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Special Report | Last of Three Parts Even in times of crisis and conflict, Alcadev, the nonformal school for tribal children in Surigao del Sur, carries on with its mission. Indeed, the recent militarization in Surigao that resulted in massive displacements of Lumad residents proved to be quite a learning experience for the students, if only it weren’t so traumatic.
In a press conference in Quezon City on Wednesday, former Lt. Senior Grade Mary Nancy Gadian said US troops gather intelligence information – through the use of special intelligence equipment – and participate in the planning of combat operations.
The occupation by the military of a nonformal school for tribal children in Surigao del Sur has raised concern among officials, with the Department of Education suggesting this week that those threatened by the presence of the soldiers should seek the court’s protection through the writ of amparo.
Special Report | Second of Three Parts A significant impact of an Alcadev education is that it “bridges the knowledge between students and parents.” It thus helps the development of Lumad communities. But the military is suspicious, branding the school and what it does as communist, harassing not just the teachers and students but its foreign supporters and visitors as well.
In the afternoon of Aug. 14, the Saudi police raided the safehouse of the migrant NGO Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan and arrested and detained 18 Filipinos, including several runaway OFWs. Their crime? They violated a Saudi law that forbids unrelated men and women from living together.
Special Report | First of Three Parts A non-formal school in Surigao del Sur has shown how education serves as a tool to unite and develop Lumad communities. Now, amid the evacuation by Manobo villages triggered by the presence of soldiers, the school is being targeted by the military, claiming that it is an “NPA school.”
The Philippine military, through its attack dogs Pastor Alcover and Jovito Palparan, are trying to discredit the Commission on Human Rights and its chairperson, Leila de Lima. Human-rights groups are understandably concerned. “Now that the CHR chairperson insists on the mandate of the commission, they consider her as an enemy,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez of Karapatan said. “That is the most dangerous mindset.”
Malacañang officials claimed they merely had “a simple dinner” in Le Cirque, but Nanay Evelyn Monicario cannot imagine what a lavish dinner for Arroyo and her cohorts would be, considering that she herself considers sardines a lavish meal these days.
Dukot's fearlessness emanates from its depiction of the truth about the worsening human-rights situation in the Philippines today. As Bonifacio Ilagan, the scriptwriter, put it: “It minces no words in pointing out the real perpetrators” of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
In her recent State of the Nation Address, President Arroyo claimed to have created eight million jobs, or an average of a million jobs per year in the past eight years. But where exactly did this figure come from? A closer look at the government’s own data yields a statistical distortion.
Though there had been some controversy in past conferments of the National Artist Award, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's blatant political accommodation this year tainted the much-revered cultural institution, according to dissenting artists. View slideshow of protest
The Left’s engagement with Cory had been both pleasant and acrimonious at certain stages. While they linked arms with her on a number of causes, there were also issues on which leftists found themselves at odds with the late president.
Behind the massive outpouring of mourners for Cory Aquino and the reliving of People Power is the fervent desire among Filipinos to have “that good feeling again.”
Cory Aquino has secured her place in history as a fighter of tyranny. If Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not learn from the life and struggles of Cory Aquino, she will be relegated to the dustbins of history.
Even as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has announced during her State of the Nation Address that peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are likely to resume before the end of this month, the MILF’s negotiating panel has expressed skepticism about whether or not the talks can go very far.
"I have reason to believe that the Philippine military were the ones who abducted and tortured me, and held me captive for six days. I do not like to dignify the allegations being hurled at me now as they only echo what my abductors have been forcing me to admit during my interrogation and illegal, incommunicado detention."
Days before the Sona, thousands of farmers, workers, students and activists braved the heat and the rain as they marched from the provinces of Southern Tagalog to Commonwealth Avenue. The march, called Lakbayan, is their way of fighting the regime’s abuses and asserting their basic rights.
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