Month: April 2008

The first part of this paper will delve into how the Philippine government has adopted GDP accounting, while the second section will analyze the historical background and ideological basis of this capitalist criterion of development. Finally, alternative methods of measuring development vis-à-vis the GDP will be discussed. BY PROF. EDILBERTO M. VILLEGAS Contributed to Bulatlat…

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 A new coalition formed to observe the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) deliberation on the Philippines is calling for the termination or suspension of the country’s membership in the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). At the very least,…

(First of two parts) So hogs are about to supplant farmers in Bukidnon? In Masbate, farm workers are losing their land to cattle. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA SPECIAL REPORT Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 TICAO ISLAND, Masbate— A shanty made of coconut fronds in Hacienda Espinosa here is home to 64-year-old widower Melchor…

(Conclusion) Local governments’ power to re-classify agricultural lands for commercial and residential use has aided big landowners in saving their properties from agrarian reform. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA SPECIAL REPORT Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 “I’m not a saint,” a councilor in a municipality in Cavite said in Tagalog, “I must admit we…

At 55, political prisoner Eduardo Serrano still has not stopped learning. He recounts the lessons he learned while living with the Mangyans, when he was arrested, and now while in jail. He even decided to take his master’s degree while behind bars. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12,…

(Starting with my Marcellana-Serrano-Roslin-Roson Lineage) BY EDUARDO SERRANO DEMOCRATIC SPACE Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 For almost a month now, our country’s cradle of democracy is being rocked with a gathering storm of contradictory concerns. Day by day, more and more people from different walks of life are awakening and…

Para sa mga magulang ng mga nagsipagtapos, higit pa sa gintong medalya ang kanilang gantimpala, lalo na kung ang mga anak nila’y tutulong sa pag-unlad hindi lang ng pamilya kundi ng buong bansa. NI DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Konteksto / Pinoy Weekly Inilathala ng Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 May dalawang commencement exercises…

(Sa alaala ng yumaong Dr. Nemesio Prudente, kasama’t kaibigan) NI E. SAN JUAN, JR. Inilathala ng Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 9, April 6-12, 2008 “Only connect….” –E.M. Forster, A Passage to India ….Di na umasa sa pirasong ass ni Britney Spears “sneaking into the Philippines” tuluyang sumabak ang katawan sa rali ng GABRIELA mula Rotunda…

Hits government’s ‘blind adherence’ to globalization The massive land use conversion for non-agricultural purposes have certainly been one of the major factors for the dwindling rice supply, food insecurity and rising costs of basic commodities in recent years. This was the comment of the former agriculture secretary and Batanes solon Florencio “Butch” Abad in view…