By MARYA SALAMAT
“The TRB cannot even tell us how the toll rates were computed. What was the basis for the computation of the toll rates? These questions must be answered first before they raise the toll fees,” said Northern Samar governor Paul Daza, co-convenor of the TUTOL-SLEX.
Sad ‘Croc’: Son Longed to Reunite with ‘Morong 43’ Mom
By MARYA SALAMAT
Egoy, the son of Dr. Merry Mia-Clamor, one of the “Morong 43” detainees, had hoped to see his mother watch him perform during his school’s annual presentation. But despite an order from the president, Dr. Clamor and the others remain in jail as of this writing.
Call Center Employees in the Philippines Receive Low-End Jobs, Low Salaries
By MARYA SALAMAT
While providing a lot of support to Business Process Outsourcing Companies, the government is ignoring the oppressive working conditions of call center employees.
Children Hold Rally for Peace Based On Justice
By MARYA SALAMAT
The Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) had documented six cases of frustrated killings, four victims of torture, two illegal arrest and detention, two victims of rape and 136 children affected by forcible evacuation during Aquino’s first five months in office. In all these cases witnesses tagged state military forces as the perpetrators.
Kuliglig, Pedicab Drivers’ Protest Highlights Lack in Jobs, Mass Transport
By MARYA SALAMAT
ALNAPEDKU, the group of kuliglig drivers who protested on Dec. 2, believes that the solution to the kuliglig problem is not an outright ban but regulation. The group is asking the government to recognize them formally as a mode of transport, since social practice has granted them that for years already.
Sidebar: Kuliglig Drivers Condemn Violent Dispersal by Police, Gain Lawmakers’ Support
Bonifacio Remembered with Ringing Calls for Substantial Wage Hikes
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA — Private and public sector workers marched from Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola on November 30 to commemorate Bonifacio Day and drum up their demand for a substantial wage hike for all workers nationwide. Coming from numerous meeting points all over Metro Manila, the rallyists led by the newly revived Koalisyon…
Public-Private Sector Workers Demand Wage Hikes, End to Wage-Slashing Contractualization
By MARYA SALAMAT
Private and public sector workers from different labor groups held caravans and picket rallies to push for workers’ rights to living wages and job security.
Plan to Cancel Franchises Disadvantageous to Small Companies – Alliance of Bus Operators
By MARYA SALAMAT
Bus operators asked why the government cannot rid the roads of “colorum” buses, why it allowed the number of vehicles to bloat beyond the roads’ capacity, why it targets public utility buses instead of the more numerous private vehicles.
PAL Workers Wonder if Aquino Is Really Concerned About Their Plight
By MARYA SALAMAT
‘Tis the Christmas season and anxious workers at Philippine Airlines are wondering if there is cause for hope that Aquino will reverse the airline’s mass layoffs and contractualization scheme, or is the president merely helping Lucio Tan to buy time, until the peak season — and the optimum time for a workers’ strike — is over?
Child Rights Advocates Bewail Distortion of Child Protection Principles for Counter-Insurgency
By MARYA SALAMAT
Children have been suffering the brunt of military operations along with their elders, but whereas before they were considered as “collateral damages,” since 2007, most children being encountered by the military in operations are being labeled as “child combatants.”
Government Health Workers Form Alliance to Fight for Wage Hike
By MARYA SALAMAT
Like many Filipinos, the leaders of various health workers and health professionals in the public health sector said they dream of having a decent house, enrolling their children in quality schools, and providing for their family’s basic needs like food, clothing and recreation. But sadly, they could not make both ends meet.
Sidebar: Doctors’ Association Seeks Amendments to Laws to Further Code of Ethics