On September 21, 1972, then President Ferdinand Marcos put the country under Martial Law, subjecting the mass media to direct censorship. The incumbent President proves to be no different from Marcos as she resorts to more subtle forms of media censorship. By DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com The intent is clear if one were to read…
Category: Commentary
U.S.-Arroyo State Terrorism and the Crisis of Comprador-Oligarchic Governance
The impending disintegration of the Arroyo regime is evidenced by its resort to intimidation, bureaucratic repression, and death squads. It is bound to implode in one big catastrophic upheaval that will unleash indiscriminate violence and dehumanizing abuses symptomatic of the advanced decay of the bankrupt neocolonial system. By E. SAN JUAN, Jr. Philippines Cultural Studies…
On the Roll – but Until When?
After junking the second impeachment complaint by sheer number of votes of the majority coalition, the Macapagal Arroyo administration is now ramming through its charter change initiative. Striking while the iron is hot, the administration is throwing all caution into the air to steam-roll its agenda. BY BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat.com The Macapagal-Arroyo administration and its…
Growth Outlook Glosses over Low Wages
More than the reported 5.5 percent growth in the local output, statistics on wages are more reflective of the economic situation. It would do well for government to address the fundamental problems besetting the poor instead of spreading misguided optimism just to win over the hearts and minds of the Filipino people. BY DANILO ARAÑA…
A State of Siege, a Reign of Fear
Today, the number of political activists and critics killed and missing has surpassed several times over the number of suspected ASG members killed or captured. The “war on terror” has given the government an excuse to go after legal people’s organizations, to suppress legitimate political dissent and threaten the citizens’ civil and political rights. BY…
Junking of Impeachment was Inevitable – Analyst Says next major battle is vs Cha-Cha
A La Salle professor said the killing of the impeachment case against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was inevitable because it was part of the whole design of Malacañang to keep the president in power up to 2010 and beyond. BY KARL G. OMBION Bulatlat.com BACOLOD CITY – A facilitator of the Social Science Educators Circle (Seedcore)…
Melo Commission – No Surprises
The Melo Commission, in marked contrast to the Palace hype, is widely perceived to be neither powerful, credible nor independent. By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo BusinessWorld Posted by Bulatlat.com Malacañang’s creation of a supposedly “independent commission to address media and activist killings” headed by former Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, has been met with much skepticism, if…
The Melo Probe: Gloria’s Latest Fraud?
With the Melo Commission just a phony, the President exonerating the AFP from any involvement in the extra-judicial killings and the CHR in limbo with regards its own investigation, whom will the families of the victims of political murders turn to for justice? By Bobby Tuazon Bulatlat.com Being toothless and seemingly beholden to the President,…
Liberalizing the Philippine Media: Pros and Cons
We have gone this far holding mass media as our own, having our trusty old watchdog, though limping and perhaps infested with fleas, bite the hands off dictators and dishonest leaders. Why let a strange collie, no matter how attractive it is, do the gate keeping? By ROANNE DURAN Contributed to Bulatlat.com The ownership and…
Going After Serial Killers outside RP
There are legal and political courses of action available internationally which the victims’ families, rights groups, lawyers and civil libertarians can take to seek redress for the unmitigated killings including the prosecution of those responsible. There have been legal precedents under which state governments, prime ministers and individual generals who have committed war crimes and…
Bad Governance
Times like this, even a staunch opponent of the Arroyo administration would wish that government will get its act together, do whatever needs to be done with dispatch, in an organized way and with maximum effect. Alas, that may be asking too much if we go by Malacañangs track record and the most recent pronouncements…