By ARNOLD PADILLA
No matter how oil firms deny the allegations that they are overcharging the consumers, the widespread public perception that oil companies are abusive and profit-hungry will remain. This will be the case as long as the oil industry is deregulated and oil companies are allowed to automatically increase their prices and at the same time not compelled to publicly divulge how they compute their price adjustments.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The murders of peasant activist Romulo Mendova and Father Cecilio Lucero, both of Eastern Visayas, have been blamed on the military’s Oplan Bantay Laya. In the case of Lucero, he had been publicly denounced by President Arroyo as “that communist priest,” according to the NDF. It is said that he was the first priest to have been murdered in Samar since Catholicism was introduced in the province 400 years ago.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The Manobos of Surigao del Sur may be back home for now, but they still face the threats of militarization – even as they also have to contend with the burden of rebuilding their ravaged homes, schools, and livelihoods. View slideshow
By RITCHE T. SALGADO
Public school teachers in Cebu not only have to contend with low pay and backbreaking work – they are forced to make do in their classrooms, in many instances spending their own money on their students’ needs. Worse, the Department of Education frowns upon these teachers’ efforts to organize themselves and improve their plight.
By MACARIO PACANA Bulatlat.com CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — After almost a month since his arrest, Alfredo Mapano finally broke his silence, saying he will face the eight criminal cases filed against him. In an interview, Mapano, allegedly a regular member of the central committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines, appeared healthy…
By MARYA SALAMAT
“It is the experience of every nation that wherever there is a concentration of American soldiers for a prolonged period of time, exploitation and abuse of the local people ensued,” said Emmi de Jesus, secretary-general of Gabriela, the women’s group.
MANILA — Apart from the threat of massive retrenchment, global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s buyout of rival Wyeth would also result in higher drug prices as the giant firm would further control the drug industry. This was the contention of Wyeth workers and the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), who recently held their seventh picket-protest at Wyeth’s…
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com MANILA — Twenty-three overseas Filipino workers who have been working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for only three to six months want to be repatriated after their employer based in Riyadh failed to give them the salary stipulated in their contract and because of the poor, unhealthy facility…
By IBON FOUNDATION Posted by (Bulatlat.com) Government’s skewed spending priorities can be seen in the proposed P1.54-trillion national budget for 2010, which further reveals how it gives importance to debt payments over spending for social services. The single item that eats up the bulk of the proposed P1.54-trillion national budget for 2010 is still debt…
By ALDWIN QUITASOL Northern Dispatch (Bulatlat.com) BAGUIO CITY (246 kms north of Manila) ? The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police(PNP and government officials are spreading misinformation that missing activist James Balao is alive and hiding in camps of the New People’s Army (NPA), said the Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF)…
By RONALYN V. OLEA
They are usually the first to respond to cases of extrajudicial killings, torture and enforced disappearances in the Philippines. In a country where impunity prevails, these human-rights defenders have not been spared from the same atrocities that they are trying to stop.