By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com As the debate on biofuels and whether or not it is an effective alternative source of energy to mitigate the impact of climate change continues to rage, the effect of converting thousands of hectares into biofuel plantations...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“DAR officials are fully aware that Hacienda Looc is a contested land and that the fraudulent cancellation of their certificates is not equivalent to a conversion order,” KMP secretary general Danilo Ramos said.
Sidebar: Hacienda Looc farmers decry harassment, tag Henry Sy as a ‘landgrabber’
By INA ALLECO SILVERIO Bulatlat.com Support for the peace talks between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) continues to pour in as various sectors of Philippine society including religious formations...
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – With the objective of defending a “paradise against destruction,” various groups formally launched Resist Apeco! Defend Aurora Movement, Sept. 6. Apeco stands for the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Free Port (Apeco)...
“It is the farmers, without any meaningful support from the government, who principally worked for a bountiful harvest. Even the so-called budget for irrigation cannot be claimed as government support because we're the ones paying the exorbitant irrigation fees....
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“Development does not mean wiping out communities of farmers, fisherfolk and indigenous peoples.” – Alyansa ng mga Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luson
Sidebar:
Aurora govt officials sow disunity, fear among indigenous peoples, settlers to grab their lands
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com Last May 30, President Benigno Aquino III appointed his former running mate and defeated vice-presidential candidate in the May 2010 elections Manuel "Mar Roxas" as new secretary of the Department of Transportation and...
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“By not issuing any decision today, the Supreme Court prolongs the sufferings of farm workers and provides opportunity for the Cojuangco-Aquinos to maneuver.” – Lito Bais, president of the United Luisita Workers Union (Ulwu) said.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
“Farmers are losing their land, their livelihood and their very lives because of this [bioethanol] project,” said, Dioni Yadao of Dagami San Mariano.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
"The thieves who raided the nation's coffers cannot be allowed to escape punishment. President Aquino should take a cue from actions such as this filing of criminal charges against Gutierrez and put meat into his words that he is an enemy of the corrupt.” – lawyers' group
“Kawitang palakol” and “gawat” are terms that refer to times when food is scarce, usually the weeks before harvest season when the farmers have spent all their money on fertilizers and pesticides and harvest time is still far away. The considerable increases in the...
Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos struggled early in life to provide for his family’s needs. He may not have impressive academic credentials, having finished only Grade 6, but his knowledge of the national situation is more impressive and credible than some government...
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
A certification from the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court showed that “no criminal/civil case had been filed” against former agriculture secretary Cito Lorenzo and former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante, in connection with the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. “Clearly, Gutierrez did not lift a finger to take action against the officials tagged in the fertilizer fund scam,” Danilo Ramos of farmers’ group KMP said.
By GIL CORPUZ Northern Dispatch SAN MARIANO, Isabela -- A four-day National Fact Finding and Solidarity Mission (NFFSM) uncovered massive land grabbing here and in neighboring areas by corporations engaged in bio-ethanol project. Spearheaded by peasant...
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
For Filipino farmers, filling a stage with actors and performers is hardly the best way to commemorate the culmination of more than a decade's fight against the Marcos dictatorship. "It would have been better if President Aquino does something worthy of EDSA 1 such as announce the surrender of the Cojuangco family's unjust claim on Hacienda Luisita," Willy Marbella of KMP said.
Mendiola Massacre survivor Teresita Arjona, whose husband Danilo died with 12 others in the carnage, vividly remembers what happened that day 24 years ago. She is unlikely to ever forget, she says, because the reasons why they marched to Malacañang then are the same reasons why farmers continue to hold protests and rallies and why so many others have been killed.
Mendiola Massacre survivor Pedro Gonzalez knows by heart the crimes the governments that followed the Marcos dictatorship committed against the Filipino people. These, he says, make him remember what he is fighting for.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Survivors of the Mendiola Massacre are left with bitter memories of that day 24 years ago, when soldiers and police fired their weapons at a group of protesting farmers. Their thirst for justice has kept them going in their continuing struggle for land.
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
To the Supreme Court, they sent a letter addressed to Chief Justice Renato Corona appealing for the speedy resolution of the Hacienda Luisita case. To the Justice department, it was a letter to secretary Leila de Lima seeking the reopening of the 24-year-old Mendiola Massacre case.
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
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