Oplan Bantay Laya Archives | Page 4 of 18

Labor in 2009: Joblessness, Rights Violations, Violence Confronted Filipino Workers

By MARYA SALAMAT
The year 2009 began, ended and paved the way to 2010 with the festering problem of joblessness for millions of Filipinos. The global financial crisis only revealed the stark reality of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s inherently flawed job-generation strategies. The Arroyo regime fell short of its employment target. Worse, thousands of jobs, especially in the export industry, were "massacred" in 2009 even as unionists faced violence, intimidation and murder.

Marya Salamat | Dec 31, 2009

News in Pictures: Davaoeños Commemorate International Human Rights Day

At least 7,000 protesters from the church, lawyers, media, teachers and the basic sectors led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Southern Mindanao marched to commemorate the 61st International Human Rights Day in Davao City, December 10. They condemn the sorry state...

Bulatlat Contributors | Dec 15, 2009

Military Did Not Need Martial Law Declaration to Abduct, Torture Activist

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Noriel Rodriguez, a member of Anakbayan, was tortured for 10 days by people he claimed to be soldiers. The soldiers, he said, threatened to harm his family and mutilate his genitals. He was released only after he was forced to sign papers stating that he was a rebel returnee. Watch video Related video: Noriel Rodriguez recounts his ordeal

Ronalyn V. Olea | Dec 11, 2009

Pooled Editorial: Blood in Her Hands

The perpetrators obviously thought that they could get away with their atrocity. The only possible explanation for such impunity is that these people were confident somebody higher up would protect them. We hold the regime of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo accountable for what happened in Ampatuan. It was her regime that had benefited from the reign of terror in Maguindanao. It was her regime that had encouraged and nurtured the violence that led to the massacre.

Bulatlat Staff | Dec 6, 2009

Military’s Oplan Bantay Laya Sows Terror, Disunity Among Lumads in Mindanao

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
As foreign mining investments continue to encroach into Lumad lands in Northern Mindanao, the military, through its Oplan Bantay Laya, intensifies its campaign to stifle local opposition to these companies. A fact-finding mission found that so far this year, 13 Lumads have been summarily executed while more were tortured and harassed by soldiers and fellow Lumads co-opted by the military.

Alexander Martin Remollino | Dec 6, 2009

‘Northern Samar Is Becoming a Killing Field’

By MARYA SALAMAT
According to Monsignor Walter Cerbito of the diocese of Catarman, Northern Samar, nobody is safe anymore in his province, not even priests, as the militarization intensifies. The murder of the Reverend Cecilio Lucero only underscored the worsening human-rights violations there.

Marya Salamat | Oct 18, 2009

Marked for Death: Brutal Murder of Samar’s Father Lucero Linked to Oplan Bantay Laya

By RITCHE T. SALGADO
Even with the memory of the Reverend Cecilio Lucero’s death still fresh in the minds of the people of Northern Samar, the military continues to implement the counter-insurgency program in the province, targeting civilians.

Bulatlat Contributors | Oct 17, 2009

Priest Who Advocated Human Rights, Peasant Activist Murdered in Eastern Visayas

By RONALYN V. OLEA
The murders of peasant activist Romulo Mendova and Father Cecilio Lucero, both of Eastern Visayas, have been blamed on the military’s Oplan Bantay Laya. In the case of Lucero, he had been publicly denounced by President Arroyo as “that communist priest,” according to the NDF. It is said that he was the first priest to have been murdered in Samar since Catholicism was introduced in the province 400 years ago.

Ronalyn V. Olea | Sep 7, 2009

For Families of Desaparecidos, Hope Springs Eternal

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The International Day of the Disappeared on Aug. 30 was marked in the Philippines with a ringing of the bells to honor those taken by the regime -- a warning to the government that the families left behind by these desaparecidos “are watching” to make sure that, soon, “we will get the justice we deserve.” View slideshow

Janess Ann J. Ellao | Aug 31, 2009

Soldiers Linked to Attempted Abduction in Pampanga

At about 10 pm on February 26, four Armalite-wielding men wearing ski masks forcibly entered the home of Eduardo Macapagal, 54, and tried to take him away at gunpoint. The soldiers failed to take Macapagal with them after his family refused to let go of him. “This...

