The Cordillera region is not spared from state-perpetuated and state-supported political violence, according to the CPA, citing the provinces of Abra, Apayao and Kalinga as having a history of election-related and politically motivated killings and other forms of violence allegedly allowed to happen through powerful politicians and warlords with goons and private armies.
Category: Other Stories
In Mendiola, Journalists, Activists Demand End to Impunity, Blame Arroyo for Killings
By AYI MUALLAM
On Wednesday, hundreds of Filipino journalists and activists, along with several of their colleagues from other countries, marched to Mendiola to mark the “Global Day of Action Against Impunity.” The journalists and activists demanded an end to impunity and blamed the Arroyo regime for the rash of killings of activists and journalists nationwide. 
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Military’s Oplan Bantay Laya Sows Terror, Disunity Among Lumads in Mindanao
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
As foreign mining investments continue to encroach into Lumad lands in Northern Mindanao, the military, through its Oplan Bantay Laya, intensifies its campaign to stifle local opposition to these companies. A fact-finding mission found that so far this year, 13 Lumads have been summarily executed while more were tortured and harassed by soldiers and fellow Lumads co-opted by the military.
Attacks on Workers Persist as ILO Keeps Mum on Arroyo’s Accountability in Abuses
By MARYA SALAMAT
Two months after the International Labor Organization conducted a fact-finding mission in the Philippines, labor-rights violations escalate in the Philippines, as highlighted by the death of Danilo Belano, a long-time labor organizer, who died while being tailed and harassed by military agents.
Kabataan Partylist Pushes an Agenda for Change
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Kabataan says the youth have an important role in the coming elections as more than 40 percent of the voters are young Filipinos. “The youth can even dictate who they want to win in the May 2010 elections,” says Rep. Raymond Palatino.
The Arroyo Regime’s Complicity in Ampatuan Massacre
Arroyo’s Complicity in Ampatuan Massacre
In Davao, Duterte Father and Daughter Team Up Against Nograles
By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY— The much-awaited showdown between Davao’s two fiercest political opponents begins as Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and daughter Sara Duterte formally declared a team up against House Speaker Prospero Nograles’ bid for mayor in the city. Vice Mayor Sara Duterte, who runs for mayor in the city, filed both…
‘Political Prisoners Prove Insincerity of Arroyo Regime in Peace Talks’
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Of the 284 political prisoners in the Philippines, 257 were arrested and detained under the present regime’s Oplan Bantay Laya. In a statement, Selda said the militarist approach of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has scuttled the peace talks between the government and the Moro secessionist groups in Mindanao and the New People’s Army.
For Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza, Principle Is Key in Run for Senate
Text and photos by JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
It is important not to compromise their principles, the two “senatoriables” from the progressie sector said. Since one of their platforms is good governance, part of it is holding public officials — either past or present — accountable. This includes achieving justice for the victims of human-rights violations under the Marcos dictatorship.
‘Dukot’ Now Being Shown Commercially
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The human-right film Dukot (Desaparecidos) is now being shown in major cinemas beginning on Dec. 2, a few days before the International Day of Human Rights on Dec. 10.
Ampatuan Massacre Highlights Continuing Violence Vs Women: Gabriela Women’s Party
By MARYA SALAMAT
The commemoration of the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women (VAW) in the Philippines got a piercing highlight in the Ampatuan massacre that occurred two days before the anti-VAW’s day last week. “What happened in Maguindanao underscored the vulnerability of women amid fierce struggles as in an electoral struggle,” Gabriela partylist representative and aspiring senator Liza Maza said.