Bulatlat Live Webcast: Bulatlatín, a Forum on the Role of Journalists to End the Culture of Impunity in the Philippines

Journalism and the Culture of Impunity
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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 JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
For the farmers, peasants and indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao, the past several years had been a period of great danger and violence as big mining companies encroach into ancestral and agricultural land, using the military to drive them away. Many peasant and Lumad leaders who opposed these projects have ended up dead and tortured.

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.

Lakbayan, a Victory for the Filipino Peasantry

The Long March for Land and Justice

By RAYMUND B. VILLANUEVA
Despite the deplorable conditions, the evacuees were unable to return to their homes because of the climate of fear that prevails to this day. Although heavily militarized, reports of the continued presence of the Ampatuan clan’s private army still persist.

A Vow to Seek Justice and Peace

By MARYA SALAMAT
Among those who participated in the recent Lakbayan, the national peasant caravan, were members of the Aberlin Aetas, a tribe in Tarlac whose communities and livelihood are being threatened by a mega-dam project started by the administration of Cory Aquino and now being pursued by the Arroyo regime.
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The Comelec, by providing Arroyo the opportunity to perpetuate herself in power through the representative-prime minister route and Estrada the opportunity to regain power, is keeping impunity alive.

By RITCHE T. SALGADO
Farmers and fisherfolk groups in Negros Occidental have been holding protests outside the capitol to denounce the mounting harassments experienced by Negrense farmers and farm workers. They also denounce a series of moves by landlords to file common and trivial offenses against peasants who demand land reform.
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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.
"Yes, I have chosen to seek refuge under the revolutionary movement, particularly with the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front. This is the most logical choice on my part because these are the very organizations that can guarantee not only my protection from political killings but also, above all, freedom of the people from the oppressive grip of a reactionary fascist state. I am still breathing and fighting precisely because of this choice."

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.
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