The 25th anniversary of the 1986 Edsa popular uprising again stirred feelings of pride and frustration among Filipinos. The pride stems from our having successfully carried out the first “people power” that ousted a dictatorship through peaceful mass action. The frustration boils out of the unfulfilled promises of post-dictatorship reforms. (By Satur C. Ocampo / bulatlat.com)
Category: At Ground Level
Satur C. Ocampo | Impeaching the Ombudsman
Finally the congressional move to oust Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez (for the second time since 2009) has regained momentum. With the new administration’s avowed war against corruption and its majority control of the House, the militant party-list representatives hope the impeachment game will be played fairly this time. Nonetheless, they don’t rule out delaying tactics by the Ombudsman and her backers in the House. By SATUR C. OCAMPO
Satur C. Ocampo | Talking Peace, Again: Is it Necessary, or Not?
The peace talks now going on in Oslo between the government and the NDFP, having moved on to the deep-seated problems that have been sustaining the CPP-NPA-led armed struggle over 40 years, were the subject of editorial comment in this newspaper the other day. I think that certain points were correctly spotlighted and interpreted in the editorial, but it is amiss on others. By SATUR C. OCAMPO / bulatlat.com
Satur C. Ocampo | Can We Trim Poverty by 10% in Five Years?
Is the government merely tinkering with figures on poverty and economic growth, or is it honestly and sincerely trying to achieve real economic goals? By SATUR C. OCAMPO / bulatlat.com
Satur C. Ocampo | A Popular Uprising Rages in Egypt
By SATUR C. OCAMPO At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Posted by Bulatlat.com The people’s uprising in Egypt seeking to oust President Hosni Mubarak provides interesting insights and aspects that I wish to share as concisely as our limited space allows. First, the uprising (the protesters call it a “revolution”) could be the tipping…
Satur C. Ocampo | Getting to the Roots of the Armed Conflict
By SATUR C. OCAMPO At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Posted by Bulatlat.com A high sense of optimism enlivened the hundred or so participants of the Mindanao Leaders Peace Conference convened early this week by Inpeace Mindanao in Cagayan de Oro City. Their hopefulness was infectious, springing from the positive results of the preliminary…
Satur C. Ocampo | Still a Long Haul for Marcos Human Rights Violation Victims
By SATUR C. OCAMPO At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Posted by Bulatlat.com Last week’s decision by a Hawaii court to distribute $7.5 million in compensation to 7,500 victims of human rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship was a piece of good news, the third one since the original 9,529 victims, who filed the…
Satur C. Ocampo | Resolving Hindrances, Going Farther Toward Peace
By SATUR C. OCAMPO At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Posted by Bulatlat.com Yesterday the momentum for the resumption of formal peace talks between the Aquino government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines went a notch higher when the full negotiating panels began a five-day preliminary meeting (Jan. 14-18) in Oslo, Norway.…