By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective When Kabataan Partylist Rep. Sarah Elago questioned Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno about the absence of any allocation for free tuition in state universities and colleges (SUCs), the response was that it would cost P100 billion and the government could not afford it. But Secretary Diokno also added: “College education benefits…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective A president’s state of the nation address (SONA) is supposed to be a report of the accomplishments of the administration and an articulation of its priorities and policy direction. There were presidents who even used people as symbolisms such as Mang Pando of the Ramos administration and the bangkang papel…
President Duterte’s attempts at balancing the interests and concerns of the different power blocs in his government and in Philippine society has been negating the changes he promised.
It is a riddle why the thousands of AFP troops, with a tremendous amount of firepower, have not yet driven ISIS fighters away, much less neutralize them.
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective Recently, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez warned of a constitutional crisis if the Supreme Court orders a joint session of Congress to tackle President Duterte’s declaration of martial law over Mindanao. This, after two petitions were filed before the High Court to compel the Senate and House of Representatives to convene…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective After an optimistic end to the fourth round of peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), things appeared to have soured once again. Even if the GRP-NDFP peace talks have got nothing to do with the…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective People were half expecting it, and we have always shouted “Never Again!” in response to these threats. And now, President Duterte has made good his threat of declaring martial law in Mindanao and hinted that he is willing to declare it nationwide. Since August 2016, or a little more than…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective A major online daily reported that mere days after the rejection of former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez by the Commission on Appointments of Congress, a mining firm cut thousands of trees, both young and centuries-old, at Brookes Point, Palawan. And it was done in a protected area of Mount Mantalingajan,…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective It has been 10 months since the Aquino administration stepped down and the Duterte Cabinet took over the reins of government and still, the Filipino people are suffering from the effects of the anomalies of the past. This is best exemplified by the problems people confront at the Department of…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective One thing truthful about US Pres. Donald Trump is that he does what he says. There has been no divide between his rhetoric and actions. His anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric was concretized in his executive orders such as the authorization of the US-Mexico border wall, and the controversial ban on the…
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective The negotiating panels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have achieved a major breakthrough in forging an agreement for an interim joint ceasefire. While the agreement on the ceasefire does not represent the meat of the talks,…