“I have yet to read and know the details of the charges filed against me but I know that I was never involved in any crime that would make me end up here. I demand that they release me. I do not want to lose my baby like what happened to Andrea Rosal.” – Maria Miradel Torres
“It is abominable that Aquino did not even put on the agenda of his P8.8-million state visit to Japan the plight of Filipino comfort women and instead expressed his support for Japan in its plan to revitalize its military expansionist policy and the resurgent militarism in the whole Asia-Pacific region.” – Gabriela
“Ang wikang Filipino ay di lamang isang simbulo ng ating pagiging bansa. Ang wikang Filipino sa unibersidad ay kumakatawan sa ating pagpapahalaga na ang buhay natin bilang isang bansa ay nakasandig sa pagkakaroon ng isang wikang gagamitin para hubugin ang mga kaisipan ng mga kabataan at mga matatanda na nasa kapangyarihan sa sistema ng edukasyon.” – National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera
After the prosecution presented several eyewitnesses in the abduction of Karen and Sherlyn, the defense was given several opportunities to present their own witnesses. Not one has been presented since.
Not like other personalities from the revolutionary Left such as Prof. Jose Maria Sison. Luis Jalandoni, Coni Ledesma, Fidel Agcaoili, and the late Tony Zumel, Wilma Austria and Benito Tiamzon were never thrust in the limelight, at least before their March 22 arrest. For the general public and the media, they are enigmatic.
Who are they? What is their background? What shaped them to become revolutionaries? How are they as a couple? How do they think and what are their thoughts about the country?
“The cases, filed as early as 2008, have been gathering dust in the records of the Ombudsman, which has shown nary a hint of interest or resolve in investigating criminal and ethical violations by top military brass down the line.”
“Teachers are being given extra teaching loads to absorb the load of the locally-paid teachers who were laid -off. Administrative tasks of teachers such as class advisory, property custodianship, sports coaching and guidance counseling were no longer added in the computation of teachers’ teaching load so as to hide the shortage and the need.” – France Castro, ACT
“The Aquino government is reducing the issue of USS grounding in Tubbataha as a mere financial compensation issue, disregarding the clear violations of Philippine sovereignty.” –Kalikasan-PNE
“They must answer for the treacherous and duplicitous manner in which they ferreted her [Rosal] out of the hospital while still recuperating from difficult labor and traumatic experience.”
“It is ironic that I was arrested for exercising my right to free speech during Independence Day itself…While politicians who have been stealing from the nation’s coffers are still free to do as they please, I, who was merely exercising my right, was immediately charged and my rights curtailed.” – Pio Emmanuel Mijares, 19-year-old student
The failure of government’s agrarian reform manifests in various haciendas across the country, such as in Hacienda Dolores in Pampanga