Benjie Oliveros | Mar 11, 2007

The Alston Report : What is the UN’s Next Move?

The AFP kills citizens it is sworn to protect and, as Alston has warned, it will do so until it is called to account for its homicidal behavior. BY PETER SALES* Contributed to Bulatlat A lot of history seems to have been forgotten as the Philippines lurches toward...

Benjie Oliveros | Mar 17, 2007

Victims of Harassment Suits Express Their Anger, Vow to Pursue the Fight

At a recent forum, actor Rez Cortez, lawyer Remigio Saladero Jr. and NBN-ZTE scam star witness Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada narrate what they went through in the hands of the Arroyo regime. “What they did to us is terrible,” one of them said. But they vowed never to give up in their quest for truth and justice. Watch video Video: Rez Cortez tearfully narrating his ordeal Video: Jun Lozada decries the harassment he has suffered Labor lawyer recalls illegal arrest and detention

Ronalyn V. Olea | May 23, 2009

The Human Rights Summit: Will It Put a Stop to the Killings?

Even though it was hailed by various sectors in society as historic and unprecedented, human rights advocates doubted if the human rights summit initiated by the Supreme Court would be enough to curb the festering problems of extrajudicial killings and enforced...

Ronalyn V. Olea | Jul 21, 2007

Arroyo’s Reward Fund to ‘Solve’ Political Slays Shows Desperation

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's move to put up a P25-million reward fund to solve political killings has been criticized as a “desperate attempt” of her regime to show that she is doing something to address the problem. BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW Northern Dispatch...

Bulatlat Contributors | May 9, 2009

Another Jab at Civil Liberties

In late 2005 up to 2006 the Arroyo government tried to curtail the freedom of speech and assembly through the Calibrated Preemptive Response, silence the media through the issuance of guidelines by the PNP, and twist and bend its laws and legal procedures to run...

Benjie Oliveros | Jan 12, 2008

Arroyo Regime is Obsessed with Military Force and Ignores Proposals for Exploratory Talks

BY PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON Chief Political Consultant National Democratic Front of the Philippines Posted by Bulatlat DEMOCRATIC SPACE Vol. VII, No. 48, January 13-19, 2008 Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP),...

Benjie Oliveros | Jan 12, 2008

Abra Elders to File Case with JMC on Pananuman Right Violations

For a month, the military conducted intensive military operations in their village. Fields were bombed; soldiers encamped in the heart of the village; the people were prohibited from leaving their homes; and their farm animals were stolen. Elders of Tubo, Abra have...

Bulatlat Contributors | May 17, 2008

Peace Advocates Brand Esperon’s Appointment as Peace Czar ‘Ironic, Tragic, and Outrageous’

Senators, human rights, and peace advocates questioned the appointment of former AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon as Peace Adviser. Inpeace Mindanao called it “ironic, tragic, and outrageous.” BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 16, May...

Benjie Oliveros | May 24, 2008

Manila Government Faces Bigger, Bolder Insurgency Problem

The failure of the Manila government to address the roots of armed conflict in the Philippines through peace negotiations has emboldened two armed political groups to raise the ante of their armed struggle against the seven-year-old presidency of Philippine...

Ronalyn V. Olea | Apr 7, 2008

Government Denies Culture of Impunity in its UN Human Rights Report

BY ATTY. CARLOS ISAGANI ZARATE Secretary General Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao DEM0OCRATIC SPACE Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 Self-serving and illusory is how we see the government's report to the United Nations Human Rights...

Ronalyn V. Olea | Apr 19, 2008

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