Main story: Progressive groups slam Aquino government’s ‘double standard’ in dealing with Sabah standoff By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA — Migrante Partylist today criticized the Philippine government for using the “OFW card” to hide its double standards in handling some Muslim Filipinos’ dispute over Sabah with Malaysia. The Philippine government has warned that the refusal…
Category: Other Stories
Gabriela, Casiño appeal to the Church to stop the name-calling
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL Bulatlat.com MANILA – The Gabriela Women’s Party called on the Catholic Church to stop branding and name-calling party-list groups and candidates who supported the Reproductive Health Bill or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. The Gabriela Women’s Party reiterated that their support to the Reproductive Health (RH)…
3 Luisita farm workers nabbed
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA – Three farm workers of Hacienda Luisita were arrested by policemen, February 28. Yesterday, leaders of Alyansa ng Manggawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala) were holding a dialogue with Provincial Agrarian Reform Office (PARO) officials at La Majarica Hotel in Tarlac City. A simultaneous protest action was staged by…
Mining firm operating in Ilocos Sur ignores MGB order
By ALDWIN QUITASOL Northern Dispatch BAGUIO CITY – A Taiwanese company reportedly continues its magnetite mining activities along the seashores of Caparacadan, Caoayan, San Sebastian and San Vicente in Ilocos Sur, ignoring the cease and desist orde issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau -Department of Environment and Natural Resources (MGB-DENR) Region 1. The order,…
Acosta: ‘Art is my weapon’
By LUIS ADRIAN A. HIDALGO Bulatlat.com MANILA — Nearly two years of detainment has tested his spirit, but that didn’t stop poet-activist Ericson Acosta from standing by his cause and principles. A week after the trumped-up charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence, Acosta found himself in the midst of friends and supporters in a…
MGB go-signal to Philex: baseless, ill-advised, dangerous
Read also: After SMI-Xstrata, it is now Philex’s turn to receive go-signal to mining operations By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – Last year’s failure of Philex’s tailings dam deposited heavy metal copper in the Balog-Agno junction, the confluence of Balog and Agno River which flow from Padcal, Benguet to Pangasinan. This was reported two weeks…
Use facts not gutter language, Comelec told
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA — The Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch) refused “to go down to the level of arguments with the prominent use of gutter language by the head of a Constitutional body – Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes.” In a strongly worded statement, Bobby M. Tuazon, co-convener of AES Watch and director…
NPA to release captured cop, soldier; declares ceasefire
The NPA’s ComVal North Davao South Agusan Sub-regional Command said a four-day suspension of military offensives will take effect Tuesday, February 19 to 22 in the towns of Kapalong, San Isidro, Asuncion and New Corella in Davao del Norte and in Laak, Compostela Valley.
Rebel group hits military’s ‘bounty-hunting activities’
By KIMBERLIE NGABIT-QUITASOL Northern Dispatch BAGUIO CITY—The Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF) criticized the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for making a fortune out of bounty for the capture of New People’s Army (NPA) members. In a statement sent through email, CPDF spokesman Simon “Ka Filiw” Naogsan accused the AFP of inventing positions for…
A good soldier’s predicament: having to obey ‘wrong’ commands
By MARYA SALAMAT Bulatlat.com MANILA – The failed 1987 and 1989 coups d’état were often mentioned at the trial of former soldiers accused in the Olalia-Alay-ay double murder. According to the plan, the murder of Olalia was carried out to generate massive protests, which the Reform the AFP Movement (RAM) would ride on to launch…
Soldiers disrupt towns in Mt. Province
By ALDWIN QUITASOL Northern Dispatch BAGUIO CITY— Sagada residents of Mountain Province as well as local and foreign tourists were surprised when soldiers belonging to the 54th Infantry Battalion Philippine Army (IBPA) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) set up camps at Lake Danum and Pilao. Tourist guides estimated a battalion size of…