BY MAUREEN A. HERMITANIO Bulatlat.com Plan holders are up in arms over the failure of a pre-need company to give them their hard-earned money. Surprisingly, the company’s employees are now behind them in their struggle. Employees of College Assurance Plan (CAP) are preparing for protests over a series of retrenchments, violation of their collective bargaining…
Category: News Analysis
Despite gov’t decision favoring land distribution Hacienda Luisita Workers Still Face Uphill Battle
BY ABNER BOLOS Bulatlat.com The strike may have been lifted last December 8, 2005, but the struggle of the farm workers of Hacienda Luisita, Inc. (HLI) is far from over. Among the unresolved issues are coverage of land distribution and number of agrarian reform beneficiaries. Farm workers in Hacienda Luisita asked the Department of Agrarian…
On the 19th year of the Mendiola Massacre Peasants’ Blood Compact Signals 100 Days of Protest vs GMA, Chacha
On January 22, 1987 at the historic Mendiola Bridge, soldiers drew first blood as they opened fire on demonstrators calling on the government to implement genuine agrarian reform. Since this resulted in 13 demonstrators being killed, this came to be known as the Mendiola Massacre which has been commemorated ever since. In remembering what happened…
Lawyers on Subic rape case: `Without Warrant, Trial of Four US Soldiers Cannot Proceed’
With the failure to serve the warrant of arrest to the four U.S. Marines accused of raping a Filipino woman, just where is the Subic Rape Case heading? Lawyers said that it is going nowhere and as early as now, justice for the rape survivor is being denied. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat.com The Subic Rape…
Erap Comeback, Anyone? Does Joseph Estrada have what it takes to regain his so-called lost presidency?
Five years have passed since Joseph Estrada was ousted as President. But for those who continue to support him, Estrada is merely on a leave of absence and he will assume his duties as President anytime soon. BY AUBREY SC MAKILAN Bulatlat.com Joseph Estrada, popularly known by his nickname Erap, is said to be perceived…
Officers’ Jailbreaks Show Deep Division in AFP
What now looks like an emerging series of escapes from jail by leaders of the Magdalo group, which tried to stage an armed uprising at the Oakwood Hotel in Makati City on July 27, 2003, is not just a matter of lapses in security. More than that, it shows a deep division within the Armed…
Bayan Muna urges in-depth investigation of Diwalwal tragedy
The Bayan Muna (People First) party-list chapter in Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) urged authorities Nov. 12 to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation regarding allegations that the Sunshine tunnel explosion that killed 32 miners was not a mere accident. The group said the fire that gutted houses in Barangay Ngan a week before the explosion…
Marcos-Araneta blamed for harassment of Bulacan farmers
The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP, Peasant Movement of the Philippines) and its local chapter Sandigang Samahan ng Magsasaka (organization of farmers or SASAMAG) in Tungkong Mangga, San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan denounced Nov. 13 the Marcos-Araneta clan for the alleged repeated harassment of the farmers in the area. “It seems that after their…
Bayan Muna Solon to probe ’dubious’ oil exploration in Tañon Strait
Bayan Muna Solon to probe ’dubious’ oil exploration in Tañon StraitBayan Muna Solon to probe ’dubious’ oil exploration in Tañon StraitBayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador filed House Resolution 1005 urging the committees on natural resources and energy of the House of Representatives to investigate the alleged dubious approval of oil exploration activities in Tañon Strait…
Bayan condemns overkill in Ortigas shootout
The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) officials called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) Nov. 10 to “seriously examine the prevailing ‘culture of impunity’” that resulted in similar incidents like the recent shooting of three suspected carjackers in Ortigas last Nov. 7. Bayan officials were ”deeply disturbed and enraged” at the video…
At least 15 OFW ‘mysterious deaths’ since 2002 remain unsolved – Migrante
Migrante International said Nov. 10 there have been at least 15 cases of “mysterious deaths” of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) since 2002, all of which remain unsolved. Ivy Bautista, a 27-year-old domestic helper, was slain Sept. 27 in Santander, Spain. Her body was discovered on the third floor of her employer’s home with a kitchen…