By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Days after Ondoy struck, the government declared that it would no longer allow these poor Filipinos to return to their shattered homes.
Relocation Solution Poses a Dilemma to Slum Dwellers Made Homeless by Ondoy
Category: Politics & Governance
Ondoy, Pepeng Underscore Need for ‘Pro-Active’ Disaster Management System
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
The Citizen’s Disaster Response Center urges the passage of the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Bill. But even without this law, trainings in disaster mitigation should be conducted down to the barangay level, it says.
Welcome to Bulatlat's group blog
Welcome to “On the Fringes,” the group blog of the staff of Bulatlat.com.
Here, the staff of one of Philippines’s most credible alternative online publications will blog about people’s issues that are rarely tackled in the mainstream press. This blog will complement Bulatlat’s reporting, featuring posts and stories that cannot be found in the main site.
We hope this blog would encourage dialogue between the staff and our readers.
Enjoy your visit.
Benjie Oliveros
Managing editor
Group Urges Watchful Eye on Regime’s Use of Calamity Funds
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat.com MANILA — The recent onslaughts of storms Ondoy and Pepeng in the Philippines have drawn attention not only to the general lack of disaster preparedness in the country but also to how the government’s so-called calamity funds have been spent in the last few years. The calamity fund, according to…
Benjie Oliveros | In Ondoy’s Aftermath, the Poor Still Bear the Brunt of Disaster
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Analysis Bulatlat.com MANILA — Storm Ondoy was said to be a “great equalizer.” It spared no one: the rich, the middle class, and the poor. Some rich people suffered losses in their businesses when their factories, warehouses, and luxury cars were submerged in water. A substantial number of people from subdivisions catering…
After Ondoy and Pepeng, Now Comes the Hard Part
By ARNOLD PADILLA
The challenge that policy makers now face is how to raise the needed resources to fund in a sustainable manner and without placing additional burden on Filipinos the requirements of relief and rehabilitation.
After Death of US Troops, Sulu Folk Fear Escalation of Conflict
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The recent deaths of two US soldiers in Sulu have also strengthened calls for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.
Sison Claims ‘Significant Victory’ Vs. US, Philippines
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The decision by a European court to remove Jose Maria Sison’s name from the EU’s terror list will remove restraints on his movement, allowing him, he said, to function properly as chief political consultant of the NDF. He said the delisting will have positive implications for the future of the negotiations.
Benjie Oliveros | With Death of US Troops in Jolo, Will the Philippines Be Another Vietnam?
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Analysis Bulatlat.com MANILA — Amid the depressing devastation caused by typhoon Ondoy, the frantic relief efforts, and the Arroyo government’s disappointing display of its inability to act swiftly and decisively to help save Filipinos in distress as well as mitigate the sufferings of those affected by the storm, the story about another…
Poor Are Worst Hit by Ondoy; Inept Leadership Makes Them Suffer Even More
By CARLOS H. CONDE
A disaster-prone country like the Philippines should by now be a nation of experts on calamities and how to deal with them. But, as Ondoy has shown, Filipinos are almost always caught unawares. And often, the high cost of these calamities are caused not so much by lack of knowledge or resources as by poor governance.
In Marikina, Ondoy Shatters a Myth
Residents were unprepared for a disaster of such scale in a town that had gained headway in reducing flooding and in sprucing itself up. But as some of them point out, everything in Marikina had been so good that they never thought it could be this bad. By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – Of all…