BY EMILY VITAL Bulatlat August 6, 2007 – 2:25pm Dr. Edita Burgos, mother of missing agriculturist-activist Jonas Joseph Burgos, led a silent march from Sto. Domingo Church to Welcome Rotunda in Quezon City earlier today, marking the 100th day since her son’s disappearance. Jonas, son of press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos, Jr., was abducted…
Tags: Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
U.S. House Members Express Concern that U.S. Aid being Used in Political Killings and Abductions
“We are concerned that the extrajudicial killings could be a conscious and systematic part of the Philippine government’s counterinsurgency program and that financial assistance from our government is being used to support, directly or indirectly, those within the PNP and AFP who are responsible for the killings” – U.S. legislators. BY BENJIE OLIVEROS HUMAN RIGHTS…
Who’s Who in HRV Areas
With the sheer number of killings and abductions and the relative concentration of the occurrences of these heinous crimes in certain areas, it would have not been difficult for the government to know where and whom to investigate. That is, if the Arroyo government is even half that serious in wanting to solve these killings…
Merging Executive Policy and Military Strategy
First of three parts In the long-drawn war against the Marxist guerrillas where force takes the lead, the country’s security forces have had a reproachable record in human rights threatening even legitimate political dissent, the peaceful advocacy of radical reform and, now, the use of the legislature to push for patriotic and progressive legislation. BY…
Gov’t Asked to Adopt UN Declaration on IP Rights
As tribes denounce killings of 72 indigenous peoples What could be the reasons for the Philippine government’s refusal to vote for the adoption of the draft United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples last June? BY JHONG DELA CRUZ Bulatlat.com In an August 3 letter addressed to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, the…
Three years after Oakwood Mutiny: Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?
Three years ago on July 27, about 300 young soldiers from the Army and the Navy – among them 70 junior officers including two honor graduates of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1995 – stormed Oakwood Premier, a luxury hotel in Makati City, armed with high-powered guns and explosives. Three years after the uprising –…
Human Rights Abuses in the Philippines: Shades of El Salvador, Vietnam
Is there a U.S. hand in the current wave of human rights violations in the country? The answer is yes, and this is not just based on the country’s history of state fascism, but also the experience of other countries like El Salvador and Vietnam. BY ECUMENICAL INSTITUTE FOR LABOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH (EILER) Bulatlat.com…
Confronting the Crisis: The People’s Democratic Council
The proposed people’s democratic council will be radically different from the present presidential leadership which has long been in the hands of bureaucrats and family dynasties whose supposed legitimacy in office is continually tarnished by electoral fraud, corruption, plunder and other crimes. By Bobby Tuazon Bulatlat.com In the intensity of the current political crisis in…
Ex-Army Official Sees Military Smear Drive, Violence vs Leftists in Coalition Gov’t
The former head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s Psychological Operations Division sees the possibility of military-orchestrated black propaganda and even violence against so-called leftists should they gain representation in the proposed coalition government to replace the Macapagal-Arroyo regime if the campaign to oust it succeeds. BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat.com The former…
4 Negros Farmer Activists Killed in 3 Months
Mass organizations have become victims of political repression because they are the most outspoken and consistent in exposing human rights violations and defending people’s rights. The killings can no longer be viewed as isolated, however. These could be part of a planned and systematic campaign of terror against members and leaders of mass organizations in…
Bulatlat Interview: ‘Patriotic AFP Members Can Join Council’ – Sison
By Bobby Tuazon Bulatlat.com Bulatlat last week held an email interview with Prof. Jose Maria Sison as a political analyst and inspirational leader of the national democratic movement in the country with regards the current political crisis. Sison, who is on forced exile in The Netherlands, is also the current chief political consultant of the…