Aside from the controversial US$330 million ZTE broadband deal, other Chinese loans to the Philippines are similarly marred by corruption and onerous loan agreements. BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 34, September 30-October 6, 2007 Aside from the controversial US$330 million ZTE broadband deal, other Chinese loans to the Philippines are similarly…
Category: Other Stories
Mall Formation
The mall has become some sort of refuge: inside the mall, the surroundings are brightly lit giving the impression that the sun is shining the whole day; it is clean, there are no garbage littering the streets; it is cool; there are trees; the toilet flushes; the service is good; and there are no crimes…
Edjop, Lean Remembered
Two men who lived in different times and who died in the hands of state agents under fascist regimes were remembered and honored Sept. 20 at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani. BY EMILY VITAL Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 33, September 23-29, 2007 Two men who lived in different times and who died in the hands…
Farmers May Lose Control of 1.2 Million Farmlands under RP-China Deals
Farmers may lose control of over a million hectares of farmland under four agreements on agriculture that the Philippines signed with China last January, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation. BY IBON FOUNDATION Posted by Bulatlat Vol.VII, No. 33, September 23-29, 2007 Farmers may lose control of over a million hectares of farmland under four…
Checking Up on Philippine General Hospital’s Rates Increase
More than the hospital administration’s apparent lack of political will, the rates increase only abets the growing neglect of social services by the national government, to the detriment of disadvantaged Filipinos. BY LARISSA MAE R. SUAREZ Philippine Collegian Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 33, September 23-29, 2007 Rosa (not her real name) emerges from…
Fewer Public School Grads Pass UPCAT, Qualify for Diliman
The UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) this year drew more applicants from both public and private high schools than last year, but fewer public school graduates actually passed the UPCAT. BY VICTOR GREGOR LIMON Philippine Collegian Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 33, September 23-29, 2007 The UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) this year drew…
GMA’s Peace is ‘Peace of the Graveyard’ – Jalandoni
What does NDFP chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison’s arrest imply for the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations? Are localized peace talks really possible? Bulatlat interviewed Luis Jalandoni, chairman of the NDFP Negotiating Panel, on these. BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 30, September 2-8, 2007 As Luis Jalandoni – chief negotiator of the National…
Gov’t Selling Protected Seas to TNCs – Environmental Groups
In line with its thrust of attracting foreign investments, the Arroyo government is now opening up the country’s protected seas to oil and gas exploration by transnational corporations. BY GERRY ALBERT CORPUZ Bulatlat Vol. VII, No.29, August 26 – September 1, 2007 CEBU CITY- “The country’s protected seas are up for grabs to the highest…
Philex’s Operations Illegal, Gov’t Lawyer Says
BY ACE ALEGRE Contributed to Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 29, August 26-September 1, 2007 TUBA, Benguet – Philex’s open-pit mines in a 98-hectare gold-rich area in Barangay (village) Camp 3 here are being operated illegally, a government lawyer has disclosed. Although the gold and copper mining firm obtained a special mines permit earlier this year…
Marcos and Arroyo: Hounded by Rights Abuses
An increase in U.S. military assistance results in a corresponding increase in the number of human rights violations. During the Marcos dictatorship, the unprecedented amount of military assistance given to the government went to the persecution of people and mounting human rights violations. This is what is happening also under Arroyo. BY DR. RAINER WERNING…
Court Junks Slay Raps vs Cebu Activists
A regional trial court in Cebu dismissed for “utter lack of probable cause” trumped-up charges filed by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) and the Philippine Army’s 78th Infantry Battalion against 27 activists and four other individuals. BY KAREN PAPELLERO Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 29, August 26-September 1, 2007 CEBU…