ADVERTISEMENT
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
“Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on proposals to amend the charter, legislators should heed the Filipino farmers’ demands for the repeal of Republic Act 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with ‘Reforms’ (CARPer)" -– Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Kentz, a major contractor that operates one of the world’s biggest nickel-cobalt refineries in the world, is accused of mistreating its Filipino workers, one of whom the company allegedly kidnapped to prevent the other abused workers from protesting.
By MACEL INGLES
"The challenges are great, but the possibilities for a peace agreement under the new presidency of Benigno Aquino are there,” Ambassador Ture Lundh of Norway’s foreign ministary said. “At the end of the day, however, it is the parties to the conflict that must prove decisiveness, boldness and political will to move forward, to achieve a just and lasting peace.”
Sidebar: Hacienda Luisita Case Should Be Tackled in GRP-NDF Talks — Farmers | At Start of Talks in Oslo, Reds Insist Manila Violated Agreements | 'Ka Bart' Is Member of NDF Peace Panel, CPP Reiterates
The Communist Party of the Philippines is demanding the release of Tirso “Ka Bart” Alcantara, high-ranking member of the New People’s Army (NPA).
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The Communist Party of the Philippines demands the release of its leaders and members, as well as the nearly 400 political prisoners in the Philippines. | Sidebar: 'Ka Bart' Is Member of NDF Peace Panel, CPP Reiterates
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
As the 24th anniversary of the infamous Mendiola Massacre nears, farmers led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) called on President Benigno S. Aquino III to bring justice and closure to the issue by reopening the investigation.
There are no step-by-step guidebooks to life, and most people simply try to get by from day-to-day. Writer Alain de Botton, however, offers his body of work as Post-its and reminders that there is so much more to living than being awake.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Since Aquino became president, he has not made any significant policy that would alleviate the conditions of OFWs. Instead, his administration has allowed anti-migrant policies to continue and even reduced the budget for legal assistance for OFWs.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Denial of their rightful claim to the land they have been tilling for generations, forcible eviction, killings, and harassments continue to plague the peasantry even after the Aquino administration replaced the much-hated Arroyo administration.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The Aquino government continues to implement Arroyo’s National Minerals Policy, said Piya Malayao, spokeswoman of KAMP. “Aquino’s private-public partnerships would further hasten foreign investments on mining at the expense of indigenous peoples,” Malayao added.
By RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA
Ka Oris, spokesman of the CPP-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Mindanao, said President Benigno S. Aquino III’s new counter-insurgency program dubbed "Oplan Bayanihan" will become another "failure" like the Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL) 1 and 2 of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
She had to recount her ordeal in court over and over again while being questioned by defense attorneys whose aim was to destroy her credibility. She was called a “bad person”, a “whore”, an “adulteress”, and an “extortionist” by the Davao media. And after several years of an excruciating uphill battle, she lost her case in court. But she was undeterred.
By MARYA SALAMAT
“The real test of whether Aquino’s assumption of jurisdiction order is pro-worker or pro-Lucio Tan lies in his future decision on Tan’s contractualization through mass layoffs and outsourcing scheme,” said Joselito Ustarez, vice-chairman of KMU.
By MARYA SALAMAT
"The TRB cannot even tell us how the toll rates were computed. What was the basis for the computation of the toll rates? These questions must be answered first before they raise the toll fees,” said Northern Samar governor Paul Daza, co-convenor of the TUTOL-SLEX.
By MARYA SALAMAT
The long-delayed substantial wage hike demanded by Filipino workers found no room this Christmas in the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, prices of food and transport continue to soar, and even the ILO reported that the Filipinos' wages suffered one of the biggest cuts in Asia.
By MARYA SALAMAT
While providing a lot of support to Business Process Outsourcing Companies, the government is ignoring the oppressive working conditions of call center employees.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
According to Karapatan, there have been at least 25 victims of extrajudicial killings, two victims of enforced disappearance, 16 victims of torture, and 18 victims of illegal detention under the Aquino administration. It has barely been five months since Aquino took over on June 30.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
All throughout her imprisonment, Camille said, no embassy official visited her nor asked her side of the story. "I went to court hearings five times but they (Philippine embassy officials) did not attend."
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
The physical evidence gathered in the fact finding mission revealed that the trajectories of bullets were coming from and going to only one direction, refuting the military’s claim that there was a supposed gun battle between the military and members of NPA.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL and
RONALYN V. OLEA
How can the government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines claim that it respects human rights when human rights defenders themselves are being the target of attack? How can there be claims of "change" when the lives of the majority remain the same, and even getting worse, and those who defend the rights of the poor and the oppressed are still being treated as "enemies of the state"?
Maricel Delen: A Human Rights Worker, a Widow, Now a Victim of Persecution
Fred Caña: A Human Rights Worker, Marked for Assassination by the Military
Kelly Delgado: Committed to the Defense of Human Rights Amid The Threats
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.