Salungguhit

State of the People

benjie — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:20:18 -0400

Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may well be expected to give this year a State of the Nation Address (SoNA) that is merely an extended version of her “Ramdam ang Kaunlaran” (Progress is Felt) slogan.

Bleeding the People Dry

benjie — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:13:43 -0400

The value-added tax (VAT) on oil is contributing to the already unbearable burden foisted by the unabated spikes in prices of petroleum products, which are the result of profiteering by oil companies as well as speculation in the futures market. Lifting the VAT on oil would at least provide considerable immediate relief from the effects of oil price spikes.

Courting the Graces of Bagmen

alex — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 08:54:47 -0400

Demands for the scrapping of the value-added tax (VAT) are growing as an increasing number of people are weighed down by the effects of what is thus far an unprecedented economic crisis. But the Arroyo administration has so far refused to heed this demand, instead offering token measures like the P500 one-time subsidy for lifeline power consumers.

Cuffing the Press

alex — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 22:26:54 -0400

Makati Regional Trial Court judge Reynaldo Laigo may or may not know it but his decision dismissing the class suit filed by journalists against the police has grave implications on the freedom of the press.

Adding Insult to Injury

benjie — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:44:23 -0400

Juan de la Cruz, the Filipino Everyman, is now awash in a sea of crises – from political crisis to crises in the prices of rice and other prime commodities to poverty. This sorry state of affairs is aggravated by recent developments – a kidnapping in Sulu, and a storm that resulted in a shipping tragedy.

Taking more than What it Gives

alex — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 07:56:46 -0400

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has recently approved a bill seeking to exempt minimum wage earners from paying income tax and increase personal exemptions for other workers and employees. The new law is supposed to provides relief for millions of ordinary Filipinos reeling from the present economic crisis.

Unprecedented Crisis

alex — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:40:36 -0400

At no point in the country’s history have the Filipino masses and even middle classes had it this bad. Tuition, transport fare, costs of health services, power rates, and the prices of food are at all-time highs.

A Mere Pittance Out of Billions

benjie — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 07:05:13 -0400

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has been making much of the government’s P 2 billion subsidy for the poorest power consumers. This, she said, is a product of the value-added tax (VAT) on power, which contributed considerably to the increase in power rates in the last few years.

The Right Time

benjie — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 06:53:39 -0400

Former House Speaker Jose de Venecia’s threat to testify in the Senate investigation on the controversial National Broadband Network (NBN) deal between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corporation has caused the public to eagerly await the probe’s resumption.

Ka Bel Lives On

admin — Sat, 24 May 2008 07:01:59 -0400

Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran, labor leader and progressive lawmaker, was that kind of figure who could be called a “people’s statesman.” To the very end of his illustrious and colorful life, his concern above all was the plight of the working people, not only in the Philippines but throughout the world.