Category: Top Stories

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
“Laws of the land proclaim equality for men and women, but when it comes down to the specifics — when it comes down to equal treatment for LGBTs — the laws are severely lacking.” — Oscar Atadero, regional director of the International Association of Pride Organizers (Inter-Pride)

Sidebar: Bayan Muna’s Proposed LGBT Bill

By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Brillantes cannot just hold another fully automated elections even without banishing “the ghosts and weaknesses” of previous elections, particularly that of the 2010 automated elections. “He must come up with a comprehensive report at the soonest time possible, lest he be accused of merely sweeping under the rug all those cases of poll irregularities,” said We Watch, a watchdog.

By MACEL INGLES
and RONALYN V. OLEA

In a major breakthrough, Manila and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines agreed to resume the formal negotiations in February and a possible ceasefire the same month. The government panel also agreed to release several political prisoners, even as it acknowledges that the NDFP, contrary to what the US government and the Philippine military have been saying, “is not a terrorist organization.”

Reporter’s Notebook: Covering the Peace Talks in Oslo

By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Kentz, a major contractor that operates one of the world’s biggest nickel-cobalt refineries in the world, is accused of mistreating its Filipino workers, one of whom the company allegedly kidnapped to prevent the other abused workers from protesting.