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The more your hear and see the less you know. This seems to best describe what politicians articulate during press conferences and say in public, the current leading candidates for president included.
By XANDRA BISENIO
Through the stock distribution option such as the one in Hacienda Luisita, the essence of land reform has been distorted to benefit landowners, denying the farmers of actual land redistribution.
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.
Noynoy Aquino may not have stolen money from the nation’s coffers but he has been stealing land from the farmers of Hacienda Luisita. The issue of the farmers of Hacienda Luisita is not merely a test of his mettle as a presidential candidate but, more importantly, it is a test of his sense of justice.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The Asia Foundation, a “charity group” founded and funded by the CIA that represents American political and economic interests in Asia, is now part of a group that would help facilitate the peace process between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
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 MARYA SALAMAT
Despite its limitations, the oil-price caps have irked Big Business and their think tanks and they have been lobbying to have it lifted. Fearing EO 839 could set a dangerous precedent to its business, Shell even filed a case in court against Arroyo’s order. But consumers and critics say that if Arroyo is really sincere in protecting consumers, she should use her power to have the Oil Deregulation Law repealed.
By ARNOLD PADILLA
To a certain degree, Executive Order 839 questioned the lies long peddled by the oil companies and staunch defenders of neoliberalism about neoliberal free market economics. If left unchallenged, EO 839 could become a precedent in policy making: that the government, in the name of public good and welfare, could take decisive action against abusive corporations.
In a historic convention of urban poor, peasant and labor leaders, Anakpawis, the largest partylist of marginalized sectors in the Philippines, tagged the issues of land distribution and still unresolved massacre of striking workers in Luisita as “flagship social justice problems” that presidentiables should seriously address now.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Even before they were rescued off their submerged villages, the government has blamed the approximately 80,000 poor families for the unprecedented flooding in Metro Manila.
By MARYA SALAMAT
Metro Manila drivers’ associations welcomed the freeze or control in oil prices mandated by Executive Order 839. “It gives people immediate relief,” said Piston's Steve Ranjo. And relief is exactly what the Filipino people have been needing for who knows how long.
By JHONG DELA CRUZ
Filipino nurses have the longest record of migrating, as well as the longest history of abuse. This abuse is a result of aggressive, profit-driven, exploitative policies of both their point-of-origin and destination countries. One of these is Canada, one of the most popular destinations now for Filipino nurses.
Sidebar: Filipino Nurses in Canada -- In Search of a Better Life (An Interview with Evelyn Calugay)
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The ex-farm workers of Hacienda Luisita had been reaping the fruits of their labor through a “cultivation campaign” that allowed them to plant what they needed and supported their livelihood. But the plantation has decreed that they should stop what they’re doing and leave. Unfazed, the farmers are bracing for another tough fight ahead.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
As if the trauma of losing their homes and belongings were not enough, evacuees at the PhilSports Arena, formerly known as the Ultra, faced more problems as the government seemingly backtracked on its promise to relocate the displaced families. Worse, the Pasig government allegedly had to use underhanded means to force the refugees to leave.
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Clinton Visit Met with Protest