By Flon Faurillo / Bulatlat The Melo Commission, formed purportedly to probe the spate of extra-judicial killings under the Arroyo administration, takes pains to present itself as an independent body. Retired Supreme Court Justice Jose Melo, who heads the commission, has declared however that the body will not look into who the suspects are but…
Category: Salungguhit
Cleaning Up
By Flon Faurillo / Bulatlat Petron and the Sunshine Maritime Development Corporation are pointing fingers at each other on who should be accountable for the oil spill in Guimaras, even as both should be bearing responsibility – having entered into a contract. The government, for its part, is clueless on what to do to address…
Absurd Proportions
By Flon Faurillo / Bulatlat In Central Luzon, the mad rush for cedulas (community tax certificates) has reached such absurd proportions that people have been known to forego even activities considered more urgent in normal times. This is driven by the campaign of the military in the region, under the command of Maj. Gen. Jovito…
Paranoia
By Flon Faurillo / Bulatlat Bulatlat.com The widespread “terrorist” scare which came on the heels of the foiled terror plot reported by British authorities has reached ridiculous proportions – amounting to paranoia – in the Philippines. This is most evident in the new security measures presently being implemented at the Metro Rail System (MRT) in…
Denying Culpability
By Flon Faurillo Bulatlat.com Involuntary disappearances, one of the cruelest forms of human rights violations, are becoming a cause for concern under the Arroyo administration. Even the Supreme Court has taken up the issue, in a number of cases ordering the military to produce the victims. State forces, which are believed to be behind the…
Super Illusion
By Flon Faurillo Bulatlat.com President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have grand promises of bringing the country to the Enchanted Kingdom of economic development, creating “super-regions” and training “supermaids”, even as majority of the people are faced with joblessness, the rising cost of fuel and basic products, the utter lack if not absence of social services. Pres. Arroyo…
Denying the Obvious
By Flon Faurillo / Bulatlat Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and the top Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have denied the role of state forces in the killings of political activists, which have continually escalated under the Arroyo regime. Malacañang’s denials came even as the Task Force Usig of the Philippine National Police has yet…
Ticket to Hell
By Flon Faurillo / Bulatlat.com President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo likens charter change as a train that would take the nation to progress, and that those who support get a ticket to Paradise. But given her blueprint for charter change — no elections in 2007, the removal of the few nationalist provisions protecting the economy from the…
At the Sidelines
On the 20th anniversary of the EDSA I uprising which booted out the Marcos dictatorship, former Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile are all expected to be in a celebratory mood though they may not necessarily want to be seen side by side with each other considering that they now…
Public Health on the Brink of Death
The Philippine public health system is on the brink of death, with the government spending less than a peso for the health of every Filipino each day while up to 50 percent of the national budget is automatically earmarked as payment for onerous debts. Result: doctors, nurses and other health professionals, working for low wages…
Public Health on the Brink of Death
The Philippine public health system is on the brink of death, with the government spending less than a peso for the health of every Filipino each day while up to 50 percent of the national budget is automatically earmarked as payment for onerous debts. Result: doctors, nurses and other health professionals, working for low wages…