BY BENJIE OLIVEROS (Bulatlat.com) The government cannot merely ignore the results of opinion surveys and issues raised against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and simply claim that criticisms against her are false and the handiwork of the opposition. This seems to be a bad week for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who celebrated her 59th birthday April 5 as criticisms against…
Category: Commentary
To Rebel Is Justified
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo BusinessWorld Posted by Bulatlat.com Many a young officer learns soon enough the yawning gap between the ideals that he learned in the military or police academy – courage, integrity, loyalty and the reality of military and police establishments that have succumbed to the rot of corruption, dishonesty, favoritism and organized criminal…
People’s Governance, Not Arroyo’s Charter Change
By Antonio Tujan Jr. Ibon Features Posted by Bulatlat.com The current people’s initiative for charter change is itself a mockery of genuine people’s governance because it reportedly involves bribing voters and local government officials—a classic example of graft and corruption. The shift to a parliamentary system under the proposed charter change (Cha-cha) would “significantly reduce”…
Marinduque Declared as Mining Free As Marinduque folks commemorate a decade of mining debacles
After three decades of hosting large-scale mining projects, Marinduque remains impoverished, ranked as the country’s 14th poorest province with a staggering poverty incidence of 71.9 percent. By Dennis Espada Bulatlat The people of Marinduque (some 170 kms south of Manila) marked March 24 as a “day of mourning, unity and action” to remember an ill-fated…
Baguio Journalists Sign Court of Appeals Petition for Press Freedom
Thirteen community journalists and four media organizations from Baguio City are the latest signatories to a petition filed in the Court of Appeals which seeks to stop government agencies from muzzling the press. BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW Bulatlat BAGUIO CITY (246 kms from Manila) – For Baguio-based journalists, distance is never a factor in supporting…
Unholy Alliance?
Gen. Generoso Senga, in a recent speech before the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), acknowledged that “the alliance between the military and the leftist rebels to oust Mrs. Arroyo has been deepening for over two years now and will not be uprooted in a single stroke.” BY CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO Streetwise / Business World Posted by Bulatlat…
U.S. Corporate Interests Drive Cha-Cha Moves
BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Contrary to the propaganda of the country’s economic managers, charter change is not a solution to the country’s economic problems. Rather, charter change is part of an economic restructuring agenda advanced by the U.S. and other rich countries to open the country further to exploitation by their transnational corporations.…
Unemployment, Poverty Worsen under Arroyo
The worsening joblessness and underemployment reflect the backward and crisis-ridden state of the economy. It shows the folly of the neo-liberal policies of privatization, liberalization, and deregulation, not to mention the inability of the Arroyo administration in addressing poverty. BY BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat A study by Ibon Foundation reveals that the Arroyo administration has the…
Tita Lina: At Heart, a Rights Activist
“Walang hirap na ‘di n’ya sinuong” (She faced every hardship), a sister wept as she delivered her tribute. “Tita Lina” to young activists or “Lita” to her contemporaries, Myrna is considered a great loss to the rights movement but, as people who extolled and reflected on her role said during her wake, she would remain…
New DENR Order: A ‘Recipe for Destruction’ Fishers group to stage nationwide fluvial protest vs order opening coastal areas to investors
Leaders of the fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) vowed to launch a nationally-coordinated fluvial protest on Feb. 24 against a new order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allowing the 25-year lease of idle coastal areas all over the country to big investors. By Gerry Albert Corpuz…
Charter Change Causing Rift in Arroyo Camp
The appearance of pictures of former President Fidel V. Ramos meeting with opposition leaders Senate President Franklin Drilon, former Sen. Vicente Sotto III, and former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. days after the New Year sparked speculation about an emerging rift within the political camp supporting the embattled President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO…