Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus admits that shortages in classrooms and teachers throughout the country have increased to 42,641 and 51,319, respectively. Fifty percent of public schools, he said, have no principals at all. Meanwhile, students threaten to walk out on school opening June 21 to protest government neglect. By Ronalyn V. Olea Bulatlat.com The…
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NUJP Hosts IFJ Tolerance Prize for Southeast Asia
The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines will host the Tolerance Prize for Southeast Asia administered by the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The awarding will be held on June 25 at the Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila. A forum on media and its role in reporting racial and ethnic issues will…
Power Consumers ‘Electrocuted’ with False Promise, New Rate Hikes
During the February-May campaign period, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo promised power consumers the lowest electricity rates in Southeast Asia. But with the impending increases in Meralco rates and Napocor generating charges, and the forthcoming removal of the inter-class cross subsidy, power consumers might as well consider themselves nakuryente, a vernacular slang term meaning fooled. By ALEXANDER…
Bridge Program Means More Dropouts – ACT
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) says that another year in high school could cost a family from P8,000 to P10,000 ($143.16 to $178.95, based on an exchange rate of P55.88 for every U.S. dollar). Computed for 10 months or 205 days with classes, a student would spend P39 to P48 ($0.70 to $0.86) a…
400 Children of Miners Barred from School
Nearly 400 school children failed to enroll in Tuba, Benguet when the two schools in the area funded by a mining corporation refused to admit children of former employees. By ALDWIN QUITASOL Northern Dispatch Posted by Bulatlat.com BAGUIO CITY — Philex Mining Corporation (PMC) in Padcal, Tuba, Benguet in northern Philippines has barred children of…
Peso Value Down to P0.56
The country’s consumer price index (CPI) shows that as of May this year prices have increased so much since 1994 that the value of the Philippine peso has fallen by almost half. By DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com The bad news is that with the exception of wages, practically everything is on the rise. Even worse…
Incredible Even Before Day One
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her supporters cannot just sit back as if all’s well with the world. Those crying fraud appear to have a convincing case in their hands and the administration is not helping matters by glossing over allegations of fraud. By Alexander Martin Remollino Bulatlat.com The walkout last June 8 on filibustering Sen.…
The Isabelinos’ Struggle Against Warlordism and Political Dynasty
A Filipino migrant in the U.S. castigates Philippine media for “forgetting to mention historical events that led to the fall of Faustino Dy Jr. from power.” By Arturo P. Garcia Bulatlat.com After the much-delayed proclamation of the new Isabela governor Ma. Gracia Cielo “Bombo Grace” Padaca, the Philippine press harped and hyped about another classic…
Murder Not Encounter, Mourning Parents Say
After being forced by the military to sign a statement saying that an encounter between government troops and communist guerillas led to the killing of two minors last May in Sorsogon, village head Eduardo Adamos finally tells what happened on that fateful day: “Natakot lang ako kaya ako pumirma dun sa certification” (I signed the…
At Home with Levi: Youngest Political Prisoner
Ten-year old Levi Mabanan, the youngest political detainee in the country, was finally released May 15 from the military camp in Catbalogan, Samar, where he was forced to spend four years of his young life. By Bulatlat.com Levi Mabanan was only six years old when placed behind bars in 2000. He spent the last four…
Poetry and Revolution: Behind Bars and Beyond
Jose Maria Sison’s poems are suffused with various kinds of imagery, but in these one thread is common – the voice of a poet not only resolved to write good poetry, but also revolting against oppression in all its forms. He thus shares, in Philippine literary history, a place with the likes of Andres Bonifacio,…