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Arroyo’s Charter-Change Gambit: Longer Rule, Assured Immunity, Divided Public

Analysts say the Arroyo regime is exploiting a disorganized political opposition and an apathetic (or deceived, if not coerced) public to ram through charter change so Arroyo can remain in power -- either as prime minister or House speaker -- and possibly protect herself from legal suits in the future. The key to confronting this gambit, they point out, is to transform the people’s discontent and disgust into real political action.

Ronalyn V. Olea | Jun 23, 2009

Philippines Still Asia’s Most Dangerous Country for Workers, Also No. 3 in the World

A recent survey finds that the Philippines remains on top of the list of most dangerous countries for workers for several years now. Labor groups say the ILO’s decision to conduct a fact-finding mission here highlights the worsening abuses against labor-rights activists.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 22, 2009

Only 15, Student Confronts Military-Backed Political Repression in Quezon City School

Pressured by the military, officials of a high school in Quezon City rejected the enrollment of a student activist. She could only enroll at the school, they told her, if she signed a waiver that would prohibit her from participating in protest actions and rallies. Aghast and angry, the student decided to fight back.

Janess Ann J. Ellao | Jun 20, 2009

Another OFW Faces Execution in Kuwait

Jakatia Pawa of Zamboanga Sibugay was convicted of killing her employer’s daughter; a Kuwaiti court has upheld the verdict. Migrante International denounces the Arroyo regime for not doing enough to save OFWs on death row in other countries.

Janess Ann J. Ellao | Jun 20, 2009

After Paltry Wage Increase, State Workers to Campaign for More

The recently signed Salary Standardization Law 3 (SSL3) sets new salary rates for state workers. It’s a welcome respite amid the economic crisis, as well as an initial victory of the campaign for better wages. But government workers say SSL3, apart from giving really small increases, still has numerous anti-worker provisions. It is crying out for improvement.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 20, 2009

A Familiar Disaster: In Benguet Town, the Ground Shakes and Houses Disappear

The sinking of portions of Mankayan town, in which at least five houses were destroyed, occurred despite warning signs. And many residents point to the decades-old mining in the area as the culprit in the disaster.

Northern Dispatch | Jun 20, 2009

In Triumph’s Underwear Shops in the Philippines, a Fear of Massive Job Layoffs

Triumph, one of the world’s largest underwear makers, has been re-exporting its raw materials from the Philippines to other countries where labor cost is lower. Its workers are understandably worried. Worse, they have reason to believe that the company may end up becoming a runaway shop.

Marya Salamat | Jun 19, 2009

‘Improved’ Employment Driven by Survival Instincts, Not Arroyo’s Programs

Aside from statistically concealing millions of jobless workers through the use of a flawed methodology, the Arroyo regime makes the deception worse by claiming that the job situation, because of government policies and programs, has improved despite the global crisis.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 18, 2009

CHR to Military: Explain Continued Use of ‘Orders of Battle’

In forum, CHR officials and journalists from the NUJP bewail the use by the military of OBs. CHR chairperson Leila de Lima says the AFP claimed to have stopped using OBs but replaced these with “watch lists” – and military officials could not explain to her the difference.

Ronalyn V. Olea | Jun 18, 2009

Why CARPER Is Worse Than CARP

Among other provisions, the CARPER bill mandates that private agricultural lands – the type that the Arroyos and the Cojuangcos own – can only be distributed if the original CARP managed to distribute 90 percent of its target. But CARP, despite the two decades it had, only distributed less than half of it. It’s an impossible provision that only underscores what progressive farmers have been saying all along – that CARPER is bogus.

Ronalyn V. Olea | Jun 14, 2009

Dismantling of IALAG, Arroyo’s Shadowy Agency, ‘Just for Show’

Unless the Arroyo regime released all the individuals it has thrown to jail for politically motivated and fabricated charges, the abolition last month of the agency behind these cases will amount to nothing but a publicity stunt, according to lawyers and human-rights advocates.

Ronalyn V. Olea | Jun 13, 2009

Jeepney Drivers as Milking Cows of ‘Crocodiles’ in Arroyo Administration

Steep increases in fines and penalties, imposed by the Arroyo regime to make up for its chronic revenue shortfalls, are hitting jeepney drivers particularly hard. As if that were not enough, buwayas (crododiles) masquerading as traffic enforcers in colorful uniforms lurk in the streets, waiting to pounce on them at every turn.

