Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao PRESS STATEMENT July 7, 2009 InPeace calls for independent probe on bombings InPeace Mindanao calls for an independent probe on the bombings in Mindanao that will also look into a military plot intended to stage emergency rule. We urge the authorities to look beyond the ‘Muslim terrorist’ propaganda fanned by…
Month: July 2009
Apart from Politics, Pressure from WTO, US, EU Drives Charter-Change Bid
The political dimension of charter change has dominated the national agenda. But the constant driving force behind all the attempts since the last decade to modify the Constitution has been the external pressure coming mainly from the WTO, the US, the EU and Japan to create the sort of policy environment that will allow globalization to fully thrive in the Philippines. (First of two parts)
Slideshow: A Call for Help from Distressed OFWs in Sabah
A Call for Help from OFWs in Sabah
In the Farms and Plantations of Sabah, a Brutal Reality Confronts Filipinos
To many Filipinos in the southern Philippines, Sabah represents salvation. Beckoned by the vast palm-oil plantations in the Malaysian state, they go there in droves seeking employment that they could not find in their homeland. Once there, however, many of them are confronted with the reality of neglect and abuse that is far brutal than the one they had left behind.
To Solve ‘Vanishing Load’ Scam, NTC Must Lower Rates, Ban Spam — TXTPower
Press Release July 4, 2009 The National Telecommunications Commission must “do more” than extend the expiry of prepaid load to decisively end the issue of “vanishing prepaid load” that is bedeviling the country’s more than 70 million mobile phone subscribers. In a press conference, consumer advocacy group TXTPower.org Inc. (TXTPower) said that “the absurdly short…
Abducted Peasant Activist Found Detained in Camp Crame Without Charges
Obito Marquez, 31, a peasant activist from Occidental Mindoro, was taken just outside his house in Taguig City on June 21 by four armed men in civilian clothes. A search by relatives and colleagues led to the Philippine police headquarters. His lawyer said Marquez was tortured, blindfolded and handcuffed for four days, refused access to legal counsel, and interrogated.
A Proud Day for Gays in the North
By JOAN GARCIA Bulatlat BAGUIO CITY — As onlookers watched, the members of Baguio Pride Network marched along Session Road on June 28 to commemorate the Stonewall riots and to call for an end to homophobia and discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The Stonewall riots were a series of demonstrations…
Gay Love and Faith: In Search of a Non-Discriminating Church
By LYN V. RAMO Northern Dispatch Posted by Bulatlat BAGUIO CITY — It is never too late to join the priesthood for someone who wanted to pursue changes in the Church. At 41, Myke Sotero is pursuing his yearning to serve the Church as a priest. His former colleagues and friends thought he was not…
Support the Heroic Struggle of Adivasis in Lalgarh, India
By the International League of Peoples’ Struggle Democratic Space Posted by (Bulatlat.com) Over the past week, thousands of Indian police and paramilitary forces have descended on Lalgarh, West Bengal to crush the just struggle of the adivasis (tribal people). Progressive people around the world must raise our voices to help break the reign of military…
Spending $102 Billion a Year on 800 Worldwide Military Bases Is Bankrupting the Country
By CHALMERS JOHNSON Tomdispatch.com /Alternet International Posted by (Bulatlat.com) The following is an introduction from Tom Engelhardt: Along with postcards of cowboys riding jackalopes and giant berries on flatcars, there’s a brand new entry in the American gigantism sweepstakes: an embassy complex to be built in Islamabad, Pakistan, for — if you assume the normal…
January-May Deficit Shows Philippines on Verge of Renewed Fiscal Crisis
By IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat.com MANILA — The January to May 2009 fiscal deficit of the national government that reached an alarming P123.2 billion ($2.5 billion) signifies that the country is on the verge of a renewed fiscal crisis. Among others this underscores the need to revisit the country’s debt policy to a maximum…