The good news is that all regional wage boards in the country have granted wage increases. This obviously means that private sector workers nationwide are now entitled to higher wages. The bad news, however, is that the increase in wages is not enough to offset the decline in purchasing power. BY DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com…
Category: Bulatlat Perspective
Merging Executive Policy and Military Strategy
In the long-drawn war against the Marxist guerrillas where force takes the lead, the country’s security forces have had a reproachable record in human rights threatening even legitimate political dissent, the peaceful advocacy of radical reform and, now, the use of the legislature to push for patriotic and progressive legislation. BY BOBBY TUAZON Bulatlat.com “We…
Low Purchasing Power Negates Recent Wage Hikes
The good news is that all regional wage boards in the country have granted wage increases. This obviously means that private sector workers nationwide are now entitled to higher wages. The bad news, however, is that the increase in wages is not enough to offset the decline in purchasing power. BY DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com…
The U.S. Doctrine of Counter-Insurgency in the ‘Silent War’
Second of three parts The deliberate use of terror is “a legitimate and highly effective tactical tool of unconventional warfare.” This unconventional warfare is designated as a “national policy” with the military assigned the primary responsibility in “the conduct of punitive operations” backed by police, paramilitary and civilian agencies. BY BOBBY TUAZON Bulatlat.com Accounts of…
‘Supermaid’ Solution Proves Permanence of OFW Deployment
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced last August 3 the upgrading of skills and knowledge of Filipino domestic helpers who want to work abroad so that they can become what she described as “supermaids.” The move is said to address the economic dislocation brought about by the evacuation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deployed to war-torn Lebanon.…
Returning OFWs from Lebanon: Faces of Distress, Cries of Desperation
The joy and relief of Filipinos returning from Lebanon quickly turns to feelings of distress as they remember the hardships they endured abroad and realize the anxiety of being jobless in the Philippines. Seeing their distressed faces and hearing their cries, one would easily see the desperation that has compelled Filipinos to face so many…
Strong Peso Fails to Benefit Consumers
A strong peso is supposed to benefit consumers through lower prices of goods and services. Why is this not the case at this point? BY DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com In the first quarter of this year, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stressed that the people can benefit from a strong peso through lower prices of goods and…
LGU Pursues Case vs. Marcopper’s New Owners
The battle of the people of Marinduque to seek compensation for the damage created by Marcopper Mining Corporation, which was then owned by Placer Dome Inc., took a new turn as another corporation, Barrick Gold Corporation, took over. BY DENNIS ESPADA Bulatlat.com The battle of the people of Marinduque to seek compensation for the damage…
Protests, Int’l Alarm Mark Beltran’s Third Month in Illegal Detention
Exactly three months have passed since Anakpawis (toiling masses) Party List Rep. Crispin Beltran was arbitrarily detained by the Arroyo administration. And the nationwide and international protests over the progressive parliamentarian’s illegal and unconstitutional detention show no signs of abating. BY LISA ITO (Bulatlat.com) Nationwide Protests The Manila police, however, dispersed the rallyists even as…
US Intervention in RP Stronger on 7th Year of VFA
Seven years after the concurrence by the Philippine Senate of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), critics reiterate the demand for the junking of the said agreement. They also hit the new RP-US accord which they say will further strengthen and widen the scope of US intervention in the Philippines. BY EMILY VITAL (Bulatlat.com) Seven years…
Peasants’ Unity in Struggle
Peasants are usually depicted as a hardworking people, perpetually hunched over their crops, their limbs half-buried in mud. Under the scorching heat of the sun, or the lashings of the rain, they stay on, either protecting their crops, or harvesting. But who will protect this neglected sector when the powerful come to take their livelihood…