By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA — They were arrested on Sept. 12, 1998, put on trial for seven months and have been detained since. The US government has portrayed them as terrorists but the people of Cuba regard them as heroes. Gerardo Hernandez, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labañino and Fernando Gonzalez, popularly known…
Category: Other Stories
Tobacco farmers want an increase in buying price of their harvest to P128 per kilo
By LYN V. RAMO Bulatlat.com BAGUIO CITY — Tobacco farmers in three Ilocos Region provinces and in Abra of the Cordillera Administrative Region recently agreed to ask the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) to raise the price of tobacco leaves to P128 per kilo of unclassified leaves. In the peasant organization’s website, the farmers said their…
International human rights group appeals for 17-year old victim of military torture
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) based in Hong Kong is appealing for justice on behalf of a 17-year-old boy in Basilan Mnindanao who was falsely accused by soldiers and policemen of being a member of the bandit kidnap-for-ransom group Abu Sayyaf. The boy was reportedly tortured and is…
Environmental groups slam Aquino gov’t for dirty technologies policy
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com No way, no to using incinerators to solve Metro Manila’s growing garbage crisis. The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment is vehemently opposed to the proposal of Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Francis Tolentino and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to use incinerators to address the worsening garbage collection and…
Group against Apeco project of Angaras formed
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – With the objective of defending a “paradise against destruction,” various groups formally launched Resist Apeco! Defend Aurora Movement, Sept. 6. Apeco stands for the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Free Port (Apeco) project that will cover almost 13,000 hectares of land in five villages of Cagisuran town. The…
Fall in rankings of country’s top universities blamed on budget cuts
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com MANILA — London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) and Kabataan Partylist aid poor government spending on higher education is probably behind the drop in rankings of the top universities in the county. “This may come as a disappointment, but possibly not a surprise as thousands of students recently took to the…
US, Dutch and Philippine governments conspired to demonize Professor Sison – Committee DEFEND
By D. L. MONDELO Bulatlat.com AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – The recent Wikileaks expose’ of a 2007 cable from the US embassy in Manila (which was published in Manila newspapers) revealing the collaboration between the Dutch, Philippines and US governments to file false murder charges against Filipino political exile Prof. Jose Ma. Sison is merely a…
Bayan Muna tells Aquino to slow down on plans to forge new deals with China
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com In the wake of President Benigno Aquino III’s exuberant report regarding his supposedly successful business and diplomatic trip to China, Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares said the president should not be too eager to forge new deals. Aquino led a delegation of almost 300 business leaders on a trip…
Palparan bodyguard linked to abduction of 2 UP students a ‘no show’ during hearing
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – One of the soldiers linked to the abduction of two University of the Philippines (UP) students and his counsel was a no-show at the Department of Justice (DOJ) hearing today. Staff Sgt. Edgardo L. Osorio did not appear at the DOJ hearing on the preliminary investigation on the…
TRB postpones implementation of VAT on toll fees, BIR disagrees
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – Amid protests over what progressive groups call as “bogus public hearings” conducted by the Toll Regulatory Board this week over the planned imposition of the 12-percent Value-Added Tax (VAT) on toll fees, which it would pass on to motorists, the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) announced yesterday they may not…
NATO-led rebels abducting, killing civilians in Libya, including migrants, immigrants
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com Rebel forces allied with the United States and the Northern Alliance Treaty Organization (NATO) might be targeting migrants and citizens of other nationalities in Libya. This is the fear of Migrante International after reports have surfaced that in the worsening conflict in Libya, rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan…