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By John Roberts wsws 5 January 2005 Bulatlat.com There are growing signs that the Indonesian military (TNI) is exploiting the current catastrophe in northern Sumatra to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and establish its unchallenged control over the...
Gate 1 of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac, where seven lay dead after the Nov. 16 carnage, remains as the battleground between the Cojuangcos and the striking sugar mill and farm workers. This is where hundreds of battle-scarred strikers have held their ground...
That the plight of farm workers at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac has already faded from the mainstream media limelight does not mean that there is now peace in the area. Last April 22, some 1,500 farm workers agreed to withdraw their shares in Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI), demand that stock distribution option (SDO) be revoked and opt for land distribution instead.
Hacienda Luisita continues to be a battle ground, albeit unarmed, between residents and government troops. Since March 10, three companies of soldiers have been deployed here while angry people and village officials have been trying to drive them away by sheer grit and numbers.
A former member of the Yellow Army and supervisor of Hacienda Luisita who admitted to being one of campaigners for the Stock Distribution Option in 1989 tell how he did so -- and why they are going against it today.
Before the coffin bearing the remains of Tarlac City Councilor Abel Ladera, the ninth Hacienda Luisita martyr, was buried, it was opened for his family and barriomates one last time. It took however almost an hour before the people could finish their goodbye: young ones took pictures of him with their cellular phones; the older ones patted the coffin, with whispers of “Salamat po, salamat po” (thank you, thank you) while a woman asked with a break in her voice, “Bakit ka nila pinatay, wala na kaming kasama.” (Why did they kill you, we no longer have someone to help us.)
Sa Ngalan ng Tubo is action-packed and is never dragging. The music is at one time stirring and at another, solemn. Truly, the film portrays a history unfolding – and the strikers as the makers of history.
From his humble beginnings as a sugar worker, City Councilor Abelardo R. Ladera emerged as one of the few successful local political figures who openly stood against the Cojuangco-Aquino dynasty in Tarlac. Ladera was gunned down at high noon of March 3 making him Tarlac’s first local official assassinated in the post-dictator era.
Ni E. San Juan, Jr. Posted by Bulatlat.com Lumipad ka na patungong Roma at London Balisang nakalingon sa ulap lulan ng naglaboy na panaginip Lubog sa alaala ng kinabukasang unti-unting nalulunod Lumipad ka na patungong Riyadh at Qatar Sa pagkamulat kukurap-kurap sa...
Review of Pakikiramay: Alay ng mga Makata sa mga Magsasaka ng Hacienda Luisita Amado V. Hernandez Resource Center and Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy-Alliance of Concerned Teachers 68 pages What makes Pakikiramay: Alay ng mga Makata...
The United States is facing the prospect of a major defeat in Iraq that is likely to constitute a serious setback in the ongoing campaign to expand the American empire. By the Editors of Monthly Review January 2004 Posted by Bulatlat.com The United States is facing...
A group of U.S.-based urban planners has revealed that pollution is taking its toll on this city – the Philippines’ acclaimed summer resort – without alarming local residents and authorities. Some of the investigators felt dizzy themselves after conducting...
We live in a racist society, a racial formation called "the United States of America" where - and this is not news anymore at this late day - people of color suffer daily from racial, national, and class oppression. By E. SAN JUAN, Jr. Bulatlat.com "Yes, I feel...
The horrifying past of Laak, a town in Compostela Valley, has come back to terrify villagers, no thanks to the state’s intensifying militarization in the countryside. By Cheryll Fiel Bulatlat.com LAAK, Compostela Valley -- “Mura man kag taga-Laak!” (You act like...
A recent fact-finding and relief mission in Compostela Valley uncovers the Philippine military’s trail of abuses against hapless civilians. By Cheryll Fiel Bulatlat.com LAAK, Compostela Valley – One day in November, a knock came at the door of the parish church...
BY BULATLAT “The government should recognize the fact that there is insurgency because of social injustice and the inequitable distribution of economic resources in the country. It can only be solved by providing the poor long-term economic security,” said Jazmin...
By Jasper Almirante/ Bulatlat Bulatlat.com As President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appeared June 27 on television saying “I’m sorry” for talking to an election official during the counting of votes – trying very hard to shed tears, critics said – reports were rife...
Photo by Dabet Castañeda / Bulatlat Bulatlat.com The tall, thin man with long white hair is poet-musician Jess Santiago, while the one with dark glasses is Pendong Aban, Jr. of the folk-rock group Asin. They were caught by Bulatlat’s camera while jamming a few...
Prof. Jose Ma. Sison National Democratic Front of the Philippines Chief Political Consultant June 30, 2005 Bulatlat.com It is immoral for Corazon Aquino and others to condone the crimes of Gloria M. Arroyo and help to keep her in power. Aquino is the least...
The crisis is no longer just about electoral fraud. The economic crisis resulting in mass unrest, the lack of business confidence, and the political crisis due to rebellion have come together into a final crisis for the Arroyo government. By Antonio Tujan Jr. IBON...
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