Congressional allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have launched plenary debates tonight on the move to change the Constitution through what is known as a constituent assembly, or ConAss. Follow Bulatlat.com’s live coverage of the debates via Twitter or Facebook.
Category: Breaking News
Soldiers ‘Abducted, Tortured’ Fil-Am Activist
“I thought I was going to die there and then,” Melissa Roxas says. “They held my feet and my hands down and doubled-up plastic bags were pulled down on my head and face and closed on my neck and I started to suffocate and I could not breathe anymore and I was seeing white and thinking I was going to die.” | JOHN EDWARD JANDOC, MELISSA’S COMPANION, REMAINS MISSING
Students Greet School Opening With Protest Vs Tuition Hikes
By GLAIZA MAY G. MUZONES Bulatlat MANILA — Students from various schools and universities greeted the opening of classes today, June 1, with a protest rally against soaring tuition and school fees. The protesters, alarmed by the continuing increase of dropout rates amid the economic crisis, called on the Arroyo administration to address problems in…
NPA Killed Sister of Top Leader for Spying
MANILA – The communist New People’s Army has claimed responsibility for the killing of the sister of one of its top leaders, saying she had been working as an intelligence agent for the military and had incurred “blood debts” against the revolutionary movement. In a statement dated May 26, 2009, but was only made public…
Ermita-Led Human-Rights Body Says Abduction of Fil-Am, 2 Others a ‘Fabrication’
Bayan countered by saying that “the PHRC, by prejudging the incident as a mere propaganda tool by Bayan and Karapatan, shows that it has really no intention of uncovering the truth behind the abduction of Roxas and company. The Philippine government is more interested in saving face. From their statements, it is clear that the…
10 Years of VFA Marked with Protest, Concert
By GLAIZA MAY G. MUZONES and JUAN ANGELO A. HONGO Bulatlat MANILA — Members of different cause-oriented groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) and the Junk VFA! Movement gathered today at the Plaza Salamanca and, later, the Rajah Sulayman Park here to mark the 10th anniversary of the Visiting…
Solons Castigate Gov’t Agencies for Neglecting Victims of Illegal Recruitment in Libya
By THEA AYLA P. BANAG Migrant Watch Bulatlat Members of the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs criticized several government agencies for “ignoring the pleas” of Filipino workers who became victims of illegal recruitment in Libya. The Committee held an inquiry in aid of legislation, Wednesday, into the plight of 50 overseas Filipino workers in…
10 Years On, VFA Only Served US Interests
Activists protesting the VFA.
Has the Visiting Forces Agreement served its avowed purpose? Or has it only reinforced the unequal alliance between the Philippines and the United States, a relationship so tilted in the Americans’ favor that to call the VFA an agreement — with all the word’s connotation of equal rights, benefits and privileges — would be a travesty?
Guingona, Osmeña on VFA: Sovereignty Incompatible with Prolonged Presence of Foreign Troops
SOLIDARITY STATEMENT ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE RATIFICATION OF THE RP-US VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT From Vice-President Teofisto Guingona, Jr and Senator Serge Osmena III* for the JUNK VFA Movement activity, Rajah Sulayman Plaza, Manila May 27, 2009 May 27, 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the Senate ratification of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement.…
Nuns Decry Inclusion of Church Workers in Military’s ‘Order of Battle’
An association of 350 Catholic nuns from 40 congregations in Mindanao expressed outrage over the inclusion of Church people to the reported ‘order of battle’ of the 10th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In a document titled “JCICC ‘AGILA’ 3rd QTR 2007 OB VALIDATION RESULT,” several Catholic and Protestant groups were…
After 6 Months of Delay and Gov’t Inaction, OFW’s Remains Finally Arrive Home
Family of Dead OFW Bewails Gov’t Inaction