From the testimony of a worker at the front lines of the Hacienda Luisita picket and the unedited version of a footage taken by an independent media practitioner, police started firing at the strikers during a lull in the fighting. The scenes from the unedited footage, shown Dec. 1 at a hearing of the Senate…
Category: Commentary
The Hacienda Luisita Massacre, Landlordism and State Terrorism
The public outrage ignited by the Luisita Massacre should also keep an eye on other potential flashpoints that could lead to similar acts of state terrorism. There are several other plantations, large estates as well as development projects and mining exploration areas in many parts of the country that have been militarized. By Bobby Tuazon…
“The People’s Interests Come First”
By ANTONIO ZUMEL I WAS BORN to Antonio Zumel and Basilisa (Bessie) de Leon in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on Aug. 10, 1932. My father was a lawyer while my mother used to be a schoolteacher. I am the second of their six children — three boys and three girls. My father had a relatively…
Gov’t Destroys .5 M Jobs, Record 5 M Jobless
The just released April 2004 employment figures, including nearly 5 million Filipinos without work, affirm the dismal failure of government economic policy. By Sandra Nicolas Bulatlat.com When the National Statistics Office released the latest Labor Force Survey (LFS) on June 15, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri seemed to be talking from another planet. He said,…
Reversing Oil Deregulation: Nationalization as an Urgent Necessity
In the age of globalization, nationalization is seen as anathema to “development.” However, the current spate of oil price hikes warrants a re-examination of the concept of nationalization of the downstream oil industry to ensure affordability and accessibility of a very important product. By DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com The spate of oil price hikes can…
Incredible Even Before Day One
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her supporters cannot just sit back as if all’s well with the world. Those crying fraud appear to have a convincing case in their hands and the administration is not helping matters by glossing over allegations of fraud. By Alexander Martin Remollino Bulatlat.com The walkout last June 8 on filibustering Sen.…
The Economics and Politics of the World Social Forum: Lessons for the Struggle against ‘Globalisation’
Table of Contents: ‘Globalisation’ I. How and Why the World Social Forum Emerged II. WSF Mumbai 2004 and the NGO Phenomenon in India By Research Unit for Political Economy Ground floor, Sidhwa Estate, N.A. Sawant Marg, Colaba Mumbai (Bombay), India 400005. http://www.rupe-india.org/index.html Posted by Bulatlat.com Introduction ‘Globalisation’ It became fashionable in the 1990s to use…
2004 Budget Based on Flawed Speculation
A review of the macroeconomic assumptions prepared by the Department of Budget of Management (DBM) shows that there are glaring contradictions in government projections. By DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com According to news reports, the Senate took only five days to approve the national budget for 2004. A senator says that its swift passage “would ensure…
The Korean Peninsula: U.S. Military Aggression and Pyongyang’s Response
The presence of a socialist country in East Asia has been a threat to U.S. economic hegemony in the region although it has also served as a magnet that would justify U.S. military supremacy in the guise of “preserving democracy and free market.” By BOBBY TUAZON Bulatlat A peninsula in East Asia, the Korean Peninsula…