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In Surigao and Caraga Region, a Brutal Push for Investments

In Surigao and Caraga Region, a Brutal Push for Investments

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Far from a counter-insurgency operation, the massive militarization and dislocation of communities in Surigao del Sur and the Caraga region had more to do with protecting business interests, primarily mining and energy investments. Although there is nothing particularly new in all this, the Arroyo regime had actually taken the extra step to ensure that the military would act as veritable security guards of these companies.

Victims of Martial Law See in Arroyo a Tyrant Worse Than Marcos

Victims of Martial Law See in Arroyo a Tyrant Worse Than Marcos

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
On the 37th anniversary of the declaration of martial law, activists and victims of the brutality of military rule drew parallels between the Marcos dictatorship and the Arroyo regime. “The bad dream known as martial law has become an absolute nightmare under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo!” one of them said. View slideshow

Bishop, Nuns View Recent Killing of Priest, Others as Worse Than During Martial Law

Bishop, Nuns View Recent Killing of Priest, Others as Worse Than During Martial Law

By RONALYN V. OLEA
The murder earlier this month of a Catholic priest, Father Cecilio Lucero, has enraged leaders of the Catholic Church. “I can not stomach what Malacañang is doing,” said recently retired Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz of the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. “It seems they do not fear God.”

Bogus Safe Passes, Legal Maneuvers: ‘Militarists’ in Arroyo Regime Hold Sway

Bogus Safe Passes, Legal Maneuvers: ‘Militarists’ in Arroyo Regime Hold Sway

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The issuance of questionable safe-conduct passes is just one of the many complicated ways in which the Philippine government has been handling what were supposed to be preparations for the resumption of its formal talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. It underscores what the NDFP deems to be an utter lack of sincerity of the Arroyo regime to pursue the peace process.

High Hopes for ILO’s 1st High-Level Mission to the Philippines

High Hopes for ILO’s 1st High-Level Mission to the Philippines

By MARYA SALAMAT
Since 2001 when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency, the trade union movement, like other peoples movement in the Philippines, has been experiencing violations of their rights as humans and as workers in a level never before seen in our country’s post-Martial Law politics, the Kilusang Mayo Uno said. The group welcomes the first International Labor Organization-High-Level Mission to the Philippines this month.

Mother Braves Uncertainty to Find Abducted Son

Mother Braves Uncertainty to Find Abducted Son

By ZOFIA LEAL
Another mother has gone to a place she had never been to find her missing son. Wilma Rodriguez has just started her long journey. Nagtatapang-tapangan lang ako. Hindi talaga ako matapang. Pero kapag hindi ka lumaban, hindi rin titigil ang mga yan,” (I just try to be a fighter. I am not really a fighter. Because if you don’t fight, they would not stop.) she said.

Chiong Mom Decries Transfer of Daughters’ Rapist to Spain, Slams Arroyo for ‘Injustice’

Chiong Mom Decries Transfer of Daughters’ Rapist to Spain, Slams Arroyo for ‘Injustice’

By RITCHE T. SALGADO
For more than a decade now, Thelma Chiong has always made it a point to visit her daughters on their birthdays. This year, however, the visit was extraordinarily painful because a few days earlier, Mrs. Chiong had received word that one of her daughters’ rapists and murderers was going to be repatriated to Spain, a free man for all intents and purposes.

What’s a Notorious US Military Contractor Doing Inside the AFP’s Camp in Zamboanga?

What’s a Notorious US Military Contractor Doing Inside the AFP’s Camp in Zamboanga?

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO DynCorp International, a US military contractor notorious for its mercenary work for Washington and which was the subject of numerous complaints for abuses in other countries, has been fencing off the Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga for US troops. “How can a private, foreign corporation control a specific portion of a Philippine military camp?” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares wants to know.

For the Philippines’s Tribal Folk, a Constant War Against ‘Development Aggression’

For the Philippines’s Tribal Folk, a Constant War Against ‘Development Aggression’

By RONALYN V. OLEA
While the right of indigenous peoples to their ancestral land is recognized by international agreements and conventions, indigenous peoples in the Philippines are relentlessly being driven away by mining, tourism and other so-called development projects. In Zambales alone, more than 70 mining firms are now operating, with some preventing the Aetas from entering what used to be their land.

What’s in a Name? For Noynoy, a Shot at Presidency — and a Challenge to Do Better

What’s in a Name? For Noynoy, a Shot at Presidency — and a Challenge to Do Better

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
If Noynoy Aquino wins the presidency because he capitalized on the popularity and legacy of his mother, it should not surprise him that some people will put on his doorsteps the failures of the Cory administration not only to remind him of what she failed to do but to underscore what needs to be done. He can start with Hacienda Luisita.

Amid Overpricing by Oil Firms, Repeal of Deregulation Law Now a Must

Amid Overpricing by Oil Firms, Repeal of Deregulation Law Now a Must

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.

Priest Who Advocated Human Rights, Peasant Activist Murdered in Eastern Visayas

Priest Who Advocated Human Rights, Peasant Activist Murdered in Eastern Visayas

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.

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