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Oplan Bantay Laya of the Arroyo administration, has been described as the bloodiest and most brutal counterinsurgency program. That was, until her ally President Rodrigo Duterte came to power.
Bulatlat.com compiles its articles on Lumad paramilitary groups in Mindanao, which show a worsening trend from the Arroyo regime to the current Aquino administration.
This anachronistic, malicious accusation and insinuation of a military officer, a public affairs spokesman at that, reminds us of Cold war-era politics and martial law, 41 years ago, when anyone critical of the Marcos dictatorship was branded as a communist, leftist and subversive, and therefore was subjected to arrest, detention, torture, and worse, enforced disappearance or extrajudicial killing.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
The appointment of Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista as the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is not unexpected, said human rights lawyers, because it followed the promotion and appointment of other military officials who were linked to rights violations.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Coming from a peasant family and orphaned at a young age, Nanay Pining never thought that she would become part of Gabriela, singing in front of thousands of people, and doing her share in the struggle of women and the Filipino people.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
“While we commend the courage of the mothers of Karen and Sherlyn, now human rights defenders themselves, in pursuing the criminal case, it is equally significant that the Aquino government must take concrete steps in making the roads to justice accessible for the victims and their families.” – Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development
It seems that even the dead is not spared. On the first anniversary of his death, Rogelio Galit’s family received a subpoena from the provincial prosecutor’s office in San Pablo City.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
"The killings of Rudy and his son Rudyric Dejos in Sta. Cruz and of Santos Manrique in Pantukan brought into the limelight the real face of Oplan Bayanihan and revealed what was concealed in the peace and development coating of the Aquino administration’s continuation of the wicked legacy of past counterinsurgency programs," the mission said in a statement.
Sidebar: Resistance to mining exploration gave rise to rights violations
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
“We fear that at the end of Aquino’s term, the Arroyo administration’s bad human rights record would be approximated, if not surpassed by the AFP,”—Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns
“We have decided to file for moral and exemplary damages against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her security officials for violation of our rights. This is but a small step to end impunity in our country. Yet, this a step forward in our long march for justice,” Gary Liberal, spokesman of the Morong 43, said.
By MARYA SALAMAT
According to the Katungod-SB report, a soldier acting as team leader interrogated the children, asking them if they have a gun. When the children answered no, the soldier accused them of lying.
By LYN V. RAMO
Why, they asked, are they being made to suffer human rights violations, when they have only been working for the indigenous farmers, laborers, small-scale miners and urban poor and, in the process, traveling long hours to reach far-flung villages, some of which could only be reached on foot?
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
The children of political activists and human rights workers who fallen victim to extrajudicial killings are orphaned, their young lives marred and damaged by the experience of losing their parents to state violence. As for the child victims of extrajudicial killings themselves, their brutal killing at the hands of the military prove the extent of the AFP’s impunity—not even the most innocent are spared.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
According to Karapatan, there are 37 victims of extrajudicial killings under the Aquino government, at an alarming rate of one victim per week. “As the Aquino government talks peace, his troops are once again on a killing spree,” Karapatan spokesman Roneo Clamor said.
By CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO Streetwise | BusinessWorld Posted by Bulatlat.com The past year seemed to usher marked change with the ending of one of the most despised presidencies since the Marcos dictatorship and the inauguration of one steeped in the rhetoric of...
By BENJIE OLIVEROS
In media forum to mark anniversary of Ampatuan Massacre, journalists, media experts and human-rights advocates define and dissect impunity, "the dark side of accountability," as one of them put it.
On October 28, members of Gabriela marched in the streets of Davao City during the commemoration of the 27th year of National Day of Protest of Filipino Women, protesting the continuing state violence and oppression against Filipino women under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
Amihan, a national federation of peasant women, awarded President Benigno S. Aquino III with a kalabasa, marking his 100th day in office last October 8.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
“This is an old tune,” Axel Pinpin, secretary general of Kalipunan ng Samahang Magsasaka sa Timog Katagalugan (Kasama-TK), told Bulatlat, referring to the arrest of three peasants in Laguna. He blamed the extended counterinsurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL).
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