Dubbed as People's March and Prayer Against Charter Change, protesters stressed that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should instead prioritize urgent issues faced by the Filipino people.
It has been 36 years since president Corazon Aquino created the Presidential Human Rights Committee, in a much-hailed move that signaled to the Filipino people that her administration was firmly committed to the protection and promotion of human rights.
During the protest, Filipino activists decried that the Philippines is next only to India in terms of purchases of armaments from Israel amounting to billions. Last year alone, a $114 million contract between the Philippines and the Israeli government was forged for refurbishing two planes for intelligence gathering. Such contracts, the group said, help fund Israel’s genocidal wars against the Palestinian people.
For almost six years, red-tagging has been a major component of the bloody counterinsurgency campaign – initiated and implemented by the Duterte regime and sustained by the Marcos Jr. administration – through the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
As I write this, I am now on the seventh sojourn of my life as a solitary pilgrim. I began this life after retirement when homelessness was imminent and that’s when I decided to embrace uncertainty. Embrace what is yet to come. Embrace what you don’t know. Embrace life as it comes. And that’s when I thought of volunteering for food and a place to lay my head. And it has been a most meaningful life of retirement one could ever live. A life in solidarity with the poor and marginalized is a life that is so much worth living for. A life of freedom and a life that gives the best lessons on humility. (As you age, you need more help from people, right?)
On May 3, Tarra’s parents were again approached by people claiming to be from NTF-ELCAC, including a so-called“supervisor. They showed photos of Tarra participating in various activities and insisted on personally speaking to Tarra out of fear that he might “go to the mountains.” They said that on their next visit, they would like to speak to his parents again with forms and documents for them to sign.
This month, on May 17-18, the International Peoples’ Tribunal, a quasi-judicial forum periodically convened in Europe, will focus on the Philippines for the sixth time since 1980.
Today’s Gospel reading is taken from an extended narrative, a farewell discourse by Jesus before His arrest (John 13-17). And thanks to the Gospel writer (s) for including this poignant and comprehensive account of the last hours of our Lord before leaving the then-frightened disciples of His.
Jao Clumia of the AHW said, the prolonged delay in receiving these benefits affects the morale and service of healthcare workers. They feel disheartened, leading to the exodus of frontline workers.
I have been away from everything familiar to me for the last seven weeks living in Antigua, Guatemala. I am learning Spanish at a language school and living with a Guatemalan family. Like a child, I am trying to learn the basics of this language. It is humbling to be told so many times that I am not getting it right and that I have to exert more effort. Walking the streets of this old Guatemalan city was a joy in the beginning but after some time reality sinks in that I am far from home. Familiar it may be after so many weeks, there is that lonely thought that I am alone and away from home.
The Marcos Jr. administration appears to be “slowly but surely allowing the country to be dragged into the massive US-led military build-up against China, threatening to engulf the whole region in war.”
This news comes as a shock, as both individuals were unaware that complaints had been filed against them until a preliminary investigation resolution was released on April 8, recommending criminal charges."
Since disasters always include human components, there is nothing natural about it. Therefore, there is no such thing as a “natural” disaster; there was a human failure somewhere in how social, economic, and political systems were set up.
“Most members in my group are seniors,” he said, “My father is 72 years old, yet he drives every day because he doesn't want to rely on his children. He needs money for medication, electricity and water to survive. Where will they find a livelihood? I’m sure no company would want to hire them anymore, right?”
“Farmers and consumers are demanding the strengthening of the rice industry as a solution to the perennial rice inflation, now nearing an all-time high rate that is expected to continue until July."
Engraved in golden letters on the granite Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog Memorial Center in Quezon City are the names of the heroes and martyrs who fought with the people against the long Marcos dictatorship.
The atmosphere of fear and doubt prevailed among the disciples. Some of the disciples at the moment have not seen Jesus after rising from the dead. They continued to be in hiding after Jesus’ brutal death on the cross in fear of being caught and put on trial as one of those who followed Jesus, whom the authorities have called a blasphemer.
So now, allow us to wear your hat
So we can use your vantage point
And adjust the slant
To follow the lead that you pursued
To be voices unafraid of power
To be the alternative
To be relevant
To serve the people.
“NFA should release the rice from warehouses and distribute it to farmers and fishermen who lost their income due to El Niño instead of making a profit and selling to private traders. Many are already complaining of hunger and loss, so the distribution of aid and compensation should be stepped up."
Contemplate the metaphor of yeast and unleavened bread, inviting us to examine the presence of malice and wickedness in our own lives. What old ways of thinking and being, and how might we clear out the old yeast of oppressive colonial ideologies, embracing the sincerity, truth instead, and love of our kapwa-tao that lead to freedom and unconditional love of neighbor?
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