The employees at Triumph International who are about to lose their jobs are wringing their hands over what awaits them in these difficult times. They are likewise upset that the labor department, instead of helping them, has been assisting the German company in its machinations to get rid of its workers.
To some, Susan Fernandez was an educator. To her children, she was a loving mother. To the many who have known her since the 1970s, she was a singer and a patriot, rendering songs that reflected the people’s yearnings.
Ka Wilson was a dropout from a poor family in Tarlac. But that did not stop him from becoming one of the most intelligent and passionate leaders of the progressive labor movement in the Philippines. Not even his sickness, to which he succumbed this week at the age of 55, prevented him from pursuing the Filipino workers’ struggle that he waged all his life.
One of them, Juanito Carabeo, is now with his parents but has refused to talk about the torture that he, like Melissa Roxas, went through. The other, John Edward Jandoc, has not been heard from, although the human-rights group Karapatan said he is now with a relative. He, too, refuses to talk about the abduction and torture.
The crimes and other atrocities stemming from the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya are directly instigated by the so-called “war on terror,” which the Bush regime exported to and imposed on the Philippines. The Obama government is faced with the challenge of stopping the war begun by its predecessor – a war that has caused countless human-rights violations in the Philippines and its other “fronts.”
In a perfect world, Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan never would have met. The atrocity that befell them, a most horrendous fate, never would have happened. And they never would have stood now as a testament to the rot that is eating away at the core of this country.
Since the sex-video scandal erupted, actress Katrina Halili has faced the crisis head-on, filed cases against Hayden Kho and, she tells Bulatlat, will pursue justice even if it destroys her career. Her courage, the women’s group Gabriela says, has inspired other victims of similar abuse.
In protest rally Friday in front of Nica building, human-rights groups denounce the continuing use of torture. They likewise commemorate the third year of the disappearance of UP students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño. Edita Burgos says the promotion of three officials linked to the abduction of her son Jonas will encourage more atrocities.
A recent survey finds that the Philippines remains on top of the list of most dangerous countries for workers for several years now. Labor groups say the ILO’s decision to conduct a fact-finding mission here highlights the worsening abuses against labor-rights activists.
Pressured by the military, officials of a high school in Quezon City rejected the enrollment of a student activist. She could only enroll at the school, they told her, if she signed a waiver that would prohibit her from participating in protest actions and rallies. Aghast and angry, the student decided to fight back.
The sinking of portions of Mankayan town, in which at least five houses were destroyed, occurred despite warning signs. And many residents point to the decades-old mining in the area as the culprit in the disaster.
