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The living conditions of the Lumad in the evacuation center make them, especially the infants and children, vulnerable to illnesses resulting from lack of food, water and facilities for sanitation. "Their daily lives, work and schools have sadly become “collateral damage to the Arroyo’s counterinsurgency campaign," says Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan.
“The GRP is condemnable for refusing to release any detained NDFP consultant in accordance with JASIG and for maliciously limiting the liberty of Randall Echanis to six months and making him a hostaged consultant,” Jose Maria Sison, NDF chief political consultant said in a statement sent to the media on Aug. 22. “It is also condemnable for issuing sham safe conduct passes that in fact incriminate and condemn Vicente Ladlad and Rafael Baylosis and that practically serve as their death warrant.”
The environment department blamed heavy rains for the massive erosion of soil and garbage at the dumpsite in Rodriguez town, Rizal, last month. But environmentalists and scientists are not buying the explanation and have warned of future disasters.
In the afternoon of Aug. 14, the Saudi police raided the safehouse of the migrant NGO Kapatiran sa Gitnang Silangan and arrested and detained 18 Filipinos, including several runaway OFWs. Their crime? They violated a Saudi law that forbids unrelated men and women from living together.
Special Report | First of Three Parts A non-formal school in Surigao del Sur has shown how education serves as a tool to unite and develop Lumad communities. Now, amid the evacuation by Manobo villages triggered by the presence of soldiers, the school is being targeted by the military, claiming that it is an “NPA school.”
The Philippine military, through its attack dogs Pastor Alcover and Jovito Palparan, are trying to discredit the Commission on Human Rights and its chairperson, Leila de Lima. Human-rights groups are understandably concerned. “Now that the CHR chairperson insists on the mandate of the commission, they consider her as an enemy,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez of Karapatan said. “That is the most dangerous mindset.”
Malacañang officials claimed they merely had “a simple dinner” in Le Cirque, but Nanay Evelyn Monicario cannot imagine what a lavish dinner for Arroyo and her cohorts would be, considering that she herself considers sardines a lavish meal these days.
Even if seriously implemented, the Cheaper Medicines Law would still fail to bring down the prices of medicines because it did not break “the monopoly control of transnational corporations on all aspects” of the drug industry. This monopoly is the main reason why drug prices in the Philippines are among the highest in Asia.
The National Democratic Front accuses the Arroyo government of showing bad faith by not complying with an agreement that provides immunity guarantees to members of the NDF’s panel.
Dukot's fearlessness emanates from its depiction of the truth about the worsening human-rights situation in the Philippines today. As Bonifacio Ilagan, the scriptwriter, put it: “It minces no words in pointing out the real perpetrators” of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
Freedom from torture is a non-derogable right, meaning that states cannot violate this right under any circumstances, even in a state of emergency or martial law. By insisting that Melissa Roxas is a communist guerrilla, the Arroyo regime not only practically admits that it tortured her -- it seeks to justify the atrocity, thus violating the very international instruments that it had earlier agreed on.
In her recent State of the Nation Address, President Arroyo claimed to have created eight million jobs, or an average of a million jobs per year in the past eight years. But where exactly did this figure come from? A closer look at the government’s own data yields a statistical distortion.
Though there had been some controversy in past conferments of the National Artist Award, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's blatant political accommodation this year tainted the much-revered cultural institution, according to dissenting artists. View slideshow of protest
While Cory Aquino restored democratic institutions and became a symbol of integrity in governance, her regime remained beholden, if not hostaged, by the military and Washington. This resulted in massive human-rights abuses that were even worse in terms of number of victims than those committed so far under the Arroyo regime.
The Left’s engagement with Cory had been both pleasant and acrimonious at certain stages. While they linked arms with her on a number of causes, there were also issues on which leftists found themselves at odds with the late president.
Behind the massive outpouring of mourners for Cory Aquino and the reliving of People Power is the fervent desire among Filipinos to have “that good feeling again.”
Cory Aquino has secured her place in history as a fighter of tyranny. If Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not learn from the life and struggles of Cory Aquino, she will be relegated to the dustbins of history.
At the wake of former president Corazon Aquino, Filipinos mourn the demise of a “uniting force.” They also warn Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to do good and redeem herself.
Even as they did not always see eye to eye with her politically, several progressive groups and party-list representatives have paid tribute to former President Corazon Aquino. They recognize her role in the people’s struggles against tyranny, corruption, and greed for power.
The failures of her presidency notwithstanding, Cory Aquino will be remembered for helping restore democracy in the Philippines and dismantle the vestiges of the Marcos dictatorship. When the Arroyo regime increasingly became corrupt and autocratic, she again rose to the challenge. Cory fought tyranny to the very end.
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