President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to visit Hong Kong on June 20 and Filipinos in the islands are gearing up to greet her – with protests. BY BULATLAT Bulatlat.com “If Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo thinks that by going abroad she will find respite from the political storm brought about by her fraudulent presidency and corruption-ridden rule, she’s…
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Stock Distribution Option: Land Reform without Land
That the plight of farm workers at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac has already faded from the mainstream media limelight does not mean that there is now peace in the area. Last April 22, some 1,500 farm workers agreed to withdraw their shares in Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI), demand that stock distribution option (SDO) be revoked and opt for land distribution instead.
AFP, Police Can’t Win ‘Hearts and Minds’ at Hacienda Luisita
Hacienda Luisita continues to be a battle ground, albeit unarmed, between residents and government troops. Since March 10, three companies of soldiers have been deployed here while angry people and village officials have been trying to drive them away by sheer grit and numbers.
Confessions of a ‘Yellow Armyman’
A former member of the Yellow Army and supervisor of Hacienda Luisita who admitted to being one of campaigners for the Stock Distribution Option in 1989 tell how he did so — and why they are going against it today.
Abelardo Ladera: The Hero of Luisita
Before the coffin bearing the remains of Tarlac City Councilor Abel Ladera, the ninth Hacienda Luisita martyr, was buried, it was opened for his family and barriomates one last time. It took however almost an hour before the people could finish their goodbye: young ones took pictures of him with their cellular phones; the older ones patted the coffin, with whispers of “Salamat po, salamat po” (thank you, thank you) while a woman asked with a break in her voice, “Bakit ka nila pinatay, wala na kaming kasama.” (Why did they kill you, we no longer have someone to help us.)
Tarlac Councilor Is 9th Luisita Martyr; Victim’s Kin Finger Cojuangcos, Military as Suspects
From his humble beginnings as a sugar worker, City Councilor Abelardo R. Ladera emerged as one of the few successful local political figures who openly stood against the Cojuangco-Aquino dynasty in Tarlac. Ladera was gunned down at high noon of March 3 making him Tarlac’s first local official assassinated in the post-dictator era.
A Legacy of Failure
The violence in Sulu the past weeks, which was punctuated by the series of bombings in three key cities on Feb. 14, indicate that the objectives of the 1996 peace agreement are far from achieved. By Carlos H. Conde Bulatlat.com MANILA – Nearly a decade ago, the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front…
Shift of U.S. Forces from Okinawa to Philippines Seen
The Macapagal-Arroyo government is reportedly deeply involved in defense talks with U.S. and Japanese defense officials that would pave the way for the transfer of U.S. forces from Okinawa to the Philippines for a long-term stay and the increased role of Japanese security forces in Asia Pacific and elsewhere. Posted By:Bulatlat.com The Macapagal-Arroyo government is…
VAT Increase: A Crime Against the Poor, 2 Groups Say
Coming at a time when the Filipino poor experience the most trying times of economic hardship, taxing them 20 percent more can be considered a crime. BY BULATLAT.COM The 20 percent increase in the Value Added Tax (VAT), passed on third reading by the House early morning of Jan. 27, will affect mostly the daily…
Mining firm moves to evict Subanen folks and farmers in Zamboanga
Eighty-six Subanen and peasant families have until the last day of February to leave their homes and ancestral land or face eviction by a Canadian-owned mining firm. According to the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE), Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI) which holds a Mineral Production Agreement in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, is going to…
5,000 Luisita Workers To Lose Jobs in Cojuangco-Arroyo Land Plan
A land use plan which contains the comprehensive land conversion of the entire Hacienda Luisita into a commercial and industrial complex will likely force more than 5,000 plantation workers out of their jobs. The LUP includes President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTE). BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat.com A land use plan (LUP) which contains the comprehensive…