BY BULATLAT Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-New Patriotic Alliance)-Southern Tagalog chapter decried the ‘criminalization of activists.’ They stormed the offices of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) today, which they held responsible for the charges filed against their colleagues. In August, 27 activists in Southern Tagalog have been…
Tags: Oplan Bantay Laya
Crackdown vs Southern Tagalog Activists Continues; Peasant Leader Arrested
BY BULATLAT Another activist leader from Southern Tagalog was arrested last night for trumped-up murder charges. Rogelio Galit, spokesperson of Katipunan ng mga Magbubukid sa Kabite (Kamagsasaka-Ka) was taken by some 15 armed men in civilian clothes at around 7:30 p.m. from his house in Brgy. Kaong, Silang Cavite. According to Karapatan (Alliance for the…
Terrorizing Communities: The Oplan Bantay Laya II in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental
As the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) noted a decline in the incidence of extrajudicial killings in the country, another face of the government’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya II emerges. In Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, terror has gripped the hearts and minds of the people. BY RONALYN V. OLEA HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Bulatlat.com Volume VIII,…
Peace Advocates Brand Esperon’s Appointment as Peace Czar ‘Ironic, Tragic, and Outrageous’
Senators, human rights, and peace advocates questioned the appointment of former AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon as Peace Adviser. Inpeace Mindanao called it “ironic, tragic, and outrageous.” BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 16, May 25-31, 2008 Opposition senators, human rights and peace advocates raised a chorus of protest and painted a…
Abra Elders to File Case with JMC on Pananuman Right Violations
For a month, the military conducted intensive military operations in their village. Fields were bombed; soldiers encamped in the heart of the village; the people were prohibited from leaving their homes; and their farm animals were stolen. Elders of Tubo, Abra have had enough. They announced that they would file cases of human rights violation…
Government Denies Culture of Impunity in its UN Human Rights Report
BY ATTY. CARLOS ISAGANI ZARATE Secretary General Union of People’s Lawyers in Mindanao DEM0OCRATIC SPACE Posted by Bulatlat Vol. VIII, No. 11, April 20-26, 2008 Self-serving and illusory is how we see the government’s report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). It suppresses the real picture of the culture of impunity happening in…
Manila Government Faces Bigger, Bolder Insurgency Problem
The failure of the Manila government to address the roots of armed conflict in the Philippines through peace negotiations has emboldened two armed political groups to raise the ante of their armed struggle against the seven-year-old presidency of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. BY GERRY ALBERT CORPUZ Politics in Command / UPI Asia Online Posted by…
Another Jab at Civil Liberties
In late 2005 up to 2006 the Arroyo government tried to curtail the freedom of speech and assembly through the Calibrated Preemptive Response, silence the media through the issuance of guidelines by the PNP, and twist and bend its laws and legal procedures to run after its critics especially from the legal Left. It also…
Arroyo Regime is Obsessed with Military Force and Ignores Proposals for Exploratory Talks
BY PROF. JOSE MARIA SISON Chief Political Consultant National Democratic Front of the Philippines Posted by Bulatlat DEMOCRATIC SPACE Vol. VII, No. 48, January 13-19, 2008 Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), debunked recently the false claims of the Arroyo regime and its military henchmen that the reactionary…
The Human Rights Summit: Will It Put a Stop to the Killings?
Even though it was hailed by various sectors in society as historic and unprecedented, human rights advocates doubted if the human rights summit initiated by the Supreme Court would be enough to curb the festering problems of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. BY DABET CASTAÑEDA Bulatlat HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Vol. VII, No. 24, July 22-28,…
The Alston Report : What is the UN’s Next Move?
The AFP kills citizens it is sworn to protect and, as Alston has warned, it will do so until it is called to account for its homicidal behavior. BY PETER SALES* Contributed to Bulatlat A lot of history seems to have been forgotten as the Philippines lurches toward the May elections. Only a nation without…