The Nov. 29 takeover of the Peninsula Hotel led by detained military rebels sharpens a continuing trend to resolve the current political crisis through extra-constitutional means. A new twist to this piece de resistance is the fact that prominent political and religious personalities lent their presence. Their act dramatized openness to merging with initiatives taken…

It is not enough to commemorate International Human Rights Day and remember the transgressions of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration on our hard-fought for rights. We should also be relentless in the struggle against the impunity of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration until we have put a stop to the transgressions, attained justice for the victims, and ushered in…

Evacuees, students, health workers, and relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) were one in condemning the human rights record of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration. BY REYNA MAE TABBADA Bulatlat HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15, 2007 Evacuees, students, health workers, and relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) were one in condemning the human…

The search seemed fruitless. But there were disturbing clues that corroborate testimonies given by escaped abductees. BY RAYMUND VILLANUEVA Contributed to Bulatlat HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15, 2007 It was six o’clock and the sun was still hiding behind the eastern mountains that chilly morning of Dec. 4. The Karapatan (Alliance…

Newly released national income accounts (NIA) figures show that overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) remittances are once again instrumental in economic growth. But the case of Marilou Ranario highlights the sacrifices OFWs make for such “growth,” according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15,2007 Newly released…

Prisoners at the national penitentiary, the National Bilibid Prisons in Muntinglupa city, try to create a semblance of normalcy in their lives despite the cells, high walls, and guards as they prepare for and dream of their eventual release. BY REYNA TABBADA Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15, 2007 Meet Leon, 45, an inmate…

Prof. Monico Atienza, a teacher and poet succumbed to cancer of the throat after almost a year in coma. He was 60 years old. Hundreds came to give tribute to a man they rightfully described as a true revolutionary. BY EMILY VITAL Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15, 2007 Prof. Monico Atienza, a teacher,…

The first two lawyers who won their plea for a writ of amparo recounted how they had to struggle against seemingly insurmountable odds and how their efforts led to the surfacing of two farmers in Mindanao. BY DABET CASTANEDA Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15, 2007 So far, two disappeared farmers have been surfaced…

Immediate humanitarian help from the noble-hearted is needed in Kalinga province, which was the hardest hit province in the country when typhoon “Mina” battered Luzon last week. BY ACE ALEGRE Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15, 2007 BAGUIO CITY (246 kms north of Manila) – Immediate humanitarian help from the noble-hearted is…

As lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) shared in a human rights forum last week how the Supreme Court’s newly-issued Rule on the Writ of Amparo works, the forum participants also signed a petition calling for the release of Jose “Joe” Cawiding, who is presently the only political prisoner in the Cordillera…

If media persons in Manila are raising a howl for being detained for hours without committing a crime, imagine how hard it would be for one to be sentenced to about six years in prison just because one could not afford a lawyer. BY DAVAO TODAY Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15,…