DOJ drops charges against political prisoner Ericson Acosta

By RONALYN V. OLEA
“After more than one year, it has been proven that the charges, which caused my detention for almost two years, were baseless.” – Ericson Acosta
ADVERTISEMENT

By RONALYN V. OLEA
“After more than one year, it has been proven that the charges, which caused my detention for almost two years, were baseless.” – Ericson Acosta

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Exhibiting total disregard for the needs of typhoon victims and a strong bias against the poor, the Philippine National Police in Compostela Valley filed cases against eight leaders of typhoon victims who staged a protest action against the lack of distribution of relief goods in their area and to demand for a stop to large-scale mining and illegal logging activities.

By MARYA SALAMAT
“What enriches oil companies greatly impoverishes Filipino consumers, especially public utility drivers.” – PISTON Partylist

By RONALYN V. OLEA
In questioning the solicitor general, the magistrates picked apart Sections 4(c)(4), 6, 7, 12 and 19, of the law.

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
“The transformation of the service orientation of public hospitals into a profit-driven venture and the shift of health care from the state to private entities is clearly privatization.” – Network Opposed to Privatization
Read also: ‘Philippines not for sale,’ group tells Noy as PPP bidding begins

By MARYA SALAMAT
President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III pledged to install a transparent government, the opposite of scandal-ridden administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. But a global survey on budget transparency gives his administration a lower if not the same score as during Arroyo's.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
‘More than the monetary compensation, the bill represents the only formal, written document that acknowledges that martial law violated the human rights of Filipinos and that there were courageous people who fought the dictatorship.’ Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Agrarian reform has not yet been achieved, no matter how Aquino seeks to create the illusion that his administration has finished implementing it.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
"It’s no longer Freedom of Information but Freedom of Exemption." – Raymond Palatino, Kabataan Partylist

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
“We ask the Aquino government to issue a diplomatic statement condemning the acts of Algerian forces. Aquino should demand the Algerian government’s accountability to all victims of hostage-taking in Algeria, including our kababayans (fellow Filipinos).” Connie Bragas-Regalado, Migrante Partylist

By MARYA SALAMAT
“Like what we did with the Chinese poachers who entered the Tubbataha Reef area, the USS Guardian officials and crew should be arrested and apprehended. The Philippine government should be the one doing the direct investigation and take custody of the violators.” -- Kalikasan PNE
Read also: Whitewash, greater damage to reef, marine life feared for Tubbataha

By MARYA SALAMAT
According to the Tubbataha management office, it is highly probable that the ship has damaged large portions of the heritage sites’ coral reefs, thus violating pertinent Philippine laws, including Republic Act 10067 or the Tubbataha Reefs National Park Act of 2009.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
The appointment of Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista as the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is not unexpected, said human rights lawyers, because it followed the promotion and appointment of other military officials who were linked to rights violations.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
The battle against the Cybercrime law before the Supreme Court began with the petitioners citing the unconstitutionality and dangers of the law.
Read also: Netizens, activists call for junking of cybercrime law

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
A class action suit filed by over 70 Filipino workers was initiated, even prior to the explosion, against the Grand Isle Shipyard for discrimination, labor trafficking, slavery and forced servitude, and fraud.

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Those arrested were charged with cases in relation to New People’s Army ambuscades, which occurred in areas where they have never even set foot on. Is this part of another crackdown on political activists, this time by the Aquino administration?

By RONALYN V. OLEA
As both petitioners and the Office of the Solicitor General prepare for the Supreme Court hearings on the Cybercrime Prevention Act, netizens and various groups began their protest actions once more to make sure that their voices are heard.

By MARYA SALAMAT
“No driver in his or her right mind would turn down a new vehicle unit if it were affordable. But the government has no program to help them avail of vehicles that would pass the government’s supposed environmental requirements.” – George San Mateo, Piston Party-list
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“The super body’s definition [of extrajudicial killings] is strained and will blur and smokescreen extrajudicial killings, skirt impunity issues and even make scapegoats with the body’s distractive and confused ostensible functions.” – National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers

By BULATLAT STAFF
Every year Bulatlat.com comes out with an analysis of the impact of the administration on the issues and concerns that affect the Filipino people. This year ender has added importance as we are approaching the midpoint of the Aquino presidency – which campaigned under the banner of change – and its policy directions have already taken shape.
Gains, sins of omission and commission of the Aquino presidency
State of press freedom: Attacks and threats in 2012
Now you see them, now you don’t, but G.I. Joes are here to stay, no thanks to the Aquino government
The costs of the Aquino government’s K to 12 program
On Aquino’s mid-term, tillers in Luisita, elsewhere still landless
Aquino administration’s human rights policy: Big in words, too little in action
Aquino’s favorite whipping boys in 2012, government employees
Bleeding the supposed ‘bosses,’ the working masses, dry
In 2012, urban poor jailed, killed for fighting for homes
Elite governance, elite economics: When vaunted growth clashes with reality
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.