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Villar and Marcos’ position in Philippine society echoes back to Marie Antoinette’s – a landed pseudo-aristocracy whose power stems from their stranglehold of economic production. These compradors and landlords have differ little from the old nobles of feudal societies.
“The US government is an economic terrorist. We are not enemies of the people of the US, but we condemn the crimes of the US government.”
A decade has indeed passed but the conditions that led to the Ampatuan massacre remain: political dynasties and patronage are still alive, paramilitary groups have not been dismantled, and the Ampatuans’ collusion with the administration — Arroyo then and Duterte now — still persists.
The contributions of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) - under the leadership of Evo Morales - enjoys enormous support from the indigenous population and the working class of Bolivian society. Its contributions to the political and economic advancements of Bolivia through the painstaking economic and cultural empowerment of indigenous people and workers is well known and is inspiring, especially at this time of neoliberal attacks on the world’s working people.
Paghimutad was formed after the Sagay 9 massacre in response to the growing human rights violations in the island. Despite the culture of fear in Negros, Paghimutad and its volunteer community journalists courageously filled the void of information, publishing audio-visual reports through social media.
The real underlying cause of deaths in epidemics is the dysfunctional health care system brought about by chronic socio-economic underdevelopment characteristic of a semi-feudal and semi-colonial society victimized by imperialism, not the loss of vaccine confidence due to the “Dengvaxia scare”.
If we total the black budget allotted under the Office of the President from 2016 to 2020, that would already be P10 billion, a sum enough to finance the wages of 77,500 minimum wage workers for a year!
Dr. Claudio's commentary, accusing his colleagues as well as students and activists of being "commies" are hardly statements to be glibly made or easily dismissed. Within the context of increasing state repression and concomitantly the erosion of academic freedom on both sides of the Pacific, the targets of Dr. Claudio's work are put directly into the crosshairs of the Duterte and even the Trump regime. Dr. Claudio produces conditions of academic unfreedom for those he attacks.
Let me ask fellow PMAers, the generals of the AFP and PNP mentioned above, what has happened to the PMA Honor Code of NOT TO LIE, NOT TO STEAL, NOT TO CHEAT nor TOLERATE THOSE WHO DO?
The concomitant and worsening assaults (including extrajudicial killings) on fundamental human rights have subjected marginalized people to extreme physical, biological, psychological and social stress and have repeatedly been forced to be displaced from their land, homes, crops and other means of survival. Under these circumstances, infectious disease epidemics, like measles, and other serious health problems are bound to arise and worsen.
The more disturbing issue, however, is the ever-increasing human rights violations and extrajudicial killings of human rights activists who advocate for ordinary people and local communities opposed to large-scale mining operations.
The Supreme Court warned that data under a national ID system’s “vast reservoir of personal constitutes a covert invitation to misuse, a temptation that may be just too great for some of our authorities to resist.”
President Duterte and Mocha Uson have rather emboldened trolls and netizens alike in attacking people they disagree with by issuing expletives, insults and curses.
But, like fear, courage could be contagious. And unlike fear that disempowers, courage built on the power of truth and the unity of all in media is a force that empowers.
Boracay needs scientists, engineers, development planners, social workers, and community organizers, not the hundreds of troops and police.
'US Border Officials tortured me. They violated my basic human rights recognized and protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.'
The overwhelming majority of Filipinos do not get any income tax benefits from TRAIN. Most of the country’s total 22.7 million families do not pay income tax because they are just minimum wage earners or otherwise in informal work with low and erratic incomes. Even if TRAIN reduces income taxes paid by most of the reported 7.5 million personal income taxpayers, this still leaves as much as 15.2 million families without any income tax gains.
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