The declines in the stock market and values of currencies may aptly be described as a bursting of the bubble because it reveals a lot of things: the real state of the world economy and the dominance of international mobile capital; the fundamental weakness and vulnerability of the Philippine economy; and the empty boasts of…
Category: Bulatlat Perspective
The Deteriorating Education System and Worsening Poverty Situation
Consistent with its policies of deregulation and privatization, and limiting government spending, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has been reducing its budget for education leading to the deterioration of the educational system and the decreasing access of the poor to education. And yet it is wondering why more and more people, including college graduates are not able…
Precious Oil
The Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPCA) announced that the public will again expect (dread seems to be a more appropriate word) another round of fuel price increases averaging at P0.50 per liter in the coming weeks. This, IPCA Chairman Glen Yu said, will have to be implemented because of a $4 dollar per barrel…
The Race is On
The conduct that was displayed by our “Honourable” representatives and senators during the opening of the 14th Congress was exasperating and unbecoming but not totally surprising. After all, the race towards the 2010 elections has already begun. For the Filipino people, this may be an opportune time to raise our issues and demands as politicians…
Terrorists in Disguise
Beware! The guy pestering you to buy dibidi or the vendor you approached in looking for a nice combination of 12 movies which includes your favourites may well be a terrorist in disguise. That is, if the claims of an American expert Jeffrey Williams, a former a special agent with the United States Air Force…
The Consequences of Service, the Rewards of Greed
Why is it that those who want nothing but the betterment of our people and country are killed and forcibly disappeared while those who seek to destroy it by their greed live on in comfort and wealth? BY BENJIE OLIVEROS ANALYSIS Bulatlat Vol. VII, No. 21, July 1-7, 2007 Why is it that those who…
More Political Storms Ahead: A Post-Election Analysis
It is hard to believe that, after the elections which further exposed a fragile political system, the country will see a semblance of political stability in the next several months and couple of years – this, considering the turbulent issues that remain unsolved and the deep undercurrents of economic insecurity faced by the people. BY…
After the May 2007 Elections: Discontent and Instability
The dust from the May 2007 elections is settling and the broad contours of the coming post-election period can already be made out. The country is entering another period of political in-fighting and instability, with the possibility of major upheavals in a few years time especially as the economic situation of the people worsens. At…
It Just Wouldn’t Go Away
The issues of extrajudicial killings and media killings just wouldn’t go away. It is not because the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is not being given a chance to solve it. Nor is it part of a destabilization plot. These issues continue to hound Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo because it continues to be committed with impunity. BY BENJIE OLIVEROS ANALYSIS…
The Specter Haunting the Arroyo Administration
Two issues have put the Macapagal-Arroyo administration on the defensive since 2005. BY BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat Analysis Vol. VII, No. 17, June 3-9, 2007 Two issues have put the Macapagal-Arroyo administration on the defensive since 2005: electoral fraud and political killings. And on both issues, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has been trying in vain to turn…
Murder, She Wrote
BY BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat.com To date, there have been 601 cases of political killings. Political killings or assassinations may be the appropriate term to describe it. But the way these killings were carried out, the use of authority and superior force over an unarmed and unknowing civilian, is worse than murder. And murder is a…