By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
On the 37th anniversary of the declaration of martial law, activists and victims of the brutality of military rule drew parallels between the Marcos dictatorship and the Arroyo regime. “The bad dream known as martial law has become an absolute nightmare under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!” one of them said. View slideshow
Category: Other Stories
Bishop, Nuns View Recent Killing of Priest, Others as Worse Than During Martial Law
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The murder earlier this month of a Catholic priest, Father Cecilio Lucero, has enraged leaders of the Catholic Church. “I can not stomach what Malacañang is doing,” said recently retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. “It seems they do not fear God.”
Social Welfare Employees Hit Planned Transfer of Home for Aged, Abolition of Children’s Center
By (Bulatlat.com) Employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have protested the planned relocation of government-run Golden Acres Home for the Aged (GA) from its present home in Bago Bantay, Quezon City to Tanay, Rizal. They also opposed the plan to abolish the Reception and Study Center for Children (RSCC). The members…
Soldier Nabbed for Spying on Lumbera, National Artist and Arroyo Critic
By RONALYN V. OLEA
At around 6 a.m. today, three men were seen taking photos and asking information regarding Lumbera’s house in a subdivision in Quezon City. Village guards approached and apprehended one of them.
Bogus Safe Passes, Legal Maneuvers: ‘Militarists’ in Arroyo Regime Hold Sway
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The issuance of questionable safe-conduct passes is just one of the many complicated ways in which the Philippine government has been handling what were supposed to be preparations for the resumption of its formal talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. It underscores what the NDFP deems to be an utter lack of sincerity of the Arroyo regime to pursue the peace process.
High Hopes for ILO’s 1st High-Level Mission to the Philippines
By MARYA SALAMAT
Since 2001 when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency, the trade union movement, like other peoples movement in the Philippines, has been experiencing violations of their rights as humans and as workers in a level never before seen in our country’s post-Martial Law politics, the Kilusang Mayo Uno said. The group welcomes the first International Labor Organization-High-Level Mission to the Philippines this month.
Admin Solon Threatens to Displace Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries in Bulacan
By RONALYN V. OLEA
A close ally of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the House of Representatives was accused of grabbing land from supposed beneficiaries of agrarian reform programs of the government.
Chiong Mom Decries Transfer of Daughters’ Rapist to Spain, Slams Arroyo for ‘Injustice’
By RITCHE T. SALGADO
For more than a decade now, Thelma Chiong has always made it a point to visit her daughters on their birthdays. This year, however, the visit was extraordinarily painful because a few days earlier, Mrs. Chiong had received word that one of her daughters’ rapists and murderers was going to be repatriated to Spain, a free man for all intents and purposes.
Text Tax: An IMF Imposition That Could Blow in Arroyo’s Face
By ARNOLD PADILLA
The latest incarnation of the text tax comes in the context of an administration under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to widen its revenue base. It was the IMF that first openly pushed the text tax idea in 2002 to address the government’s burgeoning budget deficit.
What’s a Notorious US Military Contractor Doing Inside the AFP’s Camp in Zamboanga?
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO DynCorp International, a US military contractor notorious for its mercenary work for Washington and which was the subject of numerous complaints for abuses in other countries, has been fencing off the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga for US troops. “How can a private, foreign corporation control a specific portion of a Philippine military camp?” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares wants to know.
For the Philippines’s Tribal Folk, a Constant War Against ‘Development Aggression’
By RONALYN V. OLEA
While the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral land is recognized by international agreements and conventions, indigenous peoples in the Philippines are relentlessly being driven away by mining, tourism and other so-called development projects. In Zambales alone, more than 70 mining firms are now operating, with some preventing the Aetas from entering what used to be their land.