The year 2005 is most likely one of the worst years in Bangsa Moro history. It was a year of false hopes for peace amid an escalation of a centuries-old strife. If anything, the year 2005 will be remembered as the year peace in Mindanao appeared near enough but was driven farther away. BY ALEXANDER…
Category: Labor & Employment
Peasants Suffer in 2005, Brace for Worst in 2006
Various controversies plagued the agricultural sector in 2005 and peasants do not see an end in the immediate future. In fact, they are bracing for the worst in 2006. BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN Bulatlat.com Past surveys showed hardship among the poor in 2004 and signs of desperation in 2005. No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,…
Once Again, the OFW Saves the Day for RP Economy
It is undeniable that OFW remittances have kept the ailing economy afloat. Labor migration, once a mere stop-gap measure to tide the economy over in the economic crunch of the ‘70s, has become a major government policy, with the local government units even facilitating the recruitment of OFWs. BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN Bulatlat.com It is…
Anti-Arroyo Forces: The Broadest Ever
The Arroyo administration belittles the movement working for her ouster as a small group of “destabilizers” and “power grabbers” that are unable to muster the numbers to mount a People Power uprising. But the Anti-Arroyo movement working for her resignation or ouster is the broadest ever compared to the movement that ousted Marcos and Estrada.…
Weathering the Political Storm: Will It Last?
Macapagal-Arroyo may have limped over the hump of thorns to her presidency but this institution that she represents has been badly battered too. The issue of electoral fraud and the worms of corruption and worst-ever unethical practices that it unearthed gave birth to a political dynamics providing valuable lessons to many people. By Bobby Tuazon…
Barely Surviving 2005
The past year saw workers struggle to keep their jobs in the wake of contractualization and globalization, and their unions in the face of government policies against unionism. The labor movement also lost two of its most courageous leaders – the union presidents of Hacienda Luisita and Nestle Philippines Inc. in 2005. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA…
2005 People of the Year
We in Bulatlat have chosen to welcome the New Year by looking back at those personalities who may be described, as far as we are concerned, as 2005 People of the Year. They are those who provided shining examples of courage or brilliance – or both – at a time that desperately calls for these.…
Power Companies Slam Napocor Rate Hike In December
Power rates are expected to increase this December not only due to the value-added tax but also the government’s approval of the National Power Corporation’s application to increase power rates. At this point, even business leaders and power companies have denounced the government’s failure to lower prices of electricity. BY JHONG DELA CRUZ In their…
Mayor Capitalizes on Poor Water Supply
Residents of an impoverished area are still deprived of steady water supply even if they regularly pay the rates imposed by the water company. While they initially welcomed their mayor’s support, they lament the inaction on the part of the water company and the mayor’s decision to use their plight as a way to increase…
Trade Liberalization and the Demise of the Local Shoe Industry
The demise of Philippine-made shoes is a result of decades of government neglect and intensified by just a few years of aggressive liberalization under the World Trade Organization. By JP Andaquig IBON Features Shoemaking has always been the bread and butter of 40-year-old Johnny Gaudia. Like nearly everyone else in Marikina City, shoemaking for Gaudia…
Ibon: RP Industry, Fisheries Endangered More under Non-Agri WTO Trade Talks
IBON, a member of the local anti-WTO network Resist WTO! and the global coalition Our World Is Not For Sale , challenges the country’s negotiators at the WTO ministerial to resist the further extension of trade liberalization into manufactured goods and fisheries and instead focus on finding meaningful ways to develop the country’s manufacturing sector.…