BLOOD RUSH By SARAH RAYMUNDO The liberal tide that once set apart emergent capitalism from feudalism’s obsolescence is now a plague that threatens all living systems. Neoliberalism aims to prolong capitalism’s lease on lives and labor by converting what the latter identifies as last frontiers into its own likeness. And it does this through the…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective The Mamasapano fiasco that killed 44 policemen, who came from its elite unit, has generated so much reaction from the public that it compelled President Aquino to explain how and why this blunder happened – although what he did was to merely blame somebody else. Let us not put the…
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld Most observers are likely to agree that the visit of Pope Francis has reinvigorated the faith of the millions of Catholics in the only predominantly Christian country in Asia. But that visit was also an expression and in furtherance of the Pope’s commitment to the defense of…
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Peasants and their supporters marched anew to Mendiola last Thursday to commemorate the 28th year of the Mendiola Massacre (Jan. 22, 1987). Again they cried for justice, primarily for the 13 farmer-marchers killed by lethal volleys from state troops and police. Among them were…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective During the visit of Pope Francis from January 15 to 19, time seemed to have gone to a standstill. We had non-working holidays, at least in Metro Manila; there was no traffic, except of course in areas where the roads were blocked and near places where Pope Francis was holding…
QUESTION EVERYTHING Mong Palatino Was Edsa Dos a coup, power grab, or an uprising? Was it a farce? It may be all of the above but it’s a political event worth celebrating. Why should we allow the Arroyos, Estradas, Aquinos, and the Catholic bishops to dominate the discussion about what Edsa Dos meant to our…
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld We write this essay on the third day of the uplifting visit of Pope Francis to the country after his half day stopover at Tacloban City, ground zero of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) and nearby Palo, cut short by another one of the innumerable storms that annually badger Eastern Visayas.…
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star Last Tuesday, as the nation prepared to welcome Pope Francis, 491 political detainees in 43 jails across the country went on a hunger strike that’ll run simultaneously with the papal visit. Their objective: to elicit the Pope’s intercession to attain their quest for freedom…