The 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on oil will remain despite popular demand to have it scrapped, as Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stood pat on her position that her government gets funds for pro-poor projects from the said revenue measure. BY LYN V. RAMO Northern...
As majority of representatives are in favor of mining, a few legislators consider the push for the repeal of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 or Republic Act No. 7942 as an uphill battle. BY CYE REYES Northern Dispatch Posted by (Bulatlat.com) Vol. VIII, No. 24,...
(Photo by Ace Alegre)
State of the People. Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may well be expected to give this year a State of the Nation Address (SoNA) that is merely an extended version of her “Ramdam ang Kaunlaran” (Progress is Felt) slogan. Only her sycophants in Congress will applaud...
Sleeping Soundly. The baby sleeps soundly, oblivious of the hustle and bustle and the heat of the day, as the mother tries to eke out a living on one of Metro Manila’s busy streets. He does not seem to particularly mind that he lies on a considerably uneven...
BY BULATLAT Posted 3:50 p.m., July 2, 2008 Gabriela Women's Party (GWP) representatives filed Tuesday a resolution calling on Congress to investigate the transport of 10,000kgs of the toxic pesticide Endosulfan in the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars. Reps. Liza...
BY BULATLAT Posted 12:20 p.m., July 3, 2008 The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed outrage at the murder of Philippines news correspondent and radio host Bert Sison in Sariaya, Quezon, 100 km southeast of the...
BY BULATLAT Posted 2:25 p.m., July 4, 2008 After South African Leader Nelson Mandela was dropped off from the United States immigration watchlist of possible terrorists, an activist group called on the US government to eliminate Prof. Jose Maria Sison from the...
The arrest and investigation of media practitioners who covered the Manila Peninsula incident by the police were justified, said a Makati regional trial court judge. He even said that journalists were “so lucky for not being charged with criminal cases.” Media...
More than one month after Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced a moratorium on tuition and other fee increases, students in four of Metro Manila’s state universities and colleges (SUCs) have not received any refund yet from tuition and other fee hikes. The rising...
Since it came to power more than seven years ago, the Arroyo administration has, among other feats, earned the distinction of bringing down the elementary school level participation rate to a 16-year low. The secondary school participation rate, meanwhile, has...
A congressman has said the government’s rice importations supposedly meant to solve the food crisis are but stop-gap measures and are evidence of “sheer neglect of the country’s agriculture.” BY LYN V. RAMO Northern Dispatch Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 22,...
The unabated killings of journalists and the power that local political warlords continue to wield in the provinces; the continuous pressures exerted by the Arroyo administration on the media; the serious implications of the decision of the Makati Regional Trial...
While the Arroyo administration celebrated July 4 as Filipino-American Friendship Day, Filipino activists showed their indignation to the “continuing relations between a master and a slave.” By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008 Members of...
Putting the imperatives of the elite-dominated state supreme over the fundamental rights of the people is a dangerous doctrine. In interpreting the law, the court's mandate is to be on the side of basic rights – expand them if need be – and make justice more...
After more than two years of being abducted and detained, the Tagaytay 5 finally had their day in court as the latter started hearing their petition for bail. BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008 The Tagaytay...
Elizabeth Principe, currently detained on charges of rebellion, wants a reinvestigation of her case. Her husband, meanwhile, remains missing after being abducted in February 2007. BY JOAN GARCIA HUMAN RIGHTS Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 22, July 6-12, 2008 Candon City,...
Labindalawang taon na ang nakaraan mula nang ipatupad ang deregulasyon sa downstream oil industry at ang tanging positibong ibinunga nito ay ang mas malaking tubo mula sa mga kompanya ng langis at mas malaking koleksiyon ng pamahalaan sa pamamagitan ng buwis. NI...
A historic event worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records may have occurred in Washington in the last week of June. The worst "torture" president that the United States has ever had met the most corrupt and brutal president ever inflicted on the Filipino...
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