Amid snowballing calls for the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Malacañang through one of its spokespersons has argued that the said pact cannot be abrogated since doing so would affect the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the Philippines and the US. But lawyer Neri Javier Colmenares, secretary-general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), disagrees.
Category: Top Stories
Amid Crisis: Workers to Launch Association vs Retrenchments, Contractualization; Push Wage Fight
In the midst of the global financial crisis and the resulting job losses in the Philippines, a new labor group is expected to be launched before this month ends. At the same time, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement) has declared that it will continue to push for a P125 across-the-board, nationwide wage increase.
Consumers Unite for Affordable Medicines, Say Too Many Loopholes Plague Law
A multisectoral consumers’ group was recently formed to assert the people’s access to safe, affordable, quality, and effective medicines. Its first move was to criticize the loopholes in the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 or RA 9502.
World Crisis Serious, Impact on the Philippines, Severe – Economist
“The seriousness of this crisis is such that we cannot expect any solution within the system and certainly not from the US administration, certainly not from the G-20 because within that group, except for a couple of exceptions, is the dominant Washington consensus of the neoliberal agenda, ” said Michel Chossudovsky, a progressive economist and academician.
“In the Philippines, this crisis will be extremely severe because it is imposed upon an existing situation…of dependency, lack of sovereignty, crisis of the real economy, and poverty of the large majority of the population.”
Financial Aid not Skills Trainings Needed by Retrenched Workers, OFWs – KMU
For Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU or May 1st Movement) executive vice chairman Lito Ustarez, free skills training programs for workers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may seem helpful, but are not what the country needs to enable those who are losing their jobs to cope with the global financial crisis.
Stimulus Package Mere Recycling, Misleading – Solons
Members of the House Committee on Economic Affairs grilled National Economic Development Agency (NEDA) Director General Ralph Recto over the P330-billion economic stimulus package at a hearing, February 4. The stimulus package, which is much touted by the Arroyo administration, turned out to be a mere repackaging of old programs. Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño called it a “simulation package”.
Struggling Through Difficult Times
With the US dominating the world economy, the effects of this crunch have spread to other countries including the Philippines – affecting multitudes of workers who are now struggling to simply live through the difficult times.
LPG Supply Still Tight, Gov’t Clueless
Local supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) remains tight. Even retailers complain of the lack of supply. The Arroyo government could not explain why nor would it do anything about it because of the deregulation of the downstream oil industry.
Revival of Bataan Nuclear Power Plant a Source of Corruption?
Militant organizations in Central Luzon, Catholic Bishops, environmental groups, and scientists are one in saying that the planned revival of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is costly and unsafe.
22 Years After Mendiola Massacre: Farmers Still Fighting for Genuine Agrarian Reform
Twenty-two years after the Mendiola Massacre that resulted in the death of 13 farmers, Filipino farmers are still fighting for a genuine agrarian reform program.
Probe of LPG ‘Shortage’ Should Start with ‘Big Four’ Firms
A supposed shortage in the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), one of the prime commodities in the Philippines, has sent some quarters pushing for an investigation into the issue. The question, however, is the context within which the probe is to be carried out, as one critic has argued.