Ronalyn V. Olea or Len to her colleagues loves to brew coffee strong enough to keep everyone in the newsroom awake. She’s a vegan and a bike commuter, braving the chaos of the road to get to meetings and errands.
Ronalyn V. Olea or Len to her colleagues loves to brew coffee strong enough to keep everyone in the newsroom awake. She’s a vegan and a bike commuter, braving the chaos of the road to get to meetings and errands.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The Supreme Court’s (SC) recent resolution upholding with finality the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) sends a wrong message to victims of US atrocities, warned a Mindanao coalition.
Freedom March for Morong 43
Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan chairperson, welcomed the inclusion of Arroyo as one of the respondents. “It is good that the President must be made answerable for the actions of the men and women in uniform since she is the commander-in-chief [of the AFP] and the implementor of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL).”
By LYN V. RAMO
Katribu accused the MWSS and San Miguel of drumbeating a "water crisis" to justify the dam construction. “It misleads the public into thinking that the solution to the water crisis is to build a large dam. In doing so, it places indigenous peoples in a vulnerable position,” the group said.?
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Mikaela Marie turned three years old last February 5. Her father, Reynaldo Macabenta, was on a health training that day but he promised her that he would come home the following day for her birthday celebration. She waited. He never came.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The affidavits of the 43 health workers and the medical records from the doctors that examined some of them narrate tales of interrogation, torture and other abuses.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“After the warrantless arrests, the health workers were denied legal counsel and subjected to sleep deprivation and repeated interrogation while blindfolded and handcuffed. Some were tortured and sexually harassed. Are these the alleged feats that the AFP now honors?” decried Dr. Darby Santiago, chairperson of the Health Alliance for Democracy.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Before the Morong 43, community doctors and health workers serving in rural areas have been the targets of attacks that range from murder, assassination attempts, raid and strafing to filing of fabricated charges and other forms of harassment.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
In the book Pagtatagpo sa Kabilang Dulo, letters and testimonials by the families of victims of desaparecidos reveal emotions ranging from guilt, hopelessness, anger, deep longing for their loved ones, hope and courage.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
and RONALYN V. OLEA
Several medical and health associations expressed outrage today over the arrest, detention and alleged torture of 43 health workers. In a press conference at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in Manila, officials of these groups refuted the military's claim that the 43 are communist rebels who were undergoing bomb training when they were arrested in a raid on Feb. 6.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
After three days, relatives and colleagues were finally able to visit the 43 arrested health workers through the intervention of Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima, who earlier denounced the military for refusing access to those detained.
Written by Palanca awardees Joi Barrios-Leblanc and Rowena Festin and Concerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) member Grundy Constantino and directed by Socrates Jose, "Mrs. B" depicts the agony and courage of a mother searching for her son. With award-winning actresses Bibeth Orteza and Gina Alajar playing the role of Mrs. Burgos, even the desensitized and the unaware would be moved into tears. Although the two actors have different approaches in portraying Mrs. Burgos, both are so intense and so good that their performances are incomparable.
By RONALYN OLEA
A youth activist who was tortured for 10 days by people he believed to be soldiers has belied claims by the military that he is a rebel returnee and that his abduction had been staged. His lawyer thinks the military is experimenting with the case of Noriel Rodriguez.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Since 2000, Alejandro Abaño could not go back to his farm in barangay Cabatianuhan, Alangalang, Leyte. In the first week of February that year, Abaño, together with some agricultural workers, was weeding the coconut land of his father when armed men pretending to be policemen came to their hut accusing them of being rebels. The armed men were allegedly hired by former Court of Appeals Justice Vicente “Cheng” Veloso, who claimed that he owned the land.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Two activists have complained that the Philippine military has been harassing them, the latest in a series of similar intimidations apparently aimed at forcing activists to spy against militant groups for the armed forces.
The first-ever nationwide peasant caravan for land and justice, now on its fifth day in the Bicol region, has been facing harassment from the military since yesterday, Jan. 15. The caravan led by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Anakpawis party list took off from Davao City on Monday. The farmers intend to reach Manila on Jan. 22, the 23rd anniversary of the Mendiola Massacre.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“While we respect the view that a trial by publicity can be detrimental to the accused, we fail to see how that can happen in this case. The Ampatuan case is extremely important for the public, the media and the relatives of the victims. The media and the public -- particularly those who live outside Metro Manila and who can only follow the proceedings through the media -- need to know exactly what is going on inside the courtroom."
By RONALYN V. OLEA
In 2009, the landlord-dominated Philippine Congress extended the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program for another five years. Did the landed legislators, among them President Arroyo's close relatives, go against their interests in passing CARPER? Or did they simply lengthen the agony of Filipino peasants, given that the new program seems worse than the original?
Activist Recounts Abduction, Torture
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