The Netherlands government thinks that by colluding with the Philippine and U.S. government to politically persecute Mr. Jose Maria Sison and the NDFP and to scuttle the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations, it has done away with a big thorn in its throat, a political embarrassment as well as a pesky obstacle to Dutch multinational corporations’ unbridled…

The practice of hiring workers on a labor-only contractual basis has deprived workers of their right to job security, benefits, right to organization and grievance. This practice, known as contractualization, has reached alarming levels in our country, where jobs are scarce and the army of surplus labor is increasing by the year. It can no…

Two members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace negotiation panel shared their insights on the government’s offensives in Basilan and the prospects for peace talks. Their side of story is entirely different from what the public has seen and heard from the government and the media. BY EMILY VITAL Bulatlat Vol. VII, No.…

They were relocated to Cabuyao, Laguna to give way to the modernization of the railways. But without livelihood opportunities or hospitals, potable water or a continuous supply of electricity, they decided to go back. Now, the government is planning to relocate more families. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 30, September 2-8, 2007 Pregnant…

The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) is already a bad deal for the Philippines, but its flaws are highlighted further by comparing it with similar trade deals negotiated by Indonesia and Malaysia, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 30, September 2-8, 2007 The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership…

“The Dutch government is sanctioning Jose Maria Sison because first, it is obeying the order of the U.S. and second, it is protecting its investors in the Philippines by acting against the only burden in the relationship between the two countries, “ Jan Fermon, counsel for Jose Maria Sison, concluded after quoting from texts from…

“When you take away the essential means to human existence of a person, you are threatening his life. Even a prisoner cannot be deprived of food and medicine,” said Jose Maria Sison on the removal of his social benefits. BY DR. RAINER WERNING THE HAGUE, THE NETHERLANDS Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 30, Septmber…

The much-touted bonanza of consumerist globalization may have produced its most hackneyed if repulsive scenario yet, this time in the land of state-approved prostitution, where a handful of Filipino political exiles have taken refuge from the brutal regimes back home. The personnel and offices of the National Democratic Front Philippines (NDFP), legally allowed in Utrecht…

Student journalists in the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST) were banned from their own school. They discovered this the hard way when they tried to enter the school the day after they held a protest action against the administration’s oppressive decisions and were barred entry. BY TRINA FEDERIS Bulatlat Vol. VII,…