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.
Category: Other Stories
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.
What’s in a Name? For Noynoy, a Shot at Presidency — and a Challenge to Do Better
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
If Noynoy Aquino wins the presidency because he capitalized on the popularity and legacy of his mother, it should not surprise him that some people will put on his doorsteps the failures of the Cory administration not only to remind him of what she failed to do but to underscore what needs to be done. He can start with Hacienda Luisita.
Trouble in Paradise for 300 Filipino Workers in the Maldives
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The OFWs have not been paid their salary in the last five months. To survive, they collect rain water to drink and, for their meals, catch fish from the beautiful sea water of the Maldives. Back home, their families are starving while the Department of Foreign Affairs dilly-dallies.
Groups, Clergy Condemn Murder of Samar Priest, Peasant Activist
“Most martyrs of the Church who actively denounced the abuses of government officials and military forces received series of death threats and were tagged as communists or NPA supporters by military,” said Nardy Sabino, secretary-general of the Promotion of Church People’s Response.
Chavit Beating: Arroyo Denounced for Looking the Other Way
By MARYA SALAMAT
As Rachel Tiongson battles the powerful Chavit Singson, women leaders are castigating the Arroyo regime for shirking its responsibilities to uphold the law. They urge the president to “severely sanction” Singson for brutally beating up – at one point by using a tiger whip – the mother of his five children.