By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Italian missionary Fausto Tentorio foresaw six years ago that he would “die of bullets” someday. Although he was proven correct, that didn’t make his death right. Last week, Fr. Tentorio was shot dead outside his parish church in Arakan, North Cotabato. Typical of most…
Month: October 2011
Reign of assassins
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld President Benigno Aquino III has “vowed,” say media reports, to get the killers of Fr. Fausto Tentorio even if they should turn out to be members of the paramilitary groups he, Aquino, has refused to dismantle. The call has been made often for the dismantling of paramilitary…
A saga of all-out euphemisms vs peace, the Moro and the ordinary people
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com Main Story: Create conditions for peace, not all-out war, Aquino told When it comes to addressing the conflict in Mindanao, nothing has really changed in Philippine government policy despite the change from one president and administration to another. It has always been consistently “militarist,” said Neil V. Murad, secretary-general of Suara…
Fil-Am groups decry Aquino govt’s labor trafficking
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com MANILA – Filipino-Americans led by two alliances based in the United States of America belied the Aquino administration’s claims that human trafficking has ceased to be a problem in the Philippines. They held a rally against labor trafficking in front of the Philippine Consulate General office in mid-town Manhattan…
LTE: Aquino must do more to make CODE-NGO account for the PEACe bonds
Letter to the Editor October 27, 2011 It is not enough that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) upheld the agency’s 2004 decision imposing a 20% final withholding tax on the P24-billion income that investors earned from the Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates or the notorious PEACe bonds. The Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO),…
As World Bank president visits country: Think-tank says world bank policies,loans worsen poverty in the Philippines
Press Release October 26, 2011 After over five decades of flawed policy advice and US$14.7-billion loans from the World Bank, the Philippines remains poor in every sector of the economy, according to independent think-tank IBON, as World Bank president Robert Zoellick visits the country today. Disclaimer | What you are reading is either a press…
LTE: Justice for Fr. Fausto Tentorio
LETTER TO THE EDITOR October 25, 2011 The Christians for National Liberation (CNL), the revolutionary organization of clergy, pastors, sisters and formands from Catholic and Protestant churches join the multitude who cry out for justice for Fr. Fausto Tentorio. As Fr, Fausto, a foreigner who has learned the language, immersed in the culture and lives…
Create conditions for peace, not all-out war, Aquino told
By MARYA SALAMAT
The GPH talks whether with the MILF or with the NDFP remain bogged down until today, mired as these are in the GPH’s efforts to “box it in its counter-insurgency program called Oplan Bayanihan.” – Satur Ocampo of Makabayan
Sidebar: A saga of all-out euphemisms vs peace, the Moro and the ordinary people
From Quezon to Misamis Oriental, women coconut farmers struggle to make both ends meet
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
“Our income as coconut farmers is only enough to cover our expenses for a few days. To survive on the other days, we eat bananas and sweet potatoes.”
Kin of victims bewail slow Maguindanao massacre trial
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“Ordinary people like me do not understand why our judicial system is like this. Can it be reformed? It is difficult to accept it would take 20 years or 200 years for the case to be resolved.”
Urban poor residents “occupy” housing agency
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com MANILA — Urban poor groups trooped to the government housing agency to protest the massive demolition of homes in North and East Triangle areas to give way to the Quezon City Central Business District project. In a statement, Alyansa Kontra Demolition, an alliance of urban poor groups, said their…