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Majority of victims of human-rights violations in the Philippines are peasants. They are the ones most denied not just land but justice. So any candidate for president who claims to be for justice should, first and foremost, commit to the implementation of a genuine agrarian-reform program. This is why the Hacienda Luisita land problem is a defining issue for Noynoy Aquino.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Human-rights violations in 2009 are “numerous and varied and no sector of society is exempted,” belying the Arroyo government’s claim that steps have been taken to improve the Philippine government’s human-rights record, according to Karapatan. And with Oplan Bantay Laya 2's deadline in 2010 fast approaching, more abuses are certain to occur, it said.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
In this Q&A, Esmael Mangudadatu, vice mayor of Buluan town, Maguindanao, talks about the Ampatuan massacre and how the Ampatuans ruled the province. "They made business out of the votes. They extorted money out of the senatorial candidates who were campaigning in Maguindanao by selling votes to them," he said. He also wished that there would be no whitewash in the case against them.
And this impunity would not end for as long as Arroyo wields power whether as president, congresswoman, or prime minister. Impunity would also persist if Arroyo’s clone cum anointed one, Gilbert Teodoro, emerges the winner in the presidential elections by some stroke of luck, especially of the Garci kind.
Arroyo's Human-Rights Record Atrocious as Ever
In this audio clip, Edita Burgos, the mother of missing activist Jonas Burgos, talks about her recent trip to Europe where she brought her campaign to force the Philippine government to surface her son. She also talks about the human-rights situation in the Philippines and why President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a "bad mother" to the Filipino people. 
Listen now
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The failure of investigators to secure the crime scene, the apparent contamination of forensic evidence, and the weak rebellion case filed against the perpetrators have led people to believe that there is a high probability that the Ampatuan clan would walk away with the murder of 57 people, even as the case has generated a strong international concern.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO The Ampatuans' rise to the peak of political power was in no small part due to their ties with the military. In a most ironic twist, the military proposed the extension of martial law in Maguindanao until the 2010 elections purportedly to teach the Ampatuans “how to run peaceful and credible elections.”
A former chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), who is also one of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's most trusted men, is one of the directors of a big mining company that operates in a number of provinces, among them Bukidnon, which is one of the provinces where several indigenous-peoples' communities are suffering under a reign of terror perpetrated by the military and paramilitary groups.
When it comes to human rights and democracy, the Arroyo government never fails to provide ironies.
Activist Recounts Abduction, Torture
By ARNOLD PADILLA
Underneath the never-ending and intensifying political conflict is the permanent and worsening crisis of the economy. The raging economic crisis feeds the growing dispute among the various factions of the political elite contending for control of political power and monopoly of economic spoils – a conflict that has become more pronounced and increasingly vicious under the nine-year old Arroyo administration.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Noriel Rodriguez, a member of Anakbayan, was tortured for 10 days by people he claimed to be soldiers. The soldiers, he said, threatened to harm his family and mutilate his genitals. He was released only after he was forced to sign papers stating that he was a rebel returnee. Related video: Noriel Rodriguez recounts his ordeal
Critics Slam Martial Law as Ruse, Cover-Up
The Cordillera region is not spared from state-perpetuated and state-supported political violence, according to the CPA, citing the provinces of Abra, Apayao and Kalinga as having a history of election-related and politically motivated killings and other forms of violence allegedly allowed to happen through powerful politicians and warlords with goons and private armies.
By AYI MUALLAM
On Wednesday, hundreds of Filipino journalists and activists, along with several of their colleagues from other countries, marched to Mendiola to mark the "Global Day of Action Against Impunity." The journalists and activists demanded an end to impunity and blamed the Arroyo regime for the rash of killings of activists and journalists nationwide. Listen now
Ampatuan Massacre and Culture of Impunity
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