By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Survivors of the Mendiola Massacre are left with bitter memories of that day 24 years ago, when soldiers and police fired their weapons at a group of protesting farmers. Their thirst for justice has kept them going in their continuing struggle for land.
Mendiola Massacre survivor Teresita Arjona, whose husband Danilo died with 12 others in the carnage, vividly remembers what happened that day 24 years ago. She is unlikely to ever forget, she says, because the reasons why they marched to Malacañang then are the same reasons why farmers continue to hold protests and rallies and why so many others have been killed.
Mendiola Massacre survivor Pedro Gonzalez knows by heart the crimes the governments that followed the Marcos dictatorship committed against the Filipino people. These, he says, make him remember what he is fighting for.
Teeming
No Paperweight
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
To the Supreme Court, they sent a letter addressed to Chief Justice Renato Corona appealing for the speedy resolution of the Hacienda Luisita case. To the Justice department, it was a letter to secretary Leila de Lima seeking the reopening of the 24-year-old Mendiola Massacre case.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Forging the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (Caser) is said to be the “meat” of the negotiations as it aims to resolve the root causes of poverty and lack of development in the Philippines.
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By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
For urban poor group Kadamay, buying an expensive car such as a Porsche is like Aquino saying “I do not care if prices are high for as long as I have the money to buy myself a nice car.” The group also compared Aquino to a father who ate an entire roasted chicken for himself while his children are starving.
By RONALYN V. OLEA
Survivors of martial law call on President Benigno S. Aquino III to certify as urgent the compensation bill for victims of human-rights violations during the Marcos dictatorship. To this day, not a single centavo has been given as reparation to the victims or their families.
Romeo Luneta was only 19 when he joined Kabataang Makabayan (KM or Patriotic Youth). He was a student at the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture in Los Banos, Laguna, when he was arrested in October 1972.
Farmers belonging to the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Alyansa ng Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA), Danggayan dagiti Mannalon ti Cagayan Valley and Tanggol Magsasaka held a protest action, January 20, in front of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City against the Aquino government’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan.