The unchecked rule of political warlords like the Ampatuans, army and police units like those controlled by President Arroyo’s mistahs, and warmongers in government like General Hermogenes Esperon and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, make up a culture of tolerance for killings and contempt for the rule of law. Thus, this culture of impunity traces itself right back at the doorstep of Malacañang.
By MARYA SALAMAT
The commemoration of the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women (VAW) in the Philippines got a piercing highlight in the Ampatuan massacre that occurred two days before the anti-VAW's day last week. “What happened in Maguindanao underscored the vulnerability of women amid fierce struggles as in an electoral struggle,” Gabriela partylist representative and aspiring senator Liza Maza said.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat.com Sa rurok ng ating kabataan, Lipos ng pag-irog at sigla Ikinulong tayo nang malaon Sa masikip at nakalulunod Na bartolina ng diktadura Kung saan pagong ang panahon Wari'y wala na tayong pag-asang Makalaya sa pintuang bakal...
In Davao City, journalists and lawyers light candles in Centennial Park calling for justice for their fallen comrades in the Ampatuan Massacre. Thirty journalists and two lawyers were killed in the worst election violence in Philippine history. (davaotoday.com...
By BENJIE OLIVEROS
The impunity in recent political killings in the Philippines could have emboldened the Ampatuan clan to commit the massacre. If the perpetrators of more than a thousand extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of political activists could walk scot-free, perhaps, they thought, they could get away with killing less than a hundred people.
By Bulatlat.com “There is no more opportune time to celebrate genuine trade unionism than these times when our democratic rights are under siege, said Romualdo Basilio, chair of Kilusang Mayo Uno-Southern Mindanao region and provincial coordinator of Anakpawis...
By Bulatlat.com In a statement condemning the Nov 23 massacre in Maguindanao of 64 people by “henchmen of a political warlord close to the Arroyo regime,” the National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas expressed doubts that justice would be easily obtained for the...
November 27, 2009 The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) demands the creation of an independent commission, to include media representatives, to investigate the Ampatuan massacre and the events that led to it. This is to help ensure that no...
Today we say, "Enough." Nov 27, 2009 The massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao goes beyond a rido or clan war. The sheer scope of barbarity, the brazenness of the murders betrays the perpetrators’ belief in being beyond the reach of the law. Women,...
By RAY MCGOVERN truthout International Posted by Bulatlat.com “It took a lot of courage on Kennedy’s part to defy the Pentagon, defy the military — and do the right thing,” said Col. Larry Wilkerson, USA (ret.), according to Robert Dreyfuss in his recent Rolling...
By FRANKLIN SPINNEY counterpunch International Posted by Bulatlat.com With President Obama poised to announce our "new" strategy in Afghanistan next Monday, the courtiers and pundits in Versailles on the Potomac seemed to have reached a consensus that he will opt...
By WILLIAM RIVERS PITT truthout International Posted by Bulatlat.com The calendar has come around again to Thanksgiving, and families all over the country will be gathering around dinner tables to celebrate. Or try to, anyway. With unemployment above ten percent,...
By PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON Chairperson International League of Peoples' Struggle Posted by Bulatlat.com The International Coordinating Committee and all member-organizations of the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) condemn with all their moral...
By CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO Streetwise / Business World Posted by Bulatlat.com It was a carnage waiting to happen. In the wild, wild province of Maguindanao, ruled since 2001 by the Ampatuan clan, long-time political allies of de facto President Gloria...
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
“The MILF has no presence there, the place is near the checkpoints of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu), and is also near the Army station,” says the MILF’s Mohagher Iqbal. “So how could they accuse the MILF of having a hand in the massacre?”
Ni RAUL FUNILAS Inilathala ng Bulatlat Kung naging tingga at apoy ang ibinuga Ng aking nilabit na pluma at tinta Sa himagsikan kong nais ay pag-asang Mahango ang bayang nasadlak sa dusa’y Di na nagtagal pa ang digmang pakikibaka Sa mga kumupot sa paglayang...
By MARYA SALAMAT
Makabayan is a coalition of eight progressive party-list groups. Ocampo and Maza are running for Senate under Makabayan.
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