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By CHERYLL D. FIEL
“The Ampatuan massacre goes beyond the issue of freedom of the press and of expression and strikes at the very foundations of democracy. This incident not only erases all doubts about the Philippines being the most dangerous country for journalists in the world, outside of Iraq, it could very well place the country on the map as a candidate for a failed democracy.”
By MARYA SALAMAT
Unlike other post-martial law administrations that used assumption of jurisdictions (AJ) mostly to quell already ongoing strikes, the Arroyo regime has used these orders not only to quell ongoing strikes but also to make sure workers cannot strike at all. As a result, fewer strikes have been recorded, allowing Arroyo to claim that “industrial peace” is improving. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Many of those who watched the recent premiere of the movie “Dukot” got out of the theater teary-eyed – and enlightened about the atrocious human-rights situation in the Philippines.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Human-rights advocate welcome the signing into law of Republic Act 9745, which penalizes acts of torture in the Philippines. The challenge now, they say, is for the Arroyo administration to effectively implement it, given its sordid human-rights record.
The Kilusang Mayo Uno said the “assumption of jurisdiction” order issued by the labor secretary has been abused and has been used in many instances to break up strikes, often violently, as what happened in Hacienda Luisita in 2004.
By MARIFE MAGBANUA
Students and the teachers of an alternative boarding school for Lumads in Surigao del Sur pick up the pieces after being displaced by militarization for 40 days.
By RONALYN OLEA
The United States Congress has withheld the US$2-million military aid to the Philippines in 2010 due to human rights concerns.
By CHERYLL D. FIEL
Like the Moro in many parts of Mindanao, evacuation has become a way of life for the Lumads . They would rather sleep in schools, at village halls or town gymnasiums than stay in their villages and bear the brunt of military operations.
Barely a month after the Manobos went back to their homes in Lianga, the soldiers are back again, recruiting them to the Task Force Gantangan, a paramilitary group to fight the government’s war against the insurgents.
By MARYA SALAMAT
It what appears to be a challenge to the assertions of conservative groups and the government that the Church should not be involved in politics and the “affairs of the state,” Catholic priests from all over the country -- in a historic first -- gathered to discern and discuss their role amid these turbulent times.
By MARYA SALAMAT
According to Monsignor Walter Cerbito of the diocese of Catarman, Northern Samar, nobody is safe anymore in his province, not even priests, as the militarization intensifies. The murder of the Reverend Cecilio Lucero only underscored the worsening human-rights violations there.
By RITCHE T. SALGADO
Even with the memory of the Reverend Cecilio Lucero’s death still fresh in the minds of the people of Northern Samar, the military continues to implement the counter-insurgency program in the province, targeting civilians.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The recent deaths of two US soldiers in Sulu have also strengthened calls for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
“UCCP: Sa Hamon ng Panahon,” a documentary-drama produced by Kodao Productions and directed by Bonifacio Ilagan, takes a searing look at the human-rights violations committed against members of the Protestant church.
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