By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld President Benigno Aquino III came to power in June 2010 with “special relations” – the Philippines serving as a neocolony of the US – already entrenched 64 years after the “grant” of independence. Before him, every administration had tried to outdo its predecessors in maintaining this unequal and unjust…
Bulatlat Contributors
US sets another record on defense sales, already
By CAREY L. BIRON, Inter Press Service | Report Truthout June 17, 2012 The United States is set to far surpass previous records for defence sales this year, according to U.S. officials. “Despite the global economic strain, demand for U.S. defence products and services is stronger than ever,” Andrew J. Shapiro, an assistant secretary in…
Cheaper medicines law hasn’t served the poor
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Four years ago last June 6, the Cheaper Medicines Law (Republic Act 9502, the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008) passed after contentious debates in the 14th Congress, was signed into law by President Gloria M. Arroyo. R.A. 9502 was intended…
Dunces and dupes
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld With the usual irony was June 12 marked this year in a country hardly aware of its history. Benigno Aquino III spoke at Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, where the First Philippine Republic was inaugurated on January 23, 1899, less than a year after Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed…
The big lie: special relations
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld It seems ironical that the much-heralded meeting between Philippine President Aquino and US President Obama would take place just a few days before the Philippines marks Independence Day. Here is the president of a poor and backward but supposedly independent country seeking and getting the requisite political pat-on-the-back from…
Mayamor*
By TOMASITO T. TALLEDO You write poetry but who reads? They who send SMS “I luv U ga…mwah.”? They who sit at coffee shops blubbering inanities? They who sex at the age of fourteen? They’re Plato’s ilks who’ll banish poetry in our people’s republic. You vividly paint the revolution but who stops to see? The…
Arson at Isla Puting Bato?
By IGAL JADA SAN ANDRES
“The next day, they blockaded the entrance with drums, container vans, so that people and the construction materials they brought won’t be able to pass.”
In the mountains
By PATRICIA LOURDES VIRAY Bulatlat.com Two trucks loaded with volunteers and school supplies trudged the dusty and bumpy path for almost two hours to reach its destination. As the trucks went up the mountains, the view of the whole town could be seen. A river indicated that they are getting near the isolated community. The…
Bill privatizing the provision of housing being rushed in Congress – government employees
By IGAL JADA SAN ANDRES
“The government turning its back on its people and letting greedy corporations take advantage of the interests and wealth of our country by giving them the government’s money for housing is a clear form of corruption.” – Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE)
On the urban poor
By Igal Jada P. San Andres Bulatlat.com Eyesore. Squatter. Uneducated. These are only some of the labels most Filipinos use to call the poor, especially those who live in urban poor communities or “squatter areas” in big cities like Manila and Quezon City. But how sure are we that we are using the correct terms…
Same-sex marriage: A struggle beyond civil rights
By KENNETH E. BAUZON Bulatlat.com MANILA — This subject is among the most animating topics in my introductory course in political science. Some students come with their ready-made views on the subject, either for or against, while some have not made up their minds. In the spirit of academic freedom and plain fairness, I assure…