Marya Salamat | Jun 13, 2009

A Peasant Leader’s Murder Shatters the ‘Peace’ in Dumaguete

Fermin Lorico was a peasant organizer and a mass leader. He had been a marked man. On Wednesday, minutes after attending the anti-charter change rally in Dumaguete City, a gunman shot him several times – the latest in a series of extrajudicial killings of progressive leaders in Negros Oriental.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 11, 2009

A People Angered by a Shameless, Deceitful Regime

Related Story: Threat of Flu No Match to Protesters' Outrage

More than a show of force, the protests across the Philippines on Wednesday were an expression of outrage, a manifestation of a people’s growing revulsion toward a regime that has become the most despised since the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Alexander Martin Remollino | Jun 11, 2009

It’s Battle of Good Vs Evil, Church Leaders Say of Fight Against Arroyo’s Cha-cha

Several religious leaders have vowed to never abandon the Filipino people in their struggle to defeat the regime’s attempt to change the Constitution. Arroyo, they say, “has surpassed the brutality and evilness of martial law.”

Janess Ann J. Ellao | Jun 9, 2009

All Set for Wednesday’s Anti-Arroyo Protests Across the Philippines

Groups across the Philippines are gearing up for what they promised to be one of the biggest nationwide protests against the Arroyo administration and its efforts to amend the Constitution.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 9, 2009

Poor and Sick Filipinos Pay Dearly for Failure of Cheaper-Medicines Law

A law passed last year to bring down the prices of drugs and medicines has not delivered on its promise, according to consumer and health advocates. It failed to break the stranglehold of huge transnational drug companies on the Philippine market. It also squandered an opportunity to develop the local pharmaceutical industry.

Marya Salamat | Jun 7, 2009

Spinning Good News from Bad Economic Data

All these hard sell about a strong economy – despite undeniable data that the Philippines is on the verge of a recession -- would be further exposed and discredited as the global crunch and the country’s own perennial crisis deteriorate. For Arroyo, the political costs can be huge.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 6, 2009

Another Shameful Arroyo Legacy: Highest Dropout Rates in Years

The regime of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will go down in history as among the worst in terms of providing education. While dropout rates are common in other presidencies, it was only under Arroyo that the dropout rates for elementary and high school surpassed 10 and 15 percent respectively.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 6, 2009

Int’l Group Alarmed by Philippines’s Failure to Stop Killings of Lawyers, Judges

Despite public statements from Arroyo denouncing extrajudicial killings, there is a gap between her rhetoric and what it has done to address the killings, said the group from the Netherlands and Belgium called Lawyers for Lawyers. Whatever initiatives she has implemented have failed to produce actual results, it said.

Bulatlat Staff | Jun 6, 2009

Close

Arroyo’s Charter-Change Gambit: Longer Rule, Assured Immunity, Divided Public

Philippines Still Asia’s Most Dangerous Country for Workers, Also No. 3 in the World

Only 15, Student Confronts Military-Backed Political Repression in Quezon City School

Another OFW Faces Execution in Kuwait

After Paltry Wage Increase, State Workers to Campaign for More

A Familiar Disaster: In Benguet Town, the Ground Shakes and Houses Disappear

In Triumph’s Underwear Shops in the Philippines, a Fear of Massive Job Layoffs

‘Improved’ Employment Driven by Survival Instincts, Not Arroyo’s Programs

CHR to Military: Explain Continued Use of ‘Orders of Battle’

Why CARPER Is Worse Than CARP

Dismantling of IALAG, Arroyo’s Shadowy Agency, ‘Just for Show’

Jeepney Drivers as Milking Cows of ‘Crocodiles’ in Arroyo Administration

A Peasant Leader’s Murder Shatters the ‘Peace’ in Dumaguete

A People Angered by a Shameless, Deceitful Regime

It’s Battle of Good Vs Evil, Church Leaders Say of Fight Against Arroyo’s Cha-cha

All Set for Wednesday’s Anti-Arroyo Protests Across the Philippines

Poor and Sick Filipinos Pay Dearly for Failure of Cheaper-Medicines Law

Spinning Good News from Bad Economic Data

Another Shameful Arroyo Legacy: Highest Dropout Rates in Years

Int’l Group Alarmed by Philippines’s Failure to Stop Killings of Lawyers, Judges

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