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By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
“We hold the US-Aquino regime responsible for the wretched situation of Filipino women, for the plunder and destruction of our economy and natural resources and the massive attack on women’s economic and political rights and welfare. We deplore the poverty and the violence that we are being subjected to.” – Gabriela
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Schools and village halls are being used as camps by soldiers. Residents have to seek the permission of the military and sign in their logbooks whenever they go in and out of the community.
If the Aquino government is willing to incur more debts to guarantee the profits of whoever will win the LRT1 project, why can’t it incur those debts for investing instead in LRT's expansion?
By JULIUS D. MARIVELES
“It seems that they [the military] do not know the difference between a placard, a microphone and an M-16 rifle.” – Christian Tuayon, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Negros
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
“The transformation of the service orientation of public hospitals into a profit-driven venture and the shift of health care from the state to private entities is clearly privatization.” – Network Opposed to Privatization
Read also: ‘Philippines not for sale,’ group tells Noy as PPP bidding begins
By MARYA SALAMAT
President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III pledged to install a transparent government, the opposite of scandal-ridden administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But a global survey on budget transparency gives his administration a lower if not the same score as during Arroyo's.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
The progressive teachers’ movement under the banner of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers commemorated its thirty years of struggle by drawing lessons from the past, as well as celebrating its victories, as it vowed to continue its struggle for the rights and welfare of teachers and the interests and rights of the Filipino people.
"There is no truth to the claims of mining companies that they bring development and progress to the lives of the residents or to the local economy."
By MARYA SALAMAT
Information being provided by Philex mines and the government on why the mine tailings pond spill happened and the devastation resulting from it are understated, nay sanitized, an independent mission discovered. It is “the worst mining disaster in the past two decades.”
Read also: Massive mine spill foreseen yet ignored by Philex, DENR?
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
"What use do I have for school if we lose our home? My parents work as vendors in Makati, I attend school in the nearby high school. If we lose our house, we will be forced to live on the streets. I'm here because I want to help defend our community. We're poor, but we have dignity. They can't just drive us out like we're wild animals," said Jeffrey, 17.
By MARYA SALAMAT
“The labor department itself has maneuvered to deceive workers with a supposed wage hike whose determination the capitalists hold now even more firmly in their hands.” – PAMANTIK–KMU
2nd part: In Calabarzon, workers get first taste of wage cuts via two-tier wage system
Sidebar: Latest poverty measure: excluding the poor from the poverty count
By SONNY AFRICA/IBON Foundation
In closing the 2012 SONA, President Aquino asked rhetorically: “Isn’t the agenda for change moving forward?” Unfortunately after two years, there is clearly no fundamental change and no systematic economic reforms taking place.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Aquino’s 90-minute speech, said to be one of the longest SONAs in recent memory, highlighted achievements that progressive groups shot down either as just a deception, a half-truth at best, or simply meaningless.
Sidebar: Groups press for release of activist, condemn violent dispersal of anti-SONA protests
Sidebar: Anti-SONA 2012 protests in regions against privatization, rights violations
Sidebar: Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon march vs land grabbing, militarization
By RONALYN V. OLEA
"Undermining [of previous agreements] is the strongest evidence that the Aquino regime has no desire or intention to engage in serious peace negotiations to address the roots of the armed conflict." -- NDFP peace panel chairman Luis Jalandoni
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