By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld “Total system failure at all levels of government to protect Filipino lives” was how Phelim Kine, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), described the situation in Tagum City, Davao del Norte last Wednesday, May 21. Kine was presenting to the media HRW’s…
Category: Commentary
Connecting the dots
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld Three seemingly unconnected events have been unfolding in the past days and weeks — the exposé on the “Napolist” or list of legislators acting as alleged partners-in-crime of pork barrel scam queen Janet Napoles; the death of two-day-old Diona Rosal, baby girl of Andrea Rosal who the military claims…
Unli pala ha? | Mga pangunahing dahilan ng mabagal na internet sa bansa
ROOT ACCESS Rick Bahague Bulatlat.com Sa pagbabasa ng mga artikulo sa www.bulatlat.com, anong tipo ng broadband connection ang iyong ginagamit: landline, cable o mobile? Mas marami bang pagkakataon na hinahampas na lamang ang computer table sa bagal ng inyong internet connection? Hindi ka nag-iisa. Gayunpaman, maligayang pagdating sa mundo ng internet. Bahagi na nang araw-araw…
The myth of the principle of equality before the law
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective The dispensation of ‘justice’, or rather injustices, is so blatant in the Philippines that one could not help but ask: For how long would we allow these to happen? Let us take the case of three persons. On one side are former president and current Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and…
Rehabilitating Lacson
By LUIS V. TEODORO Vantage Point | BusinessWorld Former Senator Panfilo Lacson says he’s having a hard time doing his job as the Aquino administration’s “rehabilitation czar,” complaining only a week ago that two members of the Aquino Cabinet have been deliberately thwarting his efforts to rehabilitate the areas in the Visayas razed by super…
Standing by, defending the Talaingod Manobo
By Satur C. Ocampo At Ground Level | The Philippine Star They’re at it again, or rather, they haven’t stopped doing it. Over the past two months they have been doing the same in Talaingod, Davao del Norte and other places in the Davao region. I refer to the AFP’s counterinsurgency forces under Oplan Bayanihan…
Lists, lists, lists, what do these tell us?
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat perspective So many lists of those allegedly involved in the pork barrel scam have come out. The latest is the “official” list from Janet Lim-Napoles herself, which was turned over by Justice Sec. Leila de Lima to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. The list identified those who had dealings with Napoles,…
There is nothing humanitarian about Balikatan’s militarization
Balikatan wargames expose us to constant dangers from live ammunition, unexploded ordnances, toxic by-products and from being targeted in war by US enemies.
Mother’s Day (at ang biological at kapitalistang determinismo nito)
GUNITA NG SALITA Ni ROLAND TOLENTINO Bulatlat.com Ito ang omnibus na pagdiriwang ng buong mundo para sa mga ina, at siempre, ang apila ay malalim at mahaba, sa kaibuturan pa ng sinapupunan ang simula ng individual na kwento, o sa pangkalahatan, sa simula ng pagkabuo ng familia bilang sagradong institusyon ng lipunan. Ang alagwa para…
Happy with the ban plastic laws? Then thank activism
QUESTION EVERYTHING Mong Palatino Bulatlat.com Next to tree planting, the most popular green initiative of politicians today is the adoption of ‘ban plastic’ ordinances. The new normal is the total dislike for anything plastic and the coming together of various stakeholders in the community to save the future generation from the scourge of garbage, and…
A base by any other name
By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo Streetwise | BusinessWorld Official secrecy, obfuscation and outright lies have characterized continuing US military presence and activity in the Philippines since permanent US military bases were booted out in 1991. Whatever information has been made available by the two governments has been in the form of a sustained public relations campaign. Front…