On the night of October 27, 22-year-old Luisito Bustamante and his friends and younger sister Libby were on their way to Malabog to distribute handbills for the approaching barangay elections when they were accosted at a checkpoint by elements of the Task Force Davao. Bustamante was held and has not been found since. BY GERMELINA…

BY BULATLAT Posted 7:39 a.m. May 8, 2007 Vicente Borja, campaign officer of Anakpawis (People First) Partlist and national council member of Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st Movement) was arrested May 7, 8:15 p.m. at Brgy. Malinao, Ormoc City by fully-armed soldiers of the 19th Infantry Battalion led by a certain Col. Dagoy. Borja was…

BY BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 13 May 6- 12, 2007 What has human rights got to do with the May 2007 elections? Everything! A government that allows extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances of activists does not do so in defense of democracy or freedom but of authoritarianism. A government that curtails civil liberties…

BY GERMELINA LACORTE davaotoday.com Vol. VII, No. 13 May 6- 12, 2007 DAVAO CITY — The failure of the government’s peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1996 was evident in the recent clashes in Sulu and continues to haunt the government, which is scheduled to resume soon peace negotiations with another…

Vol. VII, No. 13 May 6- 12, 2007 “We are at war… against those who seek to mangle news into a tool for propaganda and disinformation, against the merchants of falsehoods and fallacies out to entice and corrupt media by the glitter of gold and the power of the dime.” Media At War Open Letter…

BY TERENCE KRISHNA LOPEZ Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 13 May 6- 12, 2007 The thing with Bayan Muna partylist Rep. Satur Ocampo or Ka Satur to his close friends, allies and comrades is that he wears this face that could look like a snob at one angle or very friendly in another. If…

There are those who say they would never swim in Manila’s Pasig River – not even for the life of them. They say what deters them is all the garbage that floats in its waters. There are people though who can’t resist taking the dip there, especially with the scorching heat these days. Just like…

The administration coalition is at present on a spending binge, throwing several billions of pesos into campaign expenditures that include money offers to local government officials who could deliver a 12-0 victory for Team Unity’s senatorial candidates. Lost in the equation is the fact that the government has been allotting grossly inadequate amounts for basic…

BY LEA LUZ AND JESSICA IRENE NIVERO Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 13 May 6- 12, 2007 Candles, black shirts and poems marked this year’s celebration of World Press Freedom Day last May 3. Initiated by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), journalists and students mourned the rising number of slain…

NI RADO CERVO III Inilathala ng Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 13 May 6- 12, 2007 Hindi na mabilang ang hakbang-kalsada Nating Manggagawang laging may protesta Sa masamang lakad ng mga empresang Ang nagpapalakad ay maimpluwen’sya. Bawat pagrarali tuwing Mayo Uno, At ang tunggalia’y humangga sa dulo; Asahang may ngitngit bawat Pilipino May gitil lumaban kahit…