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COMMENTARY

AT GROUND LEVEL

SATUR OCAMPO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SC defends judiciary from online abuse

“By merely having access to social media, private individuals could publish their thoughts without need of self-policing or adhering to the ethical standard required of the press. As a result, content could be created and shared with abandon, purely for clout for ‘likes’ and even disregard for the truth.”

Military hubris at play in envi activists’ case

To recall, the two activists, Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro, both in their early 20s, were kidnapped and held in secret custody for 17 days in September last year. Presented at a press conference purportedly to announce that they had surrendered, the two instead accused the military of abducting them. Taken by surprise, the authorities were shocked into releasing them pronto.

BALIK-TANAW

PROMOTION OF CHURCH PEOPLE’S RESPONSE

Balik-Tanaw | Humility, courage and hope

The Baptism of the Lord is more than a thing to remember or a period in Jesus’ life – it is a powerful reminder to reflect on how His baptism shapes our very being. It invites us to examine our purpose as the baptized. It is challenging us to step beyond comfort , and embody a solidarity that responds to the cries of a world yearning for justice, peace, and hope.

Balik-Tanaw | A reflection on Epiphany, and what it may mean for our times

When the album Folklore was released on July 2020, it was just months after Covid 19 affected the entire world.  Taylor Swift isolated herself in those days, but aloneness proved to be fertile ground for a revelation.  One song stood out among those included in the album.  In this poetic, lyrical piece, Swift “empathizes with doctors and nurses, who served the affected despite their harrowing work, and mental trauma they have to experience while handling the loss of human lives.”  

Balik-Tanaw | No one knows when, but the signs of time

Our Gospel reading this first Sunday of Advent is intriguing. How can we connect this to our preparation for the Messiah’s birthday on Christmas, and to our preparations for the second coming–the End of Days, as some people believe it will be?

BALIKSAYSAY

FRANCIS GEALOGO

Lindol

Mahalaga ring tingnan na ang kalimitang nagiging biktima ng lindol ang mga sektor na bulnerable at walang kakanyahang makaaagapay sa dagdag na pahirap na idudulot ng kalamidad. Kung ang isang maralita, naulila, walang trabaho, at walang tirahan ang mabiktima ng lindol, higit na magiging trahedya ito sa kanya at maaaring magdulot ng higit na kahirapan na magdadala sa kanya sa kalagayang hindi na makakaahon. Dito dapat papasok ang institusyonal na suporta sa mga nasalanta.

Latin Amerika at Pilipinas, sa pagitan ng mga rebolusyon

Hindi kataka-taka na maraming bansa sa Asya, Latina Amerika at Africa ang tumitingin sa Cuba bilang modelo ng pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng kanilang mamamayan. Ang mga naganap sa Chile sa panahon ni Allende, sa Venezuela mula sa panahon ni Chavez, sa Nicaragua sa ilalim ng mga Sandinista - ang naglagay sa rehiyon sa pagpapatuloy ng diwa ng pagpapalaya sa sarili na nagdulot naman ng reaksyon ng mga konserbatibong pwersa.

BLOODRUSH

SARAH RAYMUNDO

Woke up, and it’s September

What do we do with this history? What must we do with our very own politicians - - Duterte and a consolidated Philippine senate and congress who have only looted us, shown us obscene disrespect, and barbarism? Their actions are akin to US-backed local operatives deployed to exact the most severe violence among the people-- mass murder, corruption, hunger, and repression.

Anti-imperialist light bulb in dark times

Without undergoing a revolutionary process, governments in neo-colonies like the Philippines cannot plan. This government will always have to wait for imperialist dictates through neoliberal structural adjustment of the economy and culture. This government has no sense of nation because to think of nation and national sovereignty is to be up against imperialism, which has been the source of political and economic power by rich and corrupt Filipino politicians.

Academic freedom through Edel Garcellano’s criticism, (re)reading, and partisanship*

Neoliberal ideology marks the class struggle as a thing of the past. We are in the era of post-politics, as it were. No more class struggle, no more revolution, there is nothing to redistribute at a time when productivity is at its highest in the whole history of capitalism. Yet class struggle is raging in the peripheries and semi-colonies. That people are massively incarcerated, abused, brutalized by the police, rendered homeless with no access to health care and proper nutrition is also a sign of class struggle, especially considering how Occupy America’s one percent thrives precisely because of all that human misery.

FIRST PERSON

BULATLAT CONTRIBUTORS

FIRST PERSON | ‘Lumad students are not child warriors’

"It was indeed very enriching for me to be given the opportunity to teach the Lumad Junior and Senior High-School students. Likewise, it was very heart-wrenching as I had learned many things from them especially in their narratives of struggles to uphold ownership of their ancestral lands and their way of life as well as their fight for self-determination and liberation from the shackles of their oppressors."

KALIBUTAN

KALIKASAN-PEOPLE’S NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

KONTEKSTO

DANILO ARAO

Konteksto | Bakasyon

Napakasaya nila, hindi ba? Pero may hangganan ang kasamaan dahil mananaig pa rin ang katarungan. Makukulong ang mga dapat makulong. Mananagot ang mga dapat managot.

Konteksto | Baha

Sadyang walang maniniwala sa anumang palusot habang nagbabasa, nanonood o nakikinig ng balita mula sa bubong ng bahay at naghihintay na iligtas sa matinding pagbaha. Normal ang pagsuspetsahang kinurakot ang kaban ng bayan kung halatang tumataba ang bulsa ng mga nasa kapangyarihan.

Konteksto | Imburnal

Sa bawat pabirong post na kailangan nang maghanap ng imburnal para magkapera, nalalantad ang karumal-dumal na sitwasyon ng mahihirap na napagkakaitan ng batayang serbisyo tulad ng libreng pabahay.

OPINION

BULATLAT EDITORS

Tinig Migrante | Not all migrant workers

For many Filipino migrant workers abroad, advancements in technology have been able to provide comfort as they navigate the long and painful separation from their children, spouses, and parents back in the Philippines. They can check if their children have done their homework, watch their graduation ceremony live, virtually join a family reunion or birthday celebration, or share a prayer with their ailing mother or father. Smartphones, the internet and social media have become essential tools in their lives as migrants. For most Filipino migrants, visits back to their home provinces are expensive, and these are not even possible for many undocumented OFWs.

ON THE FRINGES

BULATLAT STAFF

QUESTION EVERYTHING

MONG PALATINO

Question Everything | From Million People March to Pink Rallies

The strength of Pink Rallies relies on the practical wisdom of its participants who maximize various internet platforms to build anticipation, exhibit the broad character of the event, and sustain the message of the political action for several days.

ROOT ACCESS

COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS UNION

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