed rebels stop fighting the government and lay down their arms, there will be peace and development in our country". This kind of thinking is totally blind to the real roots of the armed conflict and is incapable of appreciating, much less grasping, the need to address these roots in order to achieve a just and lasting peace. By CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO / bulatlat.com
It should be remembered that the corruption scandals that involved the Arroyo family were the subject of so many congressional inquiries and were made as basis for the impeachment complaints that were filed against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. There are already numerous evidences that were gathered. And yet, the Aquino government has not yet demonstrated the political will to run after the Arroyo family. By BENJIE OLIVEROS / bulatlat.com
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Cause-oriented groups said today the death of former armed forces chief of staff Angelo Reyes should compel authorities to step up their investigation into the alleged massive corruption within the military.
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