Mong Palatino is a blogger, activist, and former legislator. He can be reached via his email, mongpalatino@gmail.com.
Mong Palatino is a blogger, activist, and former legislator. He can be reached via his email, mongpalatino@gmail.com.
A movement has already emerged which aims to counter the nefarious impact of disinformation. It reflects the clamor of the people to make elections and governance more transparent by ensuring that people can readily access accurate and credible information.
When disinformation is widely shared at a dizzying realtime speed by paid cyber mercenaries, can fact-checking stand a chance? There are short-term and long-term interventions that may require the enforcement of technical and regulatory mechanisms. For our part, we must not lose sight of the political solution because the roots of the information disorder are also linked to deeper structural infirmities in society.
...[t]he task of shaping the “new normal” should come from the actions of the people; it should be the outcome of our political organizing. We should claim the narrative of the “new normal” in order to reclaim our right to enjoy a better future.
The strength of Pink Rallies relies on the practical wisdom of its participants who maximize various internet platforms to build anticipation, exhibit the broad character of the event, and sustain the message of the political action for several days.
The CPP-NPA continues to thrive especially in the remote areas of the country because its politics of empowerment resonates not just with the oppressed but all those who wanted to build a new future founded on justice and equality.
Deliberate or not, the glaring error of some partisan critics of the Left is to polemicize with a distorted sense of history and improper reading of the local political landscape.
Mong Palatino's reads in 2021 are a mix of history, culture, revolution, and technology.
Narito tayo sa libro. Bilang netizen na social media ang almusal, freelancer na litong araw-gabi ang pasok sa trabaho, botante, aktibista, artista, konsyumer prosumer, at tagaliklha ng luma at bagong impormasyon, mga humaharap at pinangingibabawan ang mga ‘digital kuyog’, mga indibidwal na naghahanap ng pag-ibig, kilig, at saysay sa buhay.
Myanmar’s experience offers relevant lessons for those who are monitoring the pro-democracy movements in Thailand, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.
After more than half a century, the Philippine revolutionary struggle could already offer its experience in conducting a protracted resistance in this part of the world.
It validates the enduring legacy of our anti-colonial heroes who sought to unite the nation by waging a war for independence.
Our country underwent numerous transitions in the past century which saw the rise and fall of winners, losers, heroes, villains, oppressors, and the oppressed. Which of the contending forces emerged triumphant and what was its impact on society? Rather than amplify the mainstream version of history, our role is to find the voices which were dismissed by those in power as noise, nuisance, and irrelevant chatter. We have to assert the need to record and popularize this history from below.
It dutifully served the role of an opposition force guided by its principles and program of action while bridging the agenda of the other parliament, the parliament of the streets.
Bookworm, activist and former legislator Mong Palatino shares with us the books he read in 2020.
The internet has many uses and one thing it conveniently offers is the boosting of individualism while rebranding it as a platform of empowerment. It poses unique challenges for community building and the pursuit of activism.
Prior to his arrest, Dennise was coordinating relief efforts in Marikina. He planned to use proceeds from his small coffee business to procure relief goods and offer livelihood opportunities in the neighborhood.
Activism is our fact-checking initiative against so-called "fake news." We cannot engage in politics without a proper social investigation. Mao Zedong has a succinct quote for it: “No investigation, no right to speak”. Our statements must be grounded on the reality that affects the masses. We articulate the social condition based on verifiable facts.
Politicians are experts in articulating this unscientific argument. They blame the people’s resistance for causing social ills as if the system were just and equitable before the Left conspired to destroy it. They insinuate that the people’s struggle is instigating terror. It is convenient for them to scapegoat activism instead of acknowledging their criminal liability in perpetuating a state of mass poverty.
Working tirelessly on the ground are community organizers who turned a particular issue into a political question and mobilized the people to discuss, decide, and determine the proper course of action. They are immersed in full-time political work even if this does not yield any pecuniary benefit.
The pandemic is forcing us to be more critical of the repressive state even as we reexamine our methods and ideas about doing politics under the so-called new normal. Citizens started to wear protective face masks at almost the same time when the state’s...